Florida Bonefish Grill Shut Down After State Inspection - 11 Violations

Photo byJeepersMedia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Floridians who want to eat seafood in a fast-casual chain restaurant have plenty of choices, from Red Lobster to Bubba Gump Shrimp to Bonefish Grill. Unfortunately, one location of the latter - in Boynton Beach - was recently temporarily shut down after a state inspection.

About Bonefish Grill: Like Red Lobster, this is also a Florida-based chain, having begun in early 2000 in St. Peterburg. The eatery stresses attention to detail, personal attention, and fresh seasonal seafood which it feels sets it apart.

The location in question at 1880 N Congress Avenue has been reviewed over 1,600 times and earns 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google reviews. Many reviewers mentioned positive experiences for special occasions. A reviewer named Allie wrote, in part:

"...Mother's Day specials were tasty and good size portions...Our server Mac was awesome!...Handled my crazy family better than most servers."

However, one reviewer named Deepa mentioned cleanliness, writing:

"...after receiving the bread for the table, a large roach was crawling on the wall in our booth. After pointing out to employees, they proceeded to tell us that it was "bug night" because they had just gotten the restaurant sprayed last night. The casualness of 2 separate employees explaining that this 'just happens' was disgusting."

What Happened At Inspection?: According to data from a database maintained by the publication The Tallahassee Democrat, an inspection occurred on August 19, 2024. At that time, 11 violations were noted.

Basic violations occurred for a cutting board that was no longer cleanable, soiling outside of a microwave, a soiled wall, and raw red peppers and onions not being washed prior to preparation and cutting.

An intermediate violation was noted for no paper towels being available at the handwash sink.

High-priority violations came from the observation of live roaches and for cold foods like ravioli, lobster, scallops, and crab meat being held at temperatures higher than 41 degrees.

As a result of some of the above violations, the restaurant was temporarily shut down. The restaurant complied with a callback order on August 20th and "met inspection standards" on August 27, 2024.

Please note that an inspection is one moment in time and not necessarily how a restaurant conducts itself every day.