SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL. Inspectors visiting Odd Birds Cocktail Lounge and Kitchen on Anastasia Boulevard in May found toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used inside the facility, one of six high-severity violations documented during the May 22 inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
The full list of high-severity findings reads like a catalog of the most direct ways a kitchen can endanger the people eating in it. Inspectors cited improper hand and arm washing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
What Inspectors Found
The shell stock violation is particularly pointed for a cocktail lounge and kitchen that serves raw or lightly cooked shellfish. When a restaurant cannot produce proper identification records for oysters, clams, or mussels, there is no way to trace the source if a customer becomes ill. That traceability gap is not a paperwork formality.
The food contact surface violation compounds the problem. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensil surfaces that are not properly cleaned and sanitized become transfer points for bacteria from one food to the next.
Five intermediate violations accompanied the six high-severity findings. Inspectors documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and equipment in poor repair. That is eleven violations total.
What These Violations Mean
The toxic substances violation carries the most immediate risk. Chemicals that are improperly labeled, stored near food, or used incorrectly can contaminate food and surfaces without any visible sign. A customer would have no way of knowing.
The shell stock recordkeeping failure matters in a specific and serious way. Shellfish are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they grow in. When they are eaten raw or lightly cooked, any pathogens present go directly to the customer. The identification records that Odd Birds failed to maintain are the only mechanism that allows health officials to identify the harvest source and pull product from circulation if an illness cluster emerges. Without those records, investigators start from nothing.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods is directly tied to that same risk. Pregnant women, elderly customers, young children, and people with compromised immune systems face significantly higher danger from raw shellfish and undercooked proteins. The advisory requirement exists to give those customers the information they need to make a choice. It was not posted.
The finding that no person in charge was present or performing duties connects to nearly everything else on the list. CDC data cited in the inspection record shows establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations. The May 22 inspection at Odd Birds illustrates exactly why that correlation exists.
The Longer Record
The May 22 inspection was not an anomaly. Odd Birds has 21 inspections on record and 153 total violations accumulated across that history.
The pattern in the recent inspection record is difficult to explain away. The October 16, 2025 inspection found six high-severity violations and one intermediate, matching the count from May 22 almost exactly. The June 13, 2025 inspection also found six high-severity violations and one intermediate. The December 2024 inspection found five high-severity violations and two intermediate. The June 11, 2024 inspection found seven high-severity violations and two intermediate.
Two inspections in that same window, the January 15, 2026 visit and the June 19, 2024 visit, found zero high-severity violations. Those clean inspections sit inside a record that otherwise shows repeated accumulation of serious findings.
The facility has never been emergency-closed, despite a history that includes multiple inspections with five, six, and seven high-severity violations. The state's threshold for emergency closure involves an immediate threat to public health, and inspectors have not made that determination at this address.
Still Open
The shellfish traceability records were inadequate. The toxic substances were improperly handled. The person responsible for overseeing food safety was not present or not doing the job. Eleven violations were documented in total.
Odd Birds Cocktail Lounge and Kitchen on Anastasia Boulevard remained open after the May 22 inspection.