El Mezquite Grill

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedFebruary 20, 2026 →
• address3121 W Cermak Rd, Chicago 60623

Is El Mezquite Grill clean?

El Mezquite Grill is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 20, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at El Mezquite Grill?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 20, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used

When was El Mezquite Grill last inspected?

El Mezquite Grill has 18 inspections on record going back to May 11, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Mezquite Grill vs North Lawndale

North Lawndale runs 80% clean across 249 tracked restaurants — 194 clean, 29 mid, 20 cooked.

Against the 249 spots Cooked tracks in North Lawndale, this one comes out cleaner than 26% of them.

Other spots in North Lawndale

• ✓ Sweet Tooth And More
  cooked · July 9, 2010
• ✓ 16Th & Millard Food
  cooked · November 5, 2014
• ✓ Supermercado Guerrero
  clean · August 3, 2026
• ✓ 16Th Mart
  cooked · October 9, 2014
• ✓ Chicago Southern Cooking
  cooked · January 19, 2011
• ✓ Hooks Fish & Chicken
  cooked · August 13, 2024

See every restaurant inspection in North 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.

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 February 20, 2026. 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.