Cafe

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedJuly 26, 2024 →
• address1559 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago 60605

Is Cafe clean?

Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on July 26, 2024. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 26, 2024, 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
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate
• 🌡️thermometers missing
  Thermometers Provided & Accurate
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness
• 🛠️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
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required

When was Cafe last inspected?

Cafe has 10 inspections on record going back to May 16, 2013.

Cafe vs Near South Side

Near South Side runs 80% clean across 297 tracked restaurants — 235 clean, 51 mid, 6 cooked.

Against the 297 spots Cooked tracks in Near South Side, this one comes out cleaner than 3% of them.

Other spots in Near South Side

• ✓ Cafe
  clean · May 16, 2013
• ✓ Eurest Dining Services @ L'oreal
  cooked · April 29, 2013
• ✓! Asian Outpost Hawaiian Hideout
  mid · April 29, 2026
• ✓ Asian Outpost
  clean · November 12, 2013
• ✓ Kai Sushi
  clean · April 2, 2026
• ✓ Jamaica Jerk Villa Tavern
  clean · May 19, 2014

See every restaurant inspection in Near South 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.

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 26, 2024. 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.