TAMPA, FL. New Bamboo Express on Kelly Road drew seven high-severity violations during the week of May 14, the most of any facility inspected in Tampa that week, including a citation for inadequate handwashing facilities and a separate citation for improper handwashing technique, meaning inspectors found both the infrastructure and the practice failing at the same time.
The Kelly Road location also had no employee health policy, no documentation that workers are required to report illness symptoms, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized. A person in charge was not present or not performing duties during the inspection. That is six of seven high-severity violations tied directly to the human layer of food safety, the policies, the supervision, and the hygiene that no equipment can substitute for.
The Violations
Grand Hacienda on Sheldon Road accumulated six high-severity violations, including a citation for inadequate shellstock identification records. That means inspectors could not verify where the restaurant's oysters, clams, or mussels came from. The location also lacked an employee health policy, had employees not reporting illness symptoms, had a person in charge not performing duties, and had improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Inspectors also cited an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
2 Alex's on West Waters Avenue drew six high-severity violations of its own, including the same shellstock traceability failure and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also found improper handwashing technique and no employee health policy. An intermediate violation for inadequate toilet facilities rounded out the report.
Grillsmith Carrollwood on North Dale Mabry was cited for six high-severity violations including two that stand out in the data this week: parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature. Those two violations together indicate that fish or other parasite-risk proteins may have been served without the freezing protocols that kill parasites, and that food was pulled from heat before reaching temperatures that eliminate pathogens like Salmonella. A person in charge was also found not present or not performing duties.
Rasoi Indian Cuisine on East 8th Avenue was cited for six high-severity violations, including one that appeared at no other facility in this week's data: no allergen awareness demonstrated. That citation means inspectors found no evidence that staff could identify or communicate common food allergens to customers. The Ybor City restaurant also lacked an employee health policy, had improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellstock records, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Namaste Express on Preserve Walk Lane drew a citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source, one of only two facilities in this week's data to receive that violation. The Northwood Hills location also had improper handwashing technique, no employee health policy, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and a citation for time as a public health control not properly used, meaning food was held in the temperature danger zone without proper tracking of how long it had been there.
Senor Rocoto on Hanley Road was the other facility cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source. Inspectors also found no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory. Six high-severity violations at a location that has been inspected 38 times.
Tikka Masalaa on West Hillsborough drew five high-severity violations including food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Those two violations appearing together at the same facility is notable. Inspectors also cited inadequate shellstock records and improper handwashing technique.
Acropolis Greek Taverna on East 7th Avenue was cited for five high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities and time as a public health control not properly used. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented. Inspectors further noted that single-use items were being improperly reused.
Coppertail Brewing Co. on East 2nd Avenue drew five high-severity violations including parasite destruction procedures not followed and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The Ybor-adjacent brewery also lacked shellstock identification records and had employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Madison 2.0 on North Howard Avenue was cited for five high-severity violations including no person in charge present or performing duties, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, inadequate shellstock records, and no consumer advisory. The Hyde Park location has only 10 prior inspections on record.
True Food Kitchen on Midtown Drive drew five high-severity violations including toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also found no person in charge performing duties and inadequate shellstock records. The location has nine prior inspections on record.
Samurai Blue on North Dale Mabry and Mandy's Restaurant on West Waters Avenue each drew two high-severity violations. Samurai Blue was cited for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Mandy's was cited for both improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Motorworks Brewing Taproom on Harbour Post Drive drew two high-severity violations, improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, with no intermediate violations cited.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation this week, appearing at eleven of the fifteen facilities, was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. That citation means customers ordering items like rare beef, raw oysters, or undercooked fish had no written notice on the menu that those items carry elevated risk. For elderly diners, pregnant women, and anyone immunocompromised, that information is not a formality. It is the difference between an informed choice and an uninformed one.
The cluster of illness-reporting failures at facilities including New Bamboo Express, Grand Hacienda, Grillsmith Carrollwood, Senor Rocoto, Coppertail Brewing, and True Food Kitchen reflects a specific transmission risk. When a food worker with Norovirus has no policy requiring them to report symptoms and no supervisor present to enforce one, that worker continues handling food. Norovirus requires as few as 18 viral particles to cause illness in a healthy adult.
Shellstock traceability failures, documented at Grand Hacienda, 2 Alex's, Grillsmith Carrollwood, Rasoi Indian Cuisine, Acropolis Greek Taverna, Tikka Masalaa, Coppertail Brewing, Madison 2.0, and True Food Kitchen, carry a specific consequence that goes beyond the restaurant itself. If a customer becomes ill after eating raw oysters, investigators need shellstock tags to trace the harvest location and lot. Without those records, an outbreak cannot be traced to its source, and other consumers of the same shellfish remain at risk.
Grillsmith Carrollwood's combination of parasite destruction procedures not followed and food not cooked to required minimum temperature is the week's most acute cooking-process failure. Parasite destruction requires either cooking to specific internal temperatures or a documented freezing protocol. Neither appears to have been in place. Coppertail Brewing was also cited for parasite destruction failure.
The Longer Record
Senor Rocoto has 38 prior inspections on record, the second-highest count among facilities cited this week, and still drew six high-severity violations including no person in charge and food from an unapproved source. Tikka Masalaa has 39 prior inspections, the highest count in this week's data, and was cited for five high-severity violations including food in poor condition and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
2 Alex's has 37 prior inspections on record. Rasoi Indian Cuisine has 32, the same count as Acropolis Greek Taverna. These are not new operations encountering inspectors for the first time. The violations documented this week at those locations follow inspection histories measured in dozens of visits.
Madison 2.0 and True Food Kitchen are at the other end of the inspection history. Madison 2.0 has 10 prior inspections on record and drew five high-severity violations. True Food Kitchen has nine, and drew five as well, including toxic substance storage failures and no person in charge performing duties. Both locations are accumulating serious citations early in their inspection histories.
Mandy's Restaurant has 34 prior inspections on record. The West Waters Avenue location drew a citation for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled this week, a violation that, at a facility with that inspection history, inspectors have had ample opportunity to flag and the operator has had ample opportunity to correct.
Grillsmith Carrollwood's 25 prior inspections and this week's citations for both parasite destruction failure and undercooking have not yet been resolved in the public record.