El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedNovember 20, 2025
• address3038-3040 W Montrose Ave, Chicago 60618

Is El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House clean?

El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on November 20, 2025. 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 El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on November 20, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED HAND SOAP NOT PROVIDED AT THE FRONT BAR AREA HANDWASHING SINK. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE HAND SOAP AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS AND MAINTAIN AVAILABLE FOR USE IN HANDWASHING AT ALL TIMES. PERSON-IN-CHARGE PROVIDED HAND SOAP TO FRONT BAR AREA HANDWASHING SINK ON-SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-030(C) CITATION ISSUED. • OBSERVED DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS NOT PROVIDED AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS THROUGHOUT FOOD PREPARATION AREAS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS AND MAINTAIN AVAILABLE FOR USE IN HANDWASHING AT ALL TIMES. PERSON-IN-CHARGE PROVIDED HAND SOAP TO ALL HANDWASHING SINKS ON-SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-030(C) CITATION COMBINED WITH ABOVE VIOLATION.
• ⚠️Required Records Available: Shellstock Tags, Parasite Destruction • OBSERVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS NOT ATTACHED TO RESPECTIVE CONTAINERS OF SHELLSTOCK IN THE KITCHEN AREA DRAWER COOLERS OR MAIN LINE COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN ORIGINAL SHELLSTOCK TAGS ATTACHED TO THE CONTAINER IN WHICH SHELLSTOCK ARE RECEIVED UNTIL THE CONTAINER IS EMPTY. PERSON-IN-CHARGE MAINTAINED REMOVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS ON-SITE AND RE-ATTACHED REMOVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTAINERS AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.critical
  Required Records Available: Shellstock Tags, Parasite Destruction • OBSERVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS NOT ATTACHED TO RESPECTIVE CONTAINERS OF SHELLSTOCK IN THE KITCHEN AREA DRAWER COOLERS OR MAIN LINE COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN ORIGINAL SHELLSTOCK TAGS ATTACHED TO THE CONTAINER IN WHICH SHELLSTOCK ARE RECEIVED UNTIL THE CONTAINER IS EMPTY. PERSON-IN-CHARGE MAINTAINED REMOVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS ON-SITE AND RE-ATTACHED REMOVED SHELLSTOCK TAGS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTAINERS AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED BULK DRY FOOD CONTAINERS THROUGHOUT THE REAR KITCHEN AREA NOT LABELED WITH THE COMMON NAME OF THE FOOD STORED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE LABELS FOR ALL BULK DRY FOOD CONTAINERS WITH THE COMMON NAME OF THE FOOD STORED AND MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED REAR AREA WITH HEAVY CLUTTER OF MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND CLEANING EQUIPMENT (NEAR UTILITY SINK). INSTRUCTED TO REDUCE CLUTTER AND REMOVE ITEMS UNNECESSARY TO FOOD OPERATIONS FROM PREMISES TO FACILITATE ADEQUATE CLEANING AND PEST MONITORING AND MAINTAIN.

When was El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House last inspected?

El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House has 33 inspections on record going back to May 4, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House vs Irving Park

Irving Park runs 64% clean across 804 tracked restaurants — 516 clean, 141 mid, 146 cooked.

Against the 804 spots Cooked tracks in Irving Park, this one comes out cleaner than 19% of them.

Other spots in Irving Park

• ✓ El Chile Restaurant & Pancake House
  clean · June 12, 2012
• ✓ Hock Shop
  clean · March 23, 2011
• ? Giuseppe's Baking Co
  cooked · September 26, 2013
• ? Laroma Pizza
  cooked · June 22, 2012
• ✓ Ruby's Fast Food
  clean · August 14, 2017
• ? Chicago Meat Market Inc
  cooked · December 19, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Irving 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 November 20, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.