Santino’s Tap & Table on E. Market St.

Spring cleaning is coming early for several West Chester restaurants. Here are your restaurant inspection reports for February.

Mercato Ristorante and Bar, 33 Market St. out, 20 violations including prepared food items not being held at safe temperatures  – these were discarded during the inspection;  prepared food items stored without date markings; employees not wearing hair coverings; and a variety of cleaning tasks including fan covers, the espresso machine, the inside of the microwave, and the drying racks.

West Chester Diner, 1147 West Chester Pike, out 10 violations including a bucket of chicken thawing in water on the floor by the dishwasher. According to the report, this is “an improper thawing method and location.” I think I could have told you that. There was also evidence of an employee smoking in the kitchen and the flat grill, waffle maker, and the mainline bain marie were all in need of cleaning.

Santino’s Tap & Table, 40 E. Market St., out, 18 violations including multiple sauces and partially cooked chicken wings beyond their expiration dates, open steaks stored uncovered in a freezer, and biofilm buildup found on an ice chute and two soda gun holders. Biofilms can contain pathogens, according to the report. Both were ordered to be cleaned immediately.

Tonito’s Pizza, 303 W. Boot Rd, out, 15 violations including an employee touching food with bare hands, pizza toppings stored without a proper cover, and a can opener and meat slicer with food residue on them. They were both ordered cleaned immediately

Stumpy’s Hatchet House, 706 E. Market St., out, 9 violations including drink mixers stored at room temperature despite labels noting they need to be refrigerated after opening and concession floors and countertops in need of a good scrub.

Cakes and Candies by Mary Ellen, 1334 West Chester Pike, out, 6 violations including employees not wearing proper hair restraints and non-food contact surfaces in need of a cleaning.

Capt’n Chucky’s Crab Cake Co., 1165 Wilmington Pike, out, 2 violations including pre-packaged crab bowls without preparation dates and frozen lobster cakes without ingredient lists on the label.

Also, from last month Thomas’ Dairy Queen, The Social Lounge, Vano’s Pizza, Sunoco, Chris’ Pizza, Pizza West Chester, and Ground Provisions are all back in compliance without a single violation among them. All your Amish Market favorites are also back in the good graces of the Health Department. So enjoy!

You can find all the restaurant inspection reports here. Search by location for more details.


Originally published on Mar. 1, 2024

This story was part of a longer West Chester newsletter featuring all the news and events of the week. Curious what else is going on? Subscribe now to get the full story. New issue comes out Friday.

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