Tom Yum Cafe

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 22, 2025
• address608 W Barry Ave, Chicago 60657

Is Tom Yum Cafe clean?

Tom Yum Cafe is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on September 22, 2025. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.

What did inspectors find at Tom Yum Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 22, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED EXCESSIVE GREASE AND DUST BUILD UP ON VENTILATION HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE COOKING EQUIPMENT. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED EXCESSIVE GREASE AND DUST BUILD UP ON VENTILATION HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE COOKING EQUIPMENT. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATION FOR ALL THE REQUIRED EMPLOYEES
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATION FOR ALL THE REQUIRED EMPLOYEES
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED EXPOSED HAND WASHING SINK IN KITCHEN FOOD PREP AREA BLOCKED WITH CUTTING BOARD, PLATES AND SPOONS NOT ACCESSIBLE FOR USE. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT TO ENSURE HAND WASHING SINK IS ONLY USED FOR HANDWASHING AND ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES. MANAGER REMOVED ITEMS FROM BLOCKING HAND WASHING SINK. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-030(c)CITATION ISSUED.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • MUST LABEL FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS WHEN FOOD IS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL CONTAINER.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED EMPLOYEES NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINTS WHILE FOOD ISBEING PREPARED AND SERVED. MUST WEAR HAIR RESTRAINTS AT ALL TIMES FOOD IS PREPARED AND SERVED.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED EMPLOYEES NOT WEARING HAIR RESTRAINTS WHILE FOOD ISBEING PREPARED AND SERVED. MUST WEAR HAIR RESTRAINTS AT ALL TIMES FOOD IS PREPARED AND SERVED.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • OBSERVED WIPING CLOTHS STORED ON TOP OF PREP TABLES IN KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA. MUST PROPERLY STORE WIPING CLOTHS IN A SANITIZING SOLUTION WHEN NOT IN USE.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED ITEMS STORED IN FRONT PREP AREA NOT ELEVATED FROM THE FLOOR. MUST ELEVATE ITEMS AT ALL TIMES.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED ITEMS STORED IN FRONT PREP AREA NOT ELEVATED FROM THE FLOOR. MUST ELEVATE ITEMS AT ALL TIMES.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED LEAKING FAUCET BASE AT THE 3-COMPARTMENT SINK LOCATED IN THE KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA. MUST REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED A FEW DAMAGED AND BROKEN FLOOR TILES IN FRONT OF 3-COMPARTMENT SINK IN THE KITCHEN FOOD PREP AREA. MUST REPAIR AND MAINTAIN FACILITY IN A GOOD REPAIR. • OBSERVED HEAVY DUST BUILD UP ON WALL AND CEILING ABOVE MAIN ENTRANCE TO KITCHEN FOOD PREP AREA. MUST CLEAN AND MAINAIN. OBSERVED GREASE AND DEBRIS ON WALLS BEHIND COOKING EQUIPMENT, 3-COMPARTMENT SINK AND REFRIGERATION UNITS IN THE KITCHEN FOOD PREPARATION AREA. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.

When was Tom Yum Cafe last inspected?

Tom Yum Cafe has 3 inspections on record going back to July 15, 2025.

Tom Yum Cafe vs Lake View

Lake View runs 40% clean across 2,211 tracked restaurants — 880 clean, 214 mid, 1,110 cooked.

Against the 2,211 spots Cooked tracks in Lake View, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in Lake View

• ✓! Sushi Box
  mid · July 28, 2025
• ✓ Chazui Tea Tower
  clean · November 24, 2025
• ✓! Mordecai Brown
  mid · August 12, 2025
• ✓! Flamin Bites
  mid · July 21, 2026
• ✓! Daeji Dough Company
  mid · October 6, 2025
• ✓ Taste Of Egg
  clean · August 14, 2025

See every restaurant inspection 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 September 22, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.