Hoots

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMarch 23, 2026
• address1238 S Canal St, Chicago 60607

Is Hoots clean?

Hoots is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 23, 2026. 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 Hoots?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 23, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS NOT PROVIDED AT THE FRONT PREPARATION AREA HANDWASHING SINK. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS AND MAINTAIN AVAILABLE FOR USE IN HANDWASHING AT ALL TIMES. PERSON-IN-CHARGE PROVIDED DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS TO FRONT PREPARATION AREA HANDWASHING SINK ON-SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-030(C) CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • OBSERVED LOW-TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINE IN THE WAREWASHING AREA IN POOR REPAIR, NOT PROVIDING SANITIZER DURING FINAL RINSE. FACILITY STAFF AWARE OF ISSUE PRIOR TO INSPECTOR ARRIVAL AND PLACED SIGNAGE ON MACHINE INSTRUCTING STAFF NOT TO USE UNTIL REPAIRED AND ABLE TO PROVIDE CHLORINE SANITIZER FINAL RINSE CONCENTRATION BETWEEN 50 PPM AND 200 PPM. TAGGED LOW-TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINE WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTACT CDPH FOR RE-INSPECTION ONCE MACHINE IS REPAIRED OR REPLACED AND PRIOR TO USE. PRIORITY VIOLATION. 7-38-025 NO CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • OBSERVED TCS FOOD ITEM (BUTTERMILK BATTER) IN BULK STORAGE CONTAINER STORED TIGHTLY-COVERED BY FOOD CONTAINER LID WHILE COOLING IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO COOL TCS FOOD ITEMS USING APPROVED COOLING METHODS SUCH AS LEAVING FOOD ITEMS LOOSELY-COVERED/UNCOVERED (IF PROTECTED FROM OVERHEAD CONTAMINATION) WHILE COOLING AND MAINTAIN.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • FRYER LEAKING CAUSING GREASE/OIL ON FLOOR. INSTD TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • 3-COMPARTMENT SINK FAUCET LEAKING, WRAPPED WITH TAPE. INSTD TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • CRACKED AND MISSING FLOOR TILES UNDERNEATH FRYERS AND NEXT TO UTILITY SINK. INSTD TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN FLOOR TILES.

When was Hoots last inspected?

Hoots has 13 inspections on record going back to February 19, 2020. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Hoots vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 50% clean across 2,033 tracked restaurants — 1,019 clean, 227 mid, 774 cooked.

Against the 2,033 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 40% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

• ✓! Convene
  cooked · October 11, 2022
• ✓! Harolds Chicken Shacks
  cooked · March 5, 2020
• ✓ P.F. Chang's To Go, Llc
  cooked · May 11, 2022
• ✓! The Bunker
  mid · July 3, 2025
• ✓ The Bunker
  clean · June 30, 2020
• ✓ The Bunker
  clean · June 30, 2020

See every restaurant inspection in Near West 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 March 23, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.