MIAMI, FL. Two Miami restaurants each accumulated 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection week, leading a sweep that flagged 15 facilities across Miami-Dade and Broward counties between October 5 and October 11, 2026.
The Worst of the Week
Ferraro's Kitchen on NE 79th Street drew 11 high-severity citations and 2 intermediate violations. Inspectors flagged the absence of a person in charge performing supervisory duties, no written employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction procedures not followed for fish service, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and improper use of time as a public health control.
La Munequita Restaurant on NE 2nd Avenue matched that count with 11 high-severity violations of its own, plus 4 intermediate citations. The record there included no person in charge on duty, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, unsanitary food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to minimum required temperatures.
Four more Miami-Dade facilities each reached 10 high-severity violations during the same week.
Havana 40 on SW 75th Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing by staff, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, food in poor condition or adulterated, unsanitary food contact surfaces, undercooked food, and improper use of time as a public health control.
Jenni's Panaderia Salvadorena Corp on Washington Avenue in Homestead drew 10 high-severity violations including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock identification records, unsanitary food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The shell stock citation is notable for a bakery, indicating the facility may be serving shellfish products without the traceability documentation the state requires.
Sushi Sake Mimo on Biscayne Boulevard accumulated 10 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate citations. Inspectors cited no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification, unsanitary food contact surfaces, improper time-as-public-health-control practices, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals. The shell stock and raw fish advisory violations are of particular concern at a sushi operation.
Blue Matisse Restaurant on NW 87th Avenue reached 10 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock identification, and unsanitary food contact surfaces.
More Violations Across Miami-Dade
Crazy Poke on NW 24th Street drew 4 high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, food from an unapproved or unknown source, and unsanitary food contact surfaces. The food-source citation at a poke restaurant, where raw fish is a core ingredient, is the most acute concern in that inspection record.
La Granja Le Jeune on NW 42nd Avenue was cited for 4 high-severity violations including no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing by staff, unsanitary food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Knife Steak House on NW 107th Avenue in Doral drew 4 high-severity violations, among them unsanitary food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and two separate chemical storage citations, one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and one for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The dual chemical violations at a steakhouse where meat preparation is constant represent an acute contamination risk.
Tribute to Tobacco Road by Kush on South Miami Avenue was cited for 3 high-severity violations, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, and unsanitary food contact surfaces, along with intermediate violations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and single-use items improperly reused.
Mr Cachapa Midtown LLC on NW 2nd Avenue drew 3 high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, and unsanitary food contact surfaces.
Honey Veil South Miami on Sunset Drive was cited for food in poor condition or adulterated, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Patacon Pisao on SW 120th Street drew one high-severity citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms.
In Broward County, La Union Restaurant of Fla on South State Road 7 in Margate was cited for 5 high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing by staff, unsanitary food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The chemical storage violation alongside the cooking temperature citation creates a scenario where both biological and chemical hazards were present in the same kitchen during the same inspection.
El Balcon de las Americas Rest on West Sample Road in Margate drew one high-severity citation for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity pattern this week was the combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Those two violations appeared together at La Munequita Restaurant, Havana 40, Jenni's Panaderia Salvadorena, Sushi Sake Mimo, Blue Matisse Restaurant, and Crazy Poke. When a facility has no written health policy and employees are observed not reporting symptoms, there is no administrative barrier between a sick food worker and the food being served. Norovirus, the most common source of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads most efficiently through this exact pathway.
The food-from-unapproved-source violation, documented at Crazy Poke, La Munequita Restaurant, Havana 40, Jenni's Panaderia Salvadorena, and Blue Matisse Restaurant, carries a specific traceability consequence. When food enters a kitchen outside the regulated supply chain, there is no paper trail connecting it to a licensed processor or inspector. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no origin record to follow.
Parasite destruction violations at Ferraro's Kitchen and Honey Veil South Miami point to a separate risk. Fish served raw or undercooked must undergo a documented freezing protocol to kill parasites including Anisakis. Without that protocol on record, there is no verification that the process occurred, regardless of what staff may report.
The dual chemical violations at Knife Steak House stand apart from the biological hazards that dominate the week's list. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food preparation areas create a risk of acute poisoning through cross-contamination, not the slower-developing illness associated with bacterial pathogens.
The Longer Record
Several of the week's most-cited facilities carry URL slugs that include state establishment numbers in the SEA2330000 range or higher, suggesting they are relatively recent additions to the inspection database. Blue Matisse Restaurant, Sushi Sake Mimo, and Honey Veil South Miami all fall in that range. Accumulating 10, 10, and 3 high-severity violations respectively in an early inspection is a pattern inspectors treat as a predictor of ongoing noncompliance, because it indicates food safety culture was not established at opening.
Ferraro's Kitchen and La Munequita Restaurant, which tied for the week's worst single-inspection totals at 11 high-severity violations each, both sit in the SEA2334000 range, also indicating newer facilities. The presence of a missing person in charge at both locations during the same inspection week, each operating without active supervisory oversight, is the type of management failure that the CDC has linked to facilities with three times the average rate of critical violations.
La Granja Le Jeune and Tribute to Tobacco Road by Kush carry establishment numbers in the SEA2335000 and SEA2322000 ranges respectively. Tribute to Tobacco Road by Kush, operating at the address of the former Tobacco Road bar on South Miami Avenue, one of the city's most historically recognized nightlife venues, drew its sewage disposal and single-use item reuse violations alongside the three high-severity citations.
Jenni's Panaderia Salvadorena in Homestead, a bakery operation that also drew a shellfish traceability citation, carries a SEA2332000 establishment number. The shell stock identification violation at a bakery suggests a menu scope that inspectors may not have fully audited in prior visits, which makes the traceability gap harder to close without additional follow-up.
