EL BUEN GUSTO
5201 4 AVENUE, Brooklyn, NY 11220 · Restaurant (Caribbean)
Inspection summary
EL BUEN GUSTO has been inspected 3 times by NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) since May 2, 2023. The most recent inspection, on August 14, 2025, recorded 4 infractions.
None of the 3 inspections on record were free of infractions. No inspections are on record from the past 12 months. The higher-risk findings here relate to: Pests, Cleaning and sanitizing and Handwashing and staff hygiene.
What these findings mean
Health authorities word their violations differently, so we group them by what they mean for food safety. Higher-risk findings are the ones inspectors treat as critical, because they can directly make someone sick.
PestsHigher risk
Signs of mice, rats, cockroaches or flies, or gaps and clutter that let them get in or hide. Pests carry bacteria and can contaminate food and surfaces, so evidence of activity is treated seriously and usually triggers a follow-up visit.
Recorded 4 times across 2 separate inspections, most recently on August 14, 2025. For example:
Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
Cleaning and sanitizingHigher risk
Anything that touches food, such as cutting boards, dishes and utensils, must be washed, rinsed and sanitized. Inspectors check dishwasher temperatures, sanitizer strength and how wiping cloths are stored. Poor sanitizing lets bacteria survive from one use to the next.
Recorded 2 times across 2 separate inspections, most recently on August 14, 2025. For example:
Design, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.
Handwashing and staff hygieneHigher risk
Hands are the main way germs like norovirus move from people to food. Inspectors look for stocked, accessible handwashing sinks, staff washing hands when required, hair restraints, and sick employees being kept away from food. Gaps here can spread illness quickly.
Recorded once on February 7, 2025. For example:
No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
Protecting food from contaminationHigher risk
This covers how food is stored, prepared and displayed: raw meat kept away from ready-to-eat food, food covered and stored off the floor, and nothing dripping or splashing into it. Cross-contamination from raw to cooked food is a direct route for salmonella and E. coli.
Recorded once on February 7, 2025. For example:
Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, service or from customer’s refillable, reusable container. Condiments not in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor.
Food source, labelling and allergensHigher risk
Food must come from approved suppliers, stay in labelled containers and be thrown out when it is spoiled or damaged, such as dented or swollen cans. Labelling matters for allergies: an unlabelled container can hide an allergen.
Recorded once on May 2, 2023. For example:
Swollen, leaking, rusted or otherwise damaged canned food to be returned to distributor not segregated from intact product and clearly labeled DO NOT USE
About this data
These results come from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), which inspects food premises and other public facilities in this area. We republish the authority's public disclosure data and refresh it regularly; the official record is the final word.
3 inspections
- Cycle Inspection / Re-inspection
4 infractions
- 09C: Design, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.
- Not Critical
- 10F: Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
- Not Critical
- 04M: Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area.
- Critical
- 08A: Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- Not Critical
- 09C: Design, construction, materials used or maintenance of food contact surface improper. Surface not easily cleanable, sanitized and maintained.
- Cycle Inspection / Initial Inspection
4 infractions
- 05D: No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
- Critical
- 06C: Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, service or from customer’s refillable, reusable container. Condiments not in single-service containers or dispensed directly by the vendor.
- Critical
- 08A: Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
- Not Critical
- 04N: Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies.
- Critical
- 05D: No hand washing facility in or adjacent to toilet room or within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service or ware washing area. Hand washing facility not accessible, obstructed or used for non-hand washing purposes. No hot and cold running water or water at inadequate pressure. No soap or acceptable hand-drying device.
- Cycle Inspection / Initial Inspection
3 infractions
- 10F: Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
- Not Critical
- 09A: Swollen, leaking, rusted or otherwise damaged canned food to be returned to distributor not segregated from intact product and clearly labeled DO NOT USE
- Critical
- 06F: Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses.
- Critical
- 10F: Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
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