The Waterhole Lounge

• resultPass
• critical violations2
• last inspectedDecember 4, 2025
• address1400 S Western Ave, Chicago 60608

Is The Waterhole Lounge clean?

The Waterhole Lounge is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 4, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at The Waterhole Lounge?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 4, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcritical
  Management, Food Employee And Conditional Employee; Knowledge, Responsibilities And Reporting • NO EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY ON SITE. INSTRUCTED TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN AN EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY ON SITE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION 7-38-010 NO CITATION ISSUED
• 🤒staff working while sickcritical
  Procedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • NO VOMIT AND DIARRHEA CLEAN UP KIT ON SITE. INSTRUCTED TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN A VOMIT/DIARRHEA KIT ON SITE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION 7-38-005 NO CITATION ISSUED
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • REAR DOOR WITH A 1/4" GAP NOTED UNDERNEATH, MAKING THE DOOR NOT RODENT/INSECT PROOFED. INSTRUCTED TO RODENT/INSECT PROOF THE REAR DOOR AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • THE TRASH RECEPTACLE IN THE WOMEN'S TOILET ROOM HAS NO LID. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A TRASH RECEPTACLE WITH A LID AND MAINTAIN.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • THE TRASH RECEPTACLE IN THE WOMEN'S TOILET ROOM HAS NO LID. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A TRASH RECEPTACLE WITH A LID AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • FLOORS IN THE CORNER OF THE BAR AND IN THE BASEMENT WITH DIRT AND DEBRIS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN FLOORS. • FOUND 3 GRILLS OUTSIDE ON THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALL GRILLS FROM THE PREMISES, FOR GRILLING OUTSIDE IS PROHIBITED PER THE CITY OF CHICAGO CODE.

When was The Waterhole Lounge last inspected?

The Waterhole Lounge has 6 inspections on record going back to March 14, 2014.

The Waterhole Lounge vs Lower West Side

Lower West Side runs 68% clean across 1,153 tracked restaurants — 775 clean, 162 mid, 205 cooked.

Against the 1,153 spots Cooked tracks in Lower West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.

Other spots in Lower West Side

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  mid · May 8, 2019
• ✕ Laterminal Jesus Mini Market
  cooked · June 22, 2010
• ? Chela's Restaurant Inc
  cooked · April 25, 2017
• ✓! El Paraiso Bakery
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• ✓ Sabas Vega
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See every restaurant inspection in Lower 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 December 4, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.