El Pollo Inka

• gradeGrade C
• inspection score70 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedJuly 25, 2025
• address1425 W Artesia Blvd # 12-16, Gardena 90247

Is El Pollo Inka clean?

El Pollo Inka is currently Grade C from LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health, from an inspection on July 25, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at El Pollo Inka?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on July 25, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ❓food from an unapproved source
  # 06. ADEQUATE HANDWASHING FACILITIES SUPPLIED & ACCESSIBLE
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcritical
  # 14. FOOD CONTACT SURFACES: CLEAN AND SANITIZED
• ⚠️# 42. TOILET FACILITIES: PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED, SUPPLIED, CLEANED
  # 42. TOILET FACILITIES: PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED, SUPPLIED, CLEANED
• ⚠️# 39. WIPING CLOTHS: PROPERLY USED AND STORED
  # 39. WIPING CLOTHS: PROPERLY USED AND STORED
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  # 27. FOOD SEPARATED AND PROTECTED
• ⚠️# 51. PERMIT SUSPENSION
  # 51. PERMIT SUSPENSION
• 🚻bathroom issues
  # 43. PREMISES; PERSONAL/CLEANING ITEMS; VERMIN-PROOFING
• 🐀rodents, insects, or animals insidecritical
  # 23. NO RODENTS, INSECTS, BIRDS, OR ANIMALS
• ⚠️# 13. FOOD IN GOOD CONDITION, SAFE AND UNADULTERATED
  # 13. FOOD IN GOOD CONDITION, SAFE AND UNADULTERATED
• 🚰handwashing sink issues
  # 05. HANDS CLEAN AND PROPERLY WASHED; GLOVES USED PROPERLY
• 🛠️equipment grimy or busted
  # 33. NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES CLEAN AND IN GOOD REPAIR
• ⚠️# 50. IMPOUNDMENT OF UNSANITARY EQUIPMENT OR FOOD
  # 50. IMPOUNDMENT OF UNSANITARY EQUIPMENT OR FOOD
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  # 44. FLOORS, WALLS AND CEILINGS: PROPERLY BUILT, MAINTAINED IN GOOD REPAIR AND CLEAN
• 🛠️gear not up to code
  # 35. EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS - APPROVED; INSTALLED; CLEAN; GOOD REPAIR, CAPACITY
• 🌡️hot/cold holding temps off
  # 07. PROPER HOT AND COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURES

When was El Pollo Inka last inspected?

El Pollo Inka has 3 inspections on record going back to March 20, 2024, averaging 87 points.

El Pollo Inka vs Harbor Gateway

Harbor Gateway runs 94% clean across 199 tracked restaurants — 187 clean, 8 mid, 4 cooked.

Against the 199 spots Cooked tracks in Harbor Gateway, this one comes out cleaner than 1% of them.

Other spots in Harbor Gateway

• A El Rocoto
  clean · August 12, 2025
• A Gardena Liquor Market
  clean · July 15, 2025
• A Gardena Mobil Mart
  clean · February 10, 2026
• A Sam's Club #6617
  clean · December 20, 2024
• A Sam's Club #6617
  clean · February 27, 2026
• A Sam's Club #6617
  clean · February 11, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Harbor Gateway →

How Los Angeles grades restaurants

Los Angeles County posts a letter placard in the window, and unlike New York the score runs the friendly way: higher is better. 90 to 100 points earns an A, 80 to 89 a B, and anything below that a C. The county inspects roughly every six months to a year depending on risk, and a failed inspection can close a kitchen until it is fixed. Because LA’s scores are final at the time of inspection — there is no pending window — a letter can be read straight off the score when the placard field is blank.

Source: LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health via LA County Open Data. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated July 25, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.