ORLANDO, FL. IHOP #36-224 on Gateway Village Circle drew 13 high-severity violations in a single inspection week, the highest total among 15 Orlando-area restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between August 13 and August 19, 2026.
Inspectors found no written employee health policy at the Gateway Village location, no system for employees to report illness symptoms, and evidence that food had been sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers. Handwashing failures appeared twice in the same inspection record, once for inadequate washing and once for improper technique, and food contact surfaces were cited as not properly cleaned or sanitized. The restaurant also drew citations for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a requirement that applies to fish and other proteins served raw or undercooked.
That single inspection produced 13 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations across a location with 31 prior inspections on record.
The Violations
Thunder Burger on International Drive followed with 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for sourcing food from unapproved suppliers, failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, and improperly using time as a public health control, a method that allows food to sit in the temperature danger zone for a set window without refrigeration, but only when strict tracking protocols are followed. Those protocols were not being followed.
Dimsum King & Seafood on Conroy Road drew 8 high-severity violations, including a citation for inadequate shellfish identification records. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels are consumed raw or lightly cooked, and without proper tags and sourcing documentation, there is no way to trace an outbreak back to a specific harvest lot. The restaurant was also cited for improperly stored toxic chemicals, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no demonstrated allergen awareness.
Cask & Larder at Orlando International Airport drew 7 high-severity violations, including inadequate shellfish records, food from unapproved sources, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness. The airport location also drew an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a violation that creates risk of fecal contamination throughout a facility.
A-Aki Sushi on Avalon Park East Boulevard matched Cask & Larder with 7 high-severity violations. The sushi restaurant was cited for improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw foods, and no allergen awareness. Both failures are particularly acute at a sushi operation where raw fish is central to the menu and customers with seafood allergies or compromised immune systems rely on accurate disclosures.
Made in Puerto Rico Latin Cuisine & Sports Bar on South Semoran Boulevard was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature, alongside improperly stored toxic chemicals, no consumer advisory, and unclean food contact surfaces. The restaurant also drew an intermediate citation for reusing single-use items, a practice that introduces contamination from surfaces designed to be discarded after one contact.
Two Outback Steakhouse locations appeared in this week's inspection records. The location on South Kirkman Road drew 6 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no employee health policy, and two separate chemical storage citations: one for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, and a second for improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. The South Semoran Boulevard Outback drew 6 high-severity violations of its own, including food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish records, and improperly identified toxic substances.
Oscars, Grab and Go & Waldorf Astoria Room Service at Bonnet Creek Resort drew 6 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and improperly identified toxic substances. The violations at a luxury hotel's food service operation drew no intermediate citations.
Sabai Thai Street Food on South Orange Avenue drew 6 high-severity violations including no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and food from unapproved sources. The restaurant also drew a citation for improper use of time as a public health control.
Hoshi Hibachi & Sushi on South Orange Avenue drew 6 high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the physical infrastructure for proper hand hygiene was not available, alongside a separate citation for improper handwashing technique. The restaurant was also cited for food from unapproved sources and inadequate shellfish identification records.
Sabor Venezolano on Whisper Lakes Boulevard drew 4 high-severity violations, including inadequate shellfish records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and unclean food contact surfaces.
Legends Caribbean Shack on South Kirkman Road drew 1 high-severity violation for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside intermediate citations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and reuse of single-use items. Bar Louie #1409 on North Alafaya Trail drew 1 high-severity violation for no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, plus intermediate citations for improper sewage disposal and inadequate ventilation.
Temak House Sushi Fusion on International Drive drew no high-severity violations, with a single intermediate citation for reuse of single-use items.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread violation this week was improper handwashing technique, cited at IHOP, Thunder Burger, Dimsum King, Made in Puerto Rico, Cask & Larder, A-Aki Sushi, Sabor Venezolano, Hoshi Hibachi, Sabai Thai, and the Waldorf Astoria room service operation. A handwashing attempt that uses the wrong technique leaves pathogens on hands at nearly the same rate as no handwashing at all. When that failure is combined with employees not reporting illness symptoms, as inspectors documented at IHOP, Cask & Larder, A-Aki Sushi, Sabai Thai, Outback on South Semoran, and the Waldorf Astoria, the result is a direct transmission route from a sick worker to every plate that worker touches.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources appeared at IHOP, Thunder Burger, Dimsum King, Cask & Larder, A-Aki Sushi, Sabai Thai, Hoshi Hibachi, and the South Semoran Outback. The core problem is traceability. When a customer gets sick, investigators trace the illness back through the supply chain to identify the contaminated lot and pull it from circulation. Food that bypasses licensed distributors and USDA or FDA inspection has no chain of custody. An outbreak linked to an unapproved source can take weeks longer to contain.
Shellfish records failures at Dimsum King, Cask & Larder, Sabor Venezolano, Hoshi Hibachi, and the South Semoran Outback compound that traceability problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are among the highest-risk foods in any kitchen because they are frequently consumed raw and are a primary vector for Vibrio and norovirus. The shell stock tags that inspectors require are the only mechanism for tracing a contaminated batch back to a specific harvest bed and date.
Two facilities drew citations for food not cooked to required minimum temperature: Made in Puerto Rico and the South Kirkman Road Outback. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and undercooking is among the most direct routes from raw ingredient to hospitalized customer. At a steakhouse where undercooked beef is a menu option, a consumer advisory is the last line of protection for customers who need to make an informed choice. That advisory was missing at the South Kirkman Road Outback.
The Longer Record
Several facilities in this week's data carry inspection histories that place the current violations in sharper context. Bar Louie on North Alafaya Trail and Sabor Venezolano on Whisper Lakes Boulevard each have 41 prior inspections on record, the longest histories in this week's group. Temak House Sushi Fusion on International Drive has 40 prior inspections, as does A-Aki Sushi on Avalon Park East Boulevard. Legends Caribbean Shack and Made in Puerto Rico each have 36 prior inspections. Facilities with inspection histories that long have had repeated opportunities to correct recurring problems.
IHOP on Gateway Village Circle has 31 prior inspections behind it and produced the week's worst single-inspection total: 13 high-severity violations. The combination of no illness reporting policy, no handwashing compliance, and food from unapproved sources at a location with three decades of inspection history is not a new-restaurant learning curve. Dimsum King on Conroy Road has 29 prior inspections and drew 8 high-severity violations, including the shellfish records failure and the allergen awareness citation.
Hoshi Hibachi & Sushi on South Orange Avenue stands out for a different reason. With only 6 prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities in this week's data. It still drew 6 high-severity violations, including the citation for inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the physical infrastructure was not in place, not just the behavior. A new location without functioning handwashing infrastructure is a foundational failure, not a compliance gap.
The South Kirkman Road Outback has 27 prior inspections and drew two separate chemical storage violations in the same visit, one for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and a second for improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. Whether those represent two distinct storage failures or one failure documented under two regulatory categories, the South Semoran Outback, with 29 prior inspections, drew its own toxic substance citation in the same week.
