MIAMI, FL. A Japanese restaurant near Dadeland Mall drew 12 high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, the highest count among 15 South Florida restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between August 12 and August 18, 2026.
Inspectors working across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties documented 92 high-severity violations at those 15 facilities. Miami-Dade accounted for 10 of them.
The Worst of the Week
Miyako Japanese Restaurant of Dadeland, at 9533 S. Dixie Highway, led the region with 12 high-severity citations and 6 intermediate violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no employee health policy, for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and for improper handwashing technique. Food from an unapproved or unknown source was also documented, along with food in poor condition or adulterated, and parasite destruction procedures not being followed for fish.
That last citation matters at a sushi restaurant. Without verified freezing logs or proper cooking temperatures, parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm can survive in raw fish served to customers.
El Turco, a Miami restaurant on NE 2nd Avenue, drew 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors found food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock identification records for shellfish, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and improper use of time as a public health control. No employee health policy was in place, and handwashing technique was cited as deficient.
Sabor a Peru on Biscayne Boulevard also recorded 11 high-severity violations. The inspection documented both inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper handwashing technique as separate citations, meaning inspectors observed failures in both frequency and method. The person in charge was not present or not performing duties. Shell stock identification records for shellfish were also inadequate.
Across the Counties
In South Miami, CasaCuba Restaurant on SW 73rd Street accumulated 10 high-severity violations. The inspection noted no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and improper use of time as a public health control.
Pinecrest's Ashoka Indian Restaurant on S. Dixie Highway was cited for 8 high-severity violations. Among them: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. Food from an unapproved source and food not cooked to minimum temperature were also on the list.
In Hialeah, three restaurants drew serious citations this week. New Dragon Restaurant on W. 16th Avenue recorded 10 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and both inadequate handwashing frequency and improper technique cited separately.
Sushi Sake on W. 49th Street matched that count with 10 high-severity violations and added 6 intermediate violations, the second-highest intermediate total of the week. Inspectors documented food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock identification, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper time-as-public-health-control use, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Fritanga Coquito on W. 46th Street drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, along with intermediate citations for inadequate ventilation and improper waste disposal.
In Doral, Ohana Sushi on NW 107th Avenue was cited for three high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
The Aventura Mall-area location of Cvi.che 105, on Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura, drew two high-severity violations: no person in charge present or performing duties, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. The restaurant sits inside one of the highest-traffic retail destinations in South Florida.
Broward County's two flagged facilities were in Davie and Miramar. Cilantro Asian Bistro on W. SR 84 in Davie recorded 10 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing, improper technique, inadequate shell stock records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
La Pupusa Factory #2 on Miramar Parkway drew 4 high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification, and parasite destruction procedures not followed.
Palm Beach County's three flagged facilities included Best Taste of Mexico in Lake Worth Beach, which recorded 10 high-severity violations. The inspection documented no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and food not cooked to minimum temperature.
Saiko-I Sushi Lounge and Hibachi in Boca Raton drew one high-severity citation for no person in charge. El Rinconcito Colombiano #2 in Royal Palm Beach drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
What These Violations Mean
The most alarming cluster this week involves the combination of no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and inadequate handwashing, all documented together at multiple facilities. Miyako Japanese Restaurant of Dadeland, Sabor a Peru, CasaCuba Restaurant, Best Taste of Mexico, New Dragon Restaurant, and Cilantro Asian Bistro all had at least two of these three violations in the same inspection. When a sick employee has no policy requiring them to report symptoms, and handwashing is also deficient, the transmission pathway for Norovirus to food is direct and largely unobstructed.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Miyako, El Turco, Ashoka Indian Restaurant, New Dragon Restaurant, and Sushi Sake, removes the entire traceability chain. If a customer gets sick and investigators need to trace the food back to its origin, there is no record to follow. That gap is why unapproved sourcing is treated as a high-severity violation even when the food appears normal.
Parasite destruction failures at Miyako, El Turco, Cilantro Asian Bistro, and La Pupusa Factory #2 are particularly acute given the number of raw-fish menus in this week's list. Anisakis larvae, which can survive in improperly handled fish, cause severe abdominal pain and require endoscopic removal in serious cases. The required kill step is specific: fish must be frozen to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for seven days, or to minus 31 degrees for 15 hours.
Chemical storage violations at Ashoka Indian Restaurant and Ohana Sushi represent a different category of risk entirely. Cleaning agents stored near food or improperly labeled create acute poisoning exposure, not a slow-building bacterial risk. The consequences can be immediate.
The Longer Record
The data provided does not include prior inspection counts for these facilities, which limits direct comparison of chronic versus first-time performance. What the violation totals alone show is that the highest-severity outcomes this week were concentrated at restaurants with the most complex menus and the most raw or lightly cooked protein: sushi, ceviche, shellfish, raw fish preparations. Those are also the categories where parasite destruction failures and temperature violations carry the sharpest consequences.
Seven of the 15 facilities this week were cited for no person in charge present or not performing duties. CDC data cited in the inspection records notes that establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations. The pattern holds here: of the eight facilities with 10 or more high-severity violations, six also had the no-person-in-charge citation on the same report.
Cilantro Asian Bistro in Davie and New Dragon Restaurant in Hialeah each drew 10 high-severity violations without a single intermediate violation between them. That is an unusual profile. Intermediate violations typically reflect procedural gaps, while high-severity violations reflect direct health hazards. A facility with 10 high-severity citations and no intermediate ones has a record that is almost entirely composed of the most serious category of finding.
Sushi Sake in Hialeah drew 10 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate violations, the second-highest intermediate count of the week after Miyako's 6. Both are raw-fish restaurants. Both lack consumer advisories for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers eating at either location this week had no posted notice that their meal carried elevated risk.
