HOLLYWOOD, FL. A state inspector walked into Bok Bok Baby on Hollywood Boulevard on May 15 and found that food was not being cooked to the minimum required temperature, a violation that means pathogens like Salmonella can survive the cooking process and land directly on a customer's plate.

That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogen survival risk
2HIGHParasite destruction procedures not followedParasite survival risk
3HIGHInadequate shell stock identification/recordsShellfish traceability failure
4HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination risk
5HIGHImproper hand and arm washing techniquePathogen transfer risk
6HIGHNo consumer advisory for raw/undercooked foodsVulnerable diners uninformed
7INTMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBiofilm contamination risk

The undercooking violation was not the only finding that put customers at direct risk. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a requirement that applies to fish and other proteins served raw or lightly cooked.

Shellfish records were also deficient. The inspection found inadequate shell stock identification, meaning there was no documentation to trace where the oysters, clams, or mussels came from.

Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and employees were observed using improper hand and arm washing technique. The distinction matters: a worker can go through the motions of washing their hands and still leave pathogens on their skin if the technique is wrong.

Rounding out the high-severity findings, the restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. One intermediate violation was also cited: multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned.

What These Violations Mean

The undercooking violation is among the most direct pathways to foodborne illness in any restaurant. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be destroyed. When food does not reach that threshold, the bacteria survive and are served. For a restaurant whose name is a reference to chicken, that citation carries particular weight.

The parasite destruction failure compounds the risk. Fish served raw or lightly cooked must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations before service, a process that kills parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm larvae. Without documentation that this process was followed, there is no way to confirm that fish served at Bok Bok Baby on May 15 was safe to eat.

The shellfish traceability failure creates a separate but equally serious problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they inhabit. State records require restaurants to keep shell stock tags so that, if customers get sick, health officials can trace the source and pull the supply. Without those records, an outbreak investigation starts blind.

Improper handwashing technique is easy to dismiss as a technicality. It is not. A worker who touches raw poultry, attempts to wash their hands incorrectly, and then handles a finished plate has created a direct contamination route. Combined with unsanitized food contact surfaces and improperly cleaned utensils, the inspection describes a kitchen where multiple contamination pathways were active at the same time.

The Longer Record

The May 15 inspection was not an anomaly. It was the worst single inspection in a pattern that stretches back years.

Bok Bok Baby: High-Severity Violations Over Time

May 20266 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate. Undercooking, parasite destruction failure, shellfish traceability, unsanitized surfaces, improper handwashing, no consumer advisory.
March 20264 high-severity violations, 0 intermediate. Two months before the May inspection.
June 20253 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate.
March 20248 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate. Highest single-inspection count on record.
March 20222 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate.
February 20204 high-severity violations, 0 intermediate.

Across 21 inspections on record, Bok Bok Baby has accumulated 141 total violations. High-severity citations have appeared in seven of the eight most recent inspections with any violations recorded.

The March 2024 inspection produced eight high-severity violations, the highest single-visit count in the restaurant's history. Two months later, in the same year, a follow-up inspection found zero violations. That clean inspection did not hold. By June 2025, high-severity violations were back. By March 2026, there were four more. By May 2026, six.

The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.

Still Open

State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when a facility poses an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including undercooking, parasite destruction failures, and shellfish without traceability records, documented in a single visit did not trigger that order at Bok Bok Baby on May 15.

The restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard remained open for business.