Cooked?
Rafael's Mexican Restaurant
- gradeGrade C
- inspection score71 pts
- critical violations3
- last inspectedMarch 25, 2026
- address2226 W Beverly Blvd, Montebello 90640
Is Rafael's Mexican Restaurant clean?
Rafael's Mexican Restaurant is currently Grade C from LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health, from an inspection on March 25, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 3 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.
What did inspectors find at Rafael's Mexican Restaurant?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 25, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️PROPER HOT AND COLD HOLDING TEMPERATUREScriticalPROPER HOT AND COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURES
- ⚠️EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS APPROVED: INSTALLED; GOOD REPAIR; CAPACITYEQUIPMENT/UTENSILS APPROVED: INSTALLED; GOOD REPAIR; CAPACITY
- ⚠️ADEQUATE VENTILATION AND LIGHTING; DESIGNATED AREAS, USEADEQUATE VENTILATION AND LIGHTING; DESIGNATED AREAS, USE
- ⚠️PLUMBING: FIXTURES, BACKFLOW DEVICE, DRAINAGEPLUMBING: FIXTURES, BACKFLOW DEVICE, DRAINAGE
- ⚠️HANDS CLEAN AND PROPERLY WASHED; PROPER GLOVE USEcriticalHANDS CLEAN AND PROPERLY WASHED; PROPER GLOVE USE
- ⚠️NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES CLEANNON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES CLEAN
- ⚠️CONSUMER ADVISORY PROVIDED FOR RAW/UNDERCOOKED FOODCONSUMER ADVISORY PROVIDED FOR RAW/UNDERCOOKED FOOD
- ⚠️NO INSECTS, RODENTS, BIRDS OR ANIMALS PRESENTNO INSECTS, RODENTS, BIRDS OR ANIMALS PRESENT
- ⚠️PERSONAL CLEANLINESS AND HAIR RESTRAINTSPERSONAL CLEANLINESS AND HAIR RESTRAINTS
- ⚠️TOILET FACILITIES: PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED, SUPPLIED, CLEANEDTOILET FACILITIES: PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED, SUPPLIED, CLEANED
- ⚠️WAREWASHING FACILITIES: INSTALLED, MAINTAINED; USED; TEST EQUIPMENTWAREWASHING FACILITIES: INSTALLED, MAINTAINED; USED; TEST EQUIPMENT
- ⚠️EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS AND LINENS: STORAGE AND USEEQUIPMENT, UTENSILS AND LINENS: STORAGE AND USE
- ⚠️THERMOMETERS PROVIDED AND ACCURATETHERMOMETERS PROVIDED AND ACCURATE
- ⚠️FLOORS, WALLS AND CEILINGS PROPERLY BUILT, MAINTAINED AND CLEANFLOORS, WALLS AND CEILINGS PROPERLY BUILT, MAINTAINED AND CLEAN
- ⚠️MULTIPLE MAJOR CRITICAL VIOLATIONS / INCREASED RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTHMULTIPLE MAJOR CRITICAL VIOLATIONS / INCREASED RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH
- ⚠️FOOD CONTACT SURFACES: CLEAN AND SANITIZEDcriticalFOOD CONTACT SURFACES: CLEAN AND SANITIZED
- ⚠️IMPOUNDMENT/VOLUNTARY CONDEMN AND DISPOSE (VC&D)/SAMPLINGIMPOUNDMENT/VOLUNTARY CONDEMN AND DISPOSE (VC&D)/SAMPLING
When was Rafael's Mexican Restaurant last inspected?
Rafael's Mexican Restaurant has 4 inspections on record going back to November 27, 2023, averaging 85 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| March 25, 2026 | Grade C | 71 pts |
| May 26, 2025 | Grade A | 96 pts |
| May 4, 2025 | Grade B | 80 pts |
| November 27, 2023 | Grade A | 94 pts |
Rafael's Mexican Restaurant vs City Of Montebello
City Of Montebello runs 93% clean across 282 tracked restaurants — 262 clean, 17 mid, 3 cooked.
Against the 282 spots Cooked tracks in City Of Montebello, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.
Other spots in City Of Montebello
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 March 25, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.