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IsTheKitchenClean displays publicly available food inspection data from the Chicago Department of Public Health. Trending rankings and summaries are automated interpretations of that data and are not official health department assessments. Inspection findings reflect conditions at a specific point in time and may not represent current conditions at a restaurant.

Iron Cafe

Restaurant

3700 S Iron St, Chicago, IL 60609

South Side

Oct 16, 2026 — License inspection

Fail

Required before the city issues a business license.

Hand wash sink in prep area broken with no way to shut off water.

Key Findings

  • Pre-area hand wash sink in poor repair with broken hot water knob that cannot be shut off.
  • No metal stem thermometer available for food temperature checks.
  • High-temperature dish machine lacks an irreversible thermometer to verify sanitizing temperatures.

Key findings are derived directly from the inspector's notes from the Chicago Department of Public Health. See the full violation notes below.

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Violation code #10 — ADEQUATE HANDWASHING SINKS PROPERLY SUPPLIED AND ACCESSIBLE
Inspector's Notes:

Pre area hand wash sink in poor repair, Broken hot water knob, unable to shut off water. Instructed to repair.

Violation code #36 — THERMOMETERS PROVIDED & ACCURATE
Inspector's Notes:

No metal stem thermometer, instructed to obtain.

Inspection History

Iron Cafe has had 4 inspections in the last 5 years with a 33% pass rate. Last inspection was on Oct 16, 2026.

Oct 16, 2026FailVIEWING NOW

License — Required before the city issues a business license.

3 violations
May 29, 2024Pass

License Re-Inspection — A follow-up to confirm license-inspection violations were fixed.

May 20, 2024Fail

License — Required before the city issues a business license.

5 violations