Is/Was Brewing

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations3
• last inspectedJune 4, 2024 →
• address5121 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago 60640
• cuisineLiquor

Is Is/Was Brewing clean?

Is/Was Brewing is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 4, 2024. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Is/Was Brewing?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 4, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcritical
  Management, Food Employee And Conditional Employee; Knowledge, Responsibilities And Reporting
• 🤒staff working while sickcritical
  Procedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean

When was Is/Was Brewing last inspected?

Is/Was Brewing has 1 inspection on record going back to June 4, 2024.

Is/Was Brewing vs Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square runs 79% clean across 379 tracked restaurants — 296 clean, 72 mid, 6 cooked.

Against the 379 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Square, this one comes out cleaner than 2% of them.

Other spots in Lincoln Square

• ✓! Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club
  mid · August 7, 2026
• ✓ Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club
  clean · June 13, 2024
• ✓ Mariano's
  cooked · October 6, 2025
• ✓! Mariano's
  mid · September 5, 2024
• ✓! Kin Dee Thai
  cooked · June 14, 2024
• ✓ Sen Thai & Ramen
  clean · February 23, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Lincoln Square →

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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated June 4, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.