Ocean Buffet, a popular all-you-can-eat Asian buffet in Gainesville, ended a July 21 health inspection with a warning and a follow-up visit now required. Inspectors found five violations at the restaurant, including a critical failure to track food safety times at every single station.
The inspection was carried out by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), the state agency responsible for overseeing restaurant inspections across Florida.
What Inspectors Found
Out of the five violations, one was high-priority, three were intermediate, and one was basic.
The high-priority issue involved food safety time tracking. Restaurants are required to log how long temperature-sensitive foods have been sitting out, but none of the stations at Ocean Buffet had these logs filled in. Staff only started completing them after the inspector showed up. On top of that, pasta and cabbage in the kitchen were labeled with a 6-hour time window, when the rule requires a 4-hour limit. Those labels were corrected while the inspector was still on-site.
Three intermediate violations were also noted. There was no certified food manager present, even though at least six employees were actively preparing or handling food. Inspectors also could not find food safety training certificates for any staff member. In addition, a metal scrub pad was found sitting inside the handwash sink at the hibachi station — it was removed during the inspection.
The one basic violation involved a personal drink bottle that an employee had left over food on the cook line. It was thrown away on the spot.
About Ocean Buffet
Ocean Buffet is located at 6795 W. Newberry Road in Gainesville and offers a casual all-you-can-eat setup with a hibachi grill and a sushi bar. The restaurant currently holds a 4.1-star rating from more than 5,149 Google reviews, showing it has built a strong customer base in the area over time.
A follow-up inspection is expected to confirm whether the issues have been fully addressed.
