Galapagos Cafe

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedAugust 13, 2025
• address3800 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago 60625

Is Galapagos Cafe clean?

Galapagos Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on August 13, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Galapagos Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 13, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Proper Cooling Time And Temperature • OBSERVED THE FOLLOWING COOKED TCS FOODS BEING IMPROPERLY COOLED INSIDE THE WALK-IN COOLER. EIGHT 5LB BAGS OF COOKED RICE PILED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AT AN IMPROPER TEMPERATURE OF 49.2F. ALSO NOTED COOKED CHICKEN IN BROTH IN A DEEP, LARGE COVERED POT AT 46.5F AND A LARGE, DEEP COVERED POT OF CHICKEN BROTH AT 75.2F. DATE LABELS INDICATED FOODS WERE PREPARED TODAY. REVIEWED PROPER COOLING METHODS FOR TCS FOODS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REMOVE RICE AND QUICK CHILL IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. ICE BATHS WERE MADE FOR THE CHICKEN CONTAINERS. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005. SEE VIOLATION #21 FOR CITATION.
  Proper Cooling Time And Temperature • OBSERVED THE FOLLOWING COOKED TCS FOODS BEING IMPROPERLY COOLED INSIDE THE WALK-IN COOLER. EIGHT 5LB BAGS OF COOKED RICE PILED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AT AN IMPROPER TEMPERATURE OF 49.2F. ALSO NOTED COOKED CHICKEN IN BROTH IN A DEEP, LARGE COVERED POT AT 46.5F AND A LARGE, DEEP COVERED POT OF CHICKEN BROTH AT 75.2F. DATE LABELS INDICATED FOODS WERE PREPARED TODAY. REVIEWED PROPER COOLING METHODS FOR TCS FOODS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REMOVE RICE AND QUICK CHILL IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. ICE BATHS WERE MADE FOR THE CHICKEN CONTAINERS. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005. SEE VIOLATION #21 FOR CITATION.
• 🌡️hot/cold holding temps off
  Proper Hot Holding Temperatures • NOTED APPROXIMATELY 5 LBS COOKED CHICKEN IN SAUCE ON THE UNLIT STOVE TOP BEING HELD AT IMPROPER HOT HOLDING TEMPERATURE OF 96.6F. MANAGER STATED THE FOOD WAS MAS IN THE MORNING. ALL DISCARDED. REVIEWED REQUIRED TEMPERATURES FOR HOT HOLDING TCS FOODS. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE PLASTIC CRATES AS A MEANS OF ELEVATION FOR STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • MUST NOT USE PLASTIC WRAP AS GUARD/COVERING FOR BOTH MICROWAVE OVENS.----MUST NOT USE CARDBOARD AS LINER FOR SHELVING THROUGHOUT THE REAR KITCHEN. ALL MUST BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • WATER DAMAGED CEILING TILES THROUGHOUT THE DINING ROOM AND AT THE FRONT PREP AREA. MUST REPLACE.----RAW WOOD AS REPAIR ON THE FLOOR THRESHOLD FROM THE COOKS LINE TO THE WALK-IN COOLER AND FREEZER. MUST PAINT/SEAL TO BE NON-ABSORBENT.

When was Galapagos Cafe last inspected?

Galapagos Cafe has 22 inspections on record going back to July 14, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Galapagos Cafe vs Albany Park

Albany Park runs 58% clean across 828 tracked restaurants — 478 clean, 149 mid, 198 cooked.

Against the 828 spots Cooked tracks in Albany Park, this one comes out cleaner than 38% of them.

Other spots in Albany Park

• ✓! Restaurant El Mogote
  mid · December 9, 2019
• ✓ Tony's Mi Tortilla
  clean · October 4, 2010
• ✓! Coffee Berry
  mid · May 18, 2012
• ✓ Sarpino's Pizzeria
  clean · April 30, 2019
• ✓ George's Grill Kabab
  clean · January 14, 2014
• ✓ Brothers Coffee Shop
  clean · November 21, 2013

See every restaurant inspection in Albany Park →

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 August 13, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.