Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill

• gradeGrade B
• inspection score82 pts
• critical violations2
• last inspectedMay 11, 2026
• address1552 W Artesia Blvd, Gardena 90248

Is Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill clean?

Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill is currently Grade B from LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health, from an inspection on May 11, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 11, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️ADEQUATE HANDWASHING FACILITIES; SUPPLIED & ACCESSIBLE
  ADEQUATE HANDWASHING FACILITIES; SUPPLIED & ACCESSIBLE
• ⚠️PERMITS AVAILABLE
  PERMITS AVAILABLE
• ⚠️FOOD IN GOOD CONDITION, SAFE AND UNADULTERATEDcritical
  FOOD IN GOOD CONDITION, SAFE AND UNADULTERATED
• ⚠️EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS APPROVED: INSTALLED; GOOD REPAIR; CAPACITY
  EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS APPROVED: INSTALLED; GOOD REPAIR; CAPACITY
• ⚠️TIME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONTROL; PROCEDURES & RECORDScritical
  TIME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONTROL; PROCEDURES & RECORDS
• ⚠️EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS AND LINENS: STORAGE AND USE
  EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS AND LINENS: STORAGE AND USE
• ⚠️IMPOUNDMENT/VOLUNTARY CONDEMN AND DISPOSE (VC&D)/SAMPLING
  IMPOUNDMENT/VOLUNTARY CONDEMN AND DISPOSE (VC&D)/SAMPLING
• ⚠️FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION
  FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION
• ⚠️MULTIPLE MAJOR CRITICAL VIOLATIONS / INCREASED RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH
  MULTIPLE MAJOR CRITICAL VIOLATIONS / INCREASED RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH

When was Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill last inspected?

Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill has 2 inspections on record going back to May 27, 2025, averaging 86 points.

Vaquero Mexican Bar & Grill 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 3% of them.

Other spots in Harbor Gateway

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• A Atto
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• B Yamadaya Torrance
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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 May 11, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.