State inspectors checked 57 Coral Gables food businesses in October; 51 ended in the clear. One Merrick Park restaurant had an emergency order. Results by name.
State inspectors visited 57 restaurants, cafes, caterers and other food businesses with a Coral Gables address between Oct. 1 and Oct. 30. At 51 of them, the latest visit ended in the clear.
One restaurant at the Shops at Merrick Park had an emergency order recommended. It passed on its second callback, two days later. Six places ended the month with a warning or a recommended complaint still open.
The figures come from the food service inspection file for District 1, which covers Miami-Dade County. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants publishes it, and we downloaded it Oct. 31. It lists inspections through Oct. 30. Florida does not score or grade restaurants. Each visit records a count of violations and an outcome.
October in numbers
The file holds 59 inspections at 57 establishments in October:
- 51 were first visits: 44 routine inspections, four licensing inspections of new or changed businesses and three prompted by a complaint.
- Eight were callbacks, return visits to check that problems had been fixed.
On first visits, the inspector recorded no high-priority violation at 26 of 51. First visits recorded a median of four violations of any kind.
Taking each establishment’s most recent result in October:
| Latest result | Establishments |
|---|---|
| Inspection completed, no further action | 44 |
| Callback, complied | 6 |
| Warning issued, callback not yet recorded | 5 |
| Emergency order recommended, then complied on callback | 1 |
| Administrative complaint recommended | 1 |
The state file lists the city as Coral Gables for all 57. Some have a Coral Gables mailing address but sit outside the city limits, including seven businesses that share the address 4259 W. Flagler St.
The emergency order
An inspector visited Sawa, 360 San Lorenzo Ave., Suite 1500, at the Shops at Merrick Park, on a routine inspection Monday, Oct. 5. The state recorded 15 violations, five of them high priority, and the outcome “emergency order recommended.”
The inspector returned the next day, Oct. 6, and recorded “emergency order callback not complied,” with nine violations, one of them high priority. A second callback on Oct. 7 recorded “emergency order callback complied,” with five violations and none high priority. The file does not say whether the restaurant closed in between.
Our restaurant inspections guide reported the first two visits in early October. It now carries the Oct. 7 result.
Clean visits and fixes
La Pecora Bianca, 360 San Lorenzo Ave., Suite 1430, had its licensing inspection Oct. 1 with no violations at all. It was the only first visit of the month with a clean sheet.
Two callbacks also recorded zero violations: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 1540 S. Dixie Highway, on Oct. 15, and Tina in the Gables, 4700 S. Le Jeune Road, on Oct. 9.
Rosteakhouse, 121 Alhambra Plaza, Suite 110, had a warning on Sept. 29, with 20 violations, two of them high priority. A callback on Oct. 9 found the problems corrected.
Callbacks in October also closed out earlier visits at Coyo Taco, Fontana Restaurant, Five Guys, Shake Shack and Tina in the Gables.
Still open at the end of the month
These are the places whose latest October result was not yet closed, as the state recorded it. The file does not yet show a later visit for any of them.
| Establishment | Date | Type | Result | High-priority / total violations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay 13 Brewery and Kitchen, 65 Alhambra Plaza | Oct. 28 | Routine | Warning issued | 4 / 18 |
| Ichimi, 2330 Salzedo St. | Oct. 27 | Complaint | Warning issued | 2 / 19 |
| Noma Beach at Redfish, 9610 Old Cutler Road | Oct. 16 | Routine | Administrative complaint recommended | 1 / 16 |
| Façade, 271 Giralda Ave., Unit 4B | Oct. 8 | Routine | Warning issued | 2 / 9 |
| Frankie and Wally’s, 216 Palermo Ave. | Oct. 2 | Routine | Warning issued | 1 / 8 |
| True Baristas Coffee, 300 Alhambra Circle | Oct. 30 | Routine | Warning issued | 0 / 4 |
A warning means the inspector set a deadline to fix the violations and will return. “Recommended” means the inspector recommended a complaint. Any penalty comes later through the division’s own process, and the business can contest it.
Every business named here can give its side. If one does, we will add its response.
What it means for you
An inspection is a snapshot of conditions on the day of one visit. It is not a rating of the food, and a later visit can find something different.
- Look up any restaurant’s full report, including what each violation was, on the state’s inspection search and files page.
- Report a food safety problem online through the Division of Hotels and Restaurants or by calling 850-487-1395.
Our guide to restaurant inspections in Coral Gables explains each outcome. For places to eat, see where to eat in Coral Gables.
Have your say