Cafe Utjeha

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations3
• last inspectedNovember 26, 2025
• address5350 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60625

Is Cafe Utjeha clean?

Cafe Utjeha is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on November 26, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Cafe Utjeha?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on November 26, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋no certified food manager on dutycritical
  Person In Charge Present, Demonstrates Knowledge, And Performs Duties • THE PERSON IN CHARGE DOES NOT HAVE A VALID CITY OF CHICAGO SANITATION CERTIFICATE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION.
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • NO VALID CITY OF CHICAGO SANITATION CERTIFICATE POSTED ON THE PREMISES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-012 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧼hand hygiene slippingcritical
  Proper Eating, Tasting, Drinking, Or Tobacco Use • NOTED EMPLOYEE EATING AND DRINKING IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. MUST NOT EAT IN THE FOOD PREP AREA AND ALL BEVERAGES MUST BE IN A COVERED CONTAINER.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • SOME AREAS IN THE THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE IN NEED OF CLEANING.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • MUST NOT STORE ANY UTENSILS, WATER PITCHERS, EQUIPMENT NEXT TO OR SURROUNDING THE PREP HAND WASHING SINK.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • MUST NOT STORE ANY UTENSILS, WATER PITCHERS, EQUIPMENT NEXT TO OR SURROUNDING THE PREP HAND WASHING SINK.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • TOP WOODEN PORTION OF THE WOOD COUNTER/PREP SURFACE IN PREP AREA IN POOR REPAIR WITH CHIPPING DAMAGED WOOD. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE TO BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE. • MUST PROVIDE A LID FOR THE ICE BIN IN THE FOOD PREP AREA.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • NOTED PEELING PLASTIC ON THE TOP PORTION OF THE ICE MACHINE. MUST REMOVE TO BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • NO BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE LOCATED ON THE UTILITY SERVICE SINK WITH A HOSE ATTACHED. MUST PROVIDE A VISIBLE BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE TO BE SERVICED AND MAINTAINED.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.
• ⚠️Compliance With Clean Indoor Air Ordinance • NOTED FIVE, DIRTY WITH ASH, ASHTRAYS IN THE REAR ENCLOSED DINING ROOM OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. INSTRUCTED OWNER THERE IS NO SMOKING ALLOWED INSIDE RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS. CITATION ISSUED 7-32-020 (C)
  Compliance With Clean Indoor Air Ordinance • NOTED FIVE, DIRTY WITH ASH, ASHTRAYS IN THE REAR ENCLOSED DINING ROOM OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. INSTRUCTED OWNER THERE IS NO SMOKING ALLOWED INSIDE RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS. CITATION ISSUED 7-32-020 (C)

When was Cafe Utjeha last inspected?

Cafe Utjeha has 12 inspections on record going back to February 16, 2011.

Cafe Utjeha 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 25% of them.

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• ? Porto Piazza
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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 November 26, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.