MIAMI BEACH, FL. Inspectors visiting Kanoli Restaurant on Ocean Drive on June 11 found no evidence that the kitchen was following parasite destruction procedures for raw fish, a failure that leaves customers exposed to live Anisakis and tapeworm larvae in every uncooked or lightly cooked seafood dish served.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented that afternoon at the restaurant at 1230 Ocean Dr. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violations stand out alongside the parasite finding. Inspectors cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification and records, meaning there was no documentation tracing where the oysters, clams, or mussels on the menu came from. If a customer became ill after eating raw shellfish, health officials would have no paper trail to follow.
The restaurant was also cited for having no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. That notice exists specifically to warn elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system that certain menu items carry elevated risk. There was none.
Three separate handwashing violations were documented in the same inspection. Inspectors found inadequate handwashing facilities, inadequate handwashing by employees, and improper hand and arm washing technique. All three together indicate a kitchen where the basic mechanics of hygiene were not functioning on any level.
No person in charge was present or performing duties. The restaurant had no written employee health policy. Both of those conditions were cited the same day.
The intermediate violations added sewage or wastewater disposal problems, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting to the list.
What These Violations Mean
Parasite destruction is not a paperwork requirement. Restaurants serving raw or lightly cooked fish, including sushi, ceviche, and certain preparations of salmon or tuna, are required to freeze product to specific temperatures for specific durations before service to kill Anisakis roundworms, tapeworms, and other parasites. When that process is skipped or undocumented, the parasites survive into the dish. At Kanoli, inspectors found no evidence the procedures were being followed.
The shellfish traceability failure compounds the seafood risk. Shellfish tags are required to remain on file for 90 days precisely because shellfish-linked illness, including Vibrio and Norovirus outbreaks, can take weeks to surface and trace. Without those records at Kanoli, any illnesses tied to shellfish served there would be nearly impossible to connect to a source.
Three handwashing violations in a single inspection is not a minor finding. Inadequate facilities means the infrastructure to wash hands properly was not in place. Inadequate technique means that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, they were not doing it correctly. Inadequate practice by employees means the behavior itself was failing. Each violation on its own is serious. All three together describe a kitchen where pathogen transfer from surfaces, raw proteins, and waste to prepared food was structurally enabled.
The absence of a person in charge performing duties is the condition that allows the others to accumulate. CDC data cited in the inspection record indicates that establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations than those with it. The violations at Kanoli on June 11 are consistent with that finding.
The Longer Record
This inspection was not an outlier. State records show Kanoli has been inspected 29 times and has accumulated 326 total violations across its history. The six inspections immediately preceding June 11 each included between four and eleven high-severity violations, with no inspection since at least 2024 coming in below four high-priority citations.
The August 2025 inspection produced nine high-severity violations and two intermediate. The April 2025 inspection produced eleven high-severity violations, the worst single-inspection count in recent records. The December 2024 inspection produced six. The pattern is consistent: high numbers, repeated visits, no sustained improvement.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, in April 2015, for rodent activity. It reopened the following day. That closure is the only interruption in the operational record despite years of compounding high-severity findings.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine an imminent hazard to public health exists. Eight high-severity violations at Kanoli on June 11, including failures in parasite control, shellfish traceability, handwashing infrastructure, and managerial oversight, did not meet that threshold.
The restaurant on Ocean Drive remained open after inspectors left.