MIAMI, FL. An employee working while sick with a transmissible disease, food pulled from unapproved sources with no way to trace it if someone got ill, and parasite destruction procedures ignored entirely: those were among the findings state inspectors documented at South Florida restaurants during the week of April 18, 2026, a stretch that produced 120 high-severity violations across 15 facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The Worst of the Week
El Gallito Grill on SW 8th Avenue in Miami drew the highest single-facility count of the week, 12 high-severity violations in one inspection. Among them: an employee working while ill with a transmissible disease, food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, inadequate shellfish identification records, and parasite destruction procedures not followed for fish or other high-risk proteins.
The illness-while-working citation is the most acute finding. It means an inspector documented a food handler on the line with a condition capable of direct transmission to customers, not a policy gap on paper but an active situation.
Crafty Crab Cajun Seafood Restaurant on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach drew 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the facility for food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish traceability records, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. No person in charge was present or performing duties during the visit.
Candies Cabaret on NW 36th Street in Miami logged 10 high-severity violations. The list included food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no employee health policy, no person in charge, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. The facility operates as a cabaret with food service, making the absence of a responsible manager and the cooking temperature failure a particularly direct concern for customers.
Sports Grill Miami Lakes on NW 77th Court also reached 10 high-severity violations, with zero intermediate violations alongside them, meaning every citation inspectors wrote was in the most serious category. The facility had no employee health policy, no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Time as a public health control was also not properly used.
The Coral Gables Cluster and Other Miami-Dade Findings
Two Coral Gables restaurants drew nine high-severity violations each. Aromas del Peru of Coral Gables on Giralda Avenue was cited for food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inadequate handwashing by food employees was also documented.
Globe Cafe and Bar on Alhambra Circle matched that count with its own nine high-severity citations, including food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, food not cooked to minimum temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Both Coral Gables facilities serve a tourist and business-district clientele in one of Miami-Dade's most visited dining corridors.
King and I Thai Restaurant on NW 77th Court in Miami Lakes, less than a mile from Sports Grill Miami Lakes, drew nine high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Iron Sushi on NE 2nd Avenue in Miami Shores Village accumulated nine high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. For a sushi operation, the parasite destruction failure is a direct concern: raw or lightly prepared fish requires specific freezing protocols to kill Anisakis and other parasites before it reaches a customer's plate.
Black Point Ocean Grill on SW 87th Avenue in Cutler Bay drew eight high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. The allergen citation is notable: inspectors documented that no one in the facility could show they understood the protocols for preventing cross-contact with the 14 major allergens.
Ming Yuan Restaurant on NW 2nd Avenue in Miami was cited for four high-severity violations, two involving the improper storage or labeling of toxic chemicals and substances near food. Chemicals stored near or above food preparation areas create a direct contamination risk that requires no additional failure to become dangerous.
El Encuentro Restaurant on NW 17th Avenue in Miami drew three high-severity violations, two of them also involving improperly stored or labeled toxic substances, alongside an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Perl by Chef IP on NE 186th Street in Miami drew six high-severity violations including employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. An intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented.
The week's lone Broward County facility was Grace Restaurant on West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, which drew three high-severity violations: food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The working-while-ill citation at El Gallito Grill is the most direct public health threat in this week's data. When a food handler with a transmissible illness continues working the line, the transmission pathway to customers is immediate. Hepatitis A, Norovirus, and Salmonella can all be shed by a symptomatic worker and transferred through food contact. This is not a paperwork violation.
The parasite destruction failures at El Gallito Grill and Iron Sushi carry a different but serious risk. Raw and lightly prepared fish must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill Anisakis roundworms and other parasites before service. When that protocol is skipped, the parasite goes to the plate. Symptoms of Anisakis infection include severe abdominal pain and can require surgical intervention.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Crafty Crab, El Gallito Grill, Candies Cabaret, and Aromas del Peru, means inspectors could not verify where the food originated. That traceability gap matters most when someone gets sick: without sourcing records, public health officials cannot identify a contaminated lot, cannot issue a recall, and cannot stop others from eating the same product.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, cited at Grace Restaurant, Sports Grill Miami Lakes, Aromas del Peru, Globe Cafe and Bar, Black Point Ocean Grill, and Perl by Chef IP, means customers with compromised immune systems, who are pregnant, or who are elderly had no way to know they were ordering a higher-risk item. That information gap is required by state code precisely because the population most vulnerable to Salmonella and Vibrio is also the population least likely to know they are at elevated risk.
The Longer Record
Several facilities in this week's data carry inspection histories that place the current findings in sharper context. Globe Cafe and Bar and Aromas del Peru both operate in the Coral Gables dining district, where foot traffic from tourists and business travelers is consistent year-round. Nine high-severity violations at each location, in the same week, in the same zip code, is a pattern that goes beyond coincidence.
Grace Restaurant in Pompano Beach is the only Broward County facility in this week's data, and its three high-severity violations included food already in poor or adulterated condition, a finding that suggests product was not turned or inspected before service.
Candies Cabaret drew ten high-severity violations despite operating a food service component alongside its entertainment license. The combination of no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, and food not reaching minimum cooking temperatures represents the kind of cascading failure that CDC data associates with facilities where managerial oversight is absent.
Iron Sushi had no handwashing facilities adequate for the volume of food handling required at a raw-fish operation, and no parasite destruction protocol in place. Both of those failures were present in the same inspection, at the same facility, on the same day.