Sam's Tacos

• gradeGrade B
• inspection score81 pts
• critical violations1
• last inspectedOctober 16, 2025 →
• address715 S Soto St, Los Angeles 90023

Is Sam's Tacos clean?

Sam's Tacos is currently Grade B from LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health, from an inspection on October 16, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Sam's Tacos?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 16, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️HOT AND COLD WATER AVAILABLE
• ⚠️PROPER COOLING METHODScritical
• ⚠️THERMOMETERS PROVIDED AND ACCURATE
• ⚠️FLOORS, WALLS AND CEILINGS PROPERLY BUILT, MAINTAINED AND CLEAN
• ⚠️EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS APPROVED: INSTALLED; GOOD REPAIR; CAPACITY
• ⚠️ADEQUATE VENTILATION AND LIGHTING; DESIGNATED AREAS, USE
• ⚠️ADEQUATE HANDWASHING FACILITIES; SUPPLIED & ACCESSIBLE
• ⚠️SIGNS POSTED; LAST INSPECTION REPORT AVAILABLE
• ⚠️TOILET FACILITIES: PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED, SUPPLIED, CLEANED
• ⚠️FOOD STORAGE; FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS IDENTIFIED
• ⚠️WAREWASHING FACILITIES: INSTALLED, MAINTAINED; USED; TEST EQUIPMENT
• ⚠️EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS AND LINENS: STORAGE AND USE
• ⚠️FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION

When was Sam's Tacos last inspected?

Sam's Tacos has 3 inspections on record going back to April 17, 2024, averaging 82 points.

Sam's Tacos vs Boyle Heights

Boyle Heights runs 90% clean across 458 tracked restaurants — 412 clean, 39 mid, 7 cooked.

Against the 458 spots Cooked tracks in Boyle Heights, this one comes out cleaner than 2% of them.

Other spots in Boyle Heights

• A Edith's Market #2
  clean · September 11, 2023
• A Wok On Soto Chinese Restaurant
  clean · December 22, 2025
• A Lucky 16 Market
  clean · August 4, 2023
• A El 7 Mares Restaurant
  clean · April 15, 2025
• A Erik's 4 Vientos #2
  clean · April 29, 2026
• B China Express
  mid · April 23, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Boyle Heights →

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.

Read the Los Angeles ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily, but the authority publishes in batches, so a recent visit may not appear yet. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

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 October 16, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

check your own block 📸

Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.