El Pollo Real

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedFebruary 19, 2026 →
• address3835 W 31St St, Chicago 60623

Is El Pollo Real clean?

El Pollo Real is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 19, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at El Pollo Real?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 19, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices

When was El Pollo Real last inspected?

El Pollo Real has 17 inspections on record going back to February 6, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Pollo Real vs South Lawndale

South Lawndale runs 77% clean across 287 tracked restaurants — 220 clean, 40 mid, 24 cooked.

Against the 287 spots Cooked tracks in South Lawndale, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.

Other spots in South Lawndale

• ✓ Aldi #30
  clean · March 5, 2013
• ✓ El Dulce Sabor
  cooked · April 24, 2013
• ✓ Pollo Feliz
  clean · April 16, 2026
• ✓ Jalisco Restaurant
  cooked · April 8, 2013
• ✓ La Trinidad
  cooked · October 10, 2014
• ✓ Franks Food & Liquor
  clean · June 4, 2013

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.

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 19, 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.