Bugs on bagels, poop on food rack among worst South Florida restaurant problems
Vermin, malodorous airs and other issues caused 14 Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurants to fail inspection last week.
The Sick and Shut Down List includes a food truck and some local chains. Restaurants failing Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation inspection get closed until they pass a re-inspection.
In alphabetical order:
Aromas del Peru of Coral Gables, 1930 Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables
Routine inspection, 15 total violations, one High Priority violations
We told you earlier this week about the “objectionable odor” that, according to the inspection, Aromas del Peru’s manager noted had been permeating the restaurant for three days.
Somebody also used the cracks between equipment for storing in-use knives.
READ MORE: Days of ‘foul odors’ in another Coral Gables restaurant that failed inspection
Ayesha Indian Cuisine, 3250 NE First Ave., Miami
Routine inspection, eight total violations, four High Priority violations
This isn’t the Palmetto Bay Ayesha Fine Dining that made last week’s list with bugs running in the rice, although state registration and corporate records say both are run by Moihdeen Mohamed.
No bugs in rice, but rodent poop on seasoning containers in a kitchen storage room (over 30 droppings), next to a kitchen bread mixer (over 10 droppings), on the kitchen floor (over 10), and on top of sanitizer buckers under the kitchen dishwasher (over six).
There was more rodent poop on top of the sanitizer buckets than sanitizer on the dishes. The dishwasher got taken out of action until it could sanitize properly.
“Multiple ceiling tiles in the kitchen with an accumulation of dust.”
“Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food.” How so? “Raw chicken in direct contact with Thank You takeout bags in the walk-in freezer.”
Bagel Boss, 22107 Powerline Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Routine inspection, 12 total violations, three High Priority violations
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
The five flies landing on the mop sink and the 10 landing on stuff in the dry storage area didn’t add up to as much of a problem as the 15 flies “landing on bagels and bagel storage backs at the back of the kitchen.” Stop Sale on the bagels.
The floor under the three-compartment sink was “covered with standing water.”
Baiablu, 3176 Commodore Plaza, Miami
Routine inspection, 13 total violations, two High Priority violations
What are some things you don’t want to see in this Coconut Grove Italian restaurant?
Containers of tomato sauce sat uncovered and unprotected in the walk-in cooler.
As over 20 flies landed on fish, shrimp and oysters in the ice display, so did Stop Sales on all that food. Flies also came down on the prep table and other surfaces.
At the bar counter, “straws provided for customer self-service were not individually wrapped or in an approved dispenser.”
No soap at the handwash sink next to the ice machine.
Bob the Baker, 4518 NW 183rd St., Miami Gardens
Routine inspection, 12 total violations, three High Priority violations
Clean pots sat on the kitchen floor under a food prep table. But maybe they’d need to be washed, rinsed and sanitized again anyway because the inspector saw people working at the three-compartment sink skipping that last compartment, “washing dishes without sanitizer solution.”
Over eight live roaches were spotted in between a broken wall under a kitchen handwash sink. Two dead roaches were seen in other gaps.
Despite the roaches, a bag of rice and peeled onions sat on the kitchen floor and cooked beans and soup sat on the walk-in cooler floor. The beans, soup and some poultry sat uncovered.
“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust.”
READ MORE: Mold on food. Old food. A Miami Presidente Supermarket gets an inspection F
Ceviche Arigato, 1447 10th St., Lake Park
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, six High Priority violations
The inspector looked up and saw “ceiling tiles throughout the kitchen soiled with food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.”
The inspector looked down and saw “floors throughout the kitchen missing grout in between tiles. They’re no longer cleanable with a buildup of food debris.”
In the kitchen, the inspector counted 22 roach corpses, 15 of them on the floor around fryers where three survivors roamed. One live roach under the steam table moved among four dead ones. One dead roach greeted people entering the kitchen.
“One live roach crawling on a container of wood skewers for meat.”
The roaches left “excrement droppings” on a handwash sink.
Speaking of handwashing, an “employee washed hands with (single-use) gloves on.”
No paper towels at the handwash sink.
“The wall in the walk-in cooler was covered in food splatter.”
Somebody put the commercially processed reduced oxygen-packaged salmon in the walk-in cooler, where it would start to thaw. That invites bad bacteria growth. You either start preparing the salmon while it’s frozen or take it out of the packaging, put it in a plastic bag, then put it in a walk-in cooler to thaw. No thawing while in reduced oxygen packaging. Stop Sale.
East Ocean Cafe, 412 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach
Routine inspection, 13 total violations, four High Priority violations
“Objectionable odors in the dishwasher area at the grease trap.”
Over 20 rodent poops on the plywood covered the grease trap. Another four droppings were under a cookline flip-top cooler.
“The wall is soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust above the grease trap.”
There’s way too much going on around that grease trap, similar to the banana or plantain (the inspector apparently couldn’t tell) with “mold-like growth” in a reach-in cooler. Stop Sale on the fruit.
After cracking raw shell eggs, the cook “handled ready-to-eat home fries and started plating food without washing hands.”
La Brise Des Antilles Culinary at Lauderhill Mall, 4269 NW 12th St., Lauderhill
Routine inspection, seven total violations, four High Priority violations
The 10 live roaches in the kitchen spread out thusly: four on a water heater, three on the floor near the mop sink, two under a stove and one on a box of oil.
And that’s why you don’t store the oil on the kitchen floor. Which is a violation all by itself.
Lobby area ceiling tiles were “damaged.”
Leo’s Pizza, 6720 SW 24th St., West Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 24 total violations, seven High Priority violations
The window in the dry storage area at the back “has a gap.”
“Observed more than 30 rodent droppings on top of a wood shelf in the dry food storage room.”
Also in dry storage was a dented can of tomato sauce. The dent was big enough for a Stop Sale on the tomato sauce.
A pizza sat at 90 degrees on top of a kitchen shelf. That needed to be kept at or above 135 degrees. Stop Sale.
Two dead roaches.
The inspector wasn’t specific about which equipment or utensils weren’t sanitized, but Leo’s got dinged for having “food-contact surfaces ... not sanitized after cleaning, before use.”
No way to dry your hands — paper towels or hot air blower — at the handwash sink next to the pizza oven.
“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses,” but sitting on top of a prep table in the kitchen.
“Employee with no beard guard/restraint while engaging in food preparation.”
The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company, 201 N U.S. 1, Jupiter
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, nine High Priority violations
“Bathroom facility not clean. Ladies room.” All of us have seen restrooms that seem dangerous to the touch, but inspectors rarely cite restaurants for this.
“Salt was stored in a container with heavy, mold-like substance at the bagel production area.”
“Food prepared with soiled utensil ... Observed heavy food debris stuck on salt scoop inside the container at the bagel production area.”
The inspector also saw “approximately 150 live insects crawling on boards used for bagels on the speed rack in the bagel production area adjacent to front counter.”
The inspector counted the crawling bugs among “150 rodent droppings” on the same boards.
Behind the speed rack, one of those stack of racks on wheels, there were another 40 dung pieces “next to the reach-in cooler and prep table, in the bagel production area.”
In addition to the bugs and the poop, “heavy layers of mold-like substance and growth” adorned the bagel boards.
“Heavy food debris observed on the conveyor belt” in the bagel production area. “Heavy food debris observed on the butcher block.”
The wall next to that conveyor belt also had “a heavy growth of mold-like substance.”
The cookline used butter dated Oct. 7. This inspection was on Oct. 21.
“Employee used visibly soiled towel to wipe a food contact surface, and continued preparing food without changing gloves and washing hands.”
“Observed employee wiping food prep area numerous times” with a “soiled, dry wiping cloth.”
That wiping cloth needed some time in sanitizing solution, and the sanitizing solution needed more sanitizer. It measured 50 parts per million. The inspector advised a bump up to 200 parts per million, which is twice the usual concentration.
Sagra Pizza Bar, 11052 Biscayne Blvd., North Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 13 total violations, three High Priority violations
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
There’s a bowl used to mix dough in a bakery area next to the kitchen. That’s where the rodents left 10 poop pieces.
Eight live roaches made their home in a reach-in cooler gasket. One solo roach sat inside a wall crevice.
A pan with raw chicken sat on the floor under a kitchen shelf.
A wet wiping cloth lay on top of the preparation table instead of a sanitizing solution bucket.
“Dough mixer soiled.”
“Can opener soiled.”
“No paper towels at the kitchen area handwashing sink.”
Sushi Sake food truck, Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 26 total violations, seven High Priority violations
To-go containers sat on the ground outside the food truck.
Standing water stood in the bottom of the reach-in cooler in the second trailer.
Maduros, garlic butter and wontons sat uncovered in a reach-in freezer.
There was “mold-like growth” on a “bag of rotten carrots” that also had 30 flies inside the bag. The flies were also landing on the produce rack and cases of potatoes.
Miso soup measured 86 degrees, almost 50 degrees under where it needed to be for warm storage. Stop Sale on the soup.
“A non self-sufficient mobile food dispensing vehicle was operating from an unapproved commissary.” The food truck was “using the second food trailer on site as its commissary” and that trailer didn’t have running water, a working handwash sink, triple sink or water holding tank.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 1609 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Routine inspection, two total violations, one High Priority violation.
All about the little furries here on dry storage shelves in the back storage room — “open to the kitchen.”
Three pieces of rodent regularity sat on a case of potato chips. Another three topped a case of lids. Five were on a plastic container with packs of almonds. A dozen pieces sat on a box of utensils. Under the shelves, another 10.
Upon re-inspection, the inspector saw gnaw marks on the plastic container and on three packages of almonds inside. That’s in addition to the six rodent droppings on top of the container, four on top of a box of potato chips and 10 droppings on the floor under the shelves.
It took a third inspection before things went smoothly for Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
Umami, 1400 NW 87th Ave., Doral
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, three High Priority violations
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance ... all throughout the kitchen prep area and dishwasher room.”
The outside of the dishwasher sported an “accumulation of debris.”
The dry storage area hosted the deaths of more than 10 roaches. Five died under a handwash sink. Four passed in a small room. A couple died together under a dishwasher machine rack and another Two died on top of the dishwasher.
Four live roaches were in an electric control panel near the dishwasher.
The dishwasher machine area wall was “soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust.”
The cookline prep tables cutting board “has cut marks and is no longer cleanable.”
“Observed a mold like substance accumulated on the floor by the walk-in cooler entrance and behind the cooking and cooling equipment throughout the establishment.”
One of the handwash sinks lacked soap, paper towels and a blower.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 6:18 AM.
