Brooklyn, NY — Nora's Park Bench Cafe, an American restaurant at 3019 Quentin Road in Brooklyn, received a Grade B following a health inspection conducted on March 21, 2026, recording a score of 26 — placing the establishment just two points below the Grade C threshold.
Nora's Park Bench Cafe restaurant inspection" width="400" height="225" loading="eager" decoding="async" class="article-featured-image">What Inspectors Found
Inspectors from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) documented one violation during the March 2026 inspection, which was classified as critical.
The cited violation — Code 06C — addresses the protection of food, supplies, and equipment from potential sources of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, and service. Inspectors specifically noted that condiments were not stored in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor, a handling practice required under NYC Health Code Article 81 to limit cross-contamination risk between customers.
Although a single violation was recorded, its critical classification reflects that inspectors identified a direct potential pathway to public health risk under DOHMH's scoring framework. Critical violations carry a higher point weight than non-critical violations, which accounts for the elevated score despite a limited total violation count.
Food Safety Context
NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code both require that food and food-contact surfaces be protected from contamination at every stage — from storage through service. Shared-use condiment containers are identified as a contamination risk because they can transfer pathogens between customers when not properly managed.
DOHMH's scoring system is designed to weight violations according to their potential public health impact. A score of 26 falls within the Grade B range of 14 to 27 points, but sits just two points below the Grade C threshold of 28 points — at the higher end of the B bracket, where a single additional violation in a future inspection could result in a grade change.
Inspection History
The March 2026 result represents a step back from the restaurant's prior Grade A performance. The establishment's recorded inspection history shows the following:
- March 31, 2026: Score 26 (Grade B)
- December 26, 2023: Score 12 (Grade A)
- September 26, 2022: Score 21 (Grade B)
- January 13, 2022: Score 34 (Grade C range)
The restaurant achieved a Grade A in late 2023 before returning to a Grade B in the current cycle. The January 2022 score of 34 placed the establishment in the Grade C range at that time, indicating the business has experienced variability across inspection cycles.
Inspection data from the March 21, 2026 visit was released by DOHMH on March 24, 2026.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City requires restaurants to publicly post their most recent letter grade following each unannounced inspection. Grades are assigned based on accumulated points:
- Grade A: 0–13 points
- Grade B: 14–27 points
- Grade C: 28 or more points
Establishments that receive a Grade B or C on an initial inspection are eligible to request a reinspection before a grade card is issued and required to be posted. Scores may improve or decline between inspection cycles as restaurants address or allow violations to persist.
Consumers can review full inspection records, including violation details and historical scores, through the NYC Open Data portal or the DOHMH restaurant inspection search tool available at the city's official website.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for Nora's Park Bench Cafe including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.