MIAMI, FL. Sushi Sake on SW 42nd Street accumulated 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and inspectors finding that the person in charge was not present or not performing duties.
The violations at Sushi Sake were the highest single-facility count among 15 Miami restaurants cited for high-severity findings during the week of July 13 through July 19, 2026. Across those 15 facilities, inspectors documented a recurring cluster of failures: unapproved food sources, inadequate illness reporting, improper handwashing, and chemicals stored near food.
The Violations
Fiore Caffe at 228 SE 1st Street drew 10 high-severity violations, including a citation for inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning inspectors found the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was itself deficient. Inspectors also cited the downtown cafe for food in poor condition or adulterated, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Maman on Biscayne Boulevard was cited for nine high-severity violations. The list included food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also found the person in charge was not present or not performing duties, and that employees were not reporting illness symptoms.
Pistacchio at 188 NE 23rd Street matched Maman with nine high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock identification, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no consumer advisory, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique.
Mofongo's Restaurant on SW 8th Street received seven high-severity violations, among them food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition or adulterated, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also found no employee health policy and no person in charge performing duties.
El Rinconcito Latino on SW 40th Street was cited for seven high-severity violations including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Keg South of Kendall on SW 136th Avenue also drew seven high-severity violations. Among the most serious: no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Daily Creative Food Co at 2001 Biscayne Boulevard was cited for seven high-severity violations, including failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish, inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no employee health policy, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Glass and Vine on McFarlane Road drew seven high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, food from unapproved sources, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and a separate citation for toxic substances improperly identified or used. The person in charge was also found not present or not performing duties.
Los Q'su2 de Medallo at 2322 NE 2nd Avenue was cited for seven high-severity violations including inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified or used.
Sandbar Grill on Main Highway received three high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
China Wok on SW 56th Street and Pummarola on SW 136th Street each drew citations for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and improperly stored chemicals. CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar on S Miami Avenue received one high-severity violation for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. McDonald's on SW 152nd Street drew a single high-severity violation, also for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
What These Violations Mean
The most alarming pattern this week was the collapse of illness-reporting systems at multiple facilities. At Sushi Sake, Maman, Pistacchio, El Rinconcito Latino, Keg South of Kendall, and Daily Creative Food Co, inspectors cited either no written employee health policy, employees not actively reporting illness symptoms, or both. Without a written policy, a sick worker has no formal obligation to stay home. Without active reporting, a worker with Norovirus, Salmonella, or Hepatitis A can handle food for an entire shift before anyone intervenes.
The food-from-unapproved-sources citations at Sushi Sake, Maman, Pistacchio, Mofongo's, Sandbar Grill, and Glass and Vine carry a specific consequence that goes beyond the violation itself. Food that enters a kitchen outside the licensed supply chain has no inspection record. If a customer gets sick, tracing the source of contamination becomes nearly impossible. The same problem applies to the shell stock identification failures at Fiore Caffe, Maman, Pistacchio, Daily Creative Food Co, and Los Q'su2 de Medallo. Shellfish are consumed raw or lightly cooked and are a known vector for Vibrio and Norovirus. Without harvest tags on file, there is no way to identify the source bed if an outbreak occurs.
Parasite destruction failures at Fiore Caffe and Daily Creative Food Co mean fish served raw or lightly cooked, including items like sushi or ceviche, was not subjected to the required freezing protocol that kills Anisakis and other parasites. This is a separate and compounding risk from the consumer advisory failures documented at nine facilities this week. A customer who orders a raw fish dish has no way of knowing that neither the freezing protocol was followed nor a warning was posted.
The chemical storage violations at Maman, Pistacchio, Mofongo's, El Rinconcito Latino, Keg South of Kendall, Daily Creative Food Co, China Wok, Glass and Vine, and Los Q'su2 de Medallo represent a direct contamination pathway. Cleaning agents and pesticides stored near or above food preparation surfaces can leach into food through spills, mislabeled containers, or improper use. The citations at Keg South of Kendall were compounded by a separate intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, which creates a fecal contamination risk throughout the facility.
The Longer Record
El Rinconcito Latino has 44 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. That volume of inspections, combined with seven high-severity violations in a single visit this week, including no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness, raises a direct question about whether repeated inspections have produced lasting corrections.
Daily Creative Food Co has 32 prior inspections on record and still drew seven high-severity violations this week, including parasite destruction failures and no employee health policy. Glass and Vine has 36 prior inspections on record and was cited this week for food from unapproved sources and inadequate handwashing facilities. Sandbar Grill and Keg South of Kendall each carry 30 prior inspections, and both drew food-sourcing or illness-policy violations this week.
The contrast with newer facilities is notable. Maman on Biscayne has only 2 prior inspections on record and already accumulated nine high-severity violations, including toxic chemical storage and food from unapproved sources. Los Q'su2 de Medallo also has just 2 prior inspections and drew seven high-severity violations this week. Pistacchio has 3 prior inspections and nine high-severity citations.
Fiore Caffe has 29 prior inspections on record. This week it was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the physical sink or soap supply was deficient, not merely the technique. A facility with that inspection history and a structural handwashing failure still unresolved is the detail that sits hardest in the record.
