MIAMI, FL. A small Miami restaurant on SW 184th Street drew 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, the worst single-facility total in a stretch that saw state inspectors flag 15 South Florida restaurants for three or more critical findings between September 1 and September 7, 2026.
The Worst of the Week
Dona Neli Restaurant 2 on SW 184th Street in Miami logged the week's highest single-facility count: 11 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate ones. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, and inadequate shell stock identification records. That is nearly every category of foundational food safety failure in a single visit.
Three Hialeah restaurants each drew 10 high-severity violations. Di Piazza Pizzeria on W 49th Street was cited for no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, unclean food contact surfaces, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Chicos Restaurant on W 12th Avenue drew the same violation count, with inspectors noting no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, and unclean food contact surfaces.
IHOP at 12755 SW 88th Street in Miami also reached 10 high-severity violations. The national chain location was cited for no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock identification, unclean food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Across the Tri-County Area
Q' Onda Taqueria on SW 109th Court in Miami drew 8 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count of the week. Among the high-severity findings: no person in charge, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed.
Exxodo Gastro Bar on W 12th Avenue in Hialeah drew 9 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and improper use of time as a public health control. Inspectors also cited the gastro bar for unclean food contact surfaces and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
All You Need at 3301 NE 1st Avenue in Miami logged 9 high-severity violations that included a finding inspectors rarely document at this level: failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. That citation, alongside food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to minimum temperature, improper time-as-public-health-control use, food in poor condition, and toxic chemicals improperly stored, made it one of the week's more varied violation profiles.
In Plantation, Lago Mar Country Club Dining Room on NW 127th Avenue drew 9 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing by food employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, and unclean food contact surfaces. A country club dining room with three separate handwashing-related high-severity violations in a single inspection is a notable finding.
La Estacion Cafe at 1390 Brickell Avenue, in one of Miami's highest-traffic commercial corridors, drew 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors documented employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Korner 67 on Main Street in Miami Lakes logged 9 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
John the Baker on N Flamingo Road in Pembroke Pines drew 9 high-severity violations. A bakery with inadequate shell stock identification records is an unusual pairing, and inspectors also cited the facility for no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, unclean food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control.
Baku Cafe on Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, steps from a dense stretch of oceanfront hotels, drew 6 high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
El Patio Live on W 49th Street in Hialeah drew 5 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, unclean food contact surfaces, food not cooked to minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
In Palm Beach County, Colombian Coffee House on NE 20th Street in Boca Raton drew 5 high-severity violations with zero intermediate violations. Inspectors cited no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, unclean food contact surfaces, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The allergen citation was the only one of its kind across all 15 facilities this week.
Rinconcito de Alex El Paisa on SW 112th Street in Miami drew 3 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate ones, including improper sewage or waste water disposal, a finding that signals a different category of contamination risk than most of the week's other citations.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved or unknown sources was the single most common high-severity violation this week, appearing at Dona Neli Restaurant 2, Q' Onda Taqueria, IHOP, Di Piazza Pizzeria, Chicos Restaurant, Exxodo Gastro Bar, All You Need, Lago Mar Country Club Dining Room, La Estacion Cafe, Korner 67, John the Baker, El Patio Live, and Rinconcito de Alex El Paisa. The reason this matters is traceability. When food enters a kitchen through an uninspected or undocumented channel, there is no paper trail if someone gets sick. USDA and FDA inspections exist specifically to screen for pathogens like Listeria and Salmonella before product reaches a restaurant. Food that bypasses that system carries no such guarantee.
Handwashing violations, in their various forms, appeared at more than half the facilities on this week's list. Inadequate facilities, improper technique, and failure to wash at all were documented at Dona Neli Restaurant 2, IHOP, Chicos Restaurant, Lago Mar Country Club Dining Room, La Estacion Cafe, Korner 67, and others. These are not paperwork violations. Hands are the most direct transmission route for Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year. A kitchen where employees lack functioning handwashing stations, or where technique is wrong even when stations exist, is a kitchen where that transmission chain has no structural break.
The employee illness violations at Dona Neli Restaurant 2, Di Piazza Pizzeria, Chicos Restaurant, Colombian Coffee House, Korner 67, John the Baker, and La Estacion Cafe are acutely serious. Workers who do not report illness symptoms, or who work in kitchens without a written health policy requiring them to do so, are the documented primary cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus can be shed by a symptomatic worker onto food that then reaches dozens of customers in a single service.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for these facilities, so direct comparison of inspection history is not possible from this week's records alone. What the violation profiles do reveal is a pattern of systemic, not incidental, failure. Facilities like Dona Neli Restaurant 2 and IHOP on SW 88th Street did not accumulate 10 and 11 high-severity violations through isolated oversights. Those totals reflect breakdowns across management, sourcing, hygiene infrastructure, and cooking practices simultaneously.
The presence of a national chain, IHOP, among the week's three worst performers is notable. Chain locations operate under corporate food safety protocols that independent restaurants typically lack. Ten high-severity violations at a franchise location, including food from unapproved sources and no person in charge, suggests those protocols were not being followed at this specific address.
Lago Mar Country Club Dining Room in Plantation stands out for a different reason. Country club dining rooms serve a membership that often includes elderly guests, a population identified by the FDA as among those most vulnerable to foodborne illness. Three separate handwashing-related high-severity violations at that facility, alongside food from unapproved sources and inadequate shell stock records, make it one of the more consequential findings of the week given who is likely eating there.
John the Baker in Pembroke Pines, a bakery, was cited for inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning the facility is handling shellfish without the traceability documentation the state requires. Shellfish are among the highest-risk foods served raw or lightly cooked, and without harvest records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if illness is reported.
