Cooked?
El Mercado Fresco
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedMay 6, 2026
- address4201 W 59Th St, Chicago 60629
- cuisineGrocery Store
Is El Mercado Fresco clean?
El Mercado Fresco is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 6, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at El Mercado Fresco?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 6, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN RESTROOM. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARGE TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN COVERED RECEPTACLE IN RESTROOM FOR FEMALE HYGIENIC PRODUCTS. • OBSERVED RESTROOM DOOR WITH NO SELF CLOSING DEVICE. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARG TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN SELF CLOSING DEVICE ON RESTROOM DOOR.Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN RESTROOM. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARGE TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN COVERED RECEPTACLE IN RESTROOM FOR FEMALE HYGIENIC PRODUCTS. • OBSERVED RESTROOM DOOR WITH NO SELF CLOSING DEVICE. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARG TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN SELF CLOSING DEVICE ON RESTROOM DOOR.
When was El Mercado Fresco last inspected?
El Mercado Fresco has 2 inspections on record going back to May 1, 2026.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2026 | Pass | |
| May 1, 2026 | — |
El Mercado Fresco vs West Elsdon
West Elsdon runs 76% clean across 399 tracked restaurants — 299 clean, 61 mid, 35 cooked.
Against the 399 spots Cooked tracks in West Elsdon, this one comes out cleaner than 27% of them.
Other spots in West Elsdon
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 May 6, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.