Inspection problems got these restaurants in trouble.
Roaches, rodents, flies in food and the usual level of need-to-clean closed 17 Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurants after inspections.
The Sick and Shut Down List tells you who failed inspection and how. We don’t choose who gets inspected, or how they get inspected. That’s the job of the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, to which you can file complaints about restaurants.
Restaurants can reopen after passing re-inspection. The first re-inspection is usually the following day.
In alphabetical order:
Caribbean Tease Restaurant, 6295 Lake Worth Rd., Greenacres
Routine inspection, three total violations, three High Priority violations
An “employee handled dirty dishes then grabbed pan of chopped garlic” without washing hands.
A live roach was near the handwash sink and seven others behind the steam table.
During re-inspection, there were only two live roaches behind the steam table, one on the wall above the three-compartment sink and one at a reach-in freezer “crawled inside the machine.”
The Tease passed the second callback inspection.
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El Club de La Milanesa, 3250 NE First Ave., Miami
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, three High Priority violations
One roach was legs up on a handwash sink. Live roaches, seven of them, “crawled on the wall by the mop sink.” Another three were on the wall behind a reach-in freezer. Two were on a wall under a dishwasher.
Three flies around the mop sink were landing on dry storage racks.
The “green cutting boards by prep area across the cookline were soiled.”
Some of the employees wore “no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.”
The inspector saw an employee put gloves on without washing hands.
The handwash sink by the prep area didn’t have soap.
A bag of onions and a box of eggs sat directly on the walk-in cooler floor.
El Riconcito Paisa, 9700 SW 24th St., West Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 25 total violations, seven High Priority violations
Six live roaches crawled on the floor under a prep table. Five promenaded under the cookline. One roach crawled on the three-compartment sink.
Someone put clean dishes next to dirty dishes in the warewash area.
The door handle on the back kitchen reach-in cooler door had a “buildup of food debris/soil residue” and that same cooler had a “soiled interior.”
“Soiled” also described the walls in the back prep area.
A worker cracked raw shell eggs “and immediately grabbed a clean aluminum pan without proper handwashing.”
Another male employee “touched dirty utensils and then placed gloves on without washing hands.”
“Unwashed produce was stored inside non food grade bags in the back storage area.”
El Sabor Latino Restaurant, 2202 Jog Rd., Greenacres
Routine inspection, seven total violations, five High Priority violations
El Sabor got caught telling El Lie — “Establishment advertising tilapia on menu is substituting/serving swai in place of tilapia.”
About 15 roaches were not just crawling on a wall behind the three-compartment sink, but were “on clean dishes on the shelf over the triple sink.”
The dishwasher’s sanitizer’s parts per million measure was zero.
“Employee touched hair while repositioning it behind ear and then handled clean equipment, clean utensils and prepared beverages for customers without washing hands.”
A paper towel dispenser at the handwash sink next to the triple sink wasn’t working.
During Wednesday’s first callback inspection, El Sabor was still telling a story when it came to the fish, serving swai instead of advertised tilapia. Also, five roaches crawled under the dishwasher and triple sink.
Wednesday’s second callback inspection got El Sabor back in business.
The Great Greek, 11300 Legacy Ave., Palm Beach Gardens
Complaint inspection, six total violations, four High Priority violations
A glue trap on top of a front counter reach-in cooler had three dead roaches and six stuck but living roaches. Also at the front counter, “approximately seven live roaches crawled out of the cove molding under the handwash sink.”
Still at the front counter, a roach died on top of the soda machine. Another one met its end by the floor drain under the soda machine. A third roach died on the floor under the handwash sink.
Staff got way too happy with the sanitizer. The dishwasher sanitizer measured over 200 parts per million, which the inspector told the manager to correct to 100 ppm. The three-compartment sink sanitizer measured 400 ppm, which was reduced to a proper 200 ppm. Also reduced to 200 ppm was the wiping cloths’ sanitizer bucket, which was also over 400 ppm.
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La Bodega Restaurant, 13774 SW 88th St., Kendall
Routine inspection, 47 total violations, 14 High Priority violations
La Bodega’s 47 violations reset the 2026 upper standard for violations on this list, edging the 46 no-nos of another Kendall restaurant, The Original Pancake House.
Let’s start with the roaches — three bodies under the dishwasher, three walking behind the dishwasher and a third trio on a cookline wall.
Roach excrement was on a wall next to the three-compartment sink.
About 10 flies flitted about in a storage area next to a kitchen prep table.
The dishwasher’s chlorine sanitizer measured 10 parts per million, or about 10% of what it should be. They needed more sanitizer there and less in the wiping cloth sanitizer buckets, each one a 200 ppm soup that needed to be redone to 100 ppm.
One person “engaged in food preparation and changed tasks without changing gloves and washing hands.”
A worker “engaged in food preparation without hair restraint” or “touched cooked shredded chicken with their bare hands.”
The kitchen handwash sinks lacked soap and paper towels. The counter handwash sink was “blocked by a small shelf unit with clean cups.” Another handwash sink contained dishes.
This being a restaurant and not Teacher Appreciation Day, you can’t just make stuff at home and bring it in for sale. So, 30 chicken tamales in the walk-in cooler got hit with Stop Sales.
Another Stop Sale, for temperature abuse, took out white rice in the steam table that measured 68 degrees. It needed to be cooled to 41 degrees or under.
You also can’t have raw animal food (raw chicken) stored in same container as ready-to-eat food (raw spinach).
And there’s a reason — bacteria breeding — that the directions with commercially reduced oxygen-packaged fish says it should be defrosted only after being removed from the packaging. That’s why the swai defrosting in the walk-in cooler still in the reduced oxygen packaging got hit with a Stop Sale.
“Tongs were stored on soiled shelves.”
The microwave on a prep table shelf was “soiled.”
The inspector “observed a non-food grade basting brush in use at the cookline grill.”
Las Cazuelas Pembroke Pines, 18279 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
Routine inspection, 10 total violations, three High Priority violations
About 20 roaches died in roach traps around the kitchen, which is a good thing as long as you pick up the traps.
About six live roaches were “inside a lowboy cooler at the end of the cookline” and a lone roach took a walk in a kitchen handwash sink.
No water at a cookline handwash sink. No soap at the handwash sinks next to the dish machine. No paper towels at the cookline handwash sink or the dish machine handwash sink.
The pico de gallo in cold storage for more than 4 1/2 hours still measured 46 degrees, or five degrees too warm. Stop Sale.
Le Berger Restaurant, 1216 S. Dixie Hwy., Lake Worth Beach
Routine inspection, nine total violations, three High Priority violations
The inspector counted about 20 rodent droppings under a kitchen reach-in freezer.
The inspection calls that “rodent activity present, as evidenced by rodent droppings round.” There was also a “dead rodent on the floor in the mop storage closet.” Rodent poop: High Priority violation. Rodent corpse: Basic violation.
The inspector “observed approximately five roaches entering and exiting a crack in the wall/floor” in the kitchen and one roach moving among the rodent droppings under the freezer.
The rice in hot holding that needed to be at least 135 degrees measured 93 degrees. The restaurant tossed the rice.
Little Moir’s Food Shack, 103 S. U.S. 1, Jupiter
Routine inspection, five total violations, two High Priority violations
Of the 42 flies counted, 19 dominated the air space “by the back door, on foldup chairs and on the wall.” Three landed on just-washed dishes. One kept landing on the “table where raw fish was being prepared.”
The dessert station handwash sink lacked paper towels.
“Employee washed hands and, after using paper towel to wipe mouth and without rewashing hands, placed on gloves on to begin rolling egg rolls.”
MacArthur’s inside the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, 4000 RCA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens
Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations
The good news about the 32 flies counted is 10 were inside a trash can. The bad news? Three were on a dish cleaning rack, and one was landing on clean dishes. The worse news? Five flies landed on bread, one landed on butter spray. Stop Sales on the bread and butter spray.
An employee wiped his face and, without washing hands, handled multiple containers in the reach-in cooler.
“No paper towels provided at a handwash sink.”
Mr. Baker, 10720 W. Flagler St., West Miami-Dade
Food licensing inspection, 14 total violations, three High Priority violations
Unlike others on this list, this inspection acted as Mr. Baker’s rookie test, the initial food licensing inspection.
What did inspectors find?
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
A glue trap in an empty cabinet got four roaches. Two more dead roaches lay on a tray under an oven. Three dead roaches were on a juice counter. One died inside a plastic bucket, with a survivor in the bucket. Three other live roaches were spotted.
On a kitchen prep table, the “cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable.”
There was a “hole in or other damage to wall” in the dry storage area and the “metal wall behind the cookline was in disrepair.”
Water stood inside a reach-in cooler at the sandwich station.
Upon returning for Tuesday’s callback inspection, the inspector saw “five live roaches between shelf crevices at dry storage … two live roaches crawling on the wall at the coffee station … two live roaches crawling on the floor at the coffee station.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Baker passed the next callback inspection.
The Original Junie’s Restaurant, 18400 NW Second Ave., Miami Gardens
Routine inspection, 14 total violations, two High Priority violations
Rodents spread their regularity with over 20 droppings behind a standup reach-in cooler, over 15 pieces of poop on the side a chest reach-in freezer, 10-plus pellets on the floor near the deep freezer and eight drops on the floor near the handwash sink.
Standing water covered the floor “throughout the kitchen.”
“Throughout the establishment,” ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents were soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.
“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.” Which and where? The “cutting boards on the flip top reach-in cooler” and “several food storage containers were soiled in the back storage area.”
No way to dry your hands at the handwash sink in the back area by the cookline.
During the re-inspection, there were “three rodent droppings inside the office, three rodent droppings in the cashier station” and one roach roaming a storage area.
Pincho, 9860 SW 40th St., West Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 14 total violations, four High Priority violations
More than 50 flies were “landing on clean pans, prep tables, and food prep cutting boards in the back kitchen area.” And, some other flies “landing on a bag of onions” in the back prep area hit those onions with a Stop Sale.
A reach-in cooler in that area had a “soiled interior.”
A wall was “soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust.”
Red Crab Juicy Seafood, 1837 N. Military Trail, Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, 12 total violations, eight High Priority violations
One dead roach on a server station counter. Three under a server station table. One under a three-compartment sink, but 15 dead roaches under a two-compartment sink. A dozen dead roaches lay under the stove used to boil water. Six roaches died between the oven and a stove. Another seven roaches got under the wok station and didn’t make it. Five met the same fate under a reach-in cooler.
As for the living, one roach was in the dining area in front of the hallway to the restroom. Nine roaches were below a storage rack holding cooked potatoes and corn. One live roach in a bucket. One roach survived under the wok station. One lived in a trash bucket. One was under a flip-top cooler. Three hid behind an oven.
A fly landed on a clean bowl.
A can of marinara sauce got dented badly enough for a Stop Sale. A Stop Sale also came down on cheesecake that still measured a too-warm 47 degrees after overnight in a cooler.
“Employees came from outside then put gloves on to begin work at the cookline” without washing their hands.
Someone else “handled raw clams then grabbed a clean container” without putting soap and water to hands.
After passing a callback inspection, Red Crab received the inspector again on March 5. The inspector lifted the blender and found three dead roaches in the bottom of the blender. When the manager moved the low boy cooler, the inspector found “30 dead roaches where the compressor is located.”
Another 13 dead roaches, one of which was under a dining room table, and eight live roaches — one “on a prep table crawled out of the microwave” — set the tone for this visit.
“Employee handled a dirty dish then went to the cookline, touched a fliptop cooler and a clean container” without any handwashing.
No paper towels at the handwash sink by the three-compartment sink.”
At the March 6 re-inspection, two dead roaches under a dining table, one by the entrance, three other roach bodies, a live roach “crawling on red serving baskets” ruined this attempt at getting back open.
Another try later in the day on Mar. 6 got Red Crab back in business.
Sports Grill, 1559 Sunset Dr., Coral Gables
Complaint inspection, 14 total violations, four High Priority violations
Better hope those were black olives or something, seeing as there were “40-plus live roaches inside of the oven on the cookline.”
The walk-in cooler floor was “covered with standing water.” A reach-in bar cooler also contained standing water.
The inspector “observed soiled dry food and dish shelves.”
Wendy’s, 865 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton
Complaint inspection, four total violations, one High Priority violation
Roaches died in this Wendy’s like characters in a Tarrantino movie. There were 10 in a “control device” under the three-compartment sink, as well as four on the ground under that three-compartment sink. Four on the ground under cookline equipment. One was on a handwash sink soap dispenser. Another one died inside a hot holding drawer. Two died in a reach-in cooler door gasket.
A burger flat top cooler wheel on the cookline hosted a party of 10 roaches. In addition to the four dead roaches above, there were four live roaches under the cookline. The inspector saw “one live roach going inside of cove molding behind the cookline.”
The floor in the dining room, soda machine, and under cookline equipment was “soiled/has accumulation of debris.”
The same-day re-inspection was ruined by four live roaches still hanging out under the cookline.
Wendy’s 6049 S. Military Tr., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations
A cookline handwash sink leaked onto the floor.
That didn’t bother the three roaches crawling on the floor by a carbon dioxide tank inside the storage room behind the office. The inspector noted the manager, no Roach Rambo he, was “unable to kill” them.
Four flies buzzed above the ice cream machine dispenser near the drive-thru window. Two more flies were in the dining room. Two others were landing on a shelf by the mop sink.
A dozen ants marched on the floor “under racks with bread and on walls by the electric breaker’s panels.”
An employee shifted from cleaning floors to handling a container of food without washing hands.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 7:09 AM.
Miami Herald
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.