TAMPA, FL. Carrabba's Italian Grill on North Dale Mabry Highway drew 10 high-severity violations during a single inspection last week, the highest count among 15 Tampa restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between October 17 and October 23, 2026.
The violations at the 11435 N Dale Mabry location touched nearly every layer of kitchen safety. Inspectors documented food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and an employee not reporting symptoms of illness. The person in charge was either absent or not performing required duties during the inspection. Three intermediate violations accompanied the 10 high-severity citations.
The Violations
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop on Northdale Boulevard came in second with nine high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, inadequate shellfish records, and no written employee health policy. Inspectors also cited the shop for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a violation that applies when fish, pork, or wild game is served without being frozen to temperatures that kill parasites.
Keke's Breakfast Cafe on North Dale Mabry drew seven high-severity violations, among them toxic substances improperly stored or used, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. A breakfast cafe with improper sewage handling and improperly stored chemicals in the same inspection is a combination inspectors treat as a compounding risk.
Origami Sushi on West Hillsborough Avenue also logged seven high-severity violations. Inspectors found food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment listed as an intermediate violation, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory for raw items, a notable gap for a sushi restaurant where raw fish is the core product.
Nordstrom Bazille at Westshore Plaza matched that count with seven high-severity violations. The department store restaurant was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish traceability, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory. Multi-use utensils not properly cleaned rounded out the inspection as an intermediate violation.
Farandulero Pizzeria on Gun Highway drew six high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the infrastructure to wash hands properly was itself deficient. Inspectors also cited the pizzeria for not following parasite destruction procedures, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also noted.
Prime Time Sports Bar on North Dale Mabry recorded five high-severity violations: no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also found single-use items being reused and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Zen Pho and Noodles Tampa on West Waters Avenue drew five high-severity violations, including improperly stored toxic substances, inadequate shellfish records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. An intermediate citation for inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities was also documented.
Table 22 on East Busch Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory. Improper sewage disposal appeared as an intermediate violation.
Happy Fish Peruvian Fusion on North Armenia Avenue logged five high-severity violations with a notable cluster around illness and management: person in charge not present or not performing duties, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. Time as a public health control not properly used was the fifth high-severity citation.
Alimento on North Dale Mabry drew five high-severity violations with no intermediate citations, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish records, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Santa Ana's Bakery on West Waters Avenue also recorded five high-severity violations, among them food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory. The bakery had no intermediate violations.
Domoshi on South Dale Mabry drew three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. No intermediate violations were noted.
Trident on West Fletcher Avenue recorded two high-severity violations, no employee health policy and no consumer advisory, along with three intermediate citations including equipment in poor repair.
Renee's Bistro on Boyscout Boulevard drew no high-severity violations, with two intermediate citations for improper sewage disposal and improper sanitizing procedures.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Carrabba's, Capriotti's, Origami Sushi, Nordstrom Bazille, and Table 22, means that when inspectors traced the supply chain backward, they could not verify the food passed through a USDA or FDA-regulated facility. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no records to follow. That traceability gap is what turns a contained illness into an unresolved outbreak.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked food, documented at nine facilities this week, is a specific legal protection that restaurants serving sushi, ceviche, or undercooked burgers are required to post. Without it, a pregnant customer, an elderly diner, or someone on immunosuppressant medication has no way to know they are eating something that carries elevated risk. Origami Sushi, Capriotti's, Farandulero Pizzeria, and Nordstrom Bazille were all cited for this gap.
Improper handwashing technique, the single most common high-severity violation this week, appeared at Carrabba's, Capriotti's, Keke's, Origami Sushi, Nordstrom Bazille, Farandulero Pizzeria, Zen Pho, Happy Fish, Domoshi, Alimento, and Santa Ana's Bakery. The distinction inspectors draw is between making a handwashing attempt and completing one. An employee who wets their hands for four seconds instead of the required twenty, or skips the scrubbing step, leaves pathogens on their hands that transfer directly to food.
Toxic substances improperly stored or used, cited at Keke's, Prime Time Sports Bar, Zen Pho, Table 22, Domoshi, and Alimento, covers situations where cleaning chemicals are stored above food prep surfaces, near food contact surfaces, or in unlabeled containers. The risk is acute: a mislabeled chemical can be mistaken for a food ingredient or a sanitizer solution.
The Longer Record
Keke's Breakfast Cafe on North Dale Mabry carries 38 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Seven high-severity violations in a single visit, including improperly stored toxic substances and improper sewage disposal, at a location with that many prior inspections represents a pattern that the volume of visits alone has not resolved.
Carrabba's on Dale Mabry has 28 prior inspections on record, as does Happy Fish Peruvian Fusion. Nordstrom Bazille has 29, and Origami Sushi has 31. These are not facilities in their first year of operation learning the rules. They are established locations with long inspection histories that still produced some of the highest violation counts of the week.
Farandulero Pizzeria on Gun Highway has only four prior inspections on record, making it one of the newest locations in this week's data. Six high-severity violations in the early stages of a facility's inspection history, including inadequate handwashing infrastructure and improper sewage disposal, is a steep start.
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop and Zen Pho and Noodles each have nine prior inspections on record. Both drew nine and five high-severity violations respectively this week. Capriotti's parasite destruction failure and food from unapproved sources are violations that inspectors take seriously regardless of how new a location is.
Renee's Bistro, with 27 prior inspections and only two intermediate violations this week, was the only facility in the group to avoid high-severity citations entirely. Every other facility on the list drew at least two.
