Bird's Nest

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedSeptember 10, 2025
• address2500 N Southport Ave, Chicago 60614

Is Bird's Nest clean?

Bird's Nest is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 10, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Bird's Nest?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 10, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • 3-302.12--NOTED BULK FOOD ITEMS STORED INSIDE CONTAINERS AT THE KITCHEN PREP AND BASEMENT FOOD DRY STORAGE NOT PROPERLY LABELED. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT THAT ALL BULK AND WORKING FOOD INGREDIENT CONTAINERS MUST BE LABELED WITH CONTENTS NAME.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • 3-305.11--FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON FLOOR IN PREP, STORAGE AND WALK-IN COOLER. MUST PROVIDE PROPER, RAISED SHELVING TO STORE FOOD CONTAINERS 6" OFF FLOOR. • 3-307.11--NOTED INDIVIDUAL TO-GO DISPOSABLE CONTAINERS AND BOWLS WITH NO HANDLE USED FOR SCOOPING SERVING FOOD AT THE SERVICE PREP COOLERS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE TONGS, SERVING SPOONS, OR LADLE FOR SCOOPING FOOD.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • 3-305.11--FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON FLOOR IN PREP, STORAGE AND WALK-IN COOLER. MUST PROVIDE PROPER, RAISED SHELVING TO STORE FOOD CONTAINERS 6" OFF FLOOR. • 3-307.11--NOTED INDIVIDUAL TO-GO DISPOSABLE CONTAINERS AND BOWLS WITH NO HANDLE USED FOR SCOOPING SERVING FOOD AT THE SERVICE PREP COOLERS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE TONGS, SERVING SPOONS, OR LADLE FOR SCOOPING FOOD.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • 4-901.12--NOTED DIRTY WIPING CLOTHS ON PREP TABLES AT THE KITCHEN PREP AREA. NOT PROPERLY STORED. INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE ALL WASHCLOTHS IN A SANITIZING SOLUTION ESPECIALLY WHEN NOT IN USE.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • 4-201.11--NOTED TORN RUBBER GASKET AT THE 3 DOOR REFRIGERATION UNIT AT THE KITCHEN PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN AND/OR REPLACE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • 6-501.12--NOTED THE FOLLOWING:- --CARDBOARD USED TO LINE FLOOR AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE KITCHEN. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE AND CLEAN FLOOR --NOTED HOLE ON FLOOR OF THE BEAR/FOOD WALK IN COOLER AT THE BASEMENT FOOD/DRY STORAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN. --NOTED GREASE AND DIRT OF FLOOR UNSERNEATH COOKING EQUIPMENT AT THE KITCHEN FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • 6-501.14--NOTED HEAVY DIRT AND GREASE ACCUMULATION INSIDE, ON PIPES/CONDUITS AND ON EDGES OF THE EXHAUST HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE COOKING EQUIPMENT. INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN HOOD, FILTERS AND PIPES/CONDUITS.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • 6-501.14--NOTED HEAVY DIRT AND GREASE ACCUMULATION INSIDE, ON PIPES/CONDUITS AND ON EDGES OF THE EXHAUST HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE COOKING EQUIPMENT. INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN HOOD, FILTERS AND PIPES/CONDUITS.

When was Bird's Nest last inspected?

Bird's Nest has 21 inspections on record going back to March 8, 2011. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Bird's Nest vs Lake View

Lake View runs 68% clean across 2,211 tracked restaurants — 1,492 clean, 440 mid, 272 cooked.

Against the 2,211 spots Cooked tracks in Lake View, this one comes out cleaner than 36% of them.

Other spots in Lake View

• ? Chipmunks
  cooked · September 27, 2010
• ✓ Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
  clean · September 9, 2025
• ✓ New Modern Grill
  clean · July 15, 2025
• ✓ Matilda/Baby Atlas
  clean · August 8, 2024
• ✓ Salt & Pepper Diner
  clean · December 4, 2015
• ? Bamee Noodle Shop
  cooked · December 18, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Lake View →

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 September 10, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.