Cooked?
La Cocina
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations2
- last inspectedNovember 13, 2025
- address209 W Lake St, Chicago 60606
Is La Cocina clean?
La Cocina is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on November 13, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at La Cocina?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on November 13, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🤒staff working while sickcriticalProcedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • FOUND NO VOMIT AND DIARRHEAL SPILL KIT WITH SANITIZER.PRIORITY FOUNDATION.CITATION ISSUED.7-38-005.MUST PROVIDE.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • FOUND NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE AT 2 HAND SINKS(BAR/PREPARATION) AT PREMISES.MUST PROVIDE.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • FOUND MISSING FAN SHIELD INSIDE WALK IN COOLER.MUST PROVIDE.
- ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • FOUND BURNT LIGHT FIXTURE INSIDE OF WALK IN COOLER.MUST PROVIDE.Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • FOUND BURNT LIGHT FIXTURE INSIDE OF WALK IN COOLER.MUST PROVIDE.
- 🥜allergen training missingAllergen Training As Required • FOUND SANITATION MANAGER WITH NO ALLERGEN TRAINING.MUST PROVIDE.
When was La Cocina last inspected?
La Cocina has 14 inspections on record going back to May 31, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| November 13, 2025 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| September 30, 2024 | Pass | |
| August 16, 2023 | Pass | |
| August 8, 2023 | Fail | |
| December 12, 2022 | Pass | |
| December 5, 2022 | Fail | |
| November 16, 2021 | Pass | |
| November 5, 2020 | Pass | |
| October 29, 2020 | Fail | |
| October 24, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| October 17, 2019 | Fail | |
| June 8, 2018 | Pass |
La Cocina vs Loop
Loop runs 70% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 2,521 clean, 764 mid, 300 cooked.
Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 10% of them.
Other spots in Loop
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 November 13, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.