Boss Bar

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedDecember 9, 2025
• address418-420 N Clark St, Chicago 60654

Is Boss Bar clean?

Boss Bar is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 9, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Boss Bar?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 9, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE IN 1ST FLOOR WOMAN WASHROOM.INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BOXES OF FOOD STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BOXES OF FOOD STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE WITH NO HAIR RESTRAINT IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HAIR RESTRAINTS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE FOOD PREP AREA.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE WITH NO HAIR RESTRAINT IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HAIR RESTRAINTS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE FOOD PREP AREA.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED ICE SCOOPS STORED INSIDE OF THE ICE BINS ON ICE.INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE IN A SEPARATE CLEAN CONTAINER TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION AND MAINTAIN.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED ICE SCOOPS STORED INSIDE OF THE ICE BINS ON ICE.INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE IN A SEPARATE CLEAN CONTAINER TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION AND MAINTAIN.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED CHEST FREEZER DOOR IN BASEMENT STORAGE ROOM IN POOR REPAIR,WITH EXPOSED INSULATION.INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR/REPLACE AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED DIRTY FLOORS AT BARS WITH LITTER DEBRIS/BROKEN GLASS IN BETWEEN BAR EQUIPMENTS AND ACCUMULATION OF DUSTS ON UPPER WALLS NEAR THE PIZZA OVENS.INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN FLOORS/WALLS IN DETAIL AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES PROVIDED ON THE PREMISES.MUST SHOW PROOF OF TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLING EMPLOYEES AND MAINTAIN AS REQUIRED.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES PROVIDED ON THE PREMISES.MUST SHOW PROOF OF TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLING EMPLOYEES AND MAINTAIN AS REQUIRED.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • OBSERVED THE CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER WITHOUT THE ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. ALLERGEN TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR ALL EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE A CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SANITATION CERTIFICATE.INSTRUCTED TO COMPLETE TRAINING AND KEEP CERTIFICATE ON SITE.

When was Boss Bar last inspected?

Boss Bar has 19 inspections on record going back to December 3, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Boss Bar vs Near North Side

Near North Side runs 75% clean across 2,889 tracked restaurants — 2,147 clean, 530 mid, 203 cooked.

Against the 2,889 spots Cooked tracks in Near North Side, this one comes out cleaner than 25% of them.

Other spots in Near North Side

• ✕ Boss Bar
  cooked · December 3, 2013
• ✓ Old Chicago Grill
  clean · September 24, 2013
• ✓ Hyatt Place
  clean · May 20, 2024
• ✓ Hyatt Place
  clean · June 4, 2013
• ✓ Hyatt Place
  clean · June 4, 2013
• ✓ Fairfield Inn & Suites
  clean · December 11, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Near North Side →

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 December 9, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.