FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Michael's Cafe Bistro on NE 62nd Street drew seven high-severity violations during the first week of August, the highest single-facility count among 15 Fort Lauderdale restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between August 1 and August 7, 2026.
The violations at Michael's covered nearly every layer of food safety: food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, inadequate shell stock identification records, improper handwashing technique, and no employee health policy. Three intermediate violations accompanied the high-severity findings.
What Inspectors Found
Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi on Cordova Road and Bohemian Latin Grill on NE 32nd Street each drew six high-severity violations. Both were cited for employees not reporting symptoms of illness and for inadequate shellfish traceability records. Koi was also flagged for sourcing food from an unapproved or unknown supplier, a violation that places it among the week's most serious offenders.
Bohemian Latin Grill accumulated its six violations with no intermediate findings alongside them, a combination that points to fundamental operational breakdowns rather than maintenance lapses. The inspector found no person in charge present or performing duties, inadequate handwashing by food employees, and no adequate handwashing facilities, meaning the infrastructure to wash hands properly did not exist at the time of the visit.
Fresh Box Cafe on West Commercial Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations, including failure to follow required procedures for specialized food processes. That violation, alongside improper use of time as a public health control and no employee health policy, suggests the cafe is using non-standard food preparation methods without the documented protocols those methods legally require.
High Tides on Seabreeze Boulevard drew five high-severity citations, including food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The inspector also found no person in charge present.
Larb BKK on North Federal Highway was cited for five high-severity violations as well, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, improper handwashing technique, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and inadequate shellfish records.
Gyroville on North Andrews Avenue drew four high-severity violations, including no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods and improper use of time as a public health control, plus three intermediate violations covering improperly cleaned utensils, improper waste disposal, and inadequate toilet facilities.
International House of Pancakes at 1101 North Federal Highway was cited for four high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. No person in charge was present during the inspection.
Bodega Taqueria y Tequila on West Las Olas Boulevard drew four high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The facility also had intermediate violations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate ventilation.
Grano de Mostaza Restaurant on NW 31st Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored, no consumer advisory, no employee health policy, and improper handwashing technique.
Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek on NW 62nd Street also drew four high-severity violations, including food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, improper handwashing technique and frequency, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
The remaining four facilities each received three high-severity violations. Juicy Crab on North Andrews Avenue was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish records, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature. Tree House Play and Cafe on Cordova Road, a children's play cafe, drew citations for food in poor condition or adulterated, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Ceviche Barrio by Antojitos to Go on Powerline Road was cited for improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Sushi One on North Federal Highway drew violations for food from an unapproved or unknown source, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The most direct disease transmission risk this week came from the employee illness reporting failures documented at Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi, Bohemian Latin Grill, Fresh Box Cafe, High Tides, Larb BKK, Gyroville, IHOP, and Juicy Crab. When food workers who are sick with Norovirus or Salmonella continue working without reporting symptoms, they become the direct vehicle for transmitting illness to every plate they touch. Norovirus requires fewer than 20 viral particles to infect a person, meaning a single sick worker can cause a multi-victim outbreak in a single shift.
The unapproved food source violations at Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi, High Tides, Bodega Taqueria y Tequila, and Sushi One carry a different but equally serious risk. Food from uninspected suppliers bypasses the federal and state checks designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before the product reaches a kitchen. If a customer gets sick from food at one of these restaurants, investigators cannot trace the product back through the supply chain because that chain was never documented.
The shellfish traceability failures at Michael's Cafe Bistro, Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi, Bohemian Latin Grill, Larb BKK, and Juicy Crab are a specific version of that same problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked, and they are among the most common vehicles for Vibrio and Norovirus outbreaks. State law requires shellfish tags to be kept on file so that a contaminated harvest can be identified and recalled. Without those records, a contaminated batch cannot be traced.
The undercooking violations at Michael's Cafe Bistro, Bodega Taqueria y Tequila, Juicy Crab, and Tree House Play and Cafe represent a failure at the last line of defense. Proper cooking temperatures are what kill pathogens that survive handling, sourcing, and storage failures earlier in the process. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is served below that threshold, every prior safety failure in the kitchen becomes compounded.
The Longer Record
Michael's Cafe Bistro carries 32 prior inspections on record, the deepest history of any facility cited this week. Seven high-severity violations at a location with that many prior visits suggests the problems inspectors documented in August are not new discoveries. Bohemian Latin Grill has 30 inspections on record and still had no person in charge present and no functional handwashing infrastructure during this visit. Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi has 28 prior inspections and was still sourcing food from unapproved suppliers.
Larb BKK and Ceviche Barrio by Antojitos to Go each carry 27 prior inspections. Both were cited this week for handwashing technique failures and improperly stored toxic chemicals. Bodega Taqueria y Tequila and Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek each have 26 inspections on record. The Sheraton, a hotel food operation with that depth of regulatory history, drew four high-severity violations including chemical storage failures and contaminated food contact surfaces.
Fresh Box Cafe is the relative newcomer on this week's list, with only 9 prior inspections. It still accumulated five high-severity violations, including a failure to follow required procedures for specialized food processes. Tree House Play and Cafe has just 7 prior inspections on record, making it the least-inspected facility cited this week. It serves children in a play-cafe environment and was cited for food in poor condition, undercooked food, and no consumer advisory for raw items.
Sushi One on North Federal Highway has 25 inspections on record. It was cited this week for sourcing food from an unapproved supplier and for failing to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a particularly pointed combination for a sushi restaurant that serves raw fish as its primary product.
