Raw sewage. Dead fly on pork. The bad and the ugly of South Florida restaurants
Chain restaurants, moldy cutting boards, sewage backups and the usual vermin fill this week’s list restaurants failing inspection in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and the Florida Keys.
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We don’t do the inspections — that’s the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. We don’t choose who gets inspected — that’s the DBPR rotation and the customers who file complaints on the agency’s website.
In alphabetical order:
Beijing Garden, 832 W. Flagler St., Miami
Routine inspection, 27 total violations, seven high priority violations
“Objectionable odors in the dining area”: Standing water in the kitchen and under the three-compartment sink, with “improper sewage disposal at the floor drains in kitchen and/or food preparation area.”
The inspector “observed dirty water is not draining away and there is a huge amount of dirty water on the floor.”
A dead fly was spotted on pork ribs in the food prep area. Stop Sale for the pork ribs. RIP for the fly.
“Shrimp and wontons not covered inside the walk-in cooler.”
The ceiling tiles in the dining area and all around the kitchen were “accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.”
The kitchen shelves were “soiled with food debris and grease.”
No paper towels or hand dryer in the bathroom.
Chong’s Chinese Restaurant, 1164 W. Flagler St., Miami
Routine inspection, 25 total violations, three high priority violations
“Both reach-in coolers at the cookline and the walk-in cooler are not working properly. The temperature was at 62 degrees.” Coolers need to keep food at or under 41 degrees “All foods are out of temperature.”
So, the inspector held a Stop Sale party, slapping them on dumplings, two groups of sprouts, three groups of shrimp, and eggs, chicken, beef, pork, noodles, cabbage, pasta and ham.
One roaches died on the kitchen floor and two inside storage cabinets.
“In-use knife/knives were stored in cracks between pieces of equipment … between the wall and preparation table in the kitchen area.”
Pork sat thawing inside a supermarket bag on a prep table, two violations in one — direct contact with a non-food grade bag and thawing outside a refrigerator.
Throughout the kitchen area, the inspector said, the “floor is soiled with food debris and grease throughout the kitchen area.”
The “self-closing device on the bathroom door is disconnected or broken.”
East Ocean Cafe, 412 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach
Routine inspection, 16 total violations, six high priority violations
On the flip-top coolers, in addition to cutting boards with cut marks that can no longer be cleaned, there was “black, mold-like substance” on the boards.
Also on the moldy flip-top cutting cooler boards: a wet wiping cloth that should be in a sanitizing solution when not being used..
The adhesive trap under a prep table with a slicer wasn’t cleared and contained five dead roaches.
The inspector also saw five live roaches, three on the floor of a walk-in cooler, two promenading on a cork board in a back prep area.
No paper towels or blow dryer at the kitchen sink.
Inside one of those flip-top coolers, raw shell eggs measured 59 degrees, 18 degrees above maximum for proper food safety. Stop Sale.
Inside a reach-in cooler, milk and almond milk measured 52 and 57 degrees, respectively. Stop Sale and Stop Sale.
Firehouse Subs, 975 Gateway Blvd., Boynton Beach
Routine inspection, eight total violations, five high priority violations
Two flies hung around the beverage station.
The steam table held 120-degree chicken and dumpling soup and 101-degree chili. They needed to be at 165 degrees. A pair of Stop Sales sent the soup and chili to the garbage.
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Hungry Tarpon, 77522 Overseas Hwy., Lower Matecumbe Key
Complaint inspection, nine total violations, five high priority violations
Rodents dropped 12 to 15 poop pellets on top of the dishwasher. They also left seven on a kitchen window sill.
Four dead flies “were on sheet pans in the walk-in cooler.” After tossing the flies, staff put the trays in the dishwasher area.
The dishwasher had no sanitizer — all sanitizing would have to be done manually in the third compartment of the three-compartment sink.
The “wall was soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust” and the “floor is soiled/has accumulation of debris.”
Lona in The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Complaint inspection, four total violations, one high priority violation
“Floor soiled or has an accumulation of food debris behind the prep area cooking equipment.”
Also behind the prep kitchen cooking equipment were three live roaches. They used another cookline oven to store towels and extra pans. The inspector counted 15 live roaches in there.
There was leaking from the pipe under the prep sink.
Marco’s Pizza, 8755 Hypoluxo Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, five total violations, three high priority violations
Rodents pooped six times on top of the pizza oven. A furry friend left two droppings on “a prep table next to the dough trays.” Another poop nugget was left next to toilet bowl cleaner in the bathroom.
A fly landed on cleaned and sanitized dishes in the storage rack.
A beetle was crawling on the side of a mop sink.
The “salad cooler cutting board is grooved and no longer cleanable.”
“The floor was soiled behind the reach-in coolers and dough mixer with an accumulation of corn meal, pizza toppings and old chicken wing.”
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, 2418 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Routine inspection, five total violations, one high priority violation
Standing water covered the floor at the cookline, under a wok station and under the three-compartment sink.
The first soda gun nozzle was “soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.”
Five live roaches ran around under the dishwasher. One balanced on a water line.
Soriano Brothers Cuban Cuisine, 2392 W. 78th St., Hialeah
Complaint inspection, 21 total violations, seven high priority violations
We told you about the problems at this Soriano Brothers Cuban Cuisine restaurant, the second to fail inspection this year.
READ MORE: Flies on ham. Ice in mold. Another Soriano Brothers fails inspection in 2026
This Soriano Brothers stayed closed for two days until they corrected the issues and passed the re-inspection.
Tee Jay Thai Sushi, 2254 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors
Routine inspection, 11 total violations, four high priority violations
In the dry storage area, the inspector counted 40 rodent droppings, 20 of which were “outside of large plastic containers of rice” and another “10 on boxes of single service items.”
Objectionable odor and hole in the wall in dry storage area where rodent droppings were found.
“Several food items were stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler.”
The kitchen ceiling tiles were “soiled with mold-like growth.”
“Cardboard was used to line food-contact shelves in the dry storage area and in the kitchen.”
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