ORLANDO, FL. Tabla Orlando on Grand National Drive racked up 10 high-severity violations during a single inspection the week of May 12, including food from unapproved sources, no person in charge on the premises, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
That tally was the highest of any facility inspected in Orange County that week. State records show Tabla has 32 prior inspections on record, making this week's findings part of a long paper trail rather than a first-time stumble.
The Violations
Oceanaire Seafood Room at 9101 International Drive drew nine high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, no person in charge, food from unapproved sources, and inadequate shell stock records. The International Drive location, which serves raw and lightly cooked seafood, had no consumer advisory posted for those items.
Ocean Buffet on East Colonial Drive recorded eight high-severity violations, among them inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. It was one of three facilities this week where inspectors cited both the physical handwashing infrastructure and the technique used at those sinks.
A&T Buffalo Wings LLC on North Pinehills Road drew eight high-severity and nine intermediate violations, the highest combined total of any facility on the list. Inspectors cited no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
China Tea at 9924 Universal Boulevard was cited for eight high-severity violations, including a parasite destruction failure, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no employee health policy, and no consumer advisory. Parasite destruction procedures require fish intended to be served raw or undercooked to be frozen to specific temperatures for a set period before service.
Sushi Lolas on Corrine Drive received eight high-severity violations and stood out as the only facility this week cited for failing to demonstrate allergen awareness. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
@ The Diner on Universal Boulevard drew eight high-severity violations including food described as in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction failures, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
China Wok at 12231 East Colonial Drive was cited for seven high-severity violations including no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Six intermediate violations accompanied those findings.
House of Pho Orlando on South John Young Parkway drew seven high-severity violations, two of which involved toxic substances: one for chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and a second for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also cited improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Polite Pig at 1536 East Buena Vista Drive received seven high-severity violations, including a failure to follow required procedures for specialized processes, parasite destruction failures, no employee health policy, and toxic substances improperly identified or used. The specialized process violation is notable for a barbecue concept, where smoking and low-temperature cooking require documented protocols to ensure food safety.
Run and Run Chinese Food on Palm Parkway was cited for seven high-severity violations including no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and two separate toxic substance violations.
Hungry Crab at 12204 South Apopka Vineland Road drew six high-severity violations including no person in charge, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation and lighting among the intermediate findings.
Drake Kitchen and Bar on North Rosalind Avenue received six high-severity violations and was one of four facilities this week where inspectors found no person in charge on site. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented, a finding that carries contamination risk throughout a kitchen.
Kobe Japanese Steak House on International Drive was cited for six high-severity violations including parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, time as a public health control not properly used, and two toxic substance violations. The teppanyaki-style restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
Kitty O'Sheas Irish Pub on Palm Parkway rounded out the list with six high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, time control failures, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
What These Violations Mean
The most consequential pattern across this week's inspections is the breakdown in illness reporting and employee health policy. Seven facilities, including A&T Buffalo Wings, China Wok, Sushi Lolas, Run and Run Chinese Food, Drake Kitchen and Bar, Oceanaire Seafood Room, and Kitty O'Sheas, were cited for employees not reporting symptoms of illness, no written employee health policy, or both. Norovirus, the pathogen most associated with food worker transmission, causes roughly 20 million illnesses annually in the United States. A single infected employee handling food without reporting symptoms can expose every customer served that shift.
Food from unapproved sources, documented at Ocean Buffet, Tabla Orlando, Oceanaire Seafood Room, Hungry Crab, and @ The Diner, creates a traceability gap that becomes critical when people get sick. Licensed suppliers maintain records that allow health officials to trace an outbreak back to a specific lot, farm, or processing facility. Food that enters a kitchen outside that chain has no such paper trail.
The shellfish traceability failures at eight facilities this week, including Ocean Buffet, Tabla Orlando, Oceanaire Seafood Room, A&T Buffalo Wings, China Tea, @ The Diner, Hungry Crab, and House of Pho, compound that problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked, and they filter large volumes of water, concentrating whatever pathogens or toxins were present in their harvest environment. Shell stock tags are the only mechanism that allows public health officials to identify and pull product from a contaminated harvest area before more people are exposed.
Parasite destruction failures at China Tea, @ The Diner, Polite Pig, and Kobe Japanese Steak House represent a specific risk for customers who order fish served raw or undercooked. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork are killed by freezing to specified temperatures for a specified duration. When that step is skipped or undocumented, the risk transfers directly to the customer.
The Longer Record
Several facilities on this week's list are not new to high-severity citations. House of Pho Orlando carries 33 prior inspections on record, and this week's findings included two separate toxic substance violations alongside food temperature and sanitation failures. Tabla Orlando, with 32 prior inspections, drew its highest single-week violation count in the current data. Run and Run Chinese Food has 30 prior inspections behind it and repeated the same categories this week: illness policy, employee reporting, food contact surfaces, cooking temperatures, and chemical storage.
Sushi Lolas and @ The Diner each have 28 prior inspections on record. Both were cited this week for multiple high-severity violations. China Tea and A&T Buffalo Wings each show 27 prior inspections, with A&T's 17 combined violations this week representing the heaviest single-facility load in the roundup.
Kitty O'Sheas has 27 prior inspections and repeated violations in cooking temperature, time control, and chemical storage. Kobe Japanese Steak House and China Wok each have 25 prior inspections, and both drew chemical storage violations this week alongside food safety failures.
The newest facilities on the list tell a different story. Ocean Buffet has only 3 prior inspections on record and already accumulated eight high-severity violations in a single visit, including failures in handwashing infrastructure, food sourcing, cooking temperature, and chemical storage. Drake Kitchen and Bar has 10 prior inspections and drew an improper sewage disposal citation alongside five other high-severity findings. Both are early in their inspection histories and already carrying records that older facilities took years to accumulate.