DAVIE, FL. Inspectors visiting Cilantro Asian Bistro on West State Road 84 on August 17 documented that the restaurant had no verified procedures in place to destroy parasites in fish, a requirement that exists because Anisakis and tapeworm larvae survive in raw or undercooked seafood and can cause serious illness in anyone who eats it. That was one of ten high-severity violations cited that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction violation is particularly pointed at an Asian bistro that almost certainly serves raw or lightly prepared fish. State rules require restaurants to either cook fish to a lethal temperature or freeze it at specific temperatures for specific durations before serving it raw or undercooked. Without documentation that either step occurred, there is no way to know whether the fish reaching customers had been treated at all.
Inspectors also found that toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used. At a restaurant, that category covers cleaning chemicals and pesticides that, stored or handled incorrectly, can contaminate food or food-contact surfaces directly.
The allergen failure compounded the picture. Inspectors documented that no allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff. Food allergies trigger roughly 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States. A kitchen staff unaware of allergen protocols has no reliable mechanism to prevent cross-contact for a customer with a tree nut, shellfish, or peanut allergy.
Shellfish traceability records were also absent. Without shell stock identification tags, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to their harvest bed if a customer becomes ill. That traceability is the only tool public health officials have to identify and shut down a contaminated source before more people are exposed.
Two separate handwashing violations appeared on the same inspection report: inadequate handwashing by food employees, and improper hand and arm washing technique. The distinction matters. The first means employees were not washing hands when they should have. The second means that even when they did wash, the technique left pathogens on their hands.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers had no notice that items on the menu carried elevated risk. The person in charge was either absent or not performing supervisory duties, a condition that state and federal food safety data consistently link to higher rates of critical violations across every other category.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure and the missing consumer advisory operate together in a way that is more dangerous than either alone. A customer ordering sushi or a raw-fish preparation at Cilantro had no way of knowing the fish had not been properly treated, and no posted warning that undercooked seafood carries risk. For a pregnant woman, an elderly diner, or anyone on immunosuppressive medication, that combination represents an unmitigated exposure.
The employee illness reporting failure is a separate and acute concern. Food workers are the primary transmission route for norovirus, which causes more foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States than any other pathogen. An employee who does not report symptoms and continues working in a kitchen can contaminate surfaces, utensils, and food directly. Combined with the finding that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, the conditions for pathogen spread were layered on top of each other in this single inspection.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils, cited as an intermediate violation, are not a minor footnote. Bacterial biofilms establish on inadequately cleaned surfaces within 24 hours and are significantly harder to kill than free-floating bacteria. In a kitchen already failing on surface sanitation, utensil cleaning is not a redundant safeguard. It is the last one.
The Longer Record
The August 17 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Cilantro Asian Bistro has been inspected 23 times and has accumulated 150 violations across that history. The most recent comparable inspection, on July 13, produced 12 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate, a figure worse than the August count. The January 13 inspection of this year found 5 high-severity violations. The March 19, 2025 inspection found 8 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, on May 31, 2016, for roach activity. It was allowed to reopen the following day.
The pattern across recent years shows a facility that clears inspections after violations are cited, then returns to high violation counts within months. The July 2026 inspection produced 12 high-severity violations. The August 17 inspection, one month later, produced 10. The August 18 follow-up showed zero high-severity violations, the same outcome that followed the March 2025 cluster and the November 2024 inspection.
The cycle has repeated across at least eight documented inspections since 2024.
Open for Business
Florida law gives inspectors authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Ten high-severity violations, including parasite destruction failures, toxic substance mishandling, no allergen awareness, absent managerial control, and two separate handwashing breakdowns, did not meet that threshold on August 17.
Cilantro Asian Bistro remained open that evening.
