Mr. Falafel

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedApril 7, 2022
• address6404 N California Ave, Chicago 60645

Is Mr. Falafel clean?

Mr. Falafel is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on April 7, 2022. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.

What did inspectors find at Mr. Falafel?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 7, 2022, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • OBSERVED THE FOLLOWING TCS FOODS HELD AT IMPROPER FOOD TEMPERATURES IN THE COOK LINE COOLER. HUMMUS @ 53.4F, BABA GHANNOUJ (COOKED EGGPLANT PUREE) @52.3F, CUT TOMATOES @ 51.8F. ALL FOODS DISCARDED. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • OBSERVED TWO COOLERS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE TEMPERATURE. COOKS LINE COOLER AT 53.6F AND TALL REACH-IN COOLER AT 55.9F. BOTH WITH TCS FOODS SUCH AS HUMMUS AT 53.4F. BOTH COOLERS ARE TAGGED AND HELD FOR INSPECTION AND MUST NOT USE UNTIL REPAIRED AND MAINTAINS A TEMPERATURE OF 41F OR BELOW. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR AND BEARD RESTRAINTS.
  Personal Cleanliness • ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR AND BEARD RESTRAINTS.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • WIPING CLOTHS MUST BE HELD IN A CONTAINER WITH A SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USE.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • KNIFE IMPROPERLY STORED BETWEEN THE COOK'S LINE COOLER AND PREP TABLE. MUST BE PROPERLY STORED.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • KNIFE IMPROPERLY STORED BETWEEN THE COOK'S LINE COOLER AND PREP TABLE. MUST BE PROPERLY STORED.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • INTERIOR OF THE FRONT BOX FREEZER WITH FOOD SPILLAGE. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • ALL RAW WOODEN WALLS THROUGHOUT THE COOLER STORAGE AREA AND FRONT COUNTER MUST BE PAINTED/SEALED.

When was Mr. Falafel last inspected?

Mr. Falafel has 10 inspections on record going back to March 6, 2014.

Mr. Falafel vs West Ridge

West Ridge runs 29% clean across 966 tracked restaurants — 279 clean, 73 mid, 612 cooked.

Against the 966 spots Cooked tracks in West Ridge, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in West Ridge

• ✓ Pride Sushi And Thai
  clean · June 9, 2026
• ✓! Relish
  cooked · April 15, 2016
• ✓! Al Rafedain Meat Market Inc.,
  cooked · September 18, 2020
• ✓ Ma Ni Zabiha Halal Mart
  clean · August 11, 2016
• ✓! Bangkok Wok
  cooked · June 12, 2015
• ✓ Yinkres Nigerian Restaurant
  clean · June 10, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in West Ridge →

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 April 7, 2022. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.