ORLANDO, FL. The Hilton Garden Inn on Millenia Place Drive drew 11 high-severity violations during a single inspection the week of August 22, the highest count among 15 Orlando-area facilities cited for serious food safety failures in state records covering August 22 through August 28, 2026.
The hotel restaurant's violations touched nearly every layer of safe food handling. Inspectors cited the facility for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate handwashing facilities, employees not washing hands properly, and no person in charge present or performing duties. Two separate handwashing violations, one for inadequate facilities and one for improper technique, appeared alongside a citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms.
The Violations
Hyderabad Cafe on Fenton Street was close behind with 10 high-severity violations, including food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and food in poor condition. The cafe also drew citations for improper handwashing technique, no employee health policy, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and misuse of time as a public health control.
Food from unapproved sources was not limited to Hyderabad Cafe. Chen's on Curry Ford Road, Charley's Philly Steaks on South Kirkman Road, Sushi99 Sushi and Grill on North Avalon Park Boulevard, and Talkin Tacos on Orange Avenue all received the same citation during the same inspection week.
Juicy Crab on East Michigan Street accumulated 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. The seafood restaurant was cited for no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock identification records, parasite destruction failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Shell stock identification failures also appeared at Amura Japanese Gourmet on West Sand Lake Road and at Talkin Tacos and Charley's Philly Steaks. When shellfish tags go missing, there is no way to trace an oyster or clam back to its harvest bed if a customer gets sick.
Sodough Square on Corporate Boulevard drew 9 high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required temperatures.
Amura Japanese Gourmet's 9 high-severity violations included an unusual combination: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside no consumer advisory for raw foods, no person in charge, inadequate shell stock records, and time abuse violations. A restaurant serving raw fish without a posted consumer advisory and with improperly stored chemicals presents two distinct and unrelated risk categories in the same kitchen.
Las Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant on Lake Underhill Road drew 8 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count of the week. Inspectors cited two separate chemical violations, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified or used, as well as no allergen awareness demonstrated. That allergen citation is rare in this week's data and signals that staff could not demonstrate knowledge of the restaurant's ingredients in relation to common food allergies.
Hungry Howie's on East Colonial Drive drew 6 high-severity violations including food not cooked to required temperatures, parasite destruction failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, improperly stored chemicals, and no employee health policy. Inspectors also cited single-use items being reused, a separate contamination risk.
Mama Lau and OC LLC on West Colonial Drive drew 3 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate. The intermediate violation was for inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, meaning the facility lacked the physical capacity to keep food at safe temperatures regardless of employee behavior.
ANF Gyro Location 2 on West Colonial Drive drew the week's only sewage violation, cited as an intermediate for improper sewage or waste water disposal. Inspectors also cited unsanitized food contact surfaces and time abuse.
Denny's #6366 on East Colonial Drive and El Tenampa Mexican Restaurant on South Orange Blossom Trail each drew 2 high-severity violations, the lowest counts in this week's data.
What These Violations Mean
The handwashing failures documented across this week's inspections are not procedural paperwork. Inspectors cited inadequate handwashing at the Hilton Garden Inn and Sodough Square, and cited improper handwashing technique at ten of the fifteen facilities, including Hyderabad Cafe, Juicy Crab, Amura Japanese Gourmet, Las Cazuelas, Chen's, Charley's Philly Steaks, Sushi99, Talkin Tacos, and El Tenampa. Improper technique means employees attempted to wash their hands but did so incorrectly, leaving pathogens on skin that then transfer directly to food. The distinction between no handwashing and bad handwashing matters less than it sounds: both routes deposit the same pathogens on the same surfaces.
The food from unapproved sources citations at Hyderabad Cafe, Chen's, Charley's Philly Steaks, Sushi99, and Talkin Tacos carry a specific traceability consequence. When food enters a kitchen through an uninspected supplier, the chain of custody that allows public health officials to trace an outbreak back to its source is broken. If a customer gets sick from a dish at any of those five restaurants, investigators have no records to follow.
Parasite destruction failures at the Hilton Garden Inn, Hyderabad Cafe, Juicy Crab, Sodough Square, and Hungry Howie's mean that raw or undercooked fish, pork, or other parasite-risk proteins were not frozen or cooked to the temperatures required to kill organisms like Anisakis in fish or Trichinella in pork. This violation is distinct from general undercooking; it applies to a defined set of foods where a specific protocol is required.
The chemical violations at Amura Japanese Gourmet, Las Cazuelas, Chen's, and Hungry Howie's represent a different category of risk entirely. Cleaning agents stored near food prep surfaces, or unlabeled chemical containers, create an acute poisoning pathway that has nothing to do with bacteria or temperature. Las Cazuelas drew two separate chemical citations in a single inspection.
The Longer Record
Several of this week's most-cited facilities are not newcomers to the inspection process. El Tenampa on South Orange Blossom Trail has 42 prior inspections on record, the longest history in this week's data, and still drew citations for undercooking and improper handwashing technique. Las Cazuelas has 35 prior inspections and drew 8 high-severity violations this week. Mama Lau and OC LLC has 34 prior inspections and drew a citation for inadequate cooling equipment, a physical infrastructure failure that does not resolve itself between visits.
Chen's and Sushi99 each have 33 and 31 prior inspections respectively, and both drew food from unapproved sources citations this week. Amura Japanese Gourmet also has 31 prior inspections and drew 9 high-severity violations. Denny's #6366 has 32 inspections on record and drew 2 high-severity violations this week, the least alarming outcome among the long-tenured facilities.
At the other end of the history spectrum, the Hilton Garden Inn has only 11 prior inspections on record and led the week with 11 high-severity violations. Hyderabad Cafe has 9 prior inspections and drew 10 high-severity violations. Both facilities are relatively early in their inspection histories and are already accumulating serious citations at a rate that outpaces many restaurants with three times the record.
Unresolved This Week
Talkin Tacos on Orange Avenue drew 8 high-severity violations including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, food from unapproved sources, shell stock identification failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, undercooking, and time abuse. It has 22 prior inspections on record. Whether a follow-up inspection has been conducted and what it found is not reflected in this week's state data.
