Red Lobster

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedDecember 4, 2025
• address5201 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago 60632

Is Red Lobster clean?

Red Lobster is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 4, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Red Lobster?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 4, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED MANAGER ON DUTY WITHOUT A VALID CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER CERTIFICATE WHILE TIME TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY, TCS, FOODS ARE STORED, HANDLED, PREPARED AND SERVED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE ORIGINAL CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER CERTIFICATE AND POST. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-012. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS WITHOUT LABELS CONTAINING THE COMMON NAME OF FOODS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS IN PREP AREA FOOD WITHOUT HAIR RESTRAINTS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS IN PREP AREA FOOD WITHOUT HAIR RESTRAINTS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED IN-USE UTENSILS STORED IMPROPERLY DIRECTLY INSIDE OF FOOD CONTAINER(S). INSTRUCTED TO STORE PROPERLY BETWEEN USAGE.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • OBSERVED IN-USE UTENSILS STORED IMPROPERLY DIRECTLY INSIDE OF FOOD CONTAINER(S). INSTRUCTED TO STORE PROPERLY BETWEEN USAGE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED FOOD RESIDUE, GREASE BUILD UP AND WATER ON THE FLOORS IN THE DISH WASH AREA. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO PROOF OF TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO PROOF OF TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.

When was Red Lobster last inspected?

Red Lobster has 21 inspections on record going back to August 21, 2014. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Red Lobster vs West Elsdon

West Elsdon runs 76% clean across 399 tracked restaurants — 299 clean, 61 mid, 35 cooked.

Against the 399 spots Cooked tracks in West Elsdon, this one comes out cleaner than 14% of them.

Other spots in West Elsdon

• ✓ Red Lobster
  clean · August 26, 2014
• ✓ Grocery Elenas
  clean · September 5, 2014
• ✓ Nutrition 4 All
  clean · November 12, 2014
• ✓ Rio's Grocery Store
  clean · November 18, 2014
• ✓ Hdog Fast Food
  clean · March 20, 2017
• ✓ Familia Reyes Club
  clean · February 10, 2015

See every restaurant inspection in West Elsdon →

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 December 4, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.