MIAMI, FL. State inspectors cited Aoki Teppanyaki at 7535 N Kendall Drive for 11 high-severity violations during the week of August 4, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. That single inspection was the heaviest high-severity load of any facility reviewed this week.
Fourteen other Miami restaurants drew high-severity citations in the same seven-day stretch. One, Tacombi at 3930 NE 2nd Avenue, was ordered closed on August 6 after inspectors documented rodent and fly activity on the premises.
What Inspectors Found
S 47 Lounge at 921 Brickell Avenue drew nine high-severity violations, second-most this week. Inspectors cited the Brickell lounge for food in poor condition, mislabeled or adulterated; inadequate shell stock identification; food not cooked to required minimum temperature; and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The facility also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Coyo Taco at 2320 NW 2nd Avenue collected eight high-severity citations. Among them: no employee health policy, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The illness-reporting violation is among the most serious an inspector can document.
Balans Brickell at 901 S Miami Avenue drew seven high-severity violations, including food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Fritanga Momotombo at 15888 SW 137th Avenue was also cited for seven high-severity violations. Inspectors found an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate shell stock identification, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and two separate chemical storage violations involving both improperly labeled toxic chemicals and improperly identified toxic substances.
Exito Salvadoreno at 1837 SW 8th Street drew seven high-severity citations including no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing, food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory.
Antigua Guatemala at 2741 W Flagler Street received seven high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Polo Norte Kendall at 13901 SW 42nd Street rounded out the seven-violation tier. Inspectors found inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate shell stock identification, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory.
Chugs at 3444 Main Highway drew six high-severity violations including improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored.
Torno Subito at 4040 NE 2nd Avenue was cited for six high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, improper handwashing technique, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, toxic substances improperly identified or stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
La Granja Parrilla and Seafood at 127 SE 2nd Avenue drew six high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored.
Auld Dubliner at 91 NW 1st Street received six high-severity citations including no employee health policy, food from unapproved or unknown sources, food in poor condition, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Citadel at 8300 NE 2nd Avenue drew six high-severity violations including no person in charge present or performing duties, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Rinconcito Latino Sunset at 15500 SW 72nd Street was cited for four high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Wendy's at 13530 SW 152nd Street drew the fewest high-severity citations of the group, one, for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, alongside intermediate violations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, documented at Aoki Teppanyaki, Balans Brickell, Polo Norte Kendall, and Auld Dubliner, means inspectors could not verify the supply chain for ingredients served to customers. When food bypasses USDA or FDA oversight, there is no traceability if a patron becomes ill. An outbreak investigation requires knowing where food came from. Without that record, the chain of accountability breaks at the kitchen door.
The "employee not reporting symptoms of illness" violation, cited at Coyo Taco, Fritanga Momotombo, and Citadel, is among the most direct outbreak triggers an inspector documents. A single food worker shedding Norovirus while handling ready-to-eat food can infect dozens of customers before any complaint is filed. The violation means the facility had no functioning system to identify and remove sick workers from food handling duties.
Inadequate shell stock identification, found at Aoki Teppanyaki, S 47 Lounge, Balans Brickell, Fritanga Momotombo, Chugs, Antigua Guatemala, and Polo Norte Kendall, is a shellfish-specific traceability failure. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked and are a documented vehicle for Vibrio and hepatitis A. Without harvest tags and receiving records, a facility cannot tell regulators where its shellfish came from if a customer is hospitalized.
The parasite destruction violation at Citadel represents a category of risk most diners do not consider. Fish served raw or undercooked, including sushi and ceviche preparations, must be frozen to specific temperatures for specified periods to kill parasites including Anisakis, which causes severe gastrointestinal illness. When those freezing protocols are not followed or documented, the parasite risk passes directly to the customer.
The Longer Record
Rinconcito Latino Sunset carries 37 prior inspections on record, the highest count among facilities cited this week. Aoki Teppanyaki follows with 36 prior inspections, and Chugs with 35. These are not new restaurants encountering their first regulatory scrutiny. They are facilities with long inspection histories that continued accumulating high-severity citations in August 2026.
Antigua Guatemala has 31 prior inspections on record and drew handwashing violations, temperature violations, and a chemical storage citation this week. La Granja Parrilla and Seafood has 30, and Coyo Taco has 28, yet both appeared in the top tier of this week's high-severity counts.
At the other end of the spectrum, Torno Subito in Wynwood has only seven prior inspections on record, making it among the newest facilities reviewed this week. It still drew six high-severity violations, including no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff and no person in charge present or performing duties. Citadel, with 17 prior inspections, was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed alongside the employee illness-reporting failure.
Tacombi, the one facility ordered closed this week, had rodent and fly activity documented when inspectors arrived on August 6. As of the inspection record, the closure stood.
