MIAMI, FL. Marabu at 701 S Miami Ave accumulated 12 high-severity violations during a single inspection the week of May 25, the highest count among 15 Miami-Dade restaurants cited for serious food safety failures in a seven-day stretch that exposed systemic problems with employee illness controls, unapproved food sourcing, and inadequate handwashing across the city.
The Brickell restaurant's violations included food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, inadequate shell stock identification records, and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish. Inspectors also cited the facility for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, inadequate handwashing by food employees, no employee health policy, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
That last violation matters beyond paperwork. When no one is actively overseeing a kitchen, the other violations tend to follow.
The Violations
Mi Lindo Ecuador at 8726 NW 26 St was cited for 11 high-severity violations, including food in poor condition or adulterated, food from unapproved sources, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper use of time as a public health control. Inspectors also cited the facility for inadequate shell stock records and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Supermachi Grill and Bar at 7925 NW 2 St drew 9 high-severity citations, among them food from unapproved sources, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, and time as a public health control not properly used. No person in charge was present, and no employee health policy was in place.
Lolita Restaurant Corp at 316 SW 8 Ave was cited for 8 high-severity violations including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and both inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique documented in the same visit.
Acai Express at 6855 Main St accumulated 7 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. A consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was also absent.
Mikes at Venetia on the ninth floor at 555 NE 15 St was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no consumer advisory, and inadequate handwashing. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal as an intermediate violation.
El Gallegazo at 7467 Coral Way and Kami-Koi Sushi Fusion at 13816 SW 56 St each drew 6 high-severity violations. El Gallegazo's citations included food not cooked to temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Kami-Koi's included food from unapproved sources, no person in charge, and single-use items being improperly reused.
Pollo Tropical at 1277 SW 8 St was cited for 6 high-severity violations including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock records, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. It was the only facility among the 15 with zero intermediate violations alongside its high-severity citations.
Mangal Edgewater at 2929 Biscayne Blvd drew 5 high-severity violations, including no allergen awareness demonstrated, food not cooked to temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no consumer advisory. Equipment in poor repair was among the intermediate violations.
Among the remaining facilities, iBurger at 275 NE 18 St was cited for food in poor condition, no consumer advisory, and improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Ol'Days at 3301 NE 1 Ave drew citations for food not cooked to temperature and time as a public health control not properly used. Los Ranchos Restaurant at the Falls at 8888 SW 136 St was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory. Studio 24 at 1250 S Miami Ave was cited for no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, and food in poor condition. Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and Latam Grill at 3067 Grand Ave was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread violation this week was the absence of a written employee health policy, cited at Marabu, Mi Lindo Ecuador, Supermachi Grill and Bar, Lolita Restaurant Corp, Acai Express, Mikes at Venetia, El Gallegazo, and Studio 24. That document is not administrative paperwork. It is the mechanism that tells a worker with vomiting or diarrhea to stay home. Without it, a sick employee has no formal instruction to report symptoms, and Norovirus, which is responsible for roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, moves directly from food worker hands into the food being served.
Several of those same facilities were also cited separately for employees not reporting symptoms of illness, including Marabu, Mi Lindo Ecuador, Supermachi Grill and Bar, Mikes at Venetia, Kami-Koi Sushi Fusion, iBurger, and Los Ranchos Restaurant at the Falls. The two violations together, no policy and no reporting, represent a complete breakdown in the first line of outbreak prevention.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Marabu, Mi Lindo Ecuador, Supermachi Grill and Bar, Acai Express, and Kami-Koi Sushi Fusion, removes the traceability that makes a recall possible. If a customer gets sick and investigators need to trace the source, there is no chain of custody to follow. Shell stock identification failures at Marabu, Mi Lindo Ecuador, Supermachi Grill and Bar, and Pollo Tropical compound that risk specifically for raw shellfish, which carry a concentrated load of pathogens including Vibrio and hepatitis A.
Food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, documented at Lolita Restaurant Corp, Mikes at Venetia, El Gallegazo, Pollo Tropical, Mangal Edgewater, and Ol'Days, is one of the most direct pathways to Salmonella surviving in poultry or E. coli surviving in ground beef. The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, cited at Lolita Restaurant Corp, Acai Express, Mikes at Venetia, El Gallegazo, Mangal Edgewater, iBurger, Ol'Days, Los Ranchos Restaurant at the Falls, and Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and Latam Grill, means customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, and the elderly are making dining choices without the information they need to protect themselves.
The Longer Record
Four facilities in this week's data carry 29 prior inspections on record: Mi Lindo Ecuador, Pollo Tropical at SW 8 St, Ol'Days, and Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and Latam Grill. Mi Lindo Ecuador's 29-inspection history alongside 11 high-severity violations this week, including unapproved food sources and no illness reporting policy, raises a straightforward question about whether prior inspections produced lasting corrections.
Kami-Koi Sushi Fusion carries 28 prior inspections and was still cited this week for no person in charge, food from unapproved sources, and single-use items being reused. Supermachi Grill and Bar has 27 inspections on record and drew 9 high-severity violations, including the same absent management and unapproved sourcing violations seen across multiple other facilities.
Mikes at Venetia has 25 prior inspections. Mangal Edgewater has 25. Studio 24 has 25. All three were cited for violations this week that are not new categories for repeat offenders, including handwashing failures, temperature problems, and chemical storage issues.
Marabu, the week's highest-violation facility, has 16 prior inspections on record, making it one of the shorter histories in this group. Acai Express has 14. Both accumulated serious citations early in their inspection histories, including unapproved food sourcing and parasite destruction failures at Acai Express, a category that requires deliberate protocol, not just oversight.
Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and Latam Grill, a Coconut Grove restaurant with 29 inspections on record, was cited this week for inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was itself insufficient. A restaurant that has been inspected 29 times and still lacks adequate handwashing infrastructure is a specific and unresolved fact.