ESPANA RESTAURANT & TAPAS

Name: ESPANA RESTAURANT & TAPAS
Address: 22 S 4 ST, FERNANDINA BEACH, FL, 32034, US
Rating: 34.4

22 S 4 ST, FERNANDINA BEACH, FL 32034

License #5500870

🫔 Latin American ℹ️ Categories are auto-assigned based on restaurant names and may not be 100% accurate

34.4 Grade F / 100

Failing Health Score

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Quick take

ESPANA RESTAURANT & TAPAS in FERNANDINA BEACH currently holds an InspectFL Health Score of 34.4 out of 100 — an F grade — a serious pattern of repeat or critical violations. This restaurant has been inspected 6 times from Florida DBPR, with the most recent inspection on June 2, 2026. Across those visits, DBPR recorded 43 total findings; InspectFL has detailed violation rows for 40 of them so far.

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Start with the newest inspection, then verify the pattern

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Record snapshot

What stands out in this inspection history

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Inspections on file

Clean inspections

Callback visits

Latest clean pass

None on file yet

The latest inspection on June 2, 2026 shows 9 observation rows: 4 critical, 1 major, and 4 minor.

Inspection data quality

What’s powering this page

Official source: DBPR

Inspection coverage

67%

Inspector notes

Coverage note

Inspector notes linked where available

InspectFL reorganizes public DBPR inspection records into a page you can actually scan. When exact inspector notes are available, they appear inline. Otherwise, the page falls back to violation categories plus the official DBPR record.

What you’ll see here

•Inspector notes appear inline when available.
•The official DBPR inspection timeline still stays visible, even on pages with zero violations or zero inspector notes.

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DBPR

*Scores are calculated by InspectFL based on public DBPR inspection data and are not official state ratings.

Inspection timeline

Inspection History

Read the newest inspection first, then scan for patterns. Repeated high-priority findings matter more than one isolated bad day.

Critical Major Minor

Inspector notes are being added across all restaurants. Some inspections may only show violation codes until notes are available.

Inspector notes not available yet — showing violation categories below.

Disposition: Administrative complaint recommended
TCS food held above 41°F when cold-held, below 135°F when hot-held, or not cooled within required timeframes. The most-cited High Priority category in our current scraped dataset.
Raw animal food stored over or with ready-to-eat food, food stored on the floor, food stored uncovered, and improper storage by minimum cooking temperature.
In-use utensils stored improperly between uses — in standing water below 135°F, on equipment door handles, or in unsanitary positions.
Food-contact surfaces soiled with debris, mold-like substance, or slime; ice machine interiors with mold; dishmachine sanitizer at improper concentration.
Non-food-contact surfaces (gaskets, shelves, equipment exteriors, door handles) soiled with grease, debris, dirt, slime, or dust.
Standing water in coolers, leaking pipes, missing vacuum breakers on mop sinks or hose bibbs, plumbing in disrepair.
Live insects, roach activity, rodent droppings, or other pest evidence; exterior door gaps that admit pests.
Spray bottles of toxic substances unlabeled, chemicals improperly stored, sanitizer above maximum allowed concentration, medicine improperly stored.
CO2/helium tanks not adequately secured, no Heimlich/choking sign posted, plan review not submitted for renovations, latest inspection report not available.

Specific inspector observations for this inspection are available in the official DBPR report, but the direct DBPR visit link is missing for this record.

Disposition: Administrative complaint recommended
[01B-13-4] Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Observed 1 fly land on 1 scallop, manager disposed of the scallop the fly landed on.
[13-03-4] Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. Employee on cook line was not wearing any kind of hair restraint. Employee put on hair net.
[16-37-1] No chemical test kit provided when using sanitizer at three-compartment sink/warewashing machine or wiping cloths. Manager does not have quaternary test strips to test sanitizer buckets.
[21-08-4] Wiping cloth quaternary ammonium compound sanitizing solution not at proper minimum strength. Wiping cloth quaternary sanitizer at 500ppm.
[25-05-4] Single-service articles improperly stored. Observed toilet paper on floor in storage closet by bathrooms. Manager placed on crates.
[29-03-4] Water draining onto floor surface. Hand wash sink at cook like draining waste water onto floor. Manager was able to get drain un clogged. Handwashing sink by ice machine has broken drain line, draining in bucket. Manager had plumber repair.
[35A-02-7] Live, small flying insects found Observed one small flying insect on cook like that landed on a scallop. Observed five small flying insects at dining room bar. Observed one small flying insect at prep station in kitchen area.
[36-32-5] Ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair. Observed Multiple holes in ceiling in kitchen area.
[53B-14-5] Required employee training expired for some employees. To order approved program food safety material, call DBPR contracted provider: Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (SafeStaff) 866-372-7233. Observed multiple expired food handler certifications, manager stated that employees are scheduled get re certified.
[12B-07-4] Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed opened water bottle on food prep table on cook line, manager disposed of water bottle.
[08B-38-4] Food stored on floor. Observed boxed wine on floor in dry storage room.
[14-05-4] Cardboard used to line food-contact shelves. Observed multiple shelves in kitchen area being lined with cardboard boxes, manager removed all cardboard.
[12A-13-4] Employee handled personal item, and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee texting on phone, employee set phone on food prep station, did not wash hands and started preparing food. Manager educated employee on hand washing.
[10-20-4] In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed multiple tongs hanging from door handles on cook line, manager relocated all tongs.
[40-06-5] Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed unopened employee drinks on food prep table while food was being prepped on table. Manager moved drinks.
[41-10-4] Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed hand soap stored next to paper towels in storage room by bathrooms manager relocated soap.
[31B-03-4] No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no soap at hand wash sink at beginning of cook line. Manager has new dispenser to install.
[02D-01-5] Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Multiple bulk bins in kitchen area not labeled. Contents was removed from original packaging.
[31A-09-4] Handwash sink not accessible for employee use at all times. Multiple Hand wash sinks in prep area and cook line blocked, manager unblocked two sinks, and plumber cleared floor drain to allow third sink to be unblocked.
[22-02-4] Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Can opener soiled with old food debris, manager placed it in was area to be washed.
[03A-02-5] Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed the following items in walk in cooler, ceviche 47F, Milk 47F, Rice 47F, rice 53F, Ham 47F. All items cold holding. Manager stated that cooler had been constantly being opened and closed due to delivery and food prep. Ambient temperature of cooler 42F Observed the following in reach in cooler, short rib 45F, short rib 45F Beef 50F, Raw chicken 46F, Mashed potatoes, 53F all items cold holding,ambient temperature of cooler 41F, ,manager moved all food it,es to another cooler. Observed Polenta at 44F and in reach in cooler at beginning of cook line, ambient temperature of cooler at 46F manager states that it has been in the cooler for 1 hour, manager moved item to another cooler.manager stated the food had been out to transfer from walk in cooler 1 hour prior.
[02C-02-5] Ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared onsite and held more than 24 hours not properly date marked. Ceviche in reach in cooler on cook line not date marked. Per manager it was prepared two days prior. Milk in walk in cooler not date marked per manager it was opened yesterday at 11AM. Manager dated items.
[51-09-4] Establishment did not report seating change that affects the license fee, Clean Indoor Air Act, sewage system approval or other related requirements. Establishment licensed for 75 seats, observed 168 seats including outdoor seating.
[41-17-4] Spray bottle containing toxic substance not labeled. Observed spray bottle with sanitizer in it near ware wash area, manager placed label on spray bottle.
[51-16-7] No plan review submitted and approved - renovations were made or are in progress. Must submit plans and plan review application to DBPR H and R Plan Review office located at 2601 Blair Stone Rd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1011. Plans must be submitted AND approved within 60 days. The direct link to the Plan Review page is https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/hotels-restaurants/licensing/plan-review/. Observed outdoor kitchen/cooking area, not on current plans. Outdoor area has covered pizza oven with front access, flip top reach in cooler, portable steam wells, table top fryers, griddle with no lid and grill with no lid. Also, outdoor storage room for wine at back of outdoor dining area.

Community reaction

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Community pulse

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ESPANA RESTAURANT & TAPAS has a rough inspection history. Would you risk it?

F record

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ESPANA RESTAURANT & TAPAS

Failing Health Score

Start with the newest inspection, then verify the pattern

What stands out in this inspection history

What’s powering this page

See the place, then share or verify

Inspection History

What do locals think?

Would you eat here?

Join the discussion

More places worth comparing

Other options in FERNANDINA BEACH

VINTAGE DONUTS

MARCHE COTIER

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES

HANEY'S ISLAND EATS

THE BREW SHED

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