Plaza Cafe

• resultFail
• critical violations0
• last inspectedSeptember 25, 2015
• address540 W Madison St, Chicago 60661

Is Plaza Cafe clean?

Plaza Cafe is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 25, 2015. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Plaza Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 25, 2015, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ☠️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 • NOTED EVIDENCE OF INSECTS ON SITE. NOTED APPROXIMATELY 25 LIVE FLIES IN THE MENS LOCKER ROOM, 20 IN THE REAR PREP AREA, 40 NEAR THE LARGE ICE MACHINES,25 IN THE DRY GOODS STORAGE CLOSET NEAR THE ICE MACHINES, 25 IN THE DISH WASHING AREAS AND THROUGHOUT HALLWAYS. MUST REMOVE INSECTS, SANITIZE AFFECTED AREAS AND HAVE THE PEST CONTROL COMPANY SERVICE AREAS. SERIOUS CITATION ISSUED 7-38-020
• ⚠️Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • MUST REPAIR BROKEN CABINET IN THE COFFEE PREP AREA AND REMOVE TAPE. REPAIR BROKEN CABINET DOOR UNDERNEATH THE SODA DISPENSER.
  Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • MUST REPAIR BROKEN CABINET IN THE COFFEE PREP AREA AND REMOVE TAPE. REPAIR BROKEN CABINET DOOR UNDERNEATH THE SODA DISPENSER.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Food And Non-Food Contact Equipment Utensils Clean, Free Of Abrasive Detergents • MUST DETAIL CLEAN VENT COVERS IN EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOMS AND REMOVE DUST BUILD UP. ALSO DETAIL CLEAN FRYERS,ALL OTHER COOKING EQUIPMENT AND VENTILATION HOODS THROUGHOUT ALL PREP AREAS AND REMOVE GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS BUILD UP. DETAIL CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF EACH ICE MACHINE. MUST DETAIL CLEAN THE EXTERIOR OF BULK FOOD ITEM COMTAINERS. DETAIL CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF UNDER COUNTER STORAGE CABINETS IN THE GRILL, COFFEE AND DELI AREAS.
• ⚠️Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • MUST DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS IN WALK IN COOLERS AS NEEDED, IN DRY STORAGE CLOSETS UNDER SHELVING AND IN EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOMS. MUST ALSO DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS IN PREP AREAS UNDER COOKING EQUIPMENT AND SINKS. KEEP FLOORS DRY UNDER THE ICE MACHINES.
  Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • MUST DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS IN WALK IN COOLERS AS NEEDED, IN DRY STORAGE CLOSETS UNDER SHELVING AND IN EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOMS. MUST ALSO DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS IN PREP AREAS UNDER COOKING EQUIPMENT AND SINKS. KEEP FLOORS DRY UNDER THE ICE MACHINES.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • MUST DETAIL CLEAN WALLS IN PREP AREAS BEHIND COOKING EQUIPMENT, UNDER SINKS AND THROUGHOUT AS NEEDED. ALSO CLEAN WALLS IN EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOMS. DETAIL CLEAN DUSTY CEILING TILES IN PREP AND DISHWASHING AREAS AS NEEDED.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • MUST DETAIL CLEAN WALLS IN PREP AREAS BEHIND COOKING EQUIPMENT, UNDER SINKS AND THROUGHOUT AS NEEDED. ALSO CLEAN WALLS IN EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOMS. DETAIL CLEAN DUSTY CEILING TILES IN PREP AND DISHWASHING AREAS AS NEEDED.
• 🌡️thermometers missing
  Lighting: Required Minimum Foot-Candles Of Light Provided, Fixtures Shielded • REPLACE BURNED OUT LIGHT BULBS IN THE BEVERAGE WALK IN COOLER.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Ventilation: Rooms And Equipment Vented As Required: Plumbing: Installed And Maintained • MUST INSTALL A GREASE TRAP AT THE 3 COMPARTMENT SINK OR PROVIDE PROOF OF INSTALLATION. MUST REPAIR THE LEAKY PIPES UNDERNEATH THE HANDSINK ACROSS FROM THE POT WASHER. REPAIR LEAKS UNDER THE TWO LARGE ICE MACHINES. MUST REPAIR LEAKY PIPES UNDERNEATH THE HAND SINK IN THE GRILL PREP AREA. MUST INSTALL A BACK FLOW DEVICE AT THE SODA DISPENSER OR PROVIDE PROOF OF INSTALLATION.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Premises Maintained Free Of Litter, Unnecessary Articles, Cleaning Equipment Properly Stored • MINIMIZE CLUTTER IN THE HALLWAYS, PREP AREAS AND IN THE UNUSED PREP AREA OUTSIDE OF THE BEVERAGE COOLER. MUST REMOVE UNUSED EQUIPMENT.

When was Plaza Cafe last inspected?

Plaza Cafe has 11 inspections on record going back to August 6, 2010.

Plaza Cafe vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 72% clean across 2,033 tracked restaurants — 1,463 clean, 406 mid, 151 cooked.

Against the 2,033 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 6% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

• ✓ Chinese Yum Yum
  clean · July 25, 2017
• ✓ Zullo's
  clean · September 9, 2010
• ✓ Klm Packing Company
  clean · May 18, 2010
• ✓! Taqueria La Lagartija
  mid · April 15, 2019
• ✕ Scrappies
  cooked · May 26, 2010
• ✕ Mel Markons
  cooked · April 20, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Near West Side →

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 September 25, 2015. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.