Ema

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJune 30, 2026
• address74 W Illinois St, Chicago 60654

Is Ema clean?

Ema is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 30, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Ema?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 30, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVE NO SOAP AT EXPOSED HANDWASHING SINK LOCATED NEAR COOK LINE. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN SOAP AT HANDWASHING SINKS AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-030(C). CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • OBSERVED HIGH TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINE IN REAR DISH AREA MAINTAINING AN IMPROPER MAXIMUM FINAL RINSE TEMPERATURE OF 130F. MACHINE TAGGED AND HELD FOR INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE AND MAINTAIN MACHINE SO THAT IT IS CAPABLE OF DELIVERING A FINAL RINSE BETWEEN 180-192F. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-025. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • OBSERVED THE FOLLOWING TCS ITEMS IN WALK-IN COOLER AND 2 PREP COOLERS ON COOK LINE AT THE STATED IMPROPER TEMPERATURES: SHRIMP AT 48.6F, TZATZIKI SAUCE AT 50.1F, BEEF AT TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 48.9-56.8F, SALMON AT 50.4F, AND SHORT RIB AT 50.1F. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT TO DISCARD APPROXIMATELY 100LBS OF PRODUCT VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $1,000. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN ALL TCS ITEMS AT OR BELOW 41F. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • OBSERVED 3 COOLERS, 1 WALK-IN COOLER AND 2 PREP COOLERS ON COOK LINE, ALL CONTAINING TCS ITEMS SUCH AS BEEF AND SALMON, MAINTAINING THE FOLLOWING IMRPOPER AMBIENT TEMPERATURES: WALK-IN COOLER AT 52.1F, PREP COOLER AT 60.1F, AND PREP COOLER AT 56.1F. ALL 3 COOLERS TAGGED AND HELD FOR INSPECTION. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • OBSERVED NO IRREVERSIBLE THERMOMETER ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
  Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • OBSERVED NO IRREVERSIBLE THERMOMETER ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED BUILD UP OF BLACK SLIME IN INTERIOR OF ICE MACHINE USED TO PROIVDE ICE FOR COOLING. INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN IN GOOD CONDITION.

When was Ema last inspected?

Ema has 12 inspections on record going back to June 14, 2016.

Ema vs Near North Side

Near North Side runs 53% clean across 2,889 tracked restaurants — 1,514 clean, 253 mid, 1,113 cooked.

Against the 2,889 spots Cooked tracks in Near North Side, this one comes out cleaner than 38% of them.

Other spots in Near North Side

• ✓ Ema
  clean · June 14, 2016
• ✓ Ema
  clean · June 14, 2016
• ✓ Bar Louie
  cooked · January 14, 2010
• ✓ Sbarro
  cooked · January 8, 2020
• ✓ Gateway Newstand
  cooked · April 20, 2016
• ✓! Noyane
  cooked · October 29, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in Near North Side →

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 June 30, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.