Moldy ceviche, flies on pizza: Kansas City area restaurant inspections
From spoiled chicken to dead cockroaches, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City area restaurants last week.
Dining establishments like sit-down restaurants, drive-thrus, gas stations and grocery stores are required to get food inspections, and governments have to release those inspections to the public.
In Kansas City, the city’s health department enforces the food code while in Kansas, the state’s Department of Agriculture handles inspections. The lower the number of violations, the better.
Most restaurants correct violations at the time of the original inspection or shortly after. The full inspections show how each establishment has corrected or is working to correct any remaining violations. They are available for Kansas City at inspectionsonline.us/foodsafety/mousakansascity/search.htm and Johnson and Wyandotte Counties at agriculture.ks.gov.
Here are the restaurants in Kansas City and Johnson and Wyandotte counties that received seven or more critical violations or priority/priority foundation violations from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
El Toro Loco Legends
- 1706 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas
- 15 priority and priority foundation violations for a Sept. 2 complaint inspection
Mold grew on ceviche inside of the Legends Mexican restaurant. “Aproximately 30 small winged insects” flew and landed on glasses at the bar. The inspector found “aged food debris” on knives, inside the microwave and under kitchen appliances.
The scheduled follow-up inspection has not yet occurred. Read the full report for El Toro Loco by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.
Pho Good
- 10952 W. 74th Terrace, Shawnee
- 11 priority and priority foundation violations for a Sept. 3 joint inspection
A box of produce had five “decaying and molding” sweet potatoes, in addition to 5-10 dead bugs, inside of the Shawnee Vietnamese restaurant. There was black and brown growth inside the ice machine and the cracked lid on the sugar container was repaired with “wood, screws, and metal staples.”
The scheduled follow-up inspection has not yet occurred. Read the full report for Pho Good by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.
Steak‘m Take’m
- 7702 Troost Ave.
- 9 critical violations for a Sept. 3 routine inspection
At this south Kansas City fast food restaurant, the inspector found four live cockroaches and multiple dead cockroaches. That same bathroom did not have hand soap and paper towels.
The required follow-up inspection has not been completed. Read the full report for Steak‘m Take’m.
Tea Garden
- 12755 S. Mur-Len Road, Olathe
- 9 priority and priority foundation violations for a Sept. 4 follow-up inspection
At the Olathe Chinese restaurant, one of the refrigerators was not cold enough, which meant the inspector had to throw away spoiled raw chicken, egg rolls and crab rangoon. After handling raw chicken, an employee refused to wash his hands in the handwashing sink, instead of the prep sink.
The scheduled follow-up inspection has not yet occurred. Read the full report for Tea Garden by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.
Leone Original Pizza
- 11134 Antioch Road, Overland Park
- 9 priority and priority foundation violations for a Sept. 2 routine inspection
Two flies were sitting on a piece of three-meat pizza inside of the pizzeria at the intersection of College Boulevard and Antioch. The carrot and limoncello cakes in the front cooler had expired.
The scheduled follow-up inspection has not yet occurred. Read the full report for Leone Original Pizza by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.
Tikka House
- 411 Main St.
- 7 critical violations for a Sept. 2 routine inspection
At this River Market Indian restaurant, the inspector found a cockroach perched on a knife stored on a magnetic holder. There were flies in the kitchen and dead bugs in a utility sink.
The required follow-up inspection has not been completed. Read the full report for Tikka House.
Red Door Grill
- 8001 159th St., Overland Park
- 7 priority and priority foundation violations for a Sept. 3 joint inspection
At this American restaurant at Antioch and 159th Street, the inspector saw a fly land on an open container of panko breadcrumbs. There was expired roasted garlic in the fridge and the bucket for sanitizing tables was filled with only water.
No follow-up inspection was scheduled. Read the full report for Red Door Grill by searching for the restaurant on the Kansas inspection lookup.
El Torito Paleteria
- 6007 Independence Ave.
- Suspended on Sept. 3
The eatery’s food license was suspended because of inactivity. The restaurant had not opened yet.
This story was originally published September 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
