Ideal Cafe & Pizza

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJune 12, 2024
• address484 Centre St, Jamaica Plain 02130

Is Ideal Cafe & Pizza clean?

Ideal Cafe & Pizza is currently Fail from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on June 12, 2024. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Ideal Cafe & Pizza?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 12, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️(A) Certified Food Protection Manager (C) • At this time the Food Safety Certificate posted is for an employee that left. Please provide a Food safety and Allergen certificate for a staff member at the location full time.
  (A) Certified Food Protection Manager (C) • At this time the Food Safety Certificate posted is for an employee that left. Please provide a Food safety and Allergen certificate for a staff member at the location full time.
• ⚠️(A)-(P) Person-In-Charge-Duties (Pf) • At this time the owner of the shop was not here. She was working. The PIC will need to address all violations and repairs before re-inspection. A deep cleaning is need.
  (A)-(P) Person-In-Charge-Duties (Pf) • At this time the owner of the shop was not here. She was working. The PIC will need to address all violations and repairs before re-inspection. A deep cleaning is need.
• ⚠️Wiping Cloths Use Limitation (C) • Provide a wiping cloth bucket at front counter and prep are ato store wiping clothes.
  Wiping Cloths Use Limitation (C) • Provide a wiping cloth bucket at front counter and prep are ato store wiping clothes.
• ⚠️Thawing (C) • Discontinue to thaw at room temperature. Thaw the day before in refrigerator.
  Thawing (C) • Discontinue to thaw at room temperature. Thaw the day before in refrigerator.
• ⚠️(A)(2) and (B) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • At front counter found pizza unit running high at 47F. PIC will need to keep the lid down to help monitor temperatures. Food must be store at or below 41F.critical
  (A)(2) and (B) Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food Hot and Cold Holding (P) • At front counter found pizza unit running high at 47F. PIC will need to keep the lid down to help monitor temperatures. Food must be store at or below 41F.
• ⚠️Ventilation Hood Systems Filters (C) • Hood filters on cooking line very soiled with dust and grease build up. Clean to remove. Also the hood expired in Dec 2023. Hood must be cleaned right away.
  Ventilation Hood Systems Filters (C) • Hood filters on cooking line very soiled with dust and grease build up. Clean to remove. Also the hood expired in Dec 2023. Hood must be cleaned right away.
• ⚠️Temperature Measuring Devices-Functionality (C) • PIC will need to provide an equipment thermometer for each refrigertor in the location
  Temperature Measuring Devices-Functionality (C) • PIC will need to provide an equipment thermometer for each refrigertor in the location
• ⚠️Food Temperature Measuring Devices (Pf) • PIC will need to have a food thermometer on nhand at all time to check food temperatures.
  Food Temperature Measuring Devices (Pf) • PIC will need to have a food thermometer on nhand at all time to check food temperatures.
• ⚠️Using a Handwashing Sink-Operation and Maintenance (Pf) • Prep / warewashing area is a small area. Hand sink and three bay sink can not be blocked with meat slicer on prep table. As discussed move slicer to small prep table and use movable table as a prep table as long as it not blocking sinks.
  Using a Handwashing Sink-Operation and Maintenance (Pf) • Prep / warewashing area is a small area. Hand sink and three bay sink can not be blocked with meat slicer on prep table. As discussed move slicer to small prep table and use movable table as a prep table as long as it not blocking sinks.
• ⚠️Surface Characteristics-Indoor Areas (C) • PIC will need to address the peeling paint on the ceiling above three bay sink. Replace missing floor tiles at front counter. If back door is going to be open a sceen door will need to be installed Handle to walk in unit in the basement will not stay closed. Repair.
  Surface Characteristics-Indoor Areas (C) • PIC will need to address the peeling paint on the ceiling above three bay sink. Replace missing floor tiles at front counter. If back door is going to be open a sceen door will need to be installed Handle to walk in unit in the basement will not stay closed. Repair.
• ⚠️Floors Walls and Ceilings-Cleanability (C) • The floor under and behind cooking equipment will need to be cleaned. Heavy build up of grime.
  Floors Walls and Ceilings-Cleanability (C) • The floor under and behind cooking equipment will need to be cleaned. Heavy build up of grime.
• ⚠️Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • Hand sinks did not have paper towles. Please provide paper towels at all hand sinks. If towel holder does not work get a new one.
  Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • Hand sinks did not have paper towles. Please provide paper towels at all hand sinks. If towel holder does not work get a new one.

When was Ideal Cafe & Pizza last inspected?

Ideal Cafe & Pizza has 9 inspections on record going back to September 27, 2022.

Ideal Cafe & Pizza vs Mission Hill

Mission Hill runs 77% clean across 251 tracked restaurants — 186 clean, 24 mid, 31 cooked.

Against the 251 spots Cooked tracks in Mission Hill, this one comes out cleaner than 2% of them.

Other spots in Mission Hill

• ✓ Yellow Door Taqueria
  clean · October 24, 2025
• ✓ El Oriental De Cuba
  clean · March 28, 2023
• ✓ Mario's
  clean · December 12, 2025
• ✓ Life Alive Organic Cafe
  clean · March 3, 2026
• ✓ Tropical Market
  clean · April 9, 2026
• ✓ Roxbury Community College Cafe
  clean · December 9, 2024

See every restaurant inspection in Mission Hill →

How Boston grades restaurants

Boston reports inspections as a pass or a fail, with no score and no letter. What separates a bad fail from a trivial one is the violation severity ladder: a single star is a minor issue, two stars is more serious, and three stars marks a critical foodborne-illness risk factor — temperature abuse, bad handwashing, cross-contamination. A restaurant can fail on paperwork alone, which is not the same as failing on food safety. Cooked splits Boston fails accordingly: a fail with a three-star violation reads cooked, a fail on minor items only reads mid.

Source: Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division via Analyze Boston. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated June 12, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.