Taqueria El Molino

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedFebruary 19, 2026
• address3945 W 31St St, Chicago 60623

Is Taqueria El Molino clean?

Taqueria El Molino is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 19, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Taqueria El Molino?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 19, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS NOT COVERED AND STORED ON FLOOR INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY COVER AND ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS NOT COVERED AND STORED ON FLOOR INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY COVER AND ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLER NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINT. ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR RESTRAINTS.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLER NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINT. ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR EFFECTIVE HAIR RESTRAINTS.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • OBSERVED SOILED WIPING CLOTHS STORED ON PREP TABLE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO STORE WIPING CLOTHS IN SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USES.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED FOOD DEBRIS ON FLOOR ALONG WALLS AND CORNERS IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO VALID FOOD HANDLER TRAINING AVAILABLE. ALL EMPLOYEES HANDLING FOOD AND EQUIPMENT MUST PROVIDE FOOD HANDLER TRAINING.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO VALID FOOD HANDLER TRAINING AVAILABLE. ALL EMPLOYEES HANDLING FOOD AND EQUIPMENT MUST PROVIDE FOOD HANDLER TRAINING.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • OBSERVED NO ALLERGEN TRAINING FOR CERTIFIED MANAGER ON DUTY. ALL CERTIFIED MANAGERS MUST PROVIDE ALLERGEN TRAINING.

When was Taqueria El Molino last inspected?

Taqueria El Molino has 24 inspections on record going back to January 20, 2012. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Taqueria El Molino vs South Lawndale

South Lawndale runs 64% clean across 668 tracked restaurants — 427 clean, 92 mid, 146 cooked.

Against the 668 spots Cooked tracks in South Lawndale, this one comes out cleaner than 40% of them.

Other spots in South Lawndale

• ✓ Alex Deli
  clean · November 30, 2012
• ✓ Ramirez Grocery Corp.
  clean · December 18, 2014
• ✓ Don Pepe Carnes En Su Jugo
  clean · May 8, 2026
• ✕ Chickie's
  cooked · September 17, 2013
• ✓ More For Less
  clean · April 26, 2012
• ✓ Cinco Hermanas
  clean · December 15, 2014

See every restaurant inspection in South Lawndale →

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, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.