Mezquite Pollo Express

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedOctober 16, 2025
• address2809 W 55Th St, Chicago 60632

Is Mezquite Pollo Express clean?

Mezquite Pollo Express is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on October 16, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Mezquite Pollo Express?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 16, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED PRE PACKAGED COOKIES AND PECAN BARS MADE ON SITE WITHOUT LABEL OF BUSINESS NAME AND ADDRESS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED KNIVES IMPROPERLY STORED IN BETWEEN WIRE AND WALL IN FOOD PREP AREA NEAR GRILL. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE PROPER STORAGE FOR UTENSILS AND MAINTAIN.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED KNIVES IMPROPERLY STORED IN BETWEEN WIRE AND WALL IN FOOD PREP AREA NEAR GRILL. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE PROPER STORAGE FOR UTENSILS AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED COOKING UTENSILS NOT INVERTED. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT TO AVOID CONTAMINATION BY INVERTING UTENSILS WITH HANDLES EXPOSED AFTER SANITIZING AND AIR DRYING.
  Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED COOKING UTENSILS NOT INVERTED. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT TO AVOID CONTAMINATION BY INVERTING UTENSILS WITH HANDLES EXPOSED AFTER SANITIZING AND AIR DRYING.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED FROZEN RAW CHICKEN STORED IN PLASTIC LINER IN BULK FREEZER. INSTRUCTED TO USE FOOD GRADE CONTAINERS FOR STORING. OBSERVED CRATES IN TWO DOOR REFRIGERATOR USED TO STORE PRODUCE. INSTRUCTED TO USE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE CONTAINERS AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE UNISEX TOILET ROOM WITH NO COVERED RECEPTACLE. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE UNISEX TOILET ROOM WITH NO COVERED RECEPTACLE. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADEQUATE LIGHTING IN BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO INCREASE LIGHTING INTENSITY TO ENSURE VISIBILITY. MUST MAINTAIN.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADEQUATE LIGHTING IN BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO INCREASE LIGHTING INTENSITY TO ENSURE VISIBILITY. MUST MAINTAIN.

When was Mezquite Pollo Express last inspected?

Mezquite Pollo Express has 16 inspections on record going back to December 9, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Mezquite Pollo Express vs Gage Park

Gage Park runs 71% clean across 393 tracked restaurants — 278 clean, 70 mid, 42 cooked.

Against the 393 spots Cooked tracks in Gage Park, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.

Other spots in Gage Park

• ✓ Big Al's Restaurant
  clean · August 7, 2025
• ✓ Club Salud Y Felicidad
  clean · December 2, 2019
• ✓ Citgo
  clean · May 9, 2014
• ✓ Tu Botana Corp.
  clean · July 6, 2016
• ✓ Benja's Tamales
  clean · June 6, 2014
• ✓! Carniceria Mazamitla
  mid · October 2, 2015

See every restaurant inspection in Gage 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 October 16, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.