Nisei Lounge

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedAugust 12, 2016
• address3439 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago 60657
• cuisineLiquor

Is Nisei Lounge clean?

Nisei Lounge is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on August 12, 2016. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Nisei Lounge?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 12, 2016, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Sewage And Waste Water Disposal, No Back Siphonage, Cross Connection And/Or Back Flow • EAST SIDE THREE COMPARTMENT SINK BEHIND THE BAR WITH ATTACHED HOSE. MUST REMOVE TO PREVENT BACK SIPHONGE. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-030. NO CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food Protected During Storage, Preparation, Display, Service And Transportation • BLACK SLIME LIKE SUBSTANCE INSIDE THE UPPER PORTION OF THE ICE BIN. MUST CLEAN, SANITIZE AND MAINTAIN. GLASSWARE AND BEER STORED UNDER THE SEWER LINES THROUGHOUT THE BASEMENT. MUST NOT STORE ANY BEVERAGE CONTACT OR BEVERAGES UNDER SEWAGE LINES. SERIOUS VIOLATION 7-38-005(A). NO CITATION ISSUED.
• ☠️toxic items stored near food
  No Evidence Of Rodent Or Insect Outer Openings Protected/Rodent Proofed, A Written Log Shall Be Maintained Available To The Inspectors • OBSERVED APPROXIMATLY 20 SMALL FLIES THROUGHOUT THE BAR AND DINING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE FLY ACTIVITY. SERIOUS VILATION 7-38-020.NO CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Outside Garbage Waste Grease And Storage Area; Clean, Rodent Proof, All Containers Covered • OUTSIDE GARBAGE AREA WITH BAGS OF GARBAGE ON THE GROUND AND OTHER DEBRIS. MUST REMOVE ALL GARBAGE FROM SURROUNDING GROUNDS AT OUTDOOR WASTE CONTAINERS. SERIOUS VIOLATION 7-38-020. NO CITATION.
  Outside Garbage Waste Grease And Storage Area; Clean, Rodent Proof, All Containers Covered • OUTSIDE GARBAGE AREA WITH BAGS OF GARBAGE ON THE GROUND AND OTHER DEBRIS. MUST REMOVE ALL GARBAGE FROM SURROUNDING GROUNDS AT OUTDOOR WASTE CONTAINERS. SERIOUS VIOLATION 7-38-020. NO CITATION.
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Dish Machines: Provided With Accurate Thermometers, Chemical Test Kits And Suitable Gauge Cock • NO QUATERNARY CHEMICAL TEST STRIPS ON SITE. MUST PROVIDE. SERIOUS VIOLATION 7-38-030.NO CITATION.
• ⚠️Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • FAR EAST SIDE BAR TOP IN POOR REPAIR, CHIPPING AND REPAIRED WITH TAPE. MUST REPAIR TO MAKE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
  Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • FAR EAST SIDE BAR TOP IN POOR REPAIR, CHIPPING AND REPAIRED WITH TAPE. MUST REPAIR TO MAKE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• ⚠️Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • FLOORS THROUGHOUT ESTABLISHMENT, BEHIND BAR, THROUGHOUT BASEMENT AND WASHROOMS WITH DIRT AND DEBRIS. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. FLOORS THROUGHOUT ESTABLISHMENT, DINING ROOM, BAR, WASHROOM WITH MISSING AND DAMAGED FLOOR TILES, EXPOSED RAW WOOD. MUST REPLACE.
  Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • FLOORS THROUGHOUT ESTABLISHMENT, BEHIND BAR, THROUGHOUT BASEMENT AND WASHROOMS WITH DIRT AND DEBRIS. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. FLOORS THROUGHOUT ESTABLISHMENT, DINING ROOM, BAR, WASHROOM WITH MISSING AND DAMAGED FLOOR TILES, EXPOSED RAW WOOD. MUST REPLACE.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • WALLS IN THE DINING ROOM, GAME AREA, ALONG BASEBOARD IN THE MENS ROOMS FOUND DAMAGED WITH HOLES. MUST SEAL AND REPAIR TO MAKE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • WALLS IN THE DINING ROOM, GAME AREA, ALONG BASEBOARD IN THE MENS ROOMS FOUND DAMAGED WITH HOLES. MUST SEAL AND REPAIR TO MAKE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Ventilation: Rooms And Equipment Vented As Required: Plumbing: Installed And Maintained • INOPERABLE VENTILATION IN BOTH WASHROOMS. MUST REPAIR. SLOW DRAIN AT THE MENS WASHROOM WASHBOWL. MUST REPAIR. NO UTILITY MOP SINK ON SITE. MUST INSTALL. MUST INSTALL AN EXPOSED HAND WASHING SINK BEHIND THE BAR WITH HOT AND COLD RUNNING WATER. MUST INSTALL A DUMP SINK FOR WASTE BEHIND BAR. OLD UNUSED SODA GUN HOLDERS FOUND DIRTY WITH FRUIT FLIES. MUST REMOVE. SODA GUN HOLDER BEING USED FOUND DIRTY. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. INTERIOR OF THE WEST SIDE THREE COMPARTMENT SINK DIRTY/STAINED WITH WHITE SUBSTANCE. MUST CLEAN/REMOVE.
• ⚠️Linen: Clean And Soiled Properly Stored • DIRTY LINEN OBSERVED HANGING ON THE LEGS OF INVERTED BAR STOOLS TO DRY. MUST PROPERLY STORE DIRTY LINEN.
  Linen: Clean And Soiled Properly Stored • DIRTY LINEN OBSERVED HANGING ON THE LEGS OF INVERTED BAR STOOLS TO DRY. MUST PROPERLY STORE DIRTY LINEN.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Premises Maintained Free Of Litter, Unnecessary Articles, Cleaning Equipment Properly Stored • ALL UNNECESSARY ARTICLES THROUGHOUT THE BASEMENT MUST BE REMOVED TO PREVENT RODENT HARBORING AND ALL OTHER ITEMS MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOOR 6" OR ABOVE.
• ⚠️Appropriate Method Of Handling Of Food (Ice) Hair Restraints And Clean Apparel Worn • ICE SCOOPS THROUGHOUT THE BAR MUST BE STORED IN A CLEAN CONTAINER.
  Appropriate Method Of Handling Of Food (Ice) Hair Restraints And Clean Apparel Worn • ICE SCOOPS THROUGHOUT THE BAR MUST BE STORED IN A CLEAN CONTAINER.

When was Nisei Lounge last inspected?

Nisei Lounge has 1 inspection on record going back to August 12, 2016.

Nisei Lounge 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 11% of them.

Other spots in Lake View

• ✓ Newport Bar & Grille
  clean · November 19, 2015
• ? Cocktail
  cooked · June 11, 2013
• ✓! Cullen's Bar & Grill
  mid · January 13, 2015
• ? Taqueria El Milagro
  cooked · January 17, 2017
• ✓ New Tokyo
  clean · June 27, 2017
• ✓ Chicago Yacht Club
  clean · September 2, 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 August 12, 2016. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.