The county gives almost every restaurant an A. We show the real inspection score behind it, and what the violations actually were.
Los Angeles County posts an A, B, or C placard in every restaurant window. About 95% get an A. But an A covers every score from 90 to 100, and the county starts each inspection at 100 and deducts points for what it finds. So a restaurant sitting at a barely-passing 90 shows the exact same "A" as a spotless 100. The letter is real; it just doesn't tell you much.
We surface the actual 0–100 score from the most recent routine inspection. The grade bands are the county's: A is 90–100, B is 80–89, C is 70–79, and below that a place is usually failing or closed. We lead with the number, not the letter, and we show how it has moved across past inspections so you can see whether a place is getting better or worse.
Each inspection lists violations, and the county assigns each one a point value that reflects how much it matters. We group them by that severity: the temperature, contamination, and pest problems that actually cause illness are flagged as serious; the cosmetic or paperwork items (a worn floor, a missing sign) are set apart so they don't look scarier than they are. We translate the county's codes into plain English. We don't change the record; we just make it readable.
When inspectors find an imminent hazard, the county shuts a place down on the spot. That's separate from the routine score. We show currently-closed and recently-reopened restaurants from the county's official closure list, with the reason.
Every score, grade, violation, and closure comes from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division, through its open inspection feed and public records. We update as the county posts new inspections and grade changes, which usually happens within about a week of a visit. An inspection is a snapshot of one day, not a live status.
We cover restaurants and markets under LA County Public Health jurisdiction. A few cities run their own health departments and inspect their own restaurants, so their places may be missing or incomplete here: Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon. If you search one of those and find little, that's why, not because a place hasn't been inspected. For those cities, check the city's own health department.
Cleanplate is information, not advice, and not a guarantee. A clean score isn't a promise that a place is safe, and a low one doesn't mean you'll get sick. We report the official record and our reading of it; use your own judgment. If you think something is wrong, tell us and we'll check it against the county record.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by the County of Los Angeles.