ST. PETE BEACH, FL. State inspectors found food from unapproved or unknown sources at Twisted Tiki on Corey Avenue during an August 20 inspection, a violation that means there is no way to trace what customers ate back through the supply chain if someone gets sick.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented at the St. Pete Beach bar and restaurant that day. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation was among the most direct hazards to customers. Inspectors cited the restaurant for failing to cook food to required minimum temperatures, a failure that allows Salmonella in poultry and other pathogens to survive and reach a diner's plate.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food areas. Chemicals stored without proper separation or identification can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled containers create conditions where employees may not recognize what they are handling.
Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep areas, and equipment that touch what customers eat, were found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also cited food in poor condition, described as spoiled, contaminated, mislabeled, or adulterated.
The restaurant had no written employee health policy. It also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items, meaning customers with compromised immune systems, elderly diners, pregnant women, and young children had no warning that certain menu items carried elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved or unknown source is one of the most consequential violations a restaurant can receive. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspections, there is no documentation trail. If a customer becomes sick, investigators cannot trace the contaminated ingredient back to its origin, identify other affected locations, or issue a recall. Listeria and Salmonella are both associated with uninspected food sources.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk. Salmonella survives in poultry cooked below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When a facility is already sourcing food outside the regulated supply chain and also failing to cook it to required temperatures, the two violations reinforce each other in the worst possible way.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces are how bacteria move from one ingredient to another without any visible sign. A cutting board used for raw protein and not properly sanitized before the next use transfers pathogens to whatever is prepared on it next. Combined with the food-in-poor-condition citation at Twisted Tiki, the cross-contamination risk was not theoretical.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items is a quieter violation but a meaningful one. Florida law requires restaurants that serve raw or undercooked animal products to post a disclosure so that diners who face elevated health risks can make an informed decision. Without it, the choice is made for them.
The Longer Record
The August 20 inspection was not an outlier. It was the eighth consecutive inspection on record in which Twisted Tiki received high-severity violations.
The facility has 13 inspections on record and 108 total violations documented across those visits. The single worst inspection in the record was in August 2024, when inspectors cited 11 high-severity violations and one intermediate. The most recent inspection before August 2026 came in March of this year, with four high-severity and two intermediate violations.
The pattern across the inspection history is consistent. High-severity violations appeared in every inspection dating back to December 2022. The counts have fluctuated, dropping to two high-severity violations in February 2024 before climbing back to nine in September 2023 and eleven in August 2024. The August 2026 total of eight sits near the top of that range.
Twisted Tiki has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. In all 13 inspections on record, including the visit that produced 11 high-severity violations in a single day, the state did not order the facility to shut down.
Open for Business
The Corey Avenue bar sits in the middle of one of St. Pete Beach's most active commercial strips, drawing tourists and locals through the summer season. On August 20, inspectors walked out with a report documenting food of unknown origin, undercooked meals, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and contaminated food contact surfaces.
The doors stayed open.
