KEY WEST, FL. An Islamorada seafood restaurant accumulated six high-severity violations in a single inspection, a Duval Street smoothie shop was sourcing food from unapproved or unknown suppliers, and a Fleming Street fine-dining staple was cited for food from unapproved sources alongside improperly stored toxic substances, all during the week of July 13 through July 19, 2026, when the Florida Keys were packed with summer tourists.
State inspectors cited 12 restaurants across Key West, Islamorada, and the Upper Keys for high-severity violations during that seven-day stretch. The facilities ranged from walk-up juice counters to white-tablecloth dining rooms, from Duval Street landmarks to roadside stops on the Overseas Highway.
The Violations
Reel Catch at 80001 Overseas Highway in Islamorada drew the most citations of any facility inspected that week, with six high-severity violations. Inspectors found that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, that handwashing facilities were inadequate, and that employees were using improper hand and arm washing technique. Food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures, time as a public health control was not properly used, and the restaurant lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal rounded out the findings.
Cocomelon Blend and Brew at 1075 Duval Street was cited for five high-severity violations, including sourcing food from unapproved or unknown sources and possessing food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Four intermediate violations accompanied those findings, including improper sewage disposal and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Key Plaza Creperie at 1105 Key Plaza was cited for five high-severity violations as well, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, inadequate shell stock identification and records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. The creperie also lacked an employee health policy and had improper handwashing technique on record. Inspectors noted improper sewage disposal and single-use items being improperly reused as intermediate violations.
Cafe Marquesa at 600 Fleming Street is among Key West's best-known fine-dining addresses. Inspectors cited it for five high-severity violations during this period, including no person in charge present or performing duties, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food from an unapproved or unknown source, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Karlitas Cafe at 934 Truman Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and two separate chemical storage violations, one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and one for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
DJ's Clam Shack at 629 Duval Street drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge present, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. A clam shack without a posted consumer advisory for raw shellfish is a direct concern for tourists who may not know to ask.
Kennedy Cafe at 924-A Kennedy Drive was cited for four high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification and records, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The cafe also drew four intermediate violations, including improper sewage disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items improperly reused, and equipment in poor repair.
Puerto Vallarta Mexican Bar and Grill at 86701 Overseas Highway in Islamorada was cited for four high-severity violations, including food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Key West Poke House at 500 Truman Avenue drew three high-severity violations: an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. A poke restaurant serving raw fish sourced from an unverified supplier is a combination the state's inspection system flags as a compounding risk.
Island House Rest at 1129 Fleming Street was cited for three high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source.
Green Turtle Inn at 81219 Overseas Highway in Islamorada drew three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. Two intermediate violations for improper sewage disposal and inadequate ventilation accompanied those findings.
Havana Island Cafe Big Coppitt at 319 Overseas Highway drew the fewest citations among the 12 facilities, with two high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
What These Violations Mean
The most alarming pattern across these 12 facilities is the combination of illness-reporting failures and handwashing breakdowns appearing at the same locations. At Reel Catch, inspectors found both employees not reporting illness symptoms and inadequate handwashing facilities in the same visit. That pairing matters because a sick employee who cannot properly wash their hands is the most direct route from a food worker to a customer's plate. Norovirus, which spreads through exactly this mechanism, can incapacitate a healthy adult within 12 to 48 hours.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources appeared as a high-severity violation at five facilities: Cocomelon Blend and Brew, Cafe Marquesa, Key West Poke House, Island House Rest, and Green Turtle Inn. For tourists, this violation carries a specific risk that is easy to overlook. Food from approved sources has a traceable supply chain; if someone gets sick, investigators can identify the origin and pull product. Food from unapproved sources has no such chain. At a poke house serving raw fish, as at Key West Poke House, that traceability gap is not abstract.
Undercooking violations at Reel Catch, Key Plaza Creperie, Cafe Marquesa, Puerto Vallarta, and Havana Island Cafe represent a separate but equally direct hazard. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A tourist who orders a chicken dish and gets sick on a Tuesday afternoon may not connect the meal to symptoms that appear Wednesday night, long after they have left the Keys.
The two chemical storage violations at Karlitas Cafe, and the toxic substances citation at Cafe Marquesa, represent a category visitors rarely consider. Improperly labeled or stored cleaning chemicals near food preparation surfaces can contaminate food directly, with symptoms that mimic food poisoning but require different medical treatment.
The Longer Record
Several of the facilities cited this week are long-established Keys institutions, not newcomers still finding their footing. Cafe Marquesa on Fleming Street and Green Turtle Inn on the Overseas Highway in Islamorada both carry inspection histories that stretch back years. The presence of high-severity violations at locations with extensive prior inspection records suggests these findings were not isolated surprises caught in a new facility's first months of operation.
Reel Catch's six-violation inspection is notable in its density. Six high-severity citations in a single visit, covering illness reporting, handwashing infrastructure, cooking temperatures, time-temperature controls, consumer advisories, and sewage disposal, represents failures spread across nearly every category of food safety management rather than a concentrated problem in one area.
Kennedy Cafe's combination of shell stock identification failures and toxic chemical storage violations, alongside four intermediate violations including sewage disposal and equipment in poor repair, points to a facility where multiple systems are not functioning concurrently. Shell stock records exist specifically so that if a customer contracts Vibrio or norovirus from a raw oyster or clam, investigators can trace the harvest location. Without those records, that traceability is gone entirely.
DJ's Clam Shack on Duval Street, one of Key West's most heavily trafficked tourist corridors, was operating without a person in charge present and without a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Both of those conditions were documented in the same inspection.
