Chicken N Pickle
5215 UTSA BLVD., San Antonio, 78249
Area: Northwest / UTSA
· Metro Health licence 1127024
Mixed record · rank 83 of 112
Who publishes this, and what they sell. This guide is published by Viking Net, which sells technology services to restaurants — websites, apps, point-of-sale systems and card processing — including to businesses rated on this site. Every rating here is computed by a formula published in full from public records: health inspections, city 311 complaints, published awards, and the state sales-tax permit date. No business can pay to change its score, raise its rank, or have a low score removed, and none has ever been asked to. If that ever changes, this paragraph comes down first.
Latest health inspection
94/100 on Jul 10, 2026 (27 days ago)
Inspections start at 100 and lose points for each violation found. 69 or below is a failing inspection. A score describes one visit on one day — Metro Health says so itself — not the condition of the business today.
Inspection history — 9 on record
Open any inspection to see what the inspector actually found, in plain English, with the Food Code section it was cited under.
Jul 10, 2026 94 3 findings · 1 illness risk factor
Ready-to-eat food was not date-marked
Once opened or made in house, refrigerated ready-to-eat food gets a maximum of seven days. With no date on the container, nobody in the kitchen knows which day that is.
“containers of Smoked Chicken Wings in walk-in cooler and waffle butter in kitchen area exceed use by date. Ensure to properly”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 3-501.17(A) — Ready-to-Eat, Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food, Date Marking · inspection item 28
The premises were not cleaned often enough
Floors, walls, shelving, the areas under and behind equipment. This is the finding for build-up in the places nobody wants to reach.
“fryer wheels dirty with grease build up. Ensure floor areas are cleaned on a schedule that will prevent build up”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 6-501.12 — Cleaning, Frequency and Restrictions · inspection item 45
A required air gap was missing
The physical air gap above a drain is what stops sewage siphoning back into an ice machine or a sink.
“no air gap between the floor level drain and plumbing pipes in warewashing machine area. Ensure to have air gap at least twice the diameter of the water supply inlet and may not be less than 25 mm (1 inch) between the floor level drain and plumbing pipes”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 5-202.13 — Backflow Prevention, Air Gap · inspection item 19
Sep 3, 2025 99 1 finding · 1 illness risk factor
Clean equipment or single-use items were stored where they get dirty again
Clean plates stacked under an unfinished ceiling or beside a hand sink are re-contaminated before anyone uses them.
“metal food containers stacked wet. Ensure containers are allowed to air dry”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 4-903.11(B)(1) — Equipment, Utensils, Linens, and Single-Service and Single-Use Articles · inspection item 39
Mar 2, 2025 96 2 findings · 1 illness risk factor
In-use utensils were stored improperly between uses
Tongs and scoops left in standing lukewarm water sit in a bacteria incubator between every use. They go in the food handle-up, on a clean dry surface, or in water kept above 135°F.
“cups being used as scoops for flour. Ensure only scoops with handles are used and handles are stored outside of food item”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 3-304.12(A) — In-Use Utensils, Between-Use Storage · inspection item 39
Equipment or utensils were not clean
Split into two standards: anything that touches food must be clean to sight and touch, and everything else must be free of built-up grease, dust and debris. This is the most cited line in the whole code.
“food containers stored as clean dirty with food debris. Ensure food containers are properly washed, rinsed and sanitized”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 4-601.11(A) — Equipment, Food-Contact Surfaces, Nonfood-Contact Surfaces, and Utensils · inspection item 10
Sep 18, 2024 97 2 findings · 1 illness risk factor
Raw and ready-to-eat food were not kept separate
Raw chicken stored above or beside food that will not be cooked again is how salmonella gets onto the thing you eat. This is the classic one.
“Have HACCP plan: reduced oxygen packaging. Observed vacuum packaged foods being held greater than 48 hours without an approved HACCP plan by the Health Authority. See remarks. 37”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 3-302.11(A)(4) — Packaged and Unpackaged Food - Separation, Packaging, and Segregation
Reduced-oxygen packaging without meeting the criteria
Vacuum-sealing food removes the oxygen that keeps some of the worst pathogens in check. It needs a written plan.
Food Code 3-502.12(B)(1) — Reduced Oxygen Packaging Without a Variance, Criteria
Feb 16, 2024 96 3 findings · 1 illness risk factor
Dishes were stacked before they had air-dried
Towel-drying and wet nesting reintroduce bacteria immediately after the sanitizer step, which wastes the sanitizer step.
“Preparing food determined by the regulatory authority to require a variance. Observed ROP food prepared in the establishment with a shelf life of 3 days. See remarks. 39”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 4-901.11 — Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required
A permit-holder responsibility was not met
Covers the obligations that come with holding the permit — posting it, allowing access, reporting changes, correcting findings.
“Permit posted. Observed the permit was no posted in a conspicuous location. Post the permit in a location easily visible to the consumer. 47”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 8-304.11(K) — Responsibilities of the Permit Holder
A specialized process was run without the required variance
Things like curing, smoking for preservation or vacuum packing need written approval, because done wrong they enable botulism.
Food Code 3-502.11(G) — Variance Requirement
Aug 23, 2023 100 No violations recorded
✓ Metro Health recorded no violations at this inspection.
Feb 2, 2023 94 4 findings · 1 illness risk factor
Raw and ready-to-eat food were not kept separate
Raw chicken stored above or beside food that will not be cooked again is how salmonella gets onto the thing you eat. This is the classic one.
Food Code 3-302.11(A)(4) — Packaged and Unpackaged Food - Separation, Packaging, and Segregation
Chemicals were stored where they could contaminate food
Cleaning products on the shelf above food, or beside the prep table, only need to leak once.
Food Code 7-201.11 — Separation
A floor, wall or ceiling surface was not smooth and cleanable
Porous or rough surfaces in a wet kitchen hold moisture and grow mould. They must be sealable and washable.
“Food protected from cross contamination by storing the food in packages, covered containers, or wrappings. Observed food not adequately protected from environmental hazards. Cover, wrap, or package food so it is protected from environmental hazards. 45”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 6-101.11(A)(1) — Surface Characteristics
A permit-holder responsibility was not met
Covers the obligations that come with holding the permit — posting it, allowing access, reporting changes, correcting findings.
“Poisonous/toxic materials or chemicals stored properly. Observed a sanitizer container stored on a shelf with food. Store toxic/poisonous chemicals away from or below any food, food service items, or single use/service food items. 47”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 8-304.11(A) — Responsibilities of the Permit Holder
Mar 17, 2022 93 3 findings · 1 illness risk factor
No soap at a hand sink
Rinsing with water alone does not remove the grease that bacteria travel in. A hand sink without soap is decoration.
“NO SOAP DISPENSER FOUND AT DISH AREA HAND SINK. REINSTALL SOAP DISPENSER. CORRECTED ON SITE.”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 6-301.11 — Handwashing Cleanser, Availability · inspection item 31
Equipment or utensils were not clean
Split into two standards: anything that touches food must be clean to sight and touch, and everything else must be free of built-up grease, dust and debris. This is the most cited line in the whole code.
“FOUR SLIDE TOP SALAD DRESSING/SAUSE DISPENSERS WITH FOOD RESIDUE ON UNDERSIDE OF METAL TOP. ENSURE THESE ARE DISASSEMBLED FOR CLEANING AND INSPECTED BEFORE REASSEMBLY AND REFILLING. CORRECTED ON SITE.”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Food Code 4-601.11(A) — Equipment, Food-Contact Surfaces, Nonfood-Contact Surfaces, and Utensils · inspection item 10
A Food Code requirement was not met
The inspector's own note below describes what was found.
“A FEW DAMAGED WHITE RUBBER SPATULAS. ENSURE ANY DAMAGED, CUT, ROUGH ONES ARE DISCARDED. CORRECTED ON SITE. *”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Texas rule 25 TAC §228.223 · inspection item 32
Sep 27, 2021 95 2 findings
A Food Code requirement was not met
The inspector's own note below describes what was found.
“FOOD RESIDUE ON UNDERSIDE OF METAL SLIDE TOP SALAD DRESSING DISPENSER. ENSURE STAFF ARE TRAINED ON HOW TO DISASSEMBLE AND REMOVE METAL PIECE FOR CLEANING. CAREFUL SHARP METAL. *”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Texas rule 25 TAC §228.113 · inspection item 10
A Food Code requirement was not met
The inspector's own note below describes what was found.
“THREE KITCHEN PAPER TOWEL DISPENSERS WERE OUT OF PAPER TOWELS AND ONE SOAP DISPENSER AT BAR WAS OUT OF SOAP. CORRECTED ON SITE. ALL REFILLED. *”Inspector’s note · SA Metro Health
Texas rule 25 TAC §228.175 · inspection item 31
What these numbers do and do not mean
An inspection score describes one visit on one day. It is what one inspector recorded on one date at one address — Metro Health says so itself. It is not a standing condition, not a grade for the food, and not a prediction about your lunch. A kitchen that scored 88 in March may be spotless today, and one that scored 100 may not be.
A 311 complaint is a phone call, not a finding. The city records that a member of the public called. It is not a citation, not an investigation result, and not evidence that anything was wrong. The city files it against an address, so where two food businesses share one, neither the record nor we can tell them apart. We publish the count with its denominator and let you weigh it.
Awards are reported, not endorsed. Every recognition on this site carries its publisher, its year and a link to the page we read it on. We did not judge those contests and we do not vouch for them; where a publisher named a business rather than an address, the page says so.
Absence of data is never rendered as a finding. No inspection on record means no Bird Score — never a zero, never quietly ranked last. No award found means we searched 172 recognitions from 13 publishers and found none, which is a statement about press coverage and not about cooking.
If something here is wrong, we will fix it. Every figure links to the record it came from. Email us with the correction and we will check it against the source and correct it within 48 hours, whether or not you are a customer. How to request a correction.