Columbia Restaurant - Ybor City

Great place. Excellent service, food and ambiance. Haley is a great bar tender! Thank you

Go for the Flamenco show!
Definitely order the 1905 Salad, Sparkling Sangria and Cannelloni de Langosta!
We were treated to flan for dessert to honor our 20th wedding anniversary, delicious!

Food was excellent along with the service, decor and show. Had a great and very enjoyable evening

My wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary and decided to eat at Columbia restaurant. We haven’t been there for many years. We remembered the food being good, but this time we were very disappointed. We had the Red Snapper dishes and it was horrible, it had no flavor and the rice was awful. I am Hispanic and did not feel like I was being served Hispanic food. My recommendation is to hire Hispanic chefs that know how to cook authentic Hispanic food.

We made reservations and were disappointed that we would have to wait an additional twenty minutes or take a tall table in the bar where my husband and I could not sit next to one another so we could hear each other. The bartender saved the day and was able to talk to the hostess and secure us a regular table. We did get a happy anniversary from the hostess but nothing from the server. Server was good and attentive, out food was great and overall we enjoyed the meal. Thank you!

Food was excellent and atmosphere was wonderful. The Columbia never disappoints.

Wonderful dinning, our mojitos were made table side and entrees were superb!! Waitstaff was wonderful! Great afternoon lunch!

One of the very best restaurants around! Great food and service! One of the coolest atmospheres of any restaurant I have ever been to.

Overall, we were disappointed in our experience. Even with a reservation for the show we watched as others were seated before us, even without a reservation. Then we were given the table right next to the stage, which contrary to the host’s opinion, is not the best seat in the house. We could only see the backs/sides of the dancers as they stomped and twirled right over our food. The food was also particularly underwhelming and flavorless (but thanks to the waiter for getting one of the entrees removed). Would not recommend. Will not be going back.

Birthday.
Wonderful food and great service!

The classic! 80+ year old mother used to eat there with her father in the 40’s and has always wanted us to go there so we took her! Cuban sandwich was as good as she’s been telling me all these years. Other entrees were excellent (though the Mahi did’nt seem as fresh as I’d hoped). Great service (thank you Phil)! It is a bit loud so be prepared, but a great experience and special occasion for us!

Great food in a restaurant housed in a beautiful historic building.

Very festive & high volume - food was delicious & service was attentive. Thank you!

the food was delicious and it has a very cool history! Our waiter Phil was very good.

Great food and service as always!

Our server, Paul, made our visit even more enjoyable by providing more of the history of the Columbia than we'd experienced in more than 35 years of dining here!

Food was definitely up to par if not above...

Hostesses who welcomed us were pleasant. They should be more thoughtful of conversations they hold while guests are waiting to be seated. They were not UNprofessional, but they could have held their conversations to a slightly higher level of professionalism.

Excellent, as usual! This is one of our favorite local restaurants and the food and service are both amazing.

Great! Food was excellent and the history makes it special.

Wonderful environment that takes you back in time. Each dining room is distinct and interesting. The food with an emphasis on Cuban cuisine is excellent. Service is prompt, friendly and professional.

Columbia Restaurant is an institution. The wait staff is excellent. The food is ok. I would recommend it to anyone who has never been for the experience.

Delicious food and sangria!! Highly recommend the pollo machengo!!

The food was terrific! The show was exciting. The service was way above average!

Dinner was great and the service was excellent

I have eaten in many of the columbia restaurants around Florida. The history brings me back to Tampa and the waitstaff. There are waiters that have been at the Ybor City location for decades. That is where I want to he seated with my guests. The Columbia is awas a great dining experience. However when you get a waiter with four decades serving you and your guests it is a monumental EVENT! Give it a try, You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. I recommend the grooper “Jimmy”, any of the fresh fish dishes, the Cuban sandwich was created at this Columbia! You should try the 1905 salad. They make it and serve it to you and your guests table side. You can’t go wrong with any Columbia location. Do yourself a favor, give the Columbia a try.

I would of given 5 stars except we were seated in the patio and they were the most uncomfortable chairs. Not what you expect in a place like this. Other than that it was a wonderful dinner and service.

The show was great and really added to our dinner experience. The guitar was an added treat. Great food and a very relaxing evening. A good time was had by all.

Best fish I e ever had. Such a classic restaurant! Very professional staff!

we have checked it off the list. It has history but the food lacks heart. The Paella was cold not fresh made. The onion and tomato salad was excellent though

Excellent food great service unique experience

As always, great food, great service, great atmosphere! 👍👍

Our server was very attentive. Hostess stopped by to make sure that everything was satisfactory. parking was very convenient.

Great atmosphere. Great service. Very affordable

Crab cakes were fresh Andy meaty & served w/ tasty remoulade. 1908 salad made tableside never disappoints.

Super slow service. Got there at 11:30am and took an hour to get appetizer. Then another 30+ minutes for food. Table was by bar, I notice if you seated in bar area your getting new recruits. So count on slow insufficient service and repeat your order at least 2 times. Drinks or even drink refills are non existent you have to tell server or anyone that walks by you need another drink or forget it.

We really enjoy coming here. The food is good and atmosphere is neat. We recommend :)

We had reservations but were told to wait around 15-20 minutes for our table. The meal was fantastic and the service was good.

The service was very good. The food was good and the atmosphere was good as well.
We will return there again.

Luisa and her team were excellent, attentive and informative. We wanted and had a non hurried experience with a 4:30 PM reservation.

Been years since my last visit (moved away) and was surprised at the very, very causal dress for a Saturday evening dinner in such a beautiful dining atmosphere. In fact, several nearby customers commented to us "how nice to see a couple dressed for dinner".

Thank you for a lovely evening in Ybor.

I always order pork cuban a, but this time I ordered the shrimp with yellow rice. Rice was excellent but shrimp was over cooked and had a metallic taste..so I just ate the rice. Another at the table ordered pork Milanasa and it was excellent. Portion was huge and enough for two.

The sangria is top notch and made at the table. Cuban bread is outstanding, as always.

Tables could have been spread out a bit more for social distancing.

Service was excellent, as always.

1905 Salad and Spanish Bean soup are a great combination. Bread Pudding is to die for!
Leslie our server was a joy and very efficient.