TAVARES, FL. A state inspector visiting Tiki West Raw Bar and Grill on West Ruby Street on July 29 found food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food preparation areas, and no consumer advisory warning customers that raw or undercooked items were on the menu. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection logged six high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. All told, the visit added to a facility record that now shows 581 total violations across 35 inspections on file with the state.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate there that day. The facility's name includes "raw bar," meaning customers already expect some uncooked shellfish, but the inspector cited a separate failure: food that was supposed to be cooked was not reaching required minimum temperatures.
The toxic chemicals citation compounds that concern. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food preparation areas create a contamination risk that has nothing to do with how the food is handled, and everything to do with what ends up in it.
The missing consumer advisory is a particular issue for a raw bar. State code requires that any menu offering raw or undercooked animal products carry a written warning, giving customers the information they need to make their own risk assessment. Without it, the restaurant made that choice for them.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of undercooked food and no consumer advisory is acutely dangerous at a raw bar, where the baseline risk from shellfish is already elevated. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and pathogens in raw shellfish, including Vibrio and norovirus, are not neutralized without proper cooking temperatures. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised face the highest risk, and they are precisely the people a consumer advisory is designed to reach.
Improperly stored chemicals near food are not a paperwork problem. Mislabeled containers or chemicals stored above or adjacent to food prep surfaces can contaminate food directly, and the symptoms of chemical poisoning can mimic foodborne illness, delaying proper treatment.
The food contact surface violation ties the two together. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that are not properly cleaned and sanitized transfer bacteria from one food item to the next. At a facility serving raw seafood, that transfer moves in both directions.
The absence of a person in charge performing supervisory duties is the condition that allows all the others to persist. State and CDC data consistently show that facilities without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at roughly three times the rate of those with engaged supervision on the floor.
The Longer Record
Tiki West Raw Bar: Recent Inspection History
The July 29 inspection was not an outlier. Nine days earlier, on July 20, an inspector had already cited the restaurant for seven high-severity and three intermediate violations. The facility was not closed after that visit either.
The pattern across the eight most recent inspections is consistent: no single visit has produced fewer than four high-severity violations. The worst on record, from August 5, 2025, logged 14 high-severity and six intermediate violations in a single inspection. A follow-up the next day found six high-severity violations still unresolved.
Across 35 inspections on file, the facility has accumulated 581 total violations and has never been issued an emergency closure order.
Still Open
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. On July 29, with undercooked food, improperly stored toxic chemicals, no handwashing infrastructure, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no supervisor present, that threshold was not met, at least not officially.
Tiki West Raw Bar and Grill on West Ruby Street was still open when the inspector left.
