Cooked?
Meson Del Taco Express
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations0
- last inspectedFebruary 4, 2026
- address7616 W Belmont Ave, Chicago 60634
Is Meson Del Taco Express clean?
Meson Del Taco Express is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 4, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at Meson Del Taco Express?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 4, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🍽️food left unprotectedFood Separated And Protected • OBSERVED RAW MEAT NOT PROTECTED FROM CONTAMINATION. OBSERVED RAW MEAT IN METAL PAN STORED INSIDE OPEN GARBAGE CAN IN PREP AREA. PRIORITY VIOLATION. 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED. EMPLOYEE DISCARDED MEAT. FOOD WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY 5 LBS COST $10.00. MUST PROTECT FOOD FROM CONTAMINATION AT ALL TIMES.
- ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED EXPIRED FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATES ON SITE. MUST PROVIDE CURRENT FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATES.All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED EXPIRED FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATES ON SITE. MUST PROVIDE CURRENT FOOD HANDLER TRAINING CERTIFICATES.
When was Meson Del Taco Express last inspected?
Meson Del Taco Express has 11 inspections on record going back to May 15, 2018.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| February 4, 2026 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| February 24, 2025 | Pass | |
| July 22, 2024 | Pass | |
| August 14, 2023 | Pass | |
| July 28, 2022 | Pass | |
| July 20, 2022 | Fail | |
| March 23, 2021 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| February 7, 2020 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 20, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 23, 2018 | Pass | |
| May 15, 2018 | — |
Meson Del Taco Express vs Dunning
Dunning runs 64% clean across 296 tracked restaurants — 189 clean, 63 mid, 44 cooked.
Against the 296 spots Cooked tracks in Dunning, this one comes out cleaner than 29% of them.
Other spots in Dunning
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 4, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.