ST. AUGUSTINE, FL. A state inspector visiting Anejo Cocina Mexicana at 650 E Twincourt Trail on May 6 found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, and no consumer advisory warning diners that they might be eating raw or undercooked items. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection turned up seven high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. In Florida's inspection system, high-severity citations represent the most direct threats to customer health, and seven in a single visit is a number that typically draws serious scrutiny.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food citation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate there. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and proper cooking temperature is one of the few reliable barriers between that pathogen and a customer's plate.
The chemical violations compound the picture. Two separate high-severity citations, one for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and one for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, indicate that hazardous materials were present in a way that could contaminate food. These are not paperwork violations. They describe a physical arrangement that puts cleaning agents or other toxins in proximity to food preparation.
The handwashing findings are notable for appearing twice on the same report. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the infrastructure itself was deficient, and improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning employees were not washing correctly even when they tried. Both citations at once is not a coincidence. It is a pattern.
The shellfish traceability violation adds another layer. Without proper shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to their source if a customer becomes ill. The restaurant also had no consumer advisory on the menu alerting diners that raw or undercooked items were available, which is required precisely because some customers, including pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems, face significantly elevated risk from those foods.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food violation is not an abstract regulatory concern. Salmonella, Campylobacter, and other pathogens common in poultry and shellfish are destroyed by heat. When food does not reach the required internal temperature, those pathogens reach the customer. The absence of a consumer advisory at Anejo on May 6 means diners who might have chosen differently had no way to know raw or undercooked items were on the menu.
The dual chemical violations are worth reading carefully. Florida's inspection system distinguishes between chemicals that are mislabeled or stored near food and chemicals that are improperly identified, stored, or used in a broader operational sense. Anejo drew both citations on the same day. That means inspectors found problems with how chemicals were labeled or positioned and with how the facility was managing toxic substances overall.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils, one of the two intermediate violations, carry their own cumulative risk. Bacterial biofilms can develop on utensil surfaces within 24 hours of inadequate cleaning. Once established, those biofilms are significantly harder to remove than fresh contamination, and they transfer to food on contact.
The Longer Record
Five inspections on record and 43 total violations tell a story about a facility that has cycled through serious problems more than once. The May 6 inspection is not an isolated bad day.
The most recent prior inspection, in November 2025, produced five high-severity violations and one intermediate. Before that, in March 2025, there were two inspections in two consecutive days. The first, on March 5, resulted in 12 high-severity violations and one intermediate. The second, on March 6, showed zero high-severity violations and zero intermediate violations, suggesting a rapid correction after what appears to have been a follow-up visit.
The August 2024 inspection was also clean. That creates a pattern of sharp swings: the facility passes, then accumulates serious violations, then corrects, then accumulates again. The March 2025 sequence, 12 high-severity violations followed by a clean bill of health the next day, is consistent with a facility that can fix problems quickly when pressed but does not sustain those corrections.
Anejo has never been emergency-closed. That record may surprise readers looking at a facility with 43 total violations across five inspections, including a 12-violation inspection in March 2025 and a 7-violation inspection this month.
The Restaurant Remained Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health serious enough to require shutting the doors. The state did not make that determination on May 6 at Anejo Cocina Mexicana.
Seven high-severity violations, including undercooked food, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no shellfish traceability, were documented. The inspector left. The restaurant stayed open.
Calls to Anejo Cocina Mexicana were not returned before publication.