5 St. Lucie County restaurants fail inspection

Staff reports
·4 min read

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our St. Lucie County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in St. Lucie County, Florida, for the week of May 13-19, 2024. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Martin County: One restaurant gets perfect score; 11 fail inspection

Indian River County: One restaurant gets perfect score; 4 fail inspection

Food reviews: Looking for the best restaurants in town?

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our St. Lucie County restaurant inspection site.

Which St. Lucie County restaurants had high priority violations?

Brock's Surfside Grill & Pizzeria

10545 S Ocean Blvd, Jensen Beach

Routine Inspection on May 15

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

3 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. **Admin Complaint**

Taqueria El Rey

3427 SW Darwin Blvd, Port St Lucie

Routine Inspection on May 14

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

31 total violations, with 5 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - 2 Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area.

  • High Priority - Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Rice made overnight found at 50f.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Horchata found at 50f cold holding and rice made overnight found at 50f cold holding.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Horchata made with rice made last night found at 50f cold holding. Server discarded on site. **Corrective Action Taken**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food reheated for hot holding not reaching 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds within 2 hours. Queso cheese 95-114f hot holding. Recommend to reheat to 165f. Rechecked cheese at 169f hot holding. **Corrected On-Site**

(The) Mofongo King

295 SW Port St Lucie Blvd, Port St Lucie

Routine Inspection on May 16

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

16 total violations, with 5 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Raw shell eggs over cooked stew and cooked chicken in walk in cooler.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. All items in walk in cooler. Manager came in this morning and noticed cooler not cold but temps were taken.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. All items in the walk in cooler. cod fish (53F - Cold Holding); conch (53F - Cold Holding); cooked pasta (53F - Cold Holding); raw beef (49F - Cold Holding); raw salmon (49F); cooked beef (47F - Cold Holding); raw beef (47F - Cold Holding); cooked pork (49F - Cold Holding); raw chicken (47F - Cold Holding); shredded cheese (49F - Cold Holding); raw pork (45F - Cold Holding); raw shell eggs (ambient 50F - Cold Holding) **Warning**

  • High Priority - Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Hanging from rack of bag n box station.

  • High Priority - Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. For red hose

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: "Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over."

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Port Saint Lucie area restaurant and food truck inspections May 13-19: Restaurant inspection: 5 St. Lucie fail