Tao

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMay 13, 2026
• address632 N Dearborn St, Chicago 60654

Is Tao clean?

Tao is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 13, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Tao?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 13, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE AT EXPOSED HANDWASHING SINK LOCATED IN "INK BAR." INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED UNUSED WALK-IN COOLER MAINTAINING IMPROPER AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OF 55F. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE OR PLACE PERMANENTLY OUT OF SERVICE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED UNUSED HIGH TEMPERATURE DISH MACHINE AT BAR NEAR WINDOWS IN 2ND FLOOR. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE FROM PREMISES.

When was Tao last inspected?

Tao has 24 inspections on record going back to March 18, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Tao vs Near North Side

Near North Side runs 75% clean across 2,889 tracked restaurants — 2,147 clean, 530 mid, 203 cooked.

Against the 2,889 spots Cooked tracks in Near North Side, this one comes out cleaner than 25% of them.

Other spots in Near North Side

• ✓ Bar Toma
  clean · September 2, 2016
• ✓! Cafe Spiaggia
  mid · November 14, 2019
• ✓ Spiaggia Private Dining Rooms
  clean · November 19, 2019
• ✓ Frankie Z' Clark Bar
  clean · February 16, 2010
• ? Graze
  cooked · November 26, 2014
• ✓! Banquets
  mid · March 1, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in Near North 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 May 13, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.