MIAMI, FL. La Hormiga de Oro III on SW 147th Avenue in Miami drew 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection week, the highest count among 15 South Florida restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between October 9 and October 15, 2026.
State records show inspectors flagged facilities across all three counties, with Miami-Dade accounting for 11 of the 15 restaurants. The violations ranged from food sourced outside the regulated supply chain to employees working without any illness reporting policy in place.
The Worst of the Week
La Hormiga de Oro III was cited for food from unapproved or unknown sources, no employee illness reporting policy, no person in charge performing duties, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also noted that food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Three facilities tied at 10 high-severity violations each. Sky Coffee Buenos Aires Inc. on SW 2nd Avenue in Miami drew citations for three separate handwashing failures: inadequate facilities, inadequate technique, and employees not washing hands at all. Inspectors also found no person in charge present, no illness policy, employees not reporting symptoms, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Blue Matisse Restaurant on NW 87th Avenue in Miami matched that count with nearly identical management failures, including food from unapproved sources and no shell stock identification records. No person in charge was present during the inspection.
The Golden Corral on S. Dixie Highway in Florida City also reached 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the buffet chain for food from unapproved sources, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no person in charge on duty.
Across the Counties
In Broward County, Pollo Tipico in Davie drew 9 high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, no illness reporting policy, and time controls not properly followed. El Paso 2 on N. Federal Highway in Hollywood drew 2 high-severity violations, including no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Palm Beach County produced two entries. Boca Lago Country Club on Juego Way in Boca Raton was cited for 9 high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed and food from unapproved sources. Eagle Grill on Jog Road in Greenacres drew 2 high-severity violations, both related to employee illness policies.
Back in Miami-Dade, Xixon Spanish Restaurant on SW 22nd Street drew 9 high-severity violations with no intermediate violations at all. Every citation was at the most serious level, including food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate handwashing, and time controls not properly used.
Street Bar on Harding Avenue in Surfside, a tourist-area address on the barrier island between Miami Beach and Bal Harbour, was cited for 9 high-severity violations including parasite destruction procedures not followed, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and time controls not properly used.
Bulla Gastrobar in Aventura drew 9 high-severity violations including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and no illness policy. Aventura Mall draws heavy foot traffic year-round, and the Gastrobar sits in a dense retail corridor on NE 193rd Street.
La Granja Le Jeune on NW 42nd Avenue in Miami was cited for 4 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing by employees and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Happy Buffet on W. 49th Street in Hialeah drew 3 high-severity violations including no employee health policy and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Inspectors also noted single-use items being reused, an intermediate violation.
Latin American Grill on NW 79th Court in Miami Lakes drew 6 high-severity violations, including two chemical storage failures: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified or used. Inspectors also found parasite destruction procedures not followed and no consumer advisory posted.
FlyFuel Food Co. on NE 29th Street in Miami drew 9 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present, no illness policy existed, employees were not reporting symptoms, handwashing facilities were inadequate, and food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated high-severity violation this week was food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, cited at 13 of the 15 facilities. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that carry bacteria from one food to another are among the most direct routes for pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli to reach a customer's plate without any visible sign of contamination.
Seven facilities, including La Hormiga de Oro III, Blue Matisse, Golden Corral, Xixon Spanish Restaurant, Bulla Gastrobar, and Boca Lago Country Club, were cited for food from unapproved or unknown sources. When food enters a kitchen outside the regulated supply chain, there is no USDA or FDA inspection record attached to it. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no documentation to trace the product back to its origin.
Parasite destruction failures at Latin American Grill, Boca Lago Country Club, Street Bar, and Bulla Gastrobar carry a specific risk that is easy to overlook. Fish served raw or lightly cooked, including ceviche, sushi, and certain Spanish preparations, must be frozen to specific temperatures before service to kill parasites like Anisakis. When that step is skipped, the parasite reaches the customer alive.
The cluster of illness-policy failures is the most operationally alarming pattern of the week. At La Hormiga de Oro III, Sky Coffee Buenos Aires, Blue Matisse, Golden Corral, Pollo Tipico, Bulla Gastrobar, FlyFuel Food Co., and others, inspectors found no written employee health policy and no mechanism requiring workers to report symptoms. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads through a single infected food handler touching ready-to-eat food. A written policy is the first line of defense.
The Longer Record
The data shows a concentration of high-severity violations at facilities that carry the SEA23-prefix identifiers, suggesting a cluster of relatively newer license holders. La Hormiga de Oro III, Sky Coffee Buenos Aires, Blue Matisse, FlyFuel Food Co., and Bulla Gastrobar all fall in that range. Accumulating 9 to 11 high-severity violations early in a facility's inspection history is a pattern regulators treat as a predictor of future enforcement action.
Golden Corral on S. Dixie Highway carries the identifier SEA2328989, placing it in the same cohort. A buffet-format restaurant operating with no person in charge present, no illness reporting mechanism, and food from unapproved sources represents a compounded risk: the format itself keeps food in the temperature danger zone for extended periods, and the time-control violation cited this week suggests the facility was not managing that window properly.
Boca Lago Country Club, a private club setting in Boca Raton, drew 9 high-severity violations including both parasite destruction failures and food from unapproved sources. Country club kitchens serving member events and catered functions are subject to the same inspection standards as public restaurants, and the violations documented here were not administrative in nature.
Latin American Grill in Miami Lakes drew two separate chemical storage violations in the same inspection. Toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, and toxic substances improperly identified or used, are distinct citations, meaning inspectors found more than one instance of the same underlying problem. That facility also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a detail that matters specifically because the shellfish traceability violation was cited in the same inspection.
