MIAMI, FL. Back in April, state inspectors walked into Cotoletta on Grand Avenue in Miami's Coconut Grove and documented food not cooked to its required minimum temperature, a violation that means pathogens like Salmonella can survive in the finished dish and reach a customer's plate.
That was one of six high-severity violations cited on April 16, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The cooking temperature violation is among the most direct paths to customer illness in a restaurant kitchen. Inspectors also found toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, a finding that sits in a different category of danger entirely. Improperly stored chemicals near food preparation areas create the risk of direct contamination of food or food contact surfaces.
Food contact surfaces were cited as not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep tables, and similar surfaces that are inadequately cleaned become transfer points for bacteria from one food item to the next.
The inspector also documented improper handwashing technique. This violation is distinct from employees simply skipping handwashing. It means workers were making a handwashing attempt but doing it wrong, leaving pathogens on their hands before returning to food preparation.
Rounding out the high-severity findings: no written employee health policy and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The consumer advisory gap is particularly relevant at a restaurant named Cotoletta, where preparations involving undercooked or lightly cooked proteins are part of the menu concept.
Four intermediate violations accompanied the six high-severity findings. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, wiping cloths were used improperly, ventilation and lighting were inadequate, and equipment was found in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The cooking temperature violation documented at Cotoletta is one of the most direct causes of foodborne illness in restaurant settings. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is pulled from heat before reaching required temperatures, that pathogen can arrive at a table alive. At a restaurant where the menu centers on cooked proteins, that gap matters.
The toxic substance violation is a separate and immediate concern. When chemicals are not properly labeled, stored away from food, or used correctly, the contamination pathway is not bacterial, it is chemical. That kind of exposure can happen in a single service without any warning signs.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods leaves a specific population without information they need to make safe choices. Pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems face substantially higher risk from undercooked proteins. The advisory is not a formality. It is the mechanism by which those customers know to ask questions or order differently.
Improperly used wiping cloths, cited as an intermediate violation here, are among the most common contamination vehicles in commercial kitchens. A cloth used to wipe a contaminated surface and then used again on a clean one moves bacteria efficiently across a prep area. Combined with the food contact surface and utensil cleaning failures also documented in this inspection, the picture at Cotoletta in April was one of compounding contamination risks operating simultaneously.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not an outlier. State records show 18 inspections on file for Cotoletta, with 100 total violations accumulated across that history.
The most recent prior inspection, conducted February 2, 2026, produced seven high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. That was a worse single-visit count than April's six high-severity findings. Two months later, six high-severity violations remained on the books.
The pattern extends further back. January 2024 produced five high-severity violations and five intermediate ones. May 2023 brought four high-severity and two intermediate. The inspection record shows only two visits in the dataset with a single high-severity violation each, both in 2022 and mid-2024. Every other documented inspection found multiple high-severity problems.
Cotoletta has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. Not after the seven high-severity violations in February. Not after five high-severity violations in January 2024. Not after April's ten-violation inspection.
Still Open
State inspectors left Cotoletta on April 16, 2026 having documented six high-severity violations including undercooked food, improperly stored toxic substances, and contaminated food contact surfaces.
The restaurant remained open.