El Faro Restaurant

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations3
• last inspectedMarch 25, 2026
• address3936 W 31St St, Chicago 60623

Is El Faro Restaurant clean?

El Faro Restaurant is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 25, 2026. 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 El Faro Restaurant?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 25, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INOPERABLE VENTILATION IN STAFF WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE OPERABLE VENTILATION IN WASHROOMS.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INOPERABLE VENTILATION IN STAFF WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE OPERABLE VENTILATION IN WASHROOMS.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • OBSERVED NO ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CERTIFIED MANAGER. ALL CERTIFIED MANAGERS MUST PROVIDE ALLERGEN TRAINING.
• 📋no certified food manager on dutycritical
  Person In Charge Present, Demonstrates Knowledge, And Performs Duties • OBSERVED NO PERSON IN CHARGE WITH VALID CHICAGO FOOD SANITATION CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO DESIGNATE PERSON IN CHARGE DURING ALL HOURS OF OPERATION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO CHICAGO FOOD SANITATION MANAGER ON SITE WHEN TCS FOOD PREPARED AND SERVED. A CHICAGO FOOD SANITATION MANAGER MUST BE ON SITE AND VALID CERTIFICATE POSTED AT ALL TIMES TCS FOOD PREPARED AND SERVED. PRIORITY FOUNDATIO 7-38-012 CITATION ISSUED
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGN AT HANDWASHING SINK IN BEVERAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HANDWASHING SIGN AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS USED BY EMPLOYEES.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON FLOOR INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER AND BULK CONTAINERS NOT COVERED IN PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AND COVER ALL BULK CONTAINERS TO PROTECT FROM CONTAMINATION.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON FLOOR INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER AND BULK CONTAINERS NOT COVERED IN PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AND COVER ALL BULK CONTAINERS TO PROTECT FROM CONTAMINATION.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINTS. ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR RESTRAINTS.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINTS. ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR RESTRAINTS.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED SINGLE SERVICE ARTICLES STORED ON FLOOR IN STORAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL SINGLE SERVICE ARTICLES OFF FLOOR.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED SINGLE SERVICE ARTICLES STORED ON FLOOR IN STORAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL SINGLE SERVICE ARTICLES OFF FLOOR.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN WOMEN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE COVERED RECEPACLE IN ALL WOMEN AND UNISEX WASHROOMS.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN WOMEN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE COVERED RECEPACLE IN ALL WOMEN AND UNISEX WASHROOMS.

When was El Faro Restaurant last inspected?

El Faro Restaurant has 25 inspections on record going back to June 29, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Faro Restaurant vs South Lawndale

South Lawndale runs 64% clean across 668 tracked restaurants — 427 clean, 92 mid, 146 cooked.

Against the 668 spots Cooked tracks in South Lawndale, this one comes out cleaner than 22% of them.

Other spots in South Lawndale

• ✓ Armando's Finder Foods Inc
  clean · March 4, 2010
• ? Carrillos Store
  cooked · November 17, 2010
• ? Cokey's Little Store
  cooked · December 11, 2014
• ✕ Jalisco Restaurant
  cooked · May 18, 2010
• ✓! Villa Del Mar Seafood
  mid · April 21, 2011
• ✓ Carniceria Aguacalientes
  clean · July 6, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in South Lawndale →

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 March 25, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.