MIAMI, FL. A state inspector walked into Miyako Japanese Restaurant of Dadeland on August 12, 2026, and found that the sushi restaurant had no documented procedures for destroying parasites in its fish, meaning the Anisakis worms and tapeworm larvae that live in raw seafood could have been reaching customers' plates alive.
That was one of 12 high-severity violations cited that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction failure is particularly significant for a Japanese restaurant serving raw fish. Florida requires that fish intended for raw consumption be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites. The inspector found those procedures were not being followed.
Alongside that, the inspector documented food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier. At a restaurant where the identity and safety of raw fish is everything, sourcing from outside the regulated supply chain means there is no paper trail if a customer gets sick.
Food was also found in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Then there were the violations pointing directly at the people handling the food. The restaurant had no employee health policy and no documentation that workers were required to report illness symptoms. Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique as well, meaning that even when employees washed their hands, the method left pathogens behind.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory on the menu warning customers about the risks of raw or undercooked food. No allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, and a second violation for toxic substances being improperly identified, stored, or used was cited separately.
Six intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, poor ventilation and lighting, improper waste disposal, inadequate toilet facilities, and equipment in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure and the unapproved food source violation, taken together, describe a restaurant where inspectors could not verify where the raw fish came from or whether it had been treated to kill what lives inside it. Anisakis, a parasitic roundworm found in marine fish, causes severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and in some cases requires surgical removal. It dies only when fish is properly frozen or fully cooked. Sushi and sashimi are high-risk by design. The procedures exist precisely because the fish is served raw.
The unapproved source violation compounds that risk. When food enters a restaurant from outside the regulated supply chain, there is no USDA or FDA inspection record attached to it. If a customer becomes ill, there is no traceability back to the supplier, no recall mechanism, and no way to know how many other restaurants received the same product.
The employee illness violations are a separate and acute concern. Food workers are the primary transmission route for Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year. A restaurant with no written health policy and no documented requirement for workers to report symptoms has no structural mechanism for keeping a sick employee out of the kitchen.
No allergen awareness adds another layer of risk. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send 30,000 people to emergency rooms annually. At a restaurant where staff cannot demonstrate awareness of allergens in their dishes, a customer with a shellfish or sesame allergy has no reliable way to get accurate information before ordering.
The Longer Record
The August 12 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Miyako Japanese Restaurant of Dadeland has been inspected 29 times and has accumulated 455 total violations across its history. It has never been emergency-closed.
The most recent prior inspection, on December 4, 2025, turned up 8 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. Before that, inspections on July 22 and July 23, 2025, produced 10 high plus 5 intermediate and 6 high plus 4 intermediate violations respectively. Two inspections were conducted on consecutive days in July 2025.
Going back further, an October 2024 inspection found 9 high-severity violations. An April 2024 inspection found 7 high-severity violations, a result that was recorded twice on the same date. A March 2025 inspection found 7 high-severity violations.
The August 2026 inspection, at 12 high-severity violations, is the highest single-inspection count in the recent record. But the pattern beneath it is consistent: this restaurant has logged high-severity violations in every inspection on record for at least two years, across categories including food sourcing, employee health, and food safety procedures.
The restaurant has never been ordered closed for any of it.
Still Open
State law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Twelve high-severity violations at a raw-fish restaurant, including failures in parasite destruction, food sourcing, employee illness reporting, and allergen awareness, did not meet that threshold on August 12, 2026.
Miyako Japanese Restaurant of Dadeland, at 9533 S. Dixie Highway, remained open for business.
