Cooked?
Explorer Cafe
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedJuly 29, 2021
- address1400 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago 60605
Is Explorer Cafe clean?
Explorer Cafe is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on July 29, 2021. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.
What did inspectors find at Explorer Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 29, 2021, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • 6-501.12 OBSERVED ACCUMULATED DUST DEBRIS ON THE CEILINGS LOCATED IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN.
When was Explorer Cafe last inspected?
Explorer Cafe has 14 inspections on record going back to September 17, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| June 7, 2022 | closed by the city | |
| July 29, 2021 | Pass | |
| June 6, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 30, 2019 | Fail | |
| February 1, 2018 | Pass | |
| December 1, 2017 | Pass | |
| November 24, 2017 | Fail | |
| March 31, 2017 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| November 1, 2016 | Pass | |
| April 12, 2016 | Pass | |
| July 27, 2015 | Pass | |
| July 16, 2015 | Fail |
Explorer Cafe vs Near South Side
Near South Side runs 50% clean across 470 tracked restaurants — 232 clean, 49 mid, 185 cooked.
Against the 470 spots Cooked tracks in Near South Side, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.
Other spots in Near South 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 July 29, 2021. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.