Cafe El Tapatio

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedJuly 24, 2026 →
• address3400-3402 N Ashland Ave, Chicago 60657

Is Cafe El Tapatio clean?

Cafe El Tapatio is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on July 24, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Cafe El Tapatio?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 24, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean

When was Cafe El Tapatio last inspected?

Cafe El Tapatio has 16 inspections on record going back to April 14, 2016. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Cafe El Tapatio vs North Center

North Center runs 84% clean across 493 tracked restaurants — 408 clean, 73 mid, 7 cooked.

Against the 493 spots Cooked tracks in North Center, this one comes out cleaner than 22% of them.

Other spots in North Center

• ✓ Cafe El Tapatio
  clean · April 14, 2016
• ✓ Marcy's Mart
  clean · January 8, 2016
• ✓ Laugh Out Loud
  clean · December 8, 2015
• ✓ The Privatebank Pitch
  clean · December 9, 2015
• ✓ Bien Me Sabe Venezuelan Cafe & Restaurant
  clean · April 17, 2026
• ✓! Loba Pastry + Coffee
  cooked · December 23, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in North Center →

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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated July 24, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.