Manhattan, NY — The Spotted Dog / Culture In A Bowl, an American restaurant at 1154 1st Avenue in Manhattan, was closed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) following an inspection conducted April 10, 2026. Inspectors recorded a score of 113, placing the establishment far into C-grade territory and triggering an immediate closure order. The inspection data was released publicly by DOHMH on April 15, 2026.
The closure marks the third time the restaurant has been ordered closed by health officials, following two prior closure actions in December 2024.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors cited six violations during the April 10 inspection — three classified as critical and three as non-critical.
The most serious findings involved active pest activity. Code 04K documents evidence of rats or live rats in the establishment's food or non-food areas. Code 04N identifies filth flies — a category that includes house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies, and fruit flies — in food and non-food areas. Both are critical violations under the NYC Health Code.
The third critical violation, Code 04A, notes that no Food Protection Certificate holder was present among the managers or supervisors overseeing food operations at the time of inspection. NYC Health Code Article 81 requires that at least one certified food protection manager be on site during hours of operation.
Non-critical violations included Code 08A, which documents conditions conducive to harborage by rodents, insects, or other pests — a finding that aligns with the active pest activity noted in the critical violations. Inspectors also cited Code 20-01, indicating that a food allergy information poster was not conspicuously displayed where food is prepared or processed. Code 20-04 records the absence of a "Choking First Aid" poster, an "Alcohol and Pregnancy" warning sign, and a sign indicating the availability of resuscitation equipment including exhaled air resuscitation masks and latex gloves.
Food Safety Context
Evidence of rats in a food service establishment is among the most serious violations tracked by DOHMH. Under NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code, active rodent presence creates direct contamination risk for food, food contact surfaces, and storage areas. Rodents can introduce pathogens including Salmonella and Leptospira into food preparation environments.
Filth flies present a similar contamination concern. House flies and related species are capable of transferring pathogens between refuse, sewage, and food preparation surfaces. The concurrent presence of both rodent and fly activity, combined with conditions documented as conducive to pest harborage, reflects a multi-vector pest management failure.
The absence of a certified Food Protection Certificate holder at the time of inspection indicates a gap in managerial food safety oversight, which NYC Health Code Article 81 is specifically designed to prevent. Certified managers are responsible for monitoring food handling practices, temperature controls, and sanitation protocols during operations.
A score of 113 is substantially higher than the threshold for any letter grade. Under DOHMH's grading system, scores above 28 points result in a C grade — a score of 113 indicates numerous and serious violations across multiple categories.
Inspection History
The April 2026 closure is not the restaurant's first. DOHMH records show a pattern of repeated closures and elevated scores over the prior 16 months:
- December 10, 2024: Score 80 — closed by DOHMH
- December 27, 2024: Score 58 — closed by DOHMH
- December 31, 2024: Score 10 (Grade Z)
- March 12, 2025: Score 35
- April 10, 2026: Score 113 — closed by DOHMH
The December 2024 inspections resulted in two consecutive closures within 17 days. The restaurant subsequently scored a 10 at a re-inspection on December 31, 2024, and a 35 in March 2025 — both representing significant improvement. The April 2026 inspection, however, recorded a score more than three times higher than any previous inspection in the available record.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City's restaurant grading system assigns letter grades based on inspection scores, which reflect the number and severity of violations found:
- A grade: Score of 0–13 points
- B grade: Score of 14–27 points
- C grade: Score of 28 or more points
Inspections are unannounced and conducted by DOHMH environmental health inspectors. When a restaurant is closed during an inspection, it may not reopen until a re-inspection confirms that the conditions prompting closure have been corrected.
Consumers can look up current inspection scores and violation details for any NYC restaurant through the DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results database at nyc.gov. Inspection records reflect conditions at the time of inspection and may not represent a restaurant's current operating status.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for The Spotted Dog / Culture In A Bowl including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.