MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting El Gallegazo on Coral Way on May 29 found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that means pathogens like Salmonella can survive in undercooked poultry and land on a customer's plate.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant remained open.
What Inspectors Found
The six high-severity violations covered nearly every critical control point in the kitchen. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, a condition that can cause acute poisoning if a chemical contaminates a dish or a container is mislabeled. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning the cutting boards, prep surfaces, and equipment used to prepare meals were a potential vehicle for bacterial transfer between raw and ready-to-eat food.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to properly use time as a public health control. When a facility uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it operates under a strict window, and food left in the temperature danger zone beyond that window becomes a vehicle for bacterial growth. The records do not indicate the window was being tracked.
There was no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. That omission matters most for elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system, all of whom face elevated risk from undercooked proteins.
The restaurant also had no written employee health policy. Three intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The cooking temperature violation is among the most direct public health risks a restaurant can present. Salmonella survives in poultry held below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If a customer at El Gallegazo received undercooked chicken or another protein on May 29, they consumed food that state standards identify as a vector for foodborne illness.
The chemical storage violation adds a separate and unrelated risk. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near or above food preparation areas can contaminate ingredients through spills, splashes, or mislabeled containers. The result is not a slow-developing illness but acute poisoning, sometimes within minutes of ingestion.
The absence of an employee health policy means there is no documented system requiring sick workers to stay out of the kitchen. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads directly from infected food handlers to customers. Without a policy, there is no mechanism to interrupt that transmission route.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours of inadequate washing. Those biofilms are resistant to standard cleaning and can transfer bacteria to every dish the utensil touches. Taken together, the May 29 inspection documented failures at the point of cooking, at the point of surface preparation, at the point of chemical storage, and at the point of worker health management.
The Longer Record
The May 29 inspection was not an outlier. State records show El Gallegazo has been inspected 23 times and has accumulated 368 total violations across its inspection history.
The pattern of high-severity violations is consistent and recent. In March 2026, just two months before the May inspection, inspectors found 4 high-severity and 1 intermediate violation. In March 2024, a two-day inspection sequence produced 10 high-severity violations on March 27, followed by 7 high-severity violations the next day, March 28. September 2023 brought 6 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. December 2022 produced 5 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations.
The only clean inspection in the recent record was April 5, 2024, which showed zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations. That result was followed within a year by the return of multiple high-severity citations.
El Gallegazo has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history on record. The restaurant was not closed after the March 2024 inspection that produced 10 high-severity violations in a single visit. It was not closed after the September 2023 inspection. It was not closed after the May 29, 2026 inspection, when inspectors documented undercooked food, improperly stored toxic chemicals, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no health policy for sick employees.
As of the inspection date, the restaurant at 7467 Coral Way was still serving customers.