Cooked?
Dulce De Leche Cafe
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations1
- last inspectedJanuary 21, 2026
- address3441 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago 60625
Is Dulce De Leche Cafe clean?
Dulce De Leche Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on January 21, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at Dulce De Leche Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on January 21, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🤒staff working while sickcriticalProcedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • NO VOMIT/DIARRHEA CLEANUP KIT OR WRITTEN PROCEDURES ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT TO PROVIDE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION, 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeFood & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED TORN GASKET ON THE INSIDE OF THREE DOOR REACH-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
- ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED MISSING LIGHT SHIELD FOR LIGHT FIXTURE IN THE DISHWASHING PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE LIGHT SHIELD.Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED MISSING LIGHT SHIELD FOR LIGHT FIXTURE IN THE DISHWASHING PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE LIGHT SHIELD.
When was Dulce De Leche Cafe last inspected?
Dulce De Leche Cafe has 11 inspections on record going back to March 10, 2020.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| January 21, 2026 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| February 21, 2025 | Pass | |
| February 5, 2025 | Fail | |
| February 7, 2024 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| January 25, 2023 | Pass | |
| January 18, 2023 | Fail | |
| February 14, 2022 | Pass | |
| February 9, 2022 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| March 11, 2021 | Pass | |
| April 8, 2020 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| March 10, 2020 | Fail |
Dulce De Leche Cafe vs Albany Park
Albany Park runs 58% clean across 828 tracked restaurants — 478 clean, 149 mid, 198 cooked.
Against the 828 spots Cooked tracks in Albany Park, this one comes out cleaner than 30% of them.
Other spots in Albany Park
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 January 21, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.