Recess

• resultFail
• critical violations0
• last inspectedSeptember 2, 2026 →
• address838 W Kinzie St, Chicago 60642

Is Recess clean?

Recess is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 2, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Recess?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 2, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean

When was Recess last inspected?

Recess has 9 inspections on record going back to May 30, 2019.

Featured in the Cooked? blog

Recess vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 80% clean across 1,294 tracked restaurants — 1,031 clean, 233 mid, 18 cooked.

Against the 1,294 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 1% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

• ✓! Recess
  mid · May 30, 2019
• ✓ City Tap House
  cooked · March 19, 2019
• ✓ City Tap House
  clean · March 19, 2019
• ✓ Heritage 1201 W Lake Llc
  clean · February 27, 2019
• ✓ Taco Lulu
  clean · October 27, 2020
• ✓ Jeni's Illinois Llc
  cooked · April 29, 2021

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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated September 2, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.