TAMPA, FL. Inspectors visiting Samurai Blue on North Dale Mabry this week found a restaurant where the person in charge was not performing duties, employees had no health policy to follow, sick workers had no obligation to report symptoms, handwashing technique was improper, shellfish records were inadequate, food contact surfaces were not properly sanitized, chemicals were improperly stored, and customers eating raw fish had no advisory warning them of the risk. That is eight high-severity violations at a single sushi restaurant in a single inspection.
Samurai Blue was the worst-cited facility in a week when 15 Tampa restaurants drew high-severity findings from state inspectors.
The Violations
Grand Hacienda on Sheldon Road drew six high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, no mechanism for sick workers to report symptoms, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also flagged inadequate shellfish identification records and found that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented.
Namaste Express on Preserve Walk Lane accumulated six high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source, improper handwashing technique, and time used as a public health control without being properly tracked. The food sourcing violation is among the most serious documented this week: food that bypasses USDA and FDA inspection channels cannot be traced if customers become ill.
Grillsmith Carrollwood on North Dale Mabry was cited for six high-severity violations that included food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and parasite destruction procedures not followed. Those two findings together, at a restaurant serving meat and fish, describe conditions where pathogens and parasites can survive to the plate.
Circles Bistro on North Dale Mabry drew six high-severity findings: no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing, inadequate shellfish records, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw foods. Intermediate violations included improperly cleaned multi-use utensils and inadequate toilet facilities.
2 Alex's on West Waters Avenue was cited for the same six-violation cluster: no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing, shellfish recordkeeping failures, food contact surface sanitation problems, and no raw food advisory. Inspectors also noted inadequate toilet facilities.
Acropolis Greek Taverna on East 7th Avenue had five high-severity violations, among them inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was not properly in place. Time as a public health control was not properly used. Intermediate violations included improper sewage disposal and the reuse of single-use items.
Madison 2.0 on North Howard Avenue drew five high-severity violations including no person in charge, improper handwashing technique, unsanitized food contact surfaces, inadequate shellfish records, and no raw food advisory.
Coppertail Brewing Co. on East 2nd Avenue was cited for five high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The brewery also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Motorworks Brewing Taproom on Harbour Post Drive drew five high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source and improper handwashing technique. The unapproved sourcing violation, like the one at Namaste Express, means there is no paper trail if a customer gets sick.
True Food Kitchen on Midtown Drive was cited for five high-severity violations, including toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, and no person in charge. An employee illness reporting failure was also documented.
Predalina on East Cumberland Avenue had five high-severity violations with no intermediate violations alongside them. The citations included no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish records, time-as-a-public-health-control misuse, and no raw food consumer advisory.
Pho Quyen Cuisine on East Fowler Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. The high-severity findings included food from an unapproved source, improper handwashing, and inadequate shellfish records. Intermediate violations included improper sewage disposal, single-use items being reused, and inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment.
Anderson Road Cafe on Anderson Road drew four high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities and food from an unapproved source. The cafe also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Mandy's Restaurant on West Waters Avenue had two high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness violations documented at Samurai Blue, Grand Hacienda, Grillsmith Carrollwood, Circles Bistro, 2 Alex's, Coppertail Brewing, Motorworks Brewing, True Food Kitchen, Predalina, and Anderson Road Cafe describe a specific outbreak pathway. When a restaurant has no written health policy and no mechanism for workers to report symptoms, a Norovirus-infected employee can handle food for an entire shift. Norovirus spreads through as few as 18 viral particles. A single sick worker at any of these locations could expose every customer served that day.
The food-from-unapproved-source violations at Namaste Express, Motorworks Brewing, Pho Quyen Cuisine, and Anderson Road Cafe carry a different kind of risk. Food that enters a kitchen outside licensed and inspected supply chains has no traceability. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot identify the source, cannot issue a recall, and cannot determine how many other restaurants received the same product.
Grillsmith Carrollwood's combination of undercooked food and parasite destruction failures is particularly direct. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Parasites including Anisakis in fish survive without proper freezing protocols. Those two violations together describe food leaving the kitchen in a condition where both bacterial and parasitic illness are possible.
The shellfish recordkeeping failure appeared at eleven facilities this week. The reason it is classified as high severity is traceability: if a customer develops Vibrio or hepatitis A from raw oysters or clams, investigators need the harvest location and harvest date to identify the source. Without proper shell stock tags on file, that investigation stops at the kitchen door.
The Longer Record
Several facilities on this week's list carry inspection histories that put the current findings in sharper relief. 2 Alex's has 37 prior inspections on record, the longest history among this week's cited facilities. Six high-severity violations at a location with that many documented visits suggests the findings are not a function of inexperience with the inspection process.
Mandy's Restaurant and Circles Bistro each have 34 prior inspections. Pho Quyen Cuisine also has 34. All three returned high-severity violations this week. Pho Quyen's four high-severity and four intermediate citations, at a location with three dozen inspections behind it, represent a significant gap between the volume of regulatory contact and the outcomes.
At the other end of the history spectrum, True Food Kitchen has only 9 prior inspections on record and Madison 2.0 has 10. Both drew five high-severity violations this week. True Food Kitchen is a national health-focused chain brand. Its Midtown Drive location's findings, including toxic substance storage failures and no person in charge, arrived early in its local inspection history.
Predalina on East Cumberland Avenue has 14 prior inspections. Five high-severity violations and zero intermediate ones, at a relatively newer location, is an unusual profile. The absence of intermediate violations means inspectors documented nothing in the middle tier, only serious findings.
Samurai Blue, the week's top violator, has 23 prior inspections. Its eight high-severity findings this week include violations spanning management, employee health, food handling, chemical storage, and raw food disclosure, five distinct categories of failure documented in a single visit.