MIAMI BEACH, FL. Employees at a Washington Avenue restaurant were not reporting symptoms of illness to management, state records show, and the restaurant kept serving food.
That violation was one of nine high-severity citations issued to Garden House Restaurant at 710 Washington Ave during a May 12, 2026 inspection. The state did not emergency-close the facility.
The nine high-severity violations documented that day covered nearly every layer of food safety: no person in charge performing duties, no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, and toxic chemicals both improperly stored and improperly identified.
Four intermediate violations accompanied the high-severity citations: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, improper sanitizing solution or procedures, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What Inspectors Found
The citation for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures carries a direct and specific consequence: Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who ate undercooked chicken at Garden House on or around May 12 was exposed to that risk without any notification.
The toxic chemical violations compound the picture. Inspectors cited both improper storage and improper identification of toxic substances, two separate citations pointing to the same corner of the kitchen. Chemicals stored near food, or mislabeled, can contaminate a dish without any visible sign.
The consumer advisory violation means customers with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, the elderly, and young children had no written notice that raw or undercooked items were on the menu.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness violations are worth reading closely. Garden House was cited for having no written employee health policy and for employees not reporting symptoms of illness. These are not the same violation, and both appearing together describes a specific failure chain: there is no policy requiring workers to report illness, and workers are, in fact, not reporting illness.
CDC data cited in the inspection records identifies food workers who fail to report illness as the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus alone accounts for 20 million cases in the United States annually, and it spreads efficiently through food prepared by an infected worker.
The absence of a person in charge performing duties is the structural failure that allows the others to accumulate. State inspection data shows establishments without active managerial control document critical violations at three times the rate of those with it. At Garden House on May 12, no such control was present.
The sewage and wastewater disposal citation carries its own weight. Improper sewage disposal creates the conditions for fecal contamination throughout a facility. That citation, combined with improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, describes a kitchen where pathogens can move from surface to food without being interrupted.
The Longer Record
The May 12 inspection did not happen in isolation. State records show Garden House has been inspected 26 times, accumulating 239 total violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The inspection one day earlier, on May 11, produced 13 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate citations. The May 12 inspection, with 9 high-severity violations, was the follow-up. The number dropped, but nine high-severity citations on a return visit is not a resolution.
The pattern extends back years. Garden House was cited for 9 high-severity violations in December 2023, then 6 more four days later. In March 2024, inspectors found 7 high-severity violations. In September 2025, 5 high-severity violations. In November 2025, 3 high-severity violations. The counts fluctuate, but the category stays the same.
Of the eight most recent inspections in the record, every single one included at least two high-severity violations. Three of those inspections produced seven or more.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines an immediate threat to public health exists. After 13 high-severity violations on May 11 and 9 more on May 12, state records show no such determination was made.
Garden House Restaurant at 710 Washington Ave remained open to the public following the May 12 inspection.