NORTH MIAMI, FL. Inspectors cited La Brasa North Miami 125 on NE 123rd Street for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature during an October 6 inspection, a violation that puts poultry customers at direct risk of Salmonella poisoning. That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The six high-severity violations covered nearly every stage of food handling. Inspectors cited the restaurant for improper handwashing technique, meaning pathogens can remain on employees' hands even after a washing attempt. They also documented food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, a primary route for bacterial transfer between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food. A mislabeled or misplaced chemical container in a working kitchen is not a paperwork problem; it is a direct contamination risk for whatever food is prepared nearby.
The restaurant was also cited for failing to properly use time as a public health control. When a kitchen tracks time rather than temperature to keep food safe, the record-keeping must be precise. Inspectors found it was not. The facility also lacked a required consumer advisory notifying customers that some items may be served raw or undercooked.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at La Brasa North Miami 125 on or around October 6. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A restaurant that cannot demonstrate it reaches that temperature is serving customers food that may still carry live bacteria. The consequences range from severe gastrointestinal illness to hospitalization.
The improper sewage disposal citation compounds that risk. Raw sewage carries fecal bacteria including E. coli and Salmonella. When waste water is not properly disposed of, those pathogens can reach food preparation surfaces, equipment, and food itself. Combined with the finding that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned, the facility presented multiple overlapping contamination pathways on the same day.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours. Those biofilms are resistant to standard cleaning and can transfer bacteria to every item those utensils touch. At La Brasa, inspectors flagged both the utensils and the wiping cloths used to clean surfaces, meaning the tools meant to prevent contamination were themselves a contamination source.
The missing consumer advisory matters most for the customers least able to protect themselves. Elderly diners, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems rely on that disclosure to make informed choices. Without it, they have no way of knowing a dish may be undercooked.
The Longer Record
The October 6 inspection was the 20th on record for this location, and the facility has accumulated 178 total violations across that history. It has never been emergency-closed.
The prior inspection record shows a facility that has cycled through serious violations repeatedly without triggering a closure. On February 19, 2025, inspectors documented 11 high-severity violations and 7 intermediate violations in a single visit, the worst single inspection in the facility's recorded history. The restaurant remained open after that inspection as well. A follow-up the next day, February 20, showed zero high or intermediate violations, suggesting rapid correction is possible when the pressure is immediate.
That pattern has not held. By October 2025, the facility was back to three high-severity violations. By June 2026, it had two. The October 2026 inspection, with six high-severity citations, represents the second-worst single-visit total in the facility's record, trailing only that February 2025 inspection.
No inspection in the prior two years came back clean on the high-severity count except the one conducted the day after the February 2025 crisis visit. Every other inspection found at least one high-severity violation. The October 6 findings are not an anomaly for this address. They are the continuation of a pattern that has now produced 178 documented violations across 20 inspections.
Still Open
Florida's inspection system gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including undercooked food, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and sewage disposal failures, did not meet that threshold at La Brasa North Miami 125 on October 6, 2026.
The restaurant was still serving customers when inspectors left.
