The Black Barrel Tavern

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedApril 7, 2026
• address1061 W Madison St, Chicago 60607

Is The Black Barrel Tavern clean?

The Black Barrel Tavern is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on April 7, 2026. 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 The Black Barrel Tavern?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 7, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • HANDWASH SINK IN BASEMENT PREP AREA NOT ACCESSIBLE, BASIN FILLED WITH EQUIPMENT, AND TOOLS, AND EQUIPMENT IN FRONT OF SINK. INSTD TO HAVE BASIN EMPTY, AND SINK ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-030(C) PRIORITY FOUNDATION
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • ICE SCOOP IMPROPERLY STORED ON OPEN WIRE RACK. INSTD TO STORE IN PROTECTED MANNER AND MAINTAIN
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • ICE SCOOP IMPROPERLY STORED ON OPEN WIRE RACK. INSTD TO STORE IN PROTECTED MANNER AND MAINTAIN
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • CUTTING BOARDS STAINED AND WITH DARK GROOVES. INSTD TO MAINTAIN CUTTING BOARDS • HINGES ON DOOR OF ICE MACHINE IN POOR REPAIR. INSTD TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN SAME

When was The Black Barrel Tavern last inspected?

The Black Barrel Tavern has 22 inspections on record going back to December 27, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.

The Black Barrel Tavern vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 72% clean across 2,033 tracked restaurants — 1,463 clean, 406 mid, 151 cooked.

Against the 2,033 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 12% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

• ✓! The Black Barrel Tavern
  mid · September 24, 2019
• ✓! Honey Bear Ham Co
  mid · November 22, 2013
• ✓ Wishbone Restaurant
  clean · June 1, 2018
• ✓! Fulton Galley
  mid · June 7, 2019
• ✓! Fulton Galley
  mid · June 7, 2019
• ✓ Rooh Chicago
  clean · March 19, 2026

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.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated April 7, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.