UES Bar Shuttered By Health Department, Records Show

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — City officials have ordered a gastropub on First Avenue and East 63rd Street to close for racking up 113 violation points during a health inspection, records published Tuesday show.

The Spotted Dog, a snug bar and restaurant located at 1154 First Ave., was ordered to close on April 10 after inspectors reported evidence of rats, flies, improper food-temperature controls, and multiple food-safety hazards, according to publicly available city records.

The Spotted Dog currently has a pop-up kitchen called Culture In A Bowl operating inside the restaurant. Culture in A Bowl specializes in Liberian comfort foods.

The records, published Tuesday, also include violations for not having a certified food protection manager on site, as well as staff behaviors like eating or smoking in food prep areas.

In March 2025, The Spotted Dog was also shuttered by the Health Department, according to city records.

The bar will need to correct the violations before it can reopen.

Here's the full list of The Spotted Dog's violations from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:

• Food Protection Certificate (FPC) not held by manager or supervisor of food operations.
• Evidence of rats or live rats in establishment's food or non-food areas.
• 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.
• 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.
• Insufficient or no hot holding, cold storage or cold holding equipment provided to maintain Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods (TCS) at required temperatures
• No approved written standard operating procedure for avoiding contamination by refillable returnable containers.
• Tobacco or electronic cigarette use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area.
• 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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
• Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
• 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.
• Food allergy information poster not conspicuously posted where food is being prepared or processed by food workers.
• “Choking first aid” poster not posted. “Alcohol and Pregnancy” warning sign not posted. Resuscitation equipment: exhaled air resuscitation masks (adult & pediatric), latex gloves, sign not posted.
• Failure to post or conspicuously post healthy eating information
• Nuisance created or allowed to exist. Facility not free from unsafe, hazardous, offensive or annoying conditions.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.