Cooked?
The Chicago Diner
- resultPass
- critical violations1
- last inspectedMay 7, 2025
- address3411 N Halsted St, Chicago 60657
Is The Chicago Diner clean?
The Chicago Diner is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 7, 2025. 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 The Chicago Diner?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 7, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED THE GASKETS OF THE THREE (3) DOOR COOLER TO BE HEAVILY SOILED WITH FOOD DEBRIS IN THE CREVICES ON THE TWO DOORS ON RIGHT SIDE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN GASKETS FREE OF EXCESSIVRE DEBRIS BUILD UP.
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED WRAPPED COOLER IN BLUE PLASTIC IN EXTERIOR PATIO/OUTSIDE OF REAR EXIT NOT IN USE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REMOVE ALL ITEMS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARY TO FUNCTION OF FACILITY OR STORE APPROPRIATELY.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED MISSING HAND WASHING SIGNAGE AT THE FRONT BAR HAND SINK. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HAND WASHING SIGN AT ALL HAND SINKS INSTRUCTING ALL EMPLOYEES TO WASH HANDS.
- 🪳pests in the houseInsects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED DEAD RODENT IN BASEMENT CORNER NEAR WATER HEATERS CAUGHT IN TRAP. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALL DEAD OR TRAPPED RODENTS THROUGHOUT FACILITY IN TIMELY MANNER. MANAGER REMOVED DEAD RODENT BY END OF INSPECTION.
- ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BAGS OF ICE AND TWO BUCKETS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK IN FREEZER IN THE EXTERIOR WALK IN FREEZER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR.Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BAGS OF ICE AND TWO BUCKETS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK IN FREEZER IN THE EXTERIOR WALK IN FREEZER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR.
When was The Chicago Diner last inspected?
The Chicago Diner has 25 inspections on record going back to May 19, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2025 | Pass | |
| April 3, 2024 | Pass | |
| April 1, 2024 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| April 29, 2022 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| August 24, 2020 | Pass | |
| August 17, 2020 | Fail | |
| April 5, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| April 4, 2018 | Pass | |
| June 29, 2017 | Pass | |
| June 22, 2017 | Fail | |
| June 21, 2016 | Pass | |
| April 29, 2015 | Pass |
The Chicago Diner vs Lake View
Lake View runs 68% clean across 2,211 tracked restaurants — 1,492 clean, 440 mid, 272 cooked.
Against the 2,211 spots Cooked tracks in Lake View, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.
Other spots in Lake View
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 7, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.