Brooklyn, NY — The Spot Cafe, a Latin American restaurant located at 358 Bainbridge Street in Brooklyn, received a Grade B following a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) inspection conducted on April 6, 2026. The restaurant recorded a score of 25, placing it near the upper boundary of the Grade B range and within two points of the Grade C threshold. Inspection data was released by DOHMH on April 9, 2026.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors documented one non-critical violation during the April visit. No critical violations were cited.
The single violation recorded was Code 10E: an accurate thermometer was not provided or was not properly located within refrigerated, cold storage, or hot holding equipment. Under NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code, food establishments are required to maintain calibrated, properly positioned thermometers in all equipment used to store or hold temperature-sensitive foods. The requirement exists to ensure that operators can verify that food is held at safe temperatures — below 41°F for cold storage or above 140°F for hot holding — reducing the risk of bacterial growth.
While the April inspection produced no critical violations, a score of 25 reflects cumulative point weight assigned to documented conditions and places the establishment near the top of the Grade B scoring band.
Food Safety Context
NYC Health Code Article 81 governs food service establishment standards citywide. Thermometer placement requirements fall under provisions designed to support active temperature monitoring throughout a facility's cold chain. The FDA Food Code, which New York City's regulations align with, specifies that food temperature measuring devices must be accurate to ±2°F and accessible in equipment where temperature control is critical to food safety.
A non-critical violation does not indicate an imminent health risk but is still factored into a restaurant's overall score. The higher a score climbs within the Grade B range, the fewer additional point-weighted conditions the establishment can absorb before crossing into Grade C territory.
Inspection History
The Spot Cafe's recent inspection record includes the following entries:
- June 17, 2026: Score 50 — Closed by DOHMH
- April 6, 2026: Score 25 (Grade B)
- June 23, 2025: Score 13 (Grade A)
- May 9, 2025: Score 31
The April 2026 inspection represented a significant decline from the Grade A score of 13 recorded in June 2025. A subsequent inspection in June 2026 resulted in a score of 50 and a closure action by DOHMH. That closure is a separate inspection event not reflected in the April grade covered by this report.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
DOHMH assigns letter grades based on inspection scores under the following scale:
- A: 0–13 points
- B: 14–27 points
- C: 28 or more points
Scores reflect the total point value of violations documented during an unannounced inspection. Restaurants that receive a B or C on an initial inspection are typically re-inspected within 30 to 45 days, at which point the grade posted publicly reflects the lower of the two scores.
Consumers can look up current grades and full inspection histories for any NYC food establishment through the DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results database at nyc.gov/health.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for The Spot Cafe including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.