MIAMI, FL. A seafood restaurant on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach drew 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, including citations for food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers and missing shellfish identification records that would make it impossible to trace an outbreak back to its origin.
State inspectors visited 15 South Florida restaurants between April 19 and April 25, 2026, flagging facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Fourteen of the 15 cited locations were in Miami-Dade alone.
The Worst of the Week
Crafty Crab Cajun Seafood Restaurant on Biscayne Boulevard accumulated 11 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no person in charge present or performing duties, no written employee health policy, and at least one employee not reporting illness symptoms — three separate failures that together describe a kitchen operating without any formal disease-prevention structure.
The sourcing violations at Crafty Crab were among the most serious of the week. Food from unapproved or unknown suppliers and inadequate shellfish identification records were both flagged, meaning inspectors could not verify where the seafood came from or trace it if a customer became ill. Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces rounded out the high-severity list.
Candies Cabaret on NW 36th Street in Miami was cited for 10 high-severity violations. The list included no person in charge, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, unclean food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature.
Sports Grill Miami Lakes on NW 77th Court also drew 10 high-severity violations, with zero intermediate violations alongside them. Inspectors cited the restaurant for lacking adequate handwashing facilities entirely, meaning the infrastructure for basic hygiene was absent. The facility was also cited for improper use of time as a public health control and for serving raw or undercooked food without the required consumer advisory.
King and I Thai Restaurant, also on NW 77th Court in Miami Lakes, drew 9 high-severity violations including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and inadequate shellfish identification records. Two restaurants on the same short stretch of road in Miami Lakes each accumulated 9 or more high-severity violations in the same week.
Coral Gables and the Seafood Traceability Problem
Two upscale Coral Gables restaurants appeared on this week's list, both with significant shellfish-related violations.
Aromas del Peru of Coral Gables on Giralda Avenue was cited for 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors found food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, missing shellfish identification records, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Globe Cafe and Bar on Alhambra Circle drew the same total: 9 high-severity violations. The citation list included missing shellfish traceability records, food not cooked to minimum temperature, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no consumer advisory. Globe also had one intermediate violation.
Chemicals, Sewage, and the Rest of the List
Two Miami restaurants were cited for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals alongside food-contact failures.
Ming Yuan Restaurant on NW 2nd Avenue drew 4 high-severity violations, including two separate chemical-storage citations: one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and one for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The restaurant was also cited for failing to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked food.
El Encuentro Restaurant on NW 17th Avenue had the same chemical-storage pattern, 3 high-severity violations total, alongside an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Sewage violations create fecal contamination risk throughout a facility and were documented at two other locations this week as well.
Perl by Chef IP on NE 186th Street drew 6 high-severity violations including improper sewage disposal at the intermediate level and a high-severity citation for toxic substances improperly identified or used. The restaurant was also cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms and missing shellfish identification records.
Black Point Ocean Grill in Cutler Bay accumulated 8 high-severity violations. Among them: no person in charge, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The allergen citation is notable — food allergies send 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms annually, and Black Point was the only facility this week flagged specifically for that failure.
Grace Restaurant on West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach was the sole Broward County location on this week's list, with 3 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited food in poor condition, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked food.
Three Miami restaurants, Barbeque Stop Company on NW 23rd Street, El Gallito Grill on SW 8th Avenue, and Lo D'Alex on SW 8th Street, each drew one high-severity violation for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, alongside intermediate citations for reusing single-use items and inadequate ventilation. SR Ceviche on NE Miami Gardens Drive had a single high-severity food-contact violation paired with intermediate citations for sewage disposal and ventilation.
What These Violations Mean
The most consequential cluster of violations this week involved food sourcing and shellfish traceability. Crafty Crab, Candies Cabaret, and Aromas del Peru were all cited for food from unapproved or unknown sources. When food enters a kitchen from a supplier outside the regulated chain, it has bypassed USDA and FDA safety inspections. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no paper trail to follow.
The shellfish traceability failures at Crafty Crab, King and I Thai, Aromas del Peru, Globe Cafe and Bar, and Perl by Chef IP compound that risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are high-risk foods often consumed raw or barely cooked. Without proper shellfish tags and receiving logs, a restaurant cannot identify which harvest bed or distributor supplied the product if an illness is reported.
The handwashing and illness-reporting failures at Crafty Crab, King and I Thai, Candies Cabaret, Sports Grill Miami Lakes, and Black Point Ocean Grill represent a direct transmission pathway. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurants, spreads primarily through infected food workers who continue working while symptomatic. A facility with no written health policy, no person in charge, and documented improper handwashing technique has removed every structural barrier between a sick employee and a customer's plate.
Chemical storage violations at Ming Yuan and El Encuentro are a separate category of risk. When cleaning agents, pesticides, or other toxic substances are stored near food or left unlabeled, the contamination route is direct and the consequences acute. Both restaurants had two separate chemical-related citations, indicating the problem was not a single misplaced bottle.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities cited this week, which limits direct comparison of inspection histories. What the violation totals alone show is a concentration of serious failures at a small number of locations, with Crafty Crab, Candies Cabaret, and Sports Grill Miami Lakes each accumulating double-digit high-severity citations in a single visit.
The two Miami Lakes restaurants, King and I Thai and Sports Grill, are particularly notable because they sit on the same short corridor of NW 77th Court and were both inspected in the same week. Together they produced 19 high-severity violations between them.
The Coral Gables locations, Aromas del Peru and Globe Cafe and Bar, both operate in one of Miami-Dade's most prominent dining districts, drawing tourists and local professionals. Both were cited for missing shellfish traceability records and for failing to post consumer advisories, meaning customers ordering raw or undercooked seafood at either location this week had no way of knowing the risk.
Grace Restaurant in Pompano Beach was the only Broward County location flagged this week, and the only location in Palm Beach County produced no facilities with three or more high-severity violations during this period. Whether that reflects cleaner operations or lighter inspection coverage in the northern counties, the records for this week do not say.