WINTER PARK, Fla. – A popular Italian restaurant in Winter Park was forced to close its doors this week following a visit from a health inspector, according to state records.
That restaurant — Prato — is well known within the community, having received a recommendation nod from the Michelin guide in 2023.
But on Tuesday, state records show that Prato was visited by a health inspector, who found the following minor violations on site:
- Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine
- Three dead rodents on sticky traps under a server station and behind equipment in the cook line
- Gap in the exit door next to the bathrooms
- Cook line floors covered in standing water
- Floors soiled behind equipment in the cook line
- Cracked container in the walk-in cooler
While these violations alone weren’t enough to force the restaurant to close, the inspection report notes that 18 small, flying insects were found in a drain beneath the sink at the bar station…