MIAMI, FL. A Hialeah restaurant drew 12 high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, including food sourced from unapproved suppliers and no policy requiring sick employees to report their symptoms, the worst single-facility tally among 15 South Florida restaurants cited for three or more high-severity violations between September 8 and September 14, 2026.
The Worst of the Week
Trigo on W 49th Street in Hialeah accumulated 12 high-severity violations, the highest count among all facilities inspected in the tri-county area this week. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique, among others. No person in charge was present or performing duties at the time of the inspection.
Casa Juan on NW 7th Street in Miami drew 11 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning inspectors could not trace where the restaurant's shellfish came from. The facility also lacked a functioning employee health policy and had no one in charge during the inspection.
Surry Hills Coffee on NE 2nd Avenue in Miami matched that count with 11 high-severity violations of its own. For a coffee shop, the citation list was unusually serious: inspectors found that parasite destruction procedures for fish were not being followed, shell stock records were inadequate, and food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Across the Three Counties
Hialeah produced two of the week's five worst facilities. Pincho on W 12th Avenue collected 10 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, inadequate shell stock records, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned. Inspectors also cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms and for improper handwashing technique.
In Miami's Design District, El Turco on NE 39th Street drew 10 high-severity violations that included toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food areas, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items, and no person in charge present. Inspectors found the facility's handwashing infrastructure inadequate and its food contact surfaces improperly sanitized.
Salumeria 104 on NE 1st Avenue in Miami's Wynwood area was cited for nine high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals stored improperly, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. The facility also had six intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count among all locations this week.
La Boulangerie Boul'Mich on Sunset Drive in Coral Gables drew nine high-severity violations, among them food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. The bakery-cafe also lacked adequate handwashing facilities and had shell stock records inspectors found inadequate.
Caffe Portofino on S. Dixie Highway in Miami rounded out the Miami-Dade list with nine high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and inadequate shell stock records.
Broward County produced three facilities on this week's list. Hallyu Korean BBQ on N University Drive in Tamarac was cited for 10 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no person in charge, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine on N SR 7 in Hollywood drew 10 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, inadequate handwashing facilities, and time as a public health control not properly used. No person in charge was present.
Sicilian Oven Wood Fired Pizza on W Sample Road in Coral Springs was cited for nine high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Palm Beach County's single entry this week was Poppies Restaurant and Deli on Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach, which drew three high-severity violations, the lowest count among facilities in this roundup. Inspectors found no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Porterhouse Bar and Grill on Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, a beachfront tourist corridor, was cited for nine high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Inspectors also found inadequate shell stock records at a restaurant that serves seafood steps from the ocean.
Paraiso Tropical Pizzeria Restaurant y Heladeria on W 16th Avenue in Hialeah drew nine high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. No employee health policy was in place.
Mr Baker on NW 167th Street in Miami Gardens had the week's lowest high-severity count at two, but one of those citations was for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food, a violation with acute poisoning potential.
What These Violations Mean
The single most consequential cluster this week involves employee illness reporting, or the absence of it. Trigo, Casa Juan, Pincho, Hallyu Korean BBQ, Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine, Sicilian Oven, and Paraiso Tropical all had no functioning employee health policy and no mechanism requiring workers to report symptoms. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads most efficiently when infected workers handle food without disclosure. A written policy is the first line of prevention; none of these facilities had one.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources appeared at Trigo, Porterhouse Bar and Grill, La Boulangerie Boul'Mich, Paraiso Tropical, and Caffe Portofino. The practical consequence is traceability: if a customer gets sick, inspectors and health officials need to trace the food back through the supply chain to identify a contamination point. Food bought outside licensed distributors or from unknown suppliers has no paper trail. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli have all been linked to uninspected supply chains.
Inadequate shell stock records appeared at nine facilities this week, including Casa Juan, Surry Hills Coffee, Pincho, Hallyu Korean BBQ, Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine, Porterhouse Bar and Grill, Salumeria 104, Sicilian Oven, La Boulangerie Boul'Mich, and Caffe Portofino. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked and are a known vector for Vibrio, hepatitis A, and norovirus. Without shell stock tags, there is no way to identify the harvest location or date if a customer becomes ill.
El Turco, Salumeria 104, and Mr Baker were all cited for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. This violation is distinct from the food-handling failures that dominate the rest of this week's list: it describes cleaning agents, pesticides, or other chemicals stored in proximity to food or in unlabeled containers, creating a direct pathway for chemical poisoning that can cause symptoms within minutes of ingestion.
The Longer Record
The data this week does not include prior inspection counts for individual facilities, which limits the ability to place each citation in historical context. What the violation patterns do show is a set of restaurants with systemic failures rather than isolated incidents. Facilities like Trigo and Casa Juan, with 12 and 11 high-severity violations respectively, are not accumulating minor paperwork errors; they are missing foundational food safety infrastructure across multiple categories simultaneously.
The geographic concentration in Hialeah is notable. Three of the week's 15 flagged facilities operate in Hialeah, and two of them, Trigo and Pincho, rank first and fourth on the week's severity list. All three Hialeah locations share violations in the handwashing and illness-reporting categories, suggesting these are not isolated lapses but operational habits.
Surry Hills Coffee's citation for parasite destruction procedures not followed stands out on a list dominated by full-service restaurants. A coffee shop that handles fish, whether for food items or prepared offerings, is subject to the same parasite-destruction freezing requirements as any seafood counter. Inspectors found those procedures were not in place.
Porterhouse Bar and Grill on Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach drew nine high-severity violations at a location that draws beach tourists and seasonal visitors. Food from an unapproved source and undercooked food at a steakhouse-style venue along a high-traffic coastal strip are citations that have not yet been publicly resolved in the inspection record.
