MIAMI BEACH, FL. Inspectors visiting Ceviche House Peruvian Kitchen on Alton Road in September found the restaurant serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means the raw fish at the center of its menu had bypassed federal safety inspections entirely, with no way to trace it if customers got sick.
The inspection, conducted September 23 at the 1040 Alton Road location, turned up six high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. State inspectors left the restaurant open.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation is the most direct threat to diners at a restaurant whose menu is built around raw seafood. Ceviche is served cold, not cooked, which means any pathogen present in fish that skipped federal inspection arrives at the table intact.
Alongside the sourcing problem, inspectors found toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly, meaning cleaning agents or other hazardous substances were kept in proximity to or without clear separation from food. That is a direct contamination pathway, not a paperwork issue.
The handwashing findings compounded the picture. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper technique being used by employees. That combination means the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was deficient and, where handwashing was attempted, it was not being done correctly.
No manager was present or performing supervisory duties during the inspection. A restaurant without active managerial oversight during an inspection visit is, by definition, operating without the layer of control meant to catch these problems before inspectors do.
Customers who ate ceviche or any other raw preparation that day were also not warned. The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, the notice required to alert pregnant women, elderly diners, and anyone with a compromised immune system that they are taking on additional risk.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved source at a ceviche restaurant is not an abstract regulatory failure. Raw fish served without cooking relies entirely on the supply chain to be safe before it reaches the kitchen. USDA and FDA inspections exist to screen for Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens at the source. When that screening is bypassed, there is no record to pull if a customer reports illness, and no way to trace an outbreak back to its origin.
The improper sewage disposal citation adds a second contamination pathway. Raw sewage contains fecal bacteria, including E. coli, and improper disposal creates conditions where that contamination can spread through a facility that is simultaneously handling raw fish.
The handwashing violations, taken together, describe a kitchen where the means to prevent cross-contamination were both physically inadequate and procedurally ignored. Improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when a washing attempt is made. Inadequate facilities mean the attempt may not have been possible at all in every part of the kitchen.
The missing consumer advisory matters specifically at this restaurant. Ceviche is a raw preparation. Diners with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and pregnant women face elevated risk from raw seafood, and they are entitled to that information before they order.
The Longer Record
The September inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Ceviche House has accumulated 206 total violations across 22 inspections on record, and the high-severity counts have been a consistent feature of that history.
Inspectors found eight high-severity violations in October 2023 and again in February 2023. The January 2024 inspection turned up six high-severity violations and three intermediate ones, a nearly identical profile to September's findings. The December 2024 visit produced four high-severity violations, and the May 2026 inspection, four months before the September visit, produced five.
The October 2025 inspection found zero high-severity violations and zero intermediate ones. That clean visit, sandwiched between inspections with four, five, and six high-severity findings, suggests the facility is capable of meeting standards when it chooses to, not that the surrounding violations were fluke events.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. Six high-severity violations in a single visit, including unapproved food sourcing, chemical storage failures, and no manager on duty, and the doors stayed open in September 2026.
