Famous Restaurant Reopens in NYC After Being Closed by Health Department

After being closed down by the New York City Health Department, Serendipity 3 has now been allowed to reopen. The famous restaurant on East 60th Street known for Forbidden Broadway Sundaes and Frrrozen Hot Chocolate had been closed since Mid-November because of mice and rodent problems, which many found ironic - since this restaurant is also known for having a $25,000 Frrrozen Haute Chocolate dessert.

The temporary shutdown in November happened after the New York City Health Department says Serendipity 3 failed two inspections in a row. In a written statement, the health department said its inspector found a live mouse, mouse droppings "in multiple areas of the restaurant, fruit flies, house flies, and more than 100 live cockroaches."

You can see a copy of that November 14^th inspection here. The restaurant got 33 violation points on that one, which followed an inspection in October. In that one, Serendipity 3 scored 41 violation points.

At that time, the Health Department website said an inspector found roaches as well as "evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas." In both inspections, the department statement says its workers found stagnant water and conditions "conducive to pest infestation."

For the NYC Health Department, points are bad. A zero would be a perfect score, and there are many restaurants that score zeros. The health department says the average number for restaurants in NYC is 14.

Following the two bad inspections, Serendipity 3 had to close to fix the violations and get a "reopening re-inspection" from the health department. It took a while, but the restaurant is now open again. A statement from the Health Department says that on Monday, December 3^rd, "The Department of Health conducted its second reopening inspection at Serendipity 3. Serendipity passed and was able to re-open."

The restaurant isn't totally off the hook, yet. The health department plans to inspect Serendipity 3 again, within the next 30 days.

In the meantime- now that the Broadway strike is over- people can see a show and then go over to Serendipity 3 to order the famous desserts. According to various publications and television reports, the Frrrozen Haute Chocolate includes 28 types of cocoa from around the world and edible gold. You get to eat it with a gold spoon, decorated with diamonds. Plus, you get to keep a gold and diamond bracelet that they put at the base of the goblet. If that's too rich for your taste, there are lots of less-expensive treats to consider.