WEST PALM BEACH, FL. Don Ramon Restaurant on S. Dixie Highway drew five high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, including a failure to cook food to required minimum temperatures, inadequate handwashing facilities, and an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Inspectors also found no person in charge present or performing duties, and employees who were not reporting symptoms of illness.
Fourteen other West Palm Beach restaurants received high-severity citations during the same week, August 16 through August 22, 2026.
The Violations
Grand China on Southern Boulevard also drew five high-severity citations, matching Don Ramon for the week's highest tally. Inspectors cited Grand China for improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, time not properly used as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. A single intermediate violation for inadequate ventilation and lighting rounded out the report.
Hook Fish and Chicken on N. Australian Avenue drew four high-severity violations. Inspectors found no employee health policy, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shell stock identification records. An intermediate violation for single-use items being improperly reused was also noted.
Park West Palm on Georgia Avenue received four high-severity citations: no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Golden City on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard also drew four high-severity violations. Inspectors found employees not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper handwashing technique, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
This Is It Cafe on 24th Street received three high-severity citations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Palm Beach Lobsters and Seafood on N. Dixie Highway drew three high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shell stock identification records. An intermediate citation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned was also recorded.
Souvlaki Grille on Belvedere Road was cited for three high-severity violations: no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Kouun Asian Eatery on Belvedere Road drew three high-severity violations, including employees not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique.
Howley's Restaurant on S. Dixie Highway received two high-severity citations: inadequate handwashing by food employees and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Morgan's Country Kitchen on Business Parkway drew two high-severity violations, for improper handwashing technique and inadequate shell stock identification records, plus an intermediate citation for single-use items improperly reused.
Malakor Thai Cafe on 25th Street, Jerk Island Take Out on W. 45th Street, and Dixie Bar and Grill on S. Dixie Highway each received a single high-severity violation. Malakor Thai and Jerk Island were both cited for having no employee health policy or an inadequate one. Dixie Bar and Grill was cited for no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Hide Out Kitchen and Cafe on N. Olive Avenue drew one high-severity citation, for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failures at Don Ramon, Hook Fish and Chicken, Park West Palm, Golden City, Souvlaki Grille, and Kouun Asian Eatery are among the most acutely dangerous violations in this week's data. When a sick food worker handles food without restriction, Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, can contaminate an entire service line through a single contact. A written employee health policy is the mechanism that legally obligates workers to report symptoms before they reach the kitchen. Malakor Thai Cafe and Jerk Island Take Out had no such policy at all during this inspection.
The handwashing failures at Grand China, Hook Fish and Chicken, Park West Palm, Golden City, Palm Beach Lobsters and Seafood, Kouun Asian Eatery, and Morgan's Country Kitchen are not the same violation as the one at Howley's and Golden City, though both are serious. Improper technique means a worker went through the motion of washing but left pathogens on their hands. Inadequate facilities means the infrastructure for proper handwashing was not available at all. Don Ramon was cited for the latter, meaning employees at that location had no functioning means to comply with basic hygiene requirements regardless of intent.
The cooking temperature violations at Don Ramon and This Is It Cafe go to the core of what heat is supposed to accomplish. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is not cooked to the required minimum temperature, pathogens that were present in raw product are served to customers in a live state. This Is It Cafe compounded that failure with a citation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning cross-contamination from those same surfaces was also a documented risk.
The shellfish traceability failures at Grand China, Hook Fish and Chicken, Palm Beach Lobsters and Seafood, and Morgan's Country Kitchen present a specific investigative problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked, and they filter large volumes of water, concentrating bacteria and viruses as they do. Without shell stock identification tags, there is no record of where those shellfish came from. If a customer gets sick, there is no chain of custody to trace.
The Longer Record
Dixie Bar and Grill carries the longest inspection history of any facility in this week's data, with 47 prior inspections on record. This week's consumer advisory violation is its only high-severity citation, but 47 inspections represents years of ongoing regulatory contact. Howley's Restaurant, a well-known S. Dixie landmark, follows with 41 prior inspections. Its two high-severity violations this week, for handwashing and unsanitized food contact surfaces, are the kinds of citations that appear in inspection records for facilities across all experience levels.
This Is It Cafe and Hook Fish and Chicken each have 35 prior inspections on record. Both drew multiple high-severity violations this week, including the shellfish traceability failure at Hook Fish and Chicken and the cooking temperature failure at This Is It Cafe. Thirty-five inspections is a substantial history, and high-severity violations at that stage of regulatory contact are a different signal than the same violations at a newer operation.
Malakor Thai Cafe has 34 prior inspections on record and still has no adequate employee health policy in place. Jerk Island Take Out has 33. The same citation, the same gap in illness-reporting infrastructure, at two restaurants with a combined 67 inspections behind them.
On the opposite end of the history spectrum, Kouun Asian Eatery on Belvedere Road has only four prior inspections on record. This week it was cited for three high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities. Park West Palm on Georgia Avenue has ten prior inspections and drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge and employees not reporting symptoms of illness. Both are relatively new to the inspection record, and both are already accumulating citations in the categories that regulators most closely track.
Don Ramon on S. Dixie carries 29 prior inspections and this week's intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal remains unresolved in this report.
