Cooked?
Au Bon Pain
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedApril 14, 2025
- address5215 N California Ave, Chicago 60625
Is Au Bon Pain clean?
Au Bon Pain is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on April 14, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at Au Bon Pain?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 14, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeFood & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED STAINED CUTTING BOARDS IN THE FRONT AND REAR FOOD PREP AREAS. INSTRUCTED TO RESURFACE OR REPLACE THE CUTTING BOARDS AND MAINTAIN.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN THE BUILD-UP INSIDE OF THE ICE DISPENSER AND KNOZZLES AND DRIP TRAY AT THE FOUNTAIN DRINK STATION.
- 🚻bathroom / plumbing issuesPlumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED SLOW DRAINING HANDWASHING SINK LOCATED AT THE REAR PREP/DISHWASHING AREA.INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR PLUMBING ISSUE AND MAINTAIN.
- ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN INTERIOR OF EXHAUST HOOD SYSTEM ABOVE THE LARGE OVENS TO REMOVE ACCUMULATION OF DUSTS AND MAINTAIN.Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN INTERIOR OF EXHAUST HOOD SYSTEM ABOVE THE LARGE OVENS TO REMOVE ACCUMULATION OF DUSTS AND MAINTAIN.
When was Au Bon Pain last inspected?
Au Bon Pain has 20 inspections on record going back to November 2, 2012. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2025 | closed by the city | |
| April 14, 2025 | Pass | |
| April 22, 2024 | Pass | |
| February 8, 2023 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| April 15, 2022 | Pass | |
| January 29, 2021 | Pass | |
| January 27, 2021 | Fail | |
| August 28, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| September 21, 2017 | Pass | |
| July 20, 2017 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| July 12, 2017 | Fail | |
| June 14, 2016 | Pass |
Au Bon Pain vs Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square runs 59% clean across 922 tracked restaurants — 536 clean, 152 mid, 228 cooked.
Against the 922 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Square, this one comes out cleaner than 44% of them.
Other spots in Lincoln Square
How Chicago grades restaurants
Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.
Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated April 14, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.