El Ranchito

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedOctober 8, 2025
• address4651 N Clark St, Chicago 60640

Is El Ranchito clean?

El Ranchito is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on October 8, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at El Ranchito?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 8, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED CUTTING BOARDS WITH DEEP SCRATHES AND STAINS IN THE REAR PREP AREA ON THE OTHER SIDE OF STEAM TABLE. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE OR RESURFACE CUTTING BOARDS AND MAINTAIN.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED LOW WATER PRESSURE FOR THE HOT WATER IN THE WOMENS CUSTOMER RESTROOM. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • MUST CLEAN DEBRIS AND POOLS OF WATER FROM FLOORS UNDERNEATH COOKING AND COOLING EQUIPMENT IN THE REAR PREP AREA AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Previous Core Violation Corrected • OBSERVED PREVIOUS CORE VIOLATION NOT CORRECTED FROM REPORT #2619273 DATED 6/17/2025; VIOLATION #58 (2-102.13) "OBSERVED EXPIRED ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS ON SITE. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE UP TO DATE ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR ALL CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS." INSTRUCTED TO RENEW ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CITY OF CHICAGO MANAGERS AND KEEP CERTIFICATES ON SITE FOR REVIEW. PRIORTIY FOUNDATION VIOLATION, 7-42-090. CITATION ISSUED.
  Previous Core Violation Corrected • OBSERVED PREVIOUS CORE VIOLATION NOT CORRECTED FROM REPORT #2619273 DATED 6/17/2025; VIOLATION #58 (2-102.13) "OBSERVED EXPIRED ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS ON SITE. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE UP TO DATE ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR ALL CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS." INSTRUCTED TO RENEW ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CITY OF CHICAGO MANAGERS AND KEEP CERTIFICATES ON SITE FOR REVIEW. PRIORTIY FOUNDATION VIOLATION, 7-42-090. CITATION ISSUED.

When was El Ranchito last inspected?

El Ranchito has 20 inspections on record going back to January 12, 2016. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Ranchito vs Uptown

Uptown runs 62% clean across 725 tracked restaurants — 446 clean, 137 mid, 137 cooked.

Against the 725 spots Cooked tracks in Uptown, this one comes out cleaner than 33% of them.

Other spots in Uptown

• ✓! Crazy Crab
  mid · March 31, 2016
• ✓ Crazy Crab
  clean · March 31, 2016
• ✓ El Maya
  clean · December 1, 2016
• ✓ Marina Bistro
  clean · January 13, 2016
• ✓ Tesfa Ethiopian Cusine
  clean · May 2, 2017
• ✓ Castleman Apt
  clean · June 18, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Uptown →

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 October 8, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.