So many flies and roaches: Seafood shack, sushi kitchen among 7 South Florida restaurants shut

Fly issues forced a Brazilian bakery shut six times over three days last week, while roaches made state inspectors close a Chinese takeout spot four times over three days. There were also nearly 200 live flies inside a sushi kitchen.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.

Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR . (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)

Saisaki Sushi and Kitchen, West Palm Beach

851 Village Blvd., Suite 602A

Ordered shut: Once on Sept. 21 and twice on Sept. 23; reopened Sept. 25

Why: 31 violations ( eight high-priority ), including at least 197 live flies “under three-compartment sink,” “at mop sink next to three-compartment sink,” “at dry storage shelves and ice machine across from walk-in cooler,” “by dishwasher and shelves used for clean dishes,” “next to alcohol glass cooler,” “in dining room by seating booth” and on “clean plates and silverware shelves in the dining room.”

The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its sushi rice and white rice “due to temperature abuse.”

The state also spotted “raw lobster tails and beef not commercially packaged stored above crab” and “rangoon not commercially packaged in reach-in freezer at cook line,” as well as raw tuna not properly separated from “cucumbers in cooler at sushi station.”

Other violations in the report: An employee was seen storing a personal, opened “Pepsi bottle in cooler at sushi station,” and an employee’s “personal pizza dough, diced ham and cheese” was in a freezer not “segregated from food to be served to the public.”

The state closed the restaurant two more times for unresolved live fly issues, but it was allowed to reopen on Sept. 25 after one intermediate violation was found. The sushi restaurant was previously ordered shut in October 2021 for live roach issues.

Hilary’s Restaurant & Royal Deli, Royal Palm Beach

630 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., Suite 2

Ordered shut: Sept. 20 and Sept. 21; reopened Sept. 21

Why: 14 violations ( five high-priority ), including at least “30 live roaches underneath reach-in cooler next to cook line,” as well as six dead roaches “under grill area” and “on floor under prep table” at coffee station.

The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its egg salad and sliced cheese “due to temperature abuse.”

Finally, the report noted that one employee’s “open can of Red Bull on clean prep table by dishwashing machine area,” and a “container of car oil stored over clean apron and towels.”

Despite the lack of a high-priority violation on Sept. 21, the state found cause to shut the restaurant again but cleared it to reopen later that day .

Tarks of Dania Beach, Dania Beach

1317 S. Federal Highway

Ordered shut: Sept. 21; reopened Sept. 22

Why: 13 violations ( four high-priority ), including six live cockroaches crawling “on floor between beer cooler and … reach-in cooler next to dishwashing machine,” “going up wall opposite triple sink,” “in walkway from front prep and cook line to back storage area,” “on wall behind beer cooler in prep area” and “under hand sink in back prep area.”

The state caught one employee handling a “rusted cooler door handle and return to line and put gloves on without washing hands first.” The report also cited a block of “frozen shrimp in standing water by triple sink,” with an additional note: “Employee placed under running water.”

Other observations included a soda gun holder at front bar with “mold-like buildup,” plus “food debris buildup under/around cook line equipment and under front counter.”

The longtime eatery was cleared to reopen after its next-day inspection yielded zero violations.

KFC/Taco Bell, Plantation

8221 W. Broward Blvd.

Ordered shut: Sept. 19; reopened Sep. 20

Why : Six violations ( two high-priority ), led by 24 flies swarming around and landing on “wall behind single-service items to front counter area,” “under cash register at front counter,” “on wall next to oven in back kitchen,” “on wall behind prep table” and “on wall under sink across from mop area,” “under hand wash station in chicken prep area” and “in back stock room.”

The state also spotted “approximately 15 live roaches crawling on wall, floor and packages of single-service items,” one dead roach “on wall in dry storage,” as well as 14 dead flies “on wall in back stock room and “on wall at storage shelf in chicken prep area.”

The next-day inspection did not find any new issues so the fast-food spot reopened .

China Star, Tamarac

4233 W. Commercial Blvd.

Ordered shut: Once on Sept. 18, twice on Sept. 19 and once on Sept. 20; reopened Sept. 20

Why: 13 violations ( two high-priority ), including 85 live cockroaches “on the wall by the three comp sink in the kitchen,” “on the floor by the mop sink in the kitchen,” “in the kitchen at the cook line grill,” “underneath hand sink in the kitchen” and “in between food prep tables and reach-in cooler.” The vast majority of roaches were behind and underneath the “three comp sink.”

There were also three “dead roaches by the hand sink in the kitchen.”

The state also spotted a “pan of raw chicken above pan of raw beef” and “walls soiled with accumulated grease, food debris and/or dust.” An employee’s personal bag was “stored on bagged sugar.”

The ongoing presence of live and dead roaches forced the state to close the restaurant three more times until a fifth inspection, on Sept. 20, yielded zero new issues .

Tokyo Peking Express, Tamarac

5857 N. University Drive

Ordered shut: Sept. 18 and Sept. 19; reopened Sept. 19

Why: Nine violations ( five high-priority ), including at least 34 live cockroaches in spots such as “ground under water heater … next to cook line,” “inside of broken cove molding under hand wash sink next to water heater” and “on wheels and area surrounding wheels of cook line flip-top cooler in kitchen.”

The report also noted three dead roaches in the kitchen: on “drain pipe coming from hand wash sink in ware washing area” and inside “tool box stored under low top shelving holding water heater in right corner of kitchen next to cook line.”

Finally, the inspection red-flagged “objectionable odors” in the men’s restroom and “cooked egg rolls stored in direct contact with cardboard box” inside a cooler.

The restaurant was shut again on Sept. 19 for unresolved live and dead roaches but was cleared to reopen that same day after a third inspection yielded zero new issues.

Estação do Pão Bakery and Restaurant, Boca Raton

23269 State Road 7, Suite 105-107

Ordered shut: Once on Sept. 18, twice on Sept. 19, twice on Sept. 20 and once on Sept. 21; reopened Sept. 21

Why: Six violations ( four high-priority ), including at least 97 flies swarming around the establishment. Some were seen around the front counter in the dining room, landing on “clean wine glasses at the bar side of the front counter,” “on the wall next to the juice machines” and “on the wall over single-service items.” Flies also “landed on boxes on top of storage racks along the wall in the bakery kitchen,” “on a bag of flour on a shelf over a dough machine,” “on the dough machine” itself, “on containers of pastry ingredients such as sprinkles and chocolate chips,” “on bags of unpeeled onions in production kitchen,” “on clean pots stored on shelf over prep table” and “landing on unpeeled potatoes under the prep table.”

The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash its cheese, ham, sausage, turkey, milk, meat sauce, raw beef and raw chicken “due to temperature abuse.”

The persistence of live flies forced inspectors to order the bakery-restaurant shut five more times over three days , before finally letting it reopen on Sept. 21 when a seventh inspection yielded no issues. The restaurant was previously ordered shut three times in 2022 for similar fly woes.