Great Sea Restaurant

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJune 26, 2025
• address3253 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago 60625

Is Great Sea Restaurant clean?

Great Sea Restaurant is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 26, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Great Sea Restaurant?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 26, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • NOTED A FOOD HANDLER WITH A LARGE BEARD. MUST PROVIDE BEARD GUARDS FOR FOOD HANDLERS WITH BEARDS.
  Personal Cleanliness • NOTED A FOOD HANDLER WITH A LARGE BEARD. MUST PROVIDE BEARD GUARDS FOR FOOD HANDLERS WITH BEARDS.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • ALL PREP AREA WIPING CLOTHS MUST BE HELD IN A CONTAINER WITH A SANITIZING SOLUTION.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • REAR EXIT DOOR WITH A 1 INCH OPENING AROUND THE DOOR HANDLE. MUST PROVIDE A TIGHT FITTING SEAL ON DOOR AND SEAL ALL OPENINGS.
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • NOTED THE DISH WASHING/PREP HAND WASHING SINK NOT ACCESSIBLE FOR USE. SINK BLOCKED BY PREP TABLE. MANAGER REMOVED THE TABLE. REVIEWED HAND WASHING SINKS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE FOR USE AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-0303(C) CITATION ISSUED. • NO PAPER TOWELS LOCATED AT THE DISHWASHING/PREP HAND WASHING SINK. MUST PROVIDE AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-030(C) SEE THE ABOVE VIOLATION #10 FOR CITATION.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • NOTED THE CHLORINE CHEMICAL DISHWASHING MACHINE NOT DISPENSING SANITIZER WHILE DISHES BEING WASHED. 0 PPM CHLORINE AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. MACHINE TAGGED HELD FOR INSPECTION AND MUST NOT USE UNTIL REPAIRED, PROPERLY DISPENSES CHLORINE SANITIZER AND C.D.P.H CONTACTED FOR RE-INSPECTION AND TAG REMOVAL. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-025 CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • MUST PROVIDE A AN ICE SCOOP WITH A HANDLE AT THE FRONT PREP ICE BIN.----NOTED IN-USE RICE SCOOP BEING STORED IN A CONTAINER OF WATER AT A TEMPERATURE OF 90.6F. IF STORED IN HOT WATER, MUST MAINTAIN A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 135F OR STORE ON/IN A CLEAN SURFACE/CONTAINER AND WASH, RINSE, SANITIZE AS NEED OR EVERY 4 HOURS.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • MUST PROVIDE A AN ICE SCOOP WITH A HANDLE AT THE FRONT PREP ICE BIN.----NOTED IN-USE RICE SCOOP BEING STORED IN A CONTAINER OF WATER AT A TEMPERATURE OF 90.6F. IF STORED IN HOT WATER, MUST MAINTAIN A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 135F OR STORE ON/IN A CLEAN SURFACE/CONTAINER AND WASH, RINSE, SANITIZE AS NEED OR EVERY 4 HOURS.
• ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • CLEAN STORED MIXING BOWLS MUST BE STORED INVERTED.
  Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • CLEAN STORED MIXING BOWLS MUST BE STORED INVERTED.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY IN ALL AREAS MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY IN ALL AREAS MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE DUCT TAPE AS A MEANS OF REPAIR FOR TOP METAL PORTION OF THE ICE BIN IN THE FRONT PREP.----MUST NOT USE RAW WOOD AND STRING AS A MEANS OF REPAIR INSIDE THE KITCHEN COOLER.----MUST NOT USE GROCERY BAGS AS FOOD CONTAINERS INSIDE BOX FREEZERS. MUST USE FOOD GRADE DISPOSABLE BAGS OR WASHABLE CONTAINERS.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • ALL RAW WOODEN TABLES, EQUIPMENT STANDS, SHELVING AT HAND WASHING SINKS MUST BE PAINTED, SEAL AND NON-ABSORBENT.----MUST NOT USE CARDBOARD AS LINER FOR SHELVING OR VENT COVERS THROUGHOUT.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • LEAK ON THE NOZZLE OF THE FRONT PREP THREE COMPARTMENT SINK AND THE BASEMENT 2 COMPARTMENT SINK. MUST REPAIR ALL.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • MUST NOT STORE SOILED MOP HEADS AT THE ICE MACHINE OR ON THE REAR PATIO. MUST STORE INVERTED AT THE UTILITY SERVICE SINK. • NOTED WATER DAMAGED CEILING TILES IN THE MENS WASHROOM. MUST REPLACE.----MUST NOT USE CARDBOARD AS MATTING FOR FLOORS OR GUARDS ON WALLS THROUGHOUT.----NOTED POOLING LIQUID ON FLOORS IN SEVERAL AREAS THROUGHOUT THE BASEMENT. MUST REMOVE POOLING LIQUID AND MAINTAIN DRY FLOORS. • ALL UNNECESSARY UNUSED ITEMS NOTED PILED IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE BASEMENT MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE PREMISES TO PREVENT PEST HARBORING AND ALL OTHER NEED ITEMS STORED ELEVATED, ORGANIZED AND ACCESSIBLE.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.

When was Great Sea Restaurant last inspected?

Great Sea Restaurant has 10 inspections on record going back to March 18, 2019.

Great Sea Restaurant 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 30% of them.

Other spots in Albany Park

• ✓! Food Stop
  mid · November 21, 2019
• ✓! Yemen Restaurant
  mid · July 26, 2022
• ✓! Kabab 2
  mid · March 26, 2019
• ✓ Lawrence Gas & Super Mini Mart/Michoacana
  clean · August 30, 2023
• ✓ Senor Pan Cafe
  clean · August 24, 2023
• ✓ Sarpino's Pizza
  clean · December 8, 2023

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 June 26, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.