DELAWARE — Downtown Delaware’s only Indian cuisine restaurant Desi Tadka is closed until further notice after the Delaware County Board of Health revoked its license on Tuesday.
The license revocation came after over a year of Delaware Public Health District (DPHD) violations related to food safety and a large cockroach presence.
“For over a year, our food unit team worked diligently and patiently alongside this facility to address repeated concerns,” Health Commissioner Garrett Guillozet said.
“Despite these efforts, the establishment was ultimately unable to meet the necessary health and safety requirements, and the Board of Health determined that revoking the license was required to protect the public.”
Posted on the restaurant’s door as of Wednesday is the health department’s license revocation order and a bright orange “closed” sign ordered by the health department.
Desi Tadka owners and management did not immediately respond to Delaware Source requests for comment.
Before the restaurant can reopen, owners will have to address the repeat violations to meet cleanliness and bug-free standards.
Then, they must reapply for a food license and complete the process as a new facility, according to DPHD Public Information Officer Traci Whittaker.
Licenses are required to sell or serve food to the public.
Timeline of violations
At the license suspension hearing Tuesday, the board reviewed inspection reports dating back to Feb. 26, 2025, along with violation records, a previous warning letter, complaints from restaurant patrons and more.
That initial February 2025 report found 21 noncritical violations and 11 critical violations, which included thawing raw chicken and lamb on the counter overnight, chicken not being cooked to proper temperature, improper date marking and improper food storage.
Follow-up inspections in April of 2025 found some violations were corrected but not all, and the restaurant incurred new violations to address, including inadequate kitchen cleanliness.
The May 2025 inspection verified several violations were corrected, including improvements in kitchen cleaning, but some noncritical violations persisted.
Sanitarian Dakota Roberts noted in the May 2025 report the “facility is in need of a deep clean.” In her August 2025 follow up, she found the facility was clean and most violations had been corrected.
However, Desi Tadka racked up more critical violations in a standard inspection in August 2025.
According to the health department report, the “person in charge” did not demonstrate knowledge about food storage temperatures and times and several food containers were not properly date marked.
Customer cockroach complaints prompt further investigation
In January of 2026, a customer submitted a formal complaint after witnessing multiple cockroaches in the dining room, which prompted the health department investigating the issue.
Roberts found multiple dead and alive cockroaches in the bar area and bar cabinets, and cockroaches “crawling in the clean silverware container,” according to the inspection report.
She also found the facility was unclean with excessive food build up in the kitchen and prep areas. The health department ordered the facility could not reopen without its approval to ensure Desi Tadka completed pest control and deep cleaning.
DPHD approved Desi Tadka to reopen Jan. 8, but the department received another complaint about cockroaches two months later.
Those March 2026 inspections found cockroach and cleanliness issues persisted, and the health department decided to hold an administrative hearing, which resulted in the proposed license revocation hearing.
The administrative hearing found that from Sept. 9, 2024 to March 25, 2026, the restaurant had accrued 254 total violations, with 88% of them being repeat violations.
The attached file, provided by DPHD, shows the exact violations, the inspection dates when they occurred and a chart showing how violations have fluctuated.
