Columbia Restaurant

This place is insanely organized and orchestrated. Service above expectation, once the customer gets up from the chair, immediately the restaurant personal prepared the table in less than 2 minutes, also you will find the floor manager helping and orchestrating everything from a non conspicuous area. And even greeted us. And our server amazing good. We had been in different places and high quality restaurants, but this one was amazing and the details awesome. Oh will definitely come back here even if we have to drive two and a half hours again.
5 6 years ago (27-05-2018)

This place is an institution and worth a visit. Actual experience is mixed. The good stuff -- the bartenders while we waited for our table were very good, the bar was fun, the flamenco show was a lot of fun. The not-a-good - I don't know how many they seat but I'm sure it's well over 1,000. It is so big, between the crowds and the adequate-but-not-engaged table service, it feels like institutional dining at a theme park restaurant instead of a family-run restaurant. My food was unremarkable; decent enough flavors but looked and tasted like it was put on the plate a very long time before I ordered it. I'm glad I went once but I won't be going back.
3 7 years ago (08-05-2018)

Beautiful, the original Columbia. The 1905 salad is exceptional. Anything is delicious. Fresh hot Cuban bread is served before ordering. It is a beautiful experience with terrific service. Go! Eat and enjoy a dining experience, not just food.
5 7 years ago (01-05-2018)

Had a fairly large group of us on a business trip recently and stopped in to this restaurant. I've been there once before with my wife on vacation, and remembered really liking it. This was actually years ago. It hasn't really changed. The food and the service are still outstanding. There's a really wide variety of dishes to choose from. So, everyone should be able to find something they like. They have a mix of Spanish and Cuban dishes. Being that it's in Florida, obviously there's a lot of seafood as well, but there are other dishes that are not Seafood if you like that instead. They start out with a large chunk of crusty bread with some whipped butter that was really good. I would definitely suggest some of their tableside prepared sangria as well. This is an historic restaurant, and you can tell by looking at it when you get inside especially. This place is enormous, so they can take really large groups of people if you need it. There was a gentleman playing piano with someone accompanying him. The place is a little loud because it is so popular and there's so many people. They do limit the noise by having separate rooms for the seating. If you're in the Tampa area, this is definitely some place that should be on your list to try. There are also a number of funky bars and cigar shops along the street that you can try after you have dinner. The Columbia Restaurant also has a pretty sizable gift shop as well with all sorts of stuff you can purchase. It's really kind of a destination place. You can certainly dress casually or dress nicely. I don't think you would feel out of place either way.
5 7 years ago (23-05-2018)

Truly my favorite restaurant in the area. The worst thing I can say about this place is that there are too many choices that I WANT RIGHT NOW! The Paella is to die for. The Cuban Sandwich is always good. That house salad is truly more than a meal. The Tapas offer a friendly table-sharing, conversation-friendly choice. While I haven't had everything on the menu, I've never had anything on the menu that I wouldn't have again!
5 7 years ago (09-05-2018)