TAMPA, FL. Pho Quyen Cuisine on East Fowler Avenue racked up nine high-severity violations during the week of July 10, including citations for food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, failure to cook food to required minimum temperatures, and employees not reporting illness symptoms, the most citations of any facility inspected in Tampa that week.
The restaurant also had no adequate employee health policy on file, and inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and misuse of time as a public health control. That is eight distinct high-severity failure categories, each carrying its own disease transmission risk.
Pho Quyen has been inspected 35 times in its recorded history. This week's nine high-severity findings were not the visit of a new or unfamiliar operation.
The Week's Worst Findings
3 Coins Diner on North Nebraska Avenue followed with seven high-severity violations. Inspectors found no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, misuse of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
The diner also had inadequately maintained toilet facilities, cited as an intermediate violation. The absence of a responsible manager on site, combined with handwashing infrastructure that inspectors deemed inadequate, means the conditions for preventing contamination were not in place even before any individual employee made a mistake.
China Buffet on East Fowler Avenue drew six high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment as an intermediate violation, a finding that compounds the risk at a buffet-format operation where food sits at ambient conditions for extended periods.
China House on West Hillsborough Avenue matched that tally with six high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and misuse of time as a public health control. Like Pho Quyen, China House was flagged both for where its food comes from and for how it tracks shellfish.
Retro House on East Henderson Avenue produced five high-severity violations, including one that stands apart from the week's other findings: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
Courtyard by Marriott Tampa Northwest on Citrus Park Lane also drew five high-severity violations, with no person in charge present, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, misuse of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The hotel property had no intermediate violations, but the absence of a manager and the failure to warn guests about undercooked food options are not minor administrative gaps.
The Closure and the Rest of the Week
On July 10, the first day of the inspection week, state inspectors shut down Twins Delicious Seafood and Soul Food at 5102 North 40th Street. The cited reason was the absence of a functioning handwashing sink. Without that infrastructure, no amount of employee compliance can produce safe hand hygiene, and the operation was ordered closed.
NY NY Pizza on East 7th Avenue in Ybor City drew four high-severity violations, two of which are particularly notable in combination: parasite destruction procedures not followed, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited employees not reporting illness symptoms and inadequate shell stock identification records. A pizza restaurant serving fish or other items requiring parasite destruction protocols without notifying customers is offering those customers no basis to make an informed choice about the risk.
Boulon Brasserie on Water Street, one of Tampa's higher-profile dining addresses, drew four high-severity violations including parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, inadequate shell stock identification records, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The allergen citation is significant: inspectors found staff unable to demonstrate knowledge of how to prevent allergic reactions in a kitchen that almost certainly handles common allergens daily.
Surfside Cafe at Adventure Island on North McKinley Drive drew the same allergen and parasite citation combination as Boulon, alongside inadequate shell stock identification records and no consumer advisory. A theme park food operation serving families, including children who may have allergies, with no demonstrated allergen awareness is a specific and documented gap.
Mamas Kitchen 3 on North Florida Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. An intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also on the report, a finding that, if accurate, represents potential fecal contamination risk throughout the facility.
Steelbach on North Ola Avenue, Charann's Tavern on Memorial Highway, and Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Ybor on East 9th Avenue each drew four high-severity violations. Steelbach and Charann's Tavern both lacked employee health policies and had improper handwashing technique on record. The Hilton Garden Inn was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature alongside food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory.
Nosh Express on North West Shore Boulevard drew four high-severity violations including food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside handwashing failures and unclean food contact surfaces. Applebee's on West Hillsborough Avenue drew one high-severity violation, for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity citation this week was improper handwashing technique, appearing at Pho Quyen, 3 Coins Diner, China Buffet, China House, Nosh Express, Retro House, Courtyard by Marriott, Mamas Kitchen 3, Charann's Tavern, Hilton Garden Inn Ybor, and Steelbach. The distinction between "inadequate handwashing" and "improper technique" matters: the latter means an employee made an attempt to wash hands but did it wrong. Pathogens including Norovirus and Salmonella survive a 10-second rinse without soap. An attempt that looks like compliance can still leave contamination on hands that then touch food, cutting boards, and serving surfaces.
Three facilities this week, Pho Quyen and China House, were flagged for food from unapproved or unknown sources. When food enters a kitchen through an uninspected supplier, there is no chain of custody if someone gets sick. Investigators cannot trace an outbreak back to a source they cannot identify. The shellfish traceability citations at Pho Quyen, China House, Retro House, Courtyard by Marriott, NY NY Pizza, Boulon Brasserie, and Surfside Cafe compound this problem specifically for oysters, clams, and mussels, which are consumed raw or lightly cooked and have historically been linked to Vibrio and Hepatitis A outbreaks when source records go missing.
The parasite destruction citations at NY NY Pizza, Boulon Brasserie, and Surfside Cafe describe a specific procedural failure: fish served raw or undercooked must be frozen to a temperature and held for a duration sufficient to kill parasites including Anisakis, which causes severe gastrointestinal illness. If that step is skipped, the risk transfers directly to the customer. The consumer advisory citations at those same facilities mean customers were not told the food carried that risk.
The no-allergen-awareness finding at Boulon Brasserie and Surfside Cafe is not a paperwork issue. It means inspectors found staff could not demonstrate how to prevent cross-contact with allergens or communicate allergen information to a customer who asked. Allergic reactions to food cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States, and most are preventable with basic staff training.
The Longer Record
China Buffet on East Fowler Avenue has the longest inspection history of any facility cited this week, with 57 prior inspections on record. This week's six high-severity violations, including management absence, no employee health policy, and inadequate cooling equipment, are not the findings of a facility encountering scrutiny for the first time. Fifty-seven inspections is a substantial record, and the citations from this week sit inside that history.
3 Coins Diner has 46 prior inspections and drew seven high-severity violations this week, the second-highest total of any facility. The combination of inadequate handwashing infrastructure and no manager present means the diner's physical setup and its staffing both failed inspection simultaneously, across a record that now spans nearly five decades of documented visits.
NY NY Pizza has 39 prior inspections. The parasite destruction and shellfish traceability failures documented this week are not the kind of violations that appear by accident at an operation that long in the record.
Boulon Brasserie, by contrast, has only 13 prior inspections. It is among the newer operations in this week's data, and it is already accumulating high-severity citations in categories, allergen awareness and parasite destruction, that reflect training and protocol gaps rather than equipment failures. Those are harder to fix than a broken refrigerator.
Twins Delicious Seafood and Soul Food, the facility shut down on July 10, is not in the violation ranking above because its closure record is separate from the scored inspections. What the record shows is that on the first day of the inspection week, a seafood restaurant in Tampa was operating without a functioning handwashing sink.
