NEW YORK — While serendipity may be the art of finding pleasant things by chance, what health inspectors found at celebrated eatery Serendipity 3 was not very agreeable.
Officials closed the restaurant Wednesday night after it failed its second inspection in a month. An inspector spotted a live mouse and mouse droppings, fruit flies, house flies and more than 100 live cockroaches.
"Both inspections revealed rodent and fly infestation and conditions conducive to pest infestation, including stagnant water in the basement," the department said.
People stand in line for hours outside the Manhattan restaurant, known for its extravagant and expensive desserts. Besides its signature frozen hot chocolate, the menu lists such confections as the Forbidden Broadway Sundae, made with chocolate blackout cake, ice cream and hot fudge, as well as a $1,000 sundae named Golden Opulence requiring 48-hour advance notice.