Lola's Diner

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedFebruary 5, 2026
• address4229 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago 60641

Is Lola's Diner clean?

Lola's Diner is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 5, 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 Lola's Diner?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 5, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO FOOD EMPLOYEE WITH CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER TRAINING OR ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE ON-SITE WHILE TCS FOODS ARE PREPARED AND SERVED (EGGS, COOKED MEATS, SANDWICHES) AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST ONE FOOD EMPLOYEE WITH CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER TRAINING AND ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE ON-SITE AT ALL TIMES OF FOOD OPERATIONS. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-012 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED ITEMS OUT OF THE ORIGINAL CONTAINERS WITHOUT LABELS CONTAINING THE PRODUCT NAME. INSTRUCTED TO LABEL ALL FOODS AND SPICES WITH COMMON NAME THAT ARE OUT OF THE ORIGINAL CONTAINERS.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED CARDBOARD USED AS LINER ON SHELVING UNITS IN WALK-IN COOLER, PREP AND STORAGE AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REMOVE ALL CARDBOARD FROM SHELVING UNITS. ALL FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES MUST BE SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED ACCUMULATED GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS ON INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SURFACES OF COOKING EQUIPMENT, PREP TABLES, COOLERS, FREEZERS, SHELVING UNITS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED SOILED MOP HEADS NOT PROPERLY STORED. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO HANG MOP HEADS TO PREVENT INSECT BREEDING. • OBSERVED DEBRIS ON FLOORS ALONG WALLS AND CORNERS IN UTILITY AND STORAGE AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED THE HOOD VENTILATION FILTERS WITH A BUILD UP OF DUST AND GREASE. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN AS A MEANS OF HELPING PREVENT POSSIBLE CONTAMINATION OF FOODS BEING PREPARED.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED THE HOOD VENTILATION FILTERS WITH A BUILD UP OF DUST AND GREASE. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN AS A MEANS OF HELPING PREVENT POSSIBLE CONTAMINATION OF FOODS BEING PREPARED.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATES ON SITE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO COMPLY WITH THE IDPH FOOD HANDLER REQUIREMENT
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATES ON SITE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO COMPLY WITH THE IDPH FOOD HANDLER REQUIREMENT
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • OBSERVED FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER WITHOUT FOOD ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED TO MEET REQUIREMENT.

When was Lola's Diner last inspected?

Lola's Diner has 28 inspections on record going back to May 25, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Lola's Diner vs Irving Park

Irving Park runs 64% clean across 804 tracked restaurants — 516 clean, 141 mid, 146 cooked.

Against the 804 spots Cooked tracks in Irving Park, this one comes out cleaner than 57% of them.

Other spots in Irving Park

• ✓ Alexs Hamburgers
  cooked · July 29, 2014
• ? Mikes Liquors
  cooked · October 19, 2010
• ✓ Cactus Food & Liquor
  cooked · December 5, 2014
• ? Liliw Oriental Store
  cooked · December 5, 2012
• ✓! Golden Nugget
  cooked · June 12, 2019
• ✓ Leona's Pizzeria
  cooked · July 8, 2014

See every restaurant inspection in Irving 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 5, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.