Le Pain Quotidien

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations4
• last inspectedFebruary 21, 2019
• address1562 N Wells St, Chicago 60610

Is Le Pain Quotidien clean?

Le Pain Quotidien is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 21, 2019. Inspectors wrote up 4 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Le Pain Quotidien?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 21, 2019, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER ON SITE WHILE TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS (PASTRY) ARE BEING PREPARED . CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER MUST BE ON SITE AT ALL TIMES WHILE TCS FOODS ARE PREPARED AND SERVED TO THE PUBLIC. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. CITATION ISSUED. 7-38-012.
• 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcritical
  Management, Food Employee And Conditional Employee; Knowledge, Responsibilities And Reporting • OBSERVED NO EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY ON SITE. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AN EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY THAT INCLUDES A SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM EACH EMPLOYEE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION.7-38-012. NO CITATION ISSUED.
• 🤒staff working while sickcritical
  Procedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • OBSERVED NO VOMIT AND DIARRHEA PROCEDURE OR CLEAN UP KIT ON SITE. FACILITY MUST PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR EMPLOYEES TO FOLLOW WHEN RESPONDING TO VOMITING OR DIARRHEAL EVENTS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. 7-38-005.NO CITATION ISSUED.
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING CLEANSER AT HANDWASHING SINK IN BARISTA/ FOOD SERVICE AREA. ALL HANDWASHING SINKS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH HAND CLEANING LIQUID AT ALL TIMES. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION.7-38-030-(C). CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • OBSERVED LOW TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINE IN USE (PLATE, SILVERWARE) AT TIME OF INSPECTION. NOTED LOW TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINNE INADEQUATELY SANITIZING AT 10 PPM . CLEANING AGENTS THAT ARE USED TO CLEAN EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS SHALL BE PROVIDED AND AVAILABLE FOR USE DURING ALL HOURS OF OPERATION. CHLORINE SANITIZING AGENT SHOULD MAINTAIN A SOLUTION OF 50 - 100 PPM. INSTRUCTED FOOD HANDLER TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN SAID DISH MACHINE. PRIORITY. 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED BACK DOOR NOT TIGHT FITTING . INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE TIGHT FITTING DOOR TO PREVENT PEST ENTERING • OBSERVED DOG ACCOMPANIED WITH CUSTOMER IN DINING AREA AND WASHROOM AREA OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENT. LIVE ANIMALS MAY NOT BE ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES (DINING AREA) OF A RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENT. OBSERVED FOOD HANDLER MAKE NO VERBAL CONTACT WITH CUSTOMER. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. 7-40-060. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED NO BACK FLOW PREVENTION DEVICE FOR : COFFEE BREWER ANS ESPRESSO MACHINE LOCATED AT THE BARISTA STATION. A BACK FLOW PREVENTION DEVICE MUST BE LOCATED, SO THAT IT MAY BE SERVICED AND MAINTAINED. -
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • FOUND THE FLOORS IN NEED OF CLEANING IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: BARISTA STATION, KITCHEN AREA , UNDER 3 COMPARTMENT SINK , AND DISHWASHER. FREEZER UNDER SHELVES. INSTRUCTED FOOD HANDLER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • FOUND NO FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATE ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOOD HANDLER TRAINING FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WHO HANDLE FOOD.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • FOUND NO FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATE ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOOD HANDLER TRAINING FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WHO HANDLE FOOD.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • FOUND NO ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE ON SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE ALLEGREN TRAINING FOR ALL CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE MANAGERS
• ⚠️Summary Report Displayed And Visible To The Public • OBSERVED NO SUMMARY REPORT POSTED AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED FOOD HANDLER TO PROVIDE. 7-42-010(B). CITATION ISSUED.
  Summary Report Displayed And Visible To The Public • OBSERVED NO SUMMARY REPORT POSTED AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED FOOD HANDLER TO PROVIDE. 7-42-010(B). CITATION ISSUED.

When was Le Pain Quotidien last inspected?

Le Pain Quotidien has 10 inspections on record going back to July 28, 2015.

Le Pain Quotidien vs Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park runs 67% clean across 1,649 tracked restaurants — 1,089 clean, 360 mid, 187 cooked.

Against the 1,649 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Park, this one comes out cleaner than 12% of them.

Other spots in Lincoln Park

• ✓ Le Pain Quotidien
  clean · July 28, 2015
• ✓ Frozen Foodies
  clean · November 17, 2015
• ✓ Arclight Cinemas
  clean · October 20, 2015
• ✓ Arclight Cinemas
  clean · October 2, 2019
• ✓ Blue Door Farm Stand
  clean · December 2, 2025
• ✓ Orso's Restaurant
  clean · January 13, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Lincoln 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 February 21, 2019. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.