MIAMI BEACH, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into Pamplemousse on the Bay at 910 West Ave and found food from unapproved or unknown sources being used in a restaurant that serves seafood on Biscayne Bay. That single violation, documented on April 15, means the kitchen was working with ingredients that had bypassed federal safety inspections entirely. The restaurant was not closed.
By the end of that inspection, the tally stood at nine high-severity violations and one intermediate. Inspectors documented failures that touched nearly every layer of food safety, from sourcing to handling to the information customers receive before they order.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violations compound the sourcing problem. Inspectors cited inadequate shell stock identification and records, meaning oysters, clams, or mussels on the menu could not be traced to a certified harvest location. They also found that parasite destruction procedures had not been followed, a requirement for any establishment serving raw or lightly cooked fish.
The kitchen had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. That notice is the only protection a customer with a compromised immune system, or a pregnant woman, has when ordering a dish that has not been fully cooked.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near the food operation. The person in charge was either absent or not performing oversight duties.
There was also no written employee health policy. Without one, a worker sick with Norovirus has no formal instruction to stay home, and no manager with documented authority to send them home.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When ingredients enter a kitchen without passing through USDA or FDA inspection, there is no way to know whether they carry Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens. If someone gets sick, there is also no supply chain record to trace the outbreak back to its origin. At a seafood-forward restaurant on Biscayne Bay, that gap is acute.
The shellfish traceability failure runs parallel. Oysters and clams are frequently consumed raw, and they are among the highest-risk foods for Vibrio bacteria, which can be fatal for people with liver disease or weakened immune systems. Shell stock tags exist precisely so that a contaminated harvest can be pulled before it reaches more tables. Without those records at Pamplemousse on the Bay, that system did not function.
The parasite destruction citation matters because parasites like Anisakis, found in raw saltwater fish, are not killed by refrigeration alone. They require either cooking to a safe internal temperature or freezing to specific thresholds for a defined period. When those procedures are skipped, the parasites can survive into the dish.
Improperly stored chemicals near food create a separate and more immediate risk. Mislabeled or unsecured cleaning compounds can contaminate food directly, causing acute poisoning that mimics foodborne illness and is often misdiagnosed.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was the sixth on record for Pamplemousse on the Bay. Across those six inspections, the facility has accumulated 60 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern is consistent and it runs in one direction. A December 2024 inspection found six high-severity violations and one intermediate. A June 2025 inspection found six high-severity violations and one intermediate. Then on August 13, 2025, inspectors returned twice in a single day: the first visit logged two high-severity violations and one intermediate, and the second logged eight high-severity violations and two intermediate.
The April 2026 inspection, with nine high-severity violations, is the highest single-visit count in the facility's recorded history.
The facility has never been cited with zero high-severity violations across any inspection on record. Every visit has found at least two. CDC data cited in the inspection report notes that establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations than those with consistent oversight. The person-in-charge violation has appeared in the record before.
Still Open
State inspectors documented nine high-severity violations at Pamplemousse on the Bay on April 15, 2026. They included food from an unknown source, shellfish with no traceability records, raw fish served without required parasite controls, no warning to customers about undercooked food, improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, and unlabeled chemicals stored near the kitchen operation.
The restaurant was not closed that day. It remained open to serve customers.