Cooked?
South La Cafe
- gradeGrade A
- inspection score91 pts
- critical violations1
- last inspectedFebruary 26, 2025
- address3991 S Western Ave, Los Angeles 90062
Is South La Cafe clean?
South La Cafe is currently Grade A from LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health, from an inspection on February 26, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at South La Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 26, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🐀rodents, insects, or animals inside# 23. NO RODENTS, INSECTS, BIRDS, OR ANIMALS
- 🚿plumbing acting up# 40. PLUMBING: PLUMBING IN GOOD REPAIR, PROPER BACKFLOW DEVICES
- ⚠️# 39. WIPING CLOTHS: PROPERLY USED AND STORED# 39. WIPING CLOTHS: PROPERLY USED AND STORED
- ⚠️# 47. PERMITS AVAILABLE# 47. PERMITS AVAILABLE
- ⚠️# 50. IMPOUNDMENT OF UNSANITARY EQUIPMENT OR FOOD# 50. IMPOUNDMENT OF UNSANITARY EQUIPMENT OR FOOD
- 🧊food not cooled down rightcritical# 08. TIME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONTROL; PROCEDURES & RECORDS
When was South La Cafe last inspected?
South La Cafe has 3 inspections on record going back to December 14, 2023, averaging 89 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| February 26, 2025 | Grade A | 91 pts |
| January 2, 2024 | Grade B | 88 pts |
| December 14, 2023 | Grade B | 87 pts |
South La Cafe vs Exposition Park
Exposition Park runs 97% clean across 171 tracked restaurants — 166 clean, 4 mid, 1 cooked.
Against the 171 spots Cooked tracks in Exposition Park, this one comes out cleaner than 6% of them.
Other spots in Exposition Park
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 February 26, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.