MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visiting Divino Ceviche at 2629 NW 79th Avenue on July 13 found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that means live pathogens can survive on the plate and reach the customer.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector documented five additional intermediate violations alongside those six high-severity citations. They included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, improper waste disposal, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and the improper use of wiping cloths.
No person in charge was present or performing duties at the time of the inspection. That absence sits at the top of the violation list for a reason.
The inspector also found that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep tables, and similar surfaces that carry food residue from one preparation to the next are among the most direct routes for bacterial transfer in any kitchen.
Improperly used wiping cloths compound that problem. A cloth used to wipe a contaminated surface and then dragged across a prep area moves pathogens from one zone to another without anyone noticing.
What These Violations Mean
The cooking temperature violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Divino Ceviche on or around July 13. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food does not reach the required minimum temperature, that margin disappears and the customer absorbs whatever survived the cooking process.
The "time as a public health control" violation adds a second layer of risk. When a facility uses time rather than temperature to manage food safety, it operates under a strict protocol: food in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees must be tracked, labeled, and discarded within a defined window. Inspectors found that protocol was not being followed properly at Divino Ceviche, meaning food that should have been discarded may not have been.
The missing consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods is specific to a ceviche restaurant in a way it would not be at a burger counter. Ceviche is acid-marinated, not heat-cooked. Customers who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young have no way to make an informed choice about that risk if the restaurant does not disclose it. At Divino Ceviche on July 13, the disclosure was absent.
The handwashing failure ties all of this together. Without functioning handwashing facilities, proper hand hygiene is structurally impossible. Every food handler in that kitchen was working in conditions where the most basic contamination barrier was compromised.
The Longer Record
The July 13 inspection was not the first time Divino Ceviche has drawn serious scrutiny. State records show 28 inspections on file and 203 total violations accumulated across that history.
The pattern going back to 2023 is consistent. In July 2023, inspectors cited seven high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. In March 2024, the count was five high-severity violations and two intermediate. In August 2024, it was three high-severity and three intermediate. The July 13 inspection, with six high-severity citations, fits the upper range of what inspectors have found there repeatedly.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, on April 29, 2021, for fly activity. It reopened the following day. The more recent inspection history shows no additional emergency closures, but it also shows no sustained reduction in high-severity violations. The December 2025 inspection found two high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. Seven months later, the count was six high-severity violations and five intermediate.
The most recent eight inspections on record have not produced a single visit with zero high-severity violations, with one exception: a March 2025 inspection that found no high-severity citations and only one intermediate violation. That visit stands alone in the recent history.
Still Open
State inspectors left Divino Ceviche open on July 13 despite the six high-severity violations. Florida law permits emergency closure when an inspector determines an imminent threat to public health exists. That threshold was not triggered here.
The restaurant's 203 cumulative violations across 28 inspections place it in a category where the record itself is the story. The July 13 visit added eleven more violations to that total.
Divino Ceviche was still operating after the inspection.
