MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visiting Mexico 1810 on NW 36th Street on April 23 found that the restaurant had no adequate records to identify where its shellfish came from, no consumer advisory warning customers that raw or undercooked food was on the menu, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, all in the same inspection. The facility was not closed.
The visit produced seven high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. Inspectors documented a management failure, an illness-reporting breakdown, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, and a sanitizing failure, on top of the shellfish records gap and the chemical storage problem.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish records violation is among the most specific and traceable failures in the inspection report. Mexico 1810 serves shellfish, which can include oysters, clams, or mussels consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without adequate shell stock identification and records, there is no way to trace a batch of shellfish back to its harvest location or supplier if a customer becomes ill.
The toxic chemicals citation compounds the picture. Chemicals stored near food, or stored without proper labeling, can contaminate food directly. Mislabeled containers create a second risk: a worker who grabs the wrong bottle for a cleaning task may apply a chemical to a food contact surface without knowing it.
No consumer advisory was posted or provided to customers. Any diner at Mexico 1810 that day who ordered raw or undercooked items, including shellfish, was not warned. Elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system face elevated risk from raw shellfish and undercooked proteins.
The person-in-charge violation is a structural one. When no manager is present or performing supervisory duties, the violations that follow tend to compound. The illness-reporting failure and the improper handwashing technique documented in the same inspection are consistent with a kitchen operating without active oversight.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failure is the violation with the most direct path to a multi-victim outbreak. Food workers who do not report symptoms, or who are not required to, can transmit norovirus, salmonella, and other pathogens directly to food and surfaces throughout an entire shift. At Mexico 1810, that failure occurred on the same day inspectors found food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and wiping cloths being used improperly. Those three violations together describe a kitchen where contamination can originate from a sick worker and spread across surfaces with no effective barrier.
The improper handwashing technique citation is distinct from a failure to wash hands at all. It means employees were making an attempt to wash hands but doing so incorrectly, leaving pathogens on skin. Studies show that technique failures can leave bacteria at levels nearly as high as unwashed hands, particularly around fingernails and between fingers.
The sanitizing failures compound the surface problem. An improperly mixed sanitizing solution, whether too weak or too strong, does not reliably kill bacteria on cutting boards, prep surfaces, or utensils. Combined with the food contact surface citation, the inspection describes surfaces that were neither adequately cleaned nor adequately sanitized.
The Longer Record
The April 23 inspection was not Mexico 1810's first serious visit. The restaurant has 35 inspections on record and 264 total violations documented across that history. It has been emergency-closed twice: once in August 2022 for roach and fly activity, and once in March 2020 for sewage leaks. Both times, it reopened within a day.
The pattern of high-severity violations runs through nearly every recent inspection. The April 2024 visit produced five high-severity and three intermediate violations. The December 2023 visit produced five high-severity and two intermediate violations. The June 2025 visit produced two high-severity and two intermediate violations. The October 2025 visit produced three high-severity violations.
Seven of the nine violations on April 23 were high-severity, the worst single-visit tally in the recent record. The two follow-up inspections documented in the data, both conducted on April 24, the day after the primary inspection, showed reduced counts: one logged two high-severity and two intermediate violations, the other logged one high-severity violation. The original seven-violation inspection, however, did not trigger a closure order.
Open for Business
State inspectors cited Mexico 1810 for a shellfish traceability failure, toxic chemicals near food, no illness reporting, no consumer advisory for raw items, improper handwashing, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no manager on duty. The restaurant served customers through all of it.
The follow-up inspections the next day reduced the violation count. What they did not change is that on April 23, anyone who ate raw shellfish at Mexico 1810 had no way of knowing where it came from.