Merkle's Bar & Grill

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMay 21, 2025
• address3516 N Clark St, Chicago 60657

Is Merkle's Bar & Grill clean?

Merkle's Bar & Grill is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 21, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Merkle's Bar & Grill?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 21, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED LIQUOR AND ITEMS STORED INSIDE WALK-IN AND BASEMENT STORED ON FLOOR. MUST ELEVATE ITEMS OF THE FLOOR AND MAINTAIN.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED LIQUOR AND ITEMS STORED INSIDE WALK-IN AND BASEMENT STORED ON FLOOR. MUST ELEVATE ITEMS OF THE FLOOR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE MILK CRATES FOR PRODUCT ELEVATION. MUST USE SHELVING TO ELEVATE ITEMS AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED RUSTY AND DIRTY FOOD STORAGE SHELVING INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER. MUST CLEAN REPAINT WITH NON-TOXIC FOOD GRADE PAINT OR REPLACE
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED EXCESS ICE BUILD UP INSIDE CHEST FREEZER LOCATED IN THE BASEMNT. MUST REMOVE ICE CLEAN FREEZER AT ALL TIMES.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • : OBSERVED HEAVILY SOILED FLOOR WITH FOOD DEBRIS THROUGHOUT BASEMENT FOOD STORAGE AREA ALONG THE WALL BASE UNDERNEATH 3-COMAPRTMENT SINK IN FRONT BAR AND REAR DISHWASHING AREA. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. OBSERVED SEVERAL OPENINGS ABOVE ICE MACHINE SYRUP MACHINE AND REAR OF BASEMENT. ALSO NOTED WATER DAMAGED CEILING TILES BEHIND ICE MACHINE. MUST REPAIR REPLACE CEILING TIMES AND SEAL ALL OPENINGS. OBSERVED DIRT AND FOOD DEBRIS ON WALLS BEHIND DISHWASHING AREA AND UNDER AROUND AND BEHIND ALL COOKING EQUIPMENT AND BEHIND REFRIGERATION UNITS. MUST DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF CLUTTER, CARDBOARD BOXES AND UNNECESSARY ITEMS IN REAR OF PREMISES AND THROUGHOUT BASEMENT. MUST REMOVE CLEAN AND ORGANIZE AREAS TO PREVENT PEST HARBORAGE. • OBSERVED DIRT AND FOOD DEBRIS ON FLOOR DRAINS IN KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA AND THROUGHOUT BASEMENT. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADEQUATE LIGHTING IN REAR KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA AND BASEMENT FOOD STORAGE AREA. MUST PROVIDE INTENSITY LIGHTING AND MAINTAIN.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADEQUATE LIGHTING IN REAR KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA AND BASEMENT FOOD STORAGE AREA. MUST PROVIDE INTENSITY LIGHTING AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES FOR ALL THE REQUIRED EMPLOYEES.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES FOR ALL THE REQUIRED EMPLOYEES.

When was Merkle's Bar & Grill last inspected?

Merkle's Bar & Grill has 21 inspections on record going back to August 19, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Merkle's Bar & Grill vs Lake View

Lake View runs 68% clean across 2,211 tracked restaurants — 1,492 clean, 440 mid, 272 cooked.

Against the 2,211 spots Cooked tracks in Lake View, this one comes out cleaner than 36% of them.

Other spots in Lake View

• ? Tacos & Burritos Express Ii
  cooked · December 10, 2014
• ? East Lakeview Food & Liquor
  cooked · November 28, 2014
• ✓ Caribou Coffee
  clean · December 2, 2013
• ✓! Racine Plumbing
  mid · September 13, 2024
• ✓! Cozy Noodles & Rice
  mid · May 9, 2025
• ✓ Jewel Food Store #3514
  clean · September 16, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Lake View →

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 May 21, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.