Miami Beach Restaurant Inspections: The Cleanest and Dirtiest Spots in 2026

Millions of tourists descend on Miami Beach every year for the nightlife, the ocean, and the food. But how many of them check whether the restaurant they’re walking into actually passed its health inspection?

We pulled public inspection records for 748 restaurants across Miami Beach, covering 1,319 inspections logged by DBPR (Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation). The results are worse than you’d expect from one of America’s most famous beach destinations.

By the Numbers

Only 33.8% of Miami Beach restaurants earned an A grade. That means two out of every three restaurants on the island have notable violations. And 61 restaurants are outright failing. For context, Clearwater Beach — another major Florida tourist destination — has 47% of its restaurants at an A. Miami Beach is significantly worse.

The Worst Restaurants in Miami Beach

These are the lowest-scoring restaurants in Miami Beach by InspectFL Health Score. All are F-graded with serious, repeated violations.

A Closer Look at the Bottom Two

El Carnival holds the lowest InspectFL Health Score in all of Miami Beach at 11.5 out of 100. During its March 16 inspection, inspectors found 8 critical violations: management couldn’t prove food safety training, employees lacked food handler certifications, potentially hazardous food wasn’t from an approved source, cold holding temperatures were wrong, food contact surfaces weren’t properly cleaned, time and temperature controls were violated, there was no chemical sanitizer or test kit on-site, and food contact surfaces weren’t clean or sanitized. Their previous inspection in January was even worse — 14 critical violations.

Meraki Greek Gyro is barely better at 12 out of 100 with 10 critical violations in a single inspection. The list reads like a textbook of everything that can go wrong: toxic substances improperly stored, improper cold and hot holding temperatures, improper reheating procedures, raw animal food mishandled, food contact surfaces not cleaned, no accessible handwash sink, no chemical sanitizer, and improper handwashing procedures. That’s not a bad day — that’s a systemic failure.

Notable Recent Inspections

Marseilles Hotel Cafe was inspected on March 17 and scored a 64 out of 100 with 6 critical violations. Inspectors found that management lacked proof of food safety training, toxic substances were improperly stored or labeled, and employees weren’t following proper handwashing procedures. For a hotel restaurant serving tourists who trust the brand name, that’s a rough look.

The Cleanest Restaurants in Miami Beach

These restaurants earned a perfect 100/100 InspectFL Health Score — zero violations across their inspections.

A caveat: some of these perfect scores come from restaurants with only one inspection on record. A single clean inspection is great, but it’s not the same as a track record of consistency. We’ll update these scores as more inspections come in.

South Beach vs. North Beach vs. Mid-Beach

Miami Beach isn’t one neighborhood — it’s several, and they eat differently.

South Beach (South of 23rd Street) has the highest concentration of restaurants and the most tourist traffic. It’s also where most of the worst offenders are clustered. The Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue corridors have a mix of everything from perfect scores to single-digit disasters. High turnover, high volume, and lots of tourists who won’t complain to the health department.

Mid-Beach (roughly 23rd to 63rd) tends to be quieter, more residential, and home to upscale hotel restaurants. Scores here trend slightly better on average — fewer fly-by-night operations.

North Beach (63rd and up) is the most local-feeling part of the island. Smaller restaurants, less tourist pressure, and generally more consistent (though not immune to violations).

The takeaway: if you’re eating on South Beach, check the score first. The density of failing restaurants is highest where tourist foot traffic is highest.

How to Protect Yourself

1. Check before you eat. Look up any Miami Beach restaurant on InspectFL’s Miami Beach page before you sit down. It takes 10 seconds.
2. Watch for the basics. If the bathroom doesn’t have soap or the dining area looks grimy, the kitchen is probably worse.
3. Don’t trust the vibe. Some of the worst-scoring restaurants in Miami Beach have beautiful facades and packed dining rooms. Instagram aesthetics have nothing to do with food safety.
4. Hotel restaurants aren’t exempt. As the Marseilles Hotel Cafe inspection shows, a hotel name doesn’t guarantee a clean kitchen.
5. Repeat offenders are the biggest red flags. A restaurant that fails once might have had a bad day. A restaurant like El Carnival that racks up 14 critical violations one month and 8 the next has a management problem.

The Bottom Line

Miami Beach has a food safety problem. With only a third of restaurants earning an A grade and 61 outright failing, the odds aren’t great if you’re picking a restaurant at random. Locals know which spots to avoid — tourists usually don’t.

Before you eat, check the score. Look up any restaurant in Miami Beach or anywhere in Miami-Dade County on InspectFL to see their full inspection history, violation details, and InspectFL Health Score.

Scores are calculated by InspectFL based on public DBPR inspection data. They are not official state ratings. Learn how our scoring works.