MIAMI BEACH, FL. When state inspectors walked into Limoncello on Washington Avenue on May 12, they found food coming from sources that had bypassed federal safety inspections, shellfish with no identification records, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food — nine high-severity violations in a single visit, and the restaurant never closed.
The facility at 1334 Washington Ave remained open to the public after the inspection, despite a violation count that included nearly every category of acute risk the state tracks.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious the state can cite. Food from unapproved or unknown sources has not been inspected by the USDA or FDA, meaning there is no documented chain of custody if a customer becomes ill. If a contamination event occurs, investigators have no records to trace.
Compounding that, inspectors found inadequate shell stock identification records. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked at an Italian restaurant on South Beach. Without proper tagging and harvest records, there is no way to connect a sick customer to a specific harvest lot or supplier.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food. That violation sits alongside a finding that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning surfaces that touched food may have carried residue from a prior use, a prior shift, or a prior day.
The person in charge was not present or not performing duties. No employee health policy was in place. Employees were observed using improper handwashing technique. And the restaurant was not using time as a public health control correctly, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without adequate tracking of how long it had been there.
There was also no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, a requirement that exists specifically to warn pregnant women, elderly diners, and immunocompromised customers that certain menu items carry elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of unapproved food sources and missing shellfish records is not a paperwork problem. If a customer who ate raw shellfish at Limoncello became ill, investigators from the Florida Department of Health would have no records to work with. The harvest location, the harvest date, and the dealer's certification number are all required precisely because shellfish-linked illness outbreaks require rapid source tracing. Without those records, the chain of investigation stops at the restaurant door.
The absence of an employee health policy creates a direct transmission route for illness. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently when a sick food worker handles ready-to-eat food without a policy in place requiring them to stay home or report symptoms. At Limoncello, there was no written policy requiring that disclosure.
The handwashing violation makes the employee illness risk worse, not better. Improper technique, even when a worker attempts to wash, leaves pathogens on the hands. Combine that with improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, and cross-contamination becomes a persistent risk across every plate leaving the kitchen.
The toxic chemical storage violation is the most acutely dangerous on a single-incident basis. Mislabeled or improperly stored chemicals near food can cause poisoning without any visible sign of contamination. A customer would have no way to know.
The Longer Record
The May 12 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Limoncello has been inspected 23 times and has accumulated 282 total violations across its history. It has never been emergency-closed.
The eight most recent prior inspections tell a consistent story. In July 2025, inspectors cited 11 high-severity violations and one intermediate. In February 2025, it was 11 high-severity and three intermediate. In October 2024, eight high-severity and two intermediate. In August 2024, inspectors visited on back-to-back days, citing eight high-severity violations on August 14 and 11 high-severity violations on August 13.
The pattern goes back further. In September 2023, the count was 10 high-severity and three intermediate. In December 2023, six high and three intermediate. The May 2026 inspection, with nine high-severity violations, is not the worst single visit in the record. It is a midpoint in a two-year stretch of double-digit high-severity findings.
No inspection in the recent record shows fewer than six high-severity violations. The restaurant has never triggered an emergency closure order.
Still Open
After the May 12 inspection, Limoncello remained open for business on Washington Avenue. Customers who walked in that evening had no visible indication that inspectors had found food from unapproved sources, missing shellfish records, improperly stored chemicals, and no one effectively in charge of the kitchen, all in a single visit, and all within a two-year stretch of inspections that have never once come back clean.