MIAMI, FL. Polaris Cafeteria and Mini Market on NW 22nd Avenue drew 12 high-severity violations during a single inspection the week of October 15, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and food contact surfaces left improperly cleaned and unsanitized.
The cafeteria was one of 15 Miami-area food service operations cited for high-severity violations between October 15 and October 21, 2026. Inspectors documented a combined total of more than 100 high-severity citations across those facilities.
The Worst of the Week
At Polaris, inspectors also cited no written employee health policy, inadequate handwashing by staff, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, and the person in charge either absent or failing to perform supervisory duties. That combination, all in one facility on one visit, covers nearly every documented pathway through which a foodborne illness outbreak can begin.
La Hormiga de Oro III on SW 147th Avenue matched the count with 11 high-severity violations of its own. Among them: food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish identification records, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no employee illness policy.
El Gallego Spanish Food on SW 8th Street also drew 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors noted inadequate handwashing facilities, improper technique, food from unapproved sources, no shellfish traceability records, undercooked food, and time as a public health control not properly applied.
Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell on SW 11th Street rounded out the three-way tie at 11 high-severity citations. Among the violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items.
Across the City
Shinju Japanese Buffet on SW 72nd Street drew 10 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper technique, unapproved food sources, no shellfish traceability records, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and time-as-public-health-control violations. The buffet format, where food sits on open display for extended periods, makes the time-control citation particularly direct.
Nusr-Et Steakhouse on Brickell Avenue also reached 10 high-severity violations. One citation stands out: parasite destruction procedures not followed. At a steakhouse where raw and undercooked preparations are central to the menu, that violation carries specific weight. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, unapproved food sources, unsanitized food contact surfaces, time-control misuse, and no consumer advisory for raw items.
La Vida Misma Restaurant and Bar on SW 72nd Place collected 9 high-severity violations. Those included inadequate shellfish identification records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked dishes, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Kampai Japanese Restaurant on SW 72nd Street drew 8 high-severity violations, among them inadequate handwashing facilities, food from unapproved sources, no shellfish traceability records, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Kampai sits on the same stretch of SW 72nd Street as Shinju, and both drew shellfish-traceability citations in the same inspection week.
Dr Limon Ceviche Bar on SW 84th Street also reached 8 high-severity violations. Given the restaurant's focus on raw seafood preparations, the combination of inadequate handwashing facilities, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw dishes, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled is a notable cluster.
Wajiro's Restaurant on SW 8th Street drew 8 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper technique, unapproved food sources, unsanitized food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Dando la Brasa on SW 3rd Avenue reached 8 high-severity violations including parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate shellfish identification records, food from unapproved sources, and inadequate handwashing facilities. Dando la Brasa carries only 8 prior inspections on record, meaning it is among the newest facilities in this week's data.
Habana 1900 on Coral Way drew 5 high-severity violations. Inspectors found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside a separate citation for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, meaning the chemical storage problem was cited twice under different violation categories.
Kitchen Bistro on NW 25th Street drew 4 high-severity violations including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and unsanitized food contact surfaces.
Hampton Inn Dadeland on SW 70th Avenue drew 2 high-severity violations: unsanitized food contact surfaces and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Macitas Restaurant on SW 104th Street drew 1 high-severity violation, for no written employee health policy, along with 2 intermediate citations.
What These Violations Mean
The most common single violation across this week's 15 facilities was the absence of a person in charge actively performing supervisory duties. That citation appeared at Polaris Cafeteria, La Hormiga de Oro III, El Gallego, Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell, Shinju, La Vida Misma, Kampai, Dr Limon, Wajiro's, Dando la Brasa, Habana 1900, and Kitchen Bistro. When no one in management is actively monitoring food handling, temperature control, and employee hygiene, every other violation category becomes more likely. The CDC links the absence of active managerial control directly to higher rates of critical violations.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Polaris, La Hormiga de Oro III, El Gallego, Hotel Indigo, Shinju, Kampai, Wajiro's, and Dando la Brasa, removes the traceability chain entirely. If a customer gets sick, there is no supplier record to trace. USDA and FDA safety inspections only apply to licensed suppliers. Food entering a kitchen from outside that system has bypassed every checkpoint designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before it reaches a plate.
Parasite destruction violations, cited at both Nusr-Et Steakhouse and Dando la Brasa, are distinct from temperature violations. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork survive unless food is either cooked to required temperatures or frozen at specific temperatures for a specific duration. At a steakhouse and a brasa-style restaurant where undercooked preparations are common, the failure to follow parasite destruction protocols means customers eating those dishes have no assurance the risk has been addressed.
The shellfish traceability citations at La Hormiga de Oro III, El Gallego, Shinju, Kampai, La Vida Misma, and Dando la Brasa represent a specific outbreak risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw. Without shellfish tags on file, there is no way to identify the harvest location if an illness is reported. Vibrio, norovirus, and hepatitis A have all been traced to shellfish in Florida, and tag records are the primary tool public health investigators use to issue recalls.
The Longer Record
La Hormiga de Oro III carries 41 prior inspections on record, the highest count among this week's facilities, and still drew 11 high-severity violations in a single visit. Macitas Restaurant has 40 prior inspections on record and drew a high-severity citation for the absence of any written employee health policy. These are not new operations still finding their footing. Both facilities have been inspected more than three dozen times.
Habana 1900 has 39 prior inspections on record. Kampai Japanese Restaurant has 35, and Dr Limon Ceviche Bar and Wajiro's Restaurant each carry 34. All four drew between 8 and 5 high-severity violations this week despite their inspection histories.
Polaris Cafeteria and Shinju Japanese Buffet each have 31 prior inspections. Polaris led this week's list with 12 high-severity violations. Shinju drew 10, including the buffet-specific time-control citation.
At the opposite end, Dando la Brasa has only 8 prior inspections on record. Yet inspectors found 8 high-severity violations there this week, including parasite destruction failures and shellfish traceability gaps. Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell has 21 prior inspections and still drew 11 high-severity citations, including unapproved food sources and no consumer advisory for raw dishes served to hotel guests.
Dando la Brasa's parasite destruction citation, on only its eighth inspection, has not yet been tested by the kind of repeat-visit record that would show whether the violation gets corrected and stays corrected.
