Bugs in rice. Rodent nests. See the worst South Florida restaurant inspections
Dishwashers that don’t sanitize, food not kept safe from bacteria, and the usual vermin — roaches, rodents, flies — caused Miami to Palm Beach restaurants to fail inspection.
So, let’s get going with this week’s Sick and Shut Down List of places that came up short on state inspection. Two reminders: You can make a complaint about a restaurant to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, and any restaurant should have a copy of their latest inspection on site to show you on demand.
In alphabetical order:
Ayesha Fine Dining, 14151 S. Dixie Hwy., Palmetto Bay
Routine inspection, 31 total violations, five High Priority violations
First restaurant, first violation: “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
A reach-in cooler had a dead roach on top of it, a dead roach and a live roach in a gasket, and four other roaches crawling around inside the door.
But the real problems were the five bugs running among the rice inside a rice container, the 10-plus bugs in the turmeric powder and the more than 20 bugs in the ground coriander container. With the bugs came Stop Sales on the rice, turmeric powder and coriander.
“Multiple cooked foods stored inside the walk-in cooler were not covered.”
An employee “grabbed naan bread to cut and serve to customer with bare hands.”
The kitchen handwash sink lacked soap and a way to dry hands.
A broken pipe at the handwash sink next to the three-compartment sink caused “water draining onto the floor/inside the container next to the triple sink.”
A “handwash sink was removed from a food preparation/dishwashing area.” It has to be reinstalled in the same place — in this case, the bar area.
The dishwasher couldn’t sanitize dish because the sanitizer measured zero parts per million.
A garage refrigerator is practically a zoning requirement in Miami-Dade, but this is a restaurant, and a garage is at least semi-inside. What wasn’t inside here were “two white, chest reach-in freezers with frozen raw chicken, raw lamb, peas, samosas stored outside ... cases of mango pulp were stored outside next to the white chest freezers ... bags of rice, bags of flour and bags of lentils were stored outside on a wooden bench.”
During the re-inspection, the dishwasher still had no sanitizer. But the kitchen did have more than 20 dead roaches and four live roaches.
Inspection No. 3 went much better and got Ayesha back in business.
Bagel Restaurant & More, 5770 Okeechobee Blvd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, 18 total violations, five High Priority violations
“Both toilets and handwash sinks removed from all restrooms inside establishment.”
That’s a failed inspection right there. The rest of this is just running up the score.
One rodent poop piece was seen “inside clean cutlery storage on the prep table” and another on the kitchen floor. But about 25 rodent droppings dotted the floor “in the area between the dining room and kitchen” and there was “no complete separation from the kitchen.”
Two dead roaches were in the same area.
An employee “touched a visibly soiled wiping cloth, then prepared food without washing hands.”
A server “handled soiled dishes/utensils” while clearing tables, took orders or customer payment,” then picked up food to be served without any handwashing.
The only handwash sink in the house didn’t have a way to dry hands.
This inspection was on Monday, Oct. 13. Bagel Restaurant didn’t pass re-inspection until eight days later.
Copacabana, 1209 Main St., Jupiter
Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations
“Glue traps with approximately 11 total dead roaches sat on shelves above the dishwasher station and by the cookline handwash sink.”
The inspector counted 10 live roaches — two were on a wall by an oven and one was on a wall by the spice rack.
About 10 flies buzzed the soda fountain station without landing and 12 more zipped about the bar, but “landed on clean glasses.”
In the walk-in cooler, cooked moro had been put in a deep container that didn’t allow proper cooling. So after 20 hours in the walk-in, it still wasn’t at or under 41 degrees and got hit with a Stop Sale.
DiCrespo, 13772 SW 152nd St., Country Walk
Routine inspection, 21 total violations, six High Priority violations
“No copy of latest inspection report available.” Too bad because that April 9 official once-over went better than this one.
Three dead roaches were outnumbered by eight live roaches, five of which were on “dry food racks where flour, fruit cocktail and ketchup are stored.”
“Cardboard used on the floor as an anti-slip measure isn’t replaced every day or when it gets heavily soiled.”
Standing water covered the floor in the warewash area. But sanitizer didn’t cover or even exist in the dishwashing machine.
“Nonfood-grade basting brush used in food.” They really should get specific on this violation and tell us what kind of brush was being used.
The dirty dry dish and food racks qualified as “food-contact surfaces soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.”
“Observed soiled knife magnet.”
Griot Tropical, 1186 NW 103rd St., North Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 19 total violations, seven High Priority violations
Back in February 2024, an inspector found 10 dead mice under a reach-in cooler here.
This time, the problem wasn’t the dead, but the living — “one live rodent under the ice machine behind the front counter/bar area” — and the living area — “Rodent burrow or rodent nesting materials present ... rodent nesting under oven.”
And then there are the rodent restroom areas, such as the top of a metal rack (38 droppings), under an oven (49) and under a flat grill (54).
There was an “objectionable odor from a sewer cap next to the oven and the three-compartment sink.”
Couple of dead roaches.
The “reach-in cooler, oven and reach-in freezer door handles were soiled with dark substance.”
“Observed a white cutting board soiled with black substance at the preparation area.”
Under that metal rack with rodent poop, there was standing water.
The microwave oven’s “interior was soiled with food debris at the preparation area.”
The reach-in cooler was “soiled with food, old food debris and standing water.”
No paper towels at a handwash sink, but it did have a nice covering of “food debris and black substance.”
Three dead roaches and 23 rodent droppings — 11 on the floor of the dry storage area — ruined the re-inspection four days later.
They passed re-inspection on Tuesday.
The Hen and The Hog, 380 N. Park Rd., Hollywood
Complaint inspection, 11 total violations, four High Priority violations
The Hen, the Hog and the Roaches.
Of the 27 roach corpses counted, nine were in a roach motel under a reach-in cooler; eight were on the ground behind a chest freezer; two were on the ground in a prep area; and three were on “loose wrapped tape on an electrical cord above the chest freezer. ”
There were 37 live roaches, 15 of which were on a wood board behind a flat top cookline grill. One was on the round in the prep area. Three were “on rusted metal under the doors of a two-door glass, slider reach-in cooler.” Three were in a gap for drawers under the flat top cookline grill.
The dishwasher refused to sanitize. The “operator attempted to prime the sanitizer. The sanitizer would not prime.”
At the cookline handwash sink, the “water drained directly from sink onto the floor.”
Cooked potatoes needed to be cooled from 135 degrees to 70 degrees in two hours. In two hours, 15 minutes of sitting on a rack at room temperature, it got down to only 72 degrees. Stop Sale.
Four dead roaches and four live ones ended the re-inspection unsuccessfully.
The re-re-inspection got The Hen and the Hog back in business.
Kelly’s Cajun Grill in Southland Mall, 20505 S. Dixie Hwy., Cutler Bay
Routine inspection, 24 total violations, five High Priority violations
No, this isn’t a rerun from August, when Kelly’s got shut down for rodents and general squalor. Consider this more a sequel and, while a lesser sequel, still bad.
The plastic container with seasoning was broken and soiled.
“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.”
The walls behind the stove were “soiled with grease” and the walls behind the three-compartment sink were “soiled with a mold-like substance.”
The walk-in cooler, which needed to keep food at or under 41 degrees, wasn’t working.
The walk-in cooler broke the morning of the inspection. The “ambient thermometer inside the walk-in cooler read 78 degrees. Also, observed the reach-in cooler/freezer was in disrepair and it had an ambient temperature of 74 degrees. These are the only two cold holding units in the establishment.”
Predictably, Stop Sales rained on cut cabbage, raw fish, breaded chicken, raw chicken and vegetables stored in those malfunctioning units.
The cook and manager admitted there was “no probe thermometer to check food in the establishment.”
No paper towels at the kitchen handwash sink, either.
“Floor tiles missing grout throughout the kitchen area”.
The “interior of microwave oven has an accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”
The oven and stove were “soiled with an excessive amount of grease and old food debris.”
Los Catrachos II, 4663 Lake Worth Rd., Greenacres
Routine inspection, 19 total violations, 13 High Priority violations
Four dead roaches and seven live roaches, the living “crawling on the floor next to, behind and under the reach-in freezer on the cookline.
Three flies hung out around the ice machine and around lemons.
Yet another dishwasher taken out of action because it’s not sanitizing at all.
“Employee removed a towel from the floor, placed the dirty towel on her shoulder, then started to prepare food without washing her hands first.”
Temperature abuse, as in food not kept under 41 degrees, brought a Stop Sale swarm on flip-top cooler overnight guests: cut cabbage, cut lettuce, cheese, crema, raw chicken, raw beef, raw ground pork, french fries and cooked beans.
Discussion of the callback inspection can start and stop with 20 dead roaches on the kitchen floor, one dead roach and two live friends on the rim of a bucket with seasonings.
Pinolandia 3 Corporation, 10948 SW 184th St., South Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 29 total violations, seven High Priority violations
A bug zapper sat above a kitchen prep table.
Avoiding that zapper were “10 large flies flying around kitchen area, some landing on clean equipment and food containers.” Also, “nine small flies were flying around the dry storage area, some landing on the avocados and food containers.” Two more flies landed on clean dining room area tables.
The front counter floor was “covered with standing water. The kitchen and food prep area floors were “soiled with oil.” Part of the dry storage area floor wasn’t sealed.
A “female employee with no hair restraint handled food at the steam tables.”
The slicer blade was “soiled.”
The kitchen reach-in cooler had raw pork, raw beef and cabbage uncovered and the walk-in cooler had raw pork, cut cabbage, raw beef and cheese uncovered and vulnerable to sneezes and coughs.
Also, the walk-in didn’t work. Pork and cooked chicken got hit with Stop Sales for being 14 degrees and 12 degrees too warm. At the front counter, cut cheese and sausage got hit with Stop Sales for the same reason.
One handwash sink was “blocked by a large trash bin” while another was “blocked by a service trolley.”
The Polo Bar & Grill, 5590 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Pembroke Park
Complaint inspection, 16 total violations, seven High Priority violations
“Accumulation of black mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine” may not be as concerning as the rodents pooping in the oven.
“Eleven rodent droppings inside the kitchen oven.”
One live roach on a kitchen wall next to the three-compartment sink.
“An employee washed hands with no soap. There was no soap available in kitchen upon arrival. The employee washed hands but didn’t apply soap.”
The hot water was turned off at the bar’s employee handwashing sink. No hot running water at the bar three-compartment sink, either, which makes the washing and sanitizing part difficult.
More coolers about as effective as wet Kleenex and more Stop Sale storms. Stop Sales for temperature abuse (food too warm) hit sour cream, heavy cream, shredded cheese, raw conch, raw fish and bean sprouts.
Sal’s Italian Ristorante, 2908 Oakwood Blvd., Hollywood
Routine inspection, eight total violations, three High Priority violations
There’s a bacteria-reducing reason that reduced oxygen packaged fish carries instructions to unpack the fish before thawing or just start prepping it frozen. Sal’s ignored those instructions, and Stop Sales hit raw salmon fully thawed in reduced oxygen packaging.
Two of the restaurant’s seven dead roaches were in a cookline oven. Half the 18 live roaches were “in the front left wheel of a 10-burner stove on the cookline.” Six or more roaches were in gaps in kitchen walls.
“Multiple food items were stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer.”
Square Peg Pizzeria, 4957 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach
Routine inspection, 15 total violations, seven High Priority violations
“Approximately 10 small flying insects were landing in meatballs, mozzarella cheese, and mushrooms at the pizza station.” Stop Sales on all.
A Stop Sale also hit marinara sauce that was on its eighth day in the walk-in cooler.
“Dust, dirt buildup on cleaned plates on a kitchen shelf.”
The can opener’s blade and the slicer’s blade each was seen as a “food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.”
A dishwasher that’s not doing any sanitizing.
A “cook removed an all-purpose cleaner spray bottle, then put gloves on and prepared a sandwich without washing hands.”
The pizza station handwash sink had a pipe leaking and, worse, a soap dispenser that didn’t dispense soap.
Thyme Machine, food truck, Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 22 total violations, five High Priority violations
The food truck “obtained water from an unapproved source” and dispensed wastewater from the handwash sink and the three-compartment sink “on the ground outside of the vehicle. The wastewater valve was closed.”
Raw chicken was thawing in the handwash sink, a violation that can turn into foodborne illness, and a violation of using the handwash sink for anything but washing hands.
A “plastic container of raw chicken, oil, and olives sat on the floor.”
“All cutting boards are soiled.”
With no probe thermometer to measure temperature of foods, a reach-in cooler that measured 51 degrees, another that measured 62 degrees and a small cooler that measured 59 degrees, Stop Sales came down on food that was unsafely not even close to 41 degrees. Hummus, shredded cheese, raw meat, milk and raw chicken ranged from 55 degrees to 78 degrees.
There was an “inadequate number of cold holding units to maintain time/temperature control for safety food at the proper temperatures. The only other unit is a reach-in freezer with not enough capacity.”
The Villa, 19505 NW Second Ave., Miami Gardens
Complaint inspection, 25 total violations, seven High Priority violations
We informed you last week about the flies and filth at The Villa.
READ MORE: Food in filthy containers and flies landing on food at a Miami restaurant
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 1:19 PM.
