Cooked?
The Underground Cafe & Lounge
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedFebruary 8, 2024
- address744 Columbus Av, Mission Hill 02120
Is The Underground Cafe & Lounge clean?
The Underground Cafe & Lounge is currently Pass from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on February 8, 2024. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at The Underground Cafe & Lounge?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 8, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Sponges Use Limitation (C) • Observed sponges being used for warewashing. DiscontinueSponges Use Limitation (C) • Observed sponges being used for warewashing. Discontinue
- ⚠️Cleaning Agents and Sanitizers Availability (Pf) • Observed no sanitizer for warewashing or contact surfaces available at the time of inspection. Discussed with PIC to maintain on site at all times of operationsCleaning Agents and Sanitizers Availability (Pf) • Observed no sanitizer for warewashing or contact surfaces available at the time of inspection. Discussed with PIC to maintain on site at all times of operations
- ⚠️(A) (B) and (D) Equipment Utensils Linens and Single-Service and Single-Use Articles Storing (C) • Observed multiple utensils stored upright in containers. Discussed with PIC to ensure all utensils are properly stored inverted.(A) (B) and (D) Equipment Utensils Linens and Single-Service and Single-Use Articles Storing (C) • Observed multiple utensils stored upright in containers. Discussed with PIC to ensure all utensils are properly stored inverted.
- ⚠️Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • Observed no paper towels at hand sinks. Discussed with PIC to monitor and maintain paper towels at all hand sinks at all times.Hand Drying Provision (Pf) • Observed no paper towels at hand sinks. Discussed with PIC to monitor and maintain paper towels at all hand sinks at all times.
- ⚠️Post the current 2024 Health permit for the food establishment in a conspicuous place for the consumersPost the current 2024 Health permit for the food establishment in a conspicuous place for the consumers
When was The Underground Cafe & Lounge last inspected?
The Underground Cafe & Lounge has 14 inspections on record going back to August 25, 2021. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| October 31, 2024 | — | |
| February 8, 2024 | Pass | |
| February 1, 2024 | Fail | |
| January 3, 2024 | — | |
| October 3, 2023 | Pass | |
| September 29, 2023 | Fail | |
| February 7, 2023 | Pass | |
| January 30, 2023 | Fail | |
| January 18, 2023 | — | |
| January 18, 2023 | — | |
| June 15, 2022 | Pass | |
| February 28, 2022 | Pass |
The Underground Cafe & Lounge vs South End
South End runs 81% clean across 691 tracked restaurants — 498 clean, 63 mid, 54 cooked.
Against the 691 spots Cooked tracks in South End, this one comes out cleaner than 19% of them.
Other spots in South End
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 February 8, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.