South Water Kitchen

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedFebruary 19, 2013
• address225 N Wabash Ave, Chicago 60601

Is South Water Kitchen clean?

South Water Kitchen is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on February 19, 2013. 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 South Water Kitchen?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 19, 2013, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Previous Serious Violation Corrected, 7-42-090 • PREVIOUS SERIOUS VIOLATION FROM REPORT #1321743 ON 2/6/13 NOT CORRECTED: 18/01 - OBSERVED LIVE FRUIT FLIES ON THE WALLS AND CEILING OF ALL PREP AREAS AND DISHWASH AREA, AND ALSO IN THE DINING ROOM ON THE WALLS, CEILING AND BOOTHS. APPROXIMATELY 50 LIVE FRUIT FLIES WERE OBSERVED IN THESE AREAS. ADDITIONAL PEST CONTROL SERVICE IS NEEDED TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE THE PEST ACTIVITY. MANAGEMENT HAD PEST CONTROL SERVICE FROM ANDERSON ON 2/13/13. MANAGEMENT USED A VACUUM TO ELIMINATE MOST OF THE FLIES ON THE WALLS, CEILING AND DINING BOOTHS IN THE DINING ROOM. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-42-090.critical
  Previous Serious Violation Corrected, 7-42-090 • PREVIOUS SERIOUS VIOLATION FROM REPORT #1321743 ON 2/6/13 NOT CORRECTED: 18/01 - OBSERVED LIVE FRUIT FLIES ON THE WALLS AND CEILING OF ALL PREP AREAS AND DISHWASH AREA, AND ALSO IN THE DINING ROOM ON THE WALLS, CEILING AND BOOTHS. APPROXIMATELY 50 LIVE FRUIT FLIES WERE OBSERVED IN THESE AREAS. ADDITIONAL PEST CONTROL SERVICE IS NEEDED TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE THE PEST ACTIVITY. MANAGEMENT HAD PEST CONTROL SERVICE FROM ANDERSON ON 2/13/13. MANAGEMENT USED A VACUUM TO ELIMINATE MOST OF THE FLIES ON THE WALLS, CEILING AND DINING BOOTHS IN THE DINING ROOM. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-42-090.
• ☠️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 • SEE VIOLATION #14.
• ⚠️Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • DETAIL CLEAN THE FLOOR DRAINS THROUGHOUT THE PREP AREAS, DISHWASH AREA AND BAR.
  Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • DETAIL CLEAN THE FLOOR DRAINS THROUGHOUT THE PREP AREAS, DISHWASH AREA AND BAR.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • DETAIL CLEAN THE WALLS OF THE COOK'S LINE ESPECIALLY IN THE BACK CORNER, AND WALLS OF THE DISHWASH AREA ESPECIALLY AROUND THE WALL MOUNTED DISHRACKS AND BELOW THE STAINLESS STEEL COUNTERS.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • DETAIL CLEAN THE WALLS OF THE COOK'S LINE ESPECIALLY IN THE BACK CORNER, AND WALLS OF THE DISHWASH AREA ESPECIALLY AROUND THE WALL MOUNTED DISHRACKS AND BELOW THE STAINLESS STEEL COUNTERS.

When was South Water Kitchen last inspected?

South Water Kitchen has 5 inspections on record going back to May 11, 2011.

South Water Kitchen vs Loop

Loop runs 44% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 1,566 clean, 332 mid, 1,687 cooked.

Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in Loop

• ? Liberty Coffee And Tea
  cooked · October 21, 2010
• ✓ West Tower Kitchen
  clean · June 11, 2026
• ✓ Stetson's
  clean · June 10, 2026
• ✓ Chicago Downtown Framstand
  cooked · August 24, 2011
• ✓! Cafe At The Cultural Center
  mid · February 22, 2013
• ✓ Starbucks Coffee
  cooked · December 2, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in Loop →

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 February 19, 2013. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.