Manhattan, NY — Village Underground, located at 130 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, received a Grade C following a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspection conducted on March 26, 2026. Inspectors recorded a score of 33, placing the American cuisine restaurant in the lowest publicly posted grade category. The inspection data was released by DOHMH on April 1, 2026.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors documented one critical violation during the March inspection. The cited violation — Code 04L — recorded evidence of mice or live mice in the establishment's food or non-food areas.

Under NYC Health Code Article 81, rodent activity in a food service establishment constitutes a critical violation due to the potential for contamination of food, food contact surfaces, and storage areas. Mouse activity can introduce pathogens including Salmonella and Leptospira into kitchen environments, and evidence of rodent presence — such as droppings, gnaw marks, or live animals — triggers mandatory scoring regardless of the extent of activity observed.

No non-critical violations were cited during this inspection.

Food Safety Context

New York City's restaurant inspection program, administered by DOHMH, evaluates food service establishments against standards drawn from NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code. Violations are categorized as critical or general, with critical violations carrying higher point values due to their direct link to foodborne illness risk.

Code 04L — rodent evidence — is among the higher-weighted critical violations in the city's scoring matrix. A single citation under this code can contribute substantially to a restaurant's total score.

A score of 33 places Village Underground in Grade C territory. Establishments receiving a Grade C may request a re-inspection or an adjudication hearing before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). Restaurants are required to post their most recent grade card in a location visible from the street or entrance.

The inspection did not result in a closure order based on available records. DOHMH may issue an order to close when conditions pose an imminent public health hazard, but a Grade C score alone does not automatically trigger closure.

Inspection History

Village Underground's prior inspection record reflects stronger performance in previous cycles:

  • June 6, 2024: Score 13 (Grade A)
  • June 21, 2022: Score 3 (Grade A)

The restaurant had maintained Grade A status across both prior documented inspections, with a particularly low score of 3 recorded in 2022. The March 2026 result represents a significant departure from that recent history. It is not uncommon for establishments with clean records to receive elevated scores in a given cycle; follow-up inspections typically occur within a defined window when a Grade C is issued.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City assigns letter grades based on inspection scores as follows:

  • Grade A: Score of 0 to 13 points
  • Grade B: Score of 14 to 27 points
  • Grade C: Score of 28 points or higher

Lower scores indicate fewer or less severe violations. Grades reflect conditions at the time of inspection and are subject to change at re-inspection. A restaurant's grade history is publicly searchable through the DOHMH online inspection database.

Consumers can look up current and historical inspection results for any permitted food service establishment in New York City through the DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results portal at nyc.gov. Inspection records are updated as new data becomes available from the department.

More About This Restaurant

View the full inspection history for Village Underground including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.