What a wonderful experience at the premier Cuban restaurant in Florida. Rosi was awesome and the food was top notch. Always a joy to come to Columbia!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Cuban Bread, 1905 Salad for Lunch
Kinga S
It is an absolute classic!The oldest restaurant in Florida and what a treat it is. Great selection of dishes. Always fresh and delicious and the service is superb.I do recommend for everyone to try it.I love both locations the Yvor city and the St. Armand’s circle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marcia Rezende
The appetizers were really good - garlic shrimp and stuffed peppers. The dinner was average, we were not Impressed with their paella Valencia.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Paella a La Valenciana
Matt Norris
Top notch service, amazing food, everything is 10 stars!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Karen Cusey (KarenQZ)
We enjoyed a tasty and filling lunch with enough food for two meals! (Leftovers were saved for dinner that night). Piping hot bread (7x3 inch wedge) with a crispy crust and fresh butter. Caesar side salad is good size. We sat at an outdoor shaded table. Recommend indoor seating due to slow tourist traffic driving and walking in roundabout right outside the entrance. Restaurant is located in charming St. Armands Circle with nearby shopping at upscale specialty storefronts. Menu has soooo many good dishes it is hard to choose. Limited vegetarian options but you can request some dishes to be served without meat or dairy. We have dined at this historic restaurant multiple times over a 30-year period whenever we visit Sarasota. Waitstaff are professional, friendly, and efficient. Highly recommend! Come with a small group and enjoy great cocktails before or after your meal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Bread, Chicken and Yellow Rice Ybor
Linda Milligan
Too loud and busy for lunch.Palomino steak not breaded , paper thin, and very tough.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Sean McCord
I’ve been going to Columbia for anround 10 years and had a great experience pretty much every time, but unfortunately it seems like the place has went way downhill, and our last experience ruined the place for us. Came here for a nice lunch while on vacation with my girlfriend and had the 1905 salad, which was great as always. But everything else was horrible. I got the mahi cuban and had the most dried out and over cooked mahi mahi that I’ve ever had in my life. I couldn’t even finish it because my drink ran out and our waiter wouldn’t come back to give a refill so I could choke it down. My girlfriend got the paella, which says on the menu that it has a 30 minute wait time. After the wait, we both tried her paella and it was unbelievably bland and unseasoned. The rice tasted like microwaved Uncle Ben’s rice. I’m never one to complain about my meal but felt like I needed to say something to our waitress. So I mentioned these things to our server who was very nice and apologetic about it, and she told us she wouldn't charge us for the items since we were unsatisfied. So we tipped her well and left. That night, I looked at my bank statements, and they not only charged us for the full meal, they charged my card a second time for the ticket without the entrees. So not only did we have a horrible lunch, we got charged double for an already expensive meal. After years of coming here I’ll never come back and let them take my money.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Virginia Morgan
Great fun as usual. Our Cubanos weren’t as yummy as I remembered. We wondered if someone forgot aningredient. But, the 1905 salad and the Spanish soup were both amazing! Our waitress, Lucy, was lovely. All their waitstaff seem to be very happy working there despite how busy it is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Amanda Brown
The food was spectacular! Everything had so much flavor. The bread pudding is to die for. I visited from NY, I'll definitely make this a regular stop of mine when I'm down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Iliana Piwowarczyk
Amazing spot for Spanish food in St Armands Circle, Sarasota. My family and I really enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere of the restaurant. Our server, Tyree was AMAZING and really made the night fun for my family. Would recommend and will definitely be going back for dinner again soon.
Best of the best. If you have not eaten here, you have not had a Cuban sandwich.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Cardenas
Great foodAwesome atmosphereHave to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Bread, 1905 Salad for Lunch, Famous Salad
Horis Stedman
The vegan piella was bland, but they did take it off the bill. They black beans and rice were good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Zachary Daniels
Let me start off by saying that I had high hopes and expectations for this restaurant due to its reputation and word of mouth, but unfortunately I feel like my visit fell way short..The server we had seemed aloof and not very knowledgeable of the drinks at all. We had to ask for limes for our soda water 3 times before we finally received them. Not a big deal overall, but I felt that we weren’t receiving the proper attention from our server. We ordered a salad to start, and the server dropped the salad bar behind us and then went on to clean other tables and just left it there unprepared. Finally, when he came back to make the salad he put a dirty napkin from the other table on the serving table where he was making the salad! The napkin was even touching the clean plate where he was plating the salad on. Ridiculous and careless! We decided to not say anything and just try to enjoy our salad and then we ordered our entrees. We ordered the Mahi mahi and the Steak Salteado. Upon tasting both of these dishes the flavor was a complete let down! The overall quality of the dishes did not match the the price you’re paying for them. They tasted more like $15 meals and not $30!! We also tried the flan for desert and once again let down, could find better flan in a grocery store. Overrated restaurant and more of a tourist attraction in my opinion. I really am disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Yi-Tent Bello
I've been going to this restaurant for 30 years... at one point I was let down, but I gave it another try a few weeks ago.OMG! The Stuffed Piquillo Pepper appetizer is AMAZING! I used the bread and turned the appetizer into a sandwich. DO IT!Joe and Giuseppe at the bar were phenomenal beyond words. They took such good care of my husband and me...I can't wait to go again. Gracias Casa Columbia!!!
What a wonderful experience at the premier Cuban restaurant in Florida. Rosi was awesome and the food was top notch. Always a joy to come to Columbia!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Cuban Bread, 1905 Salad for Lunch
It is an absolute classic!The oldest restaurant in Florida and what a treat it is. Great selection of dishes. Always fresh and delicious and the service is superb.I do recommend for everyone to try it.I love both locations the Yvor city and the St. Armand’s circle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The appetizers were really good - garlic shrimp and stuffed peppers. The dinner was average, we were not Impressed with their paella Valencia.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Paella a La Valenciana
Top notch service, amazing food, everything is 10 stars!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We enjoyed a tasty and filling lunch with enough food for two meals! (Leftovers were saved for dinner that night). Piping hot bread (7x3 inch wedge) with a crispy crust and fresh butter. Caesar side salad is good size. We sat at an outdoor shaded table. Recommend indoor seating due to slow tourist traffic driving and walking in roundabout right outside the entrance. Restaurant is located in charming St. Armands Circle with nearby shopping at upscale specialty storefronts. Menu has soooo many good dishes it is hard to choose. Limited vegetarian options but you can request some dishes to be served without meat or dairy. We have dined at this historic restaurant multiple times over a 30-year period whenever we visit Sarasota. Waitstaff are professional, friendly, and efficient. Highly recommend! Come with a small group and enjoy great cocktails before or after your meal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Bread, Chicken and Yellow Rice Ybor
Too loud and busy for lunch.Palomino steak not breaded , paper thin, and very tough.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
I’ve been going to Columbia for anround 10 years and had a great experience pretty much every time, but unfortunately it seems like the place has went way downhill, and our last experience ruined the place for us. Came here for a nice lunch while on vacation with my girlfriend and had the 1905 salad, which was great as always. But everything else was horrible. I got the mahi cuban and had the most dried out and over cooked mahi mahi that I’ve ever had in my life. I couldn’t even finish it because my drink ran out and our waiter wouldn’t come back to give a refill so I could choke it down. My girlfriend got the paella, which says on the menu that it has a 30 minute wait time. After the wait, we both tried her paella and it was unbelievably bland and unseasoned. The rice tasted like microwaved Uncle Ben’s rice. I’m never one to complain about my meal but felt like I needed to say something to our waitress. So I mentioned these things to our server who was very nice and apologetic about it, and she told us she wouldn't charge us for the items since we were unsatisfied. So we tipped her well and left. That night, I looked at my bank statements, and they not only charged us for the full meal, they charged my card a second time for the ticket without the entrees. So not only did we have a horrible lunch, we got charged double for an already expensive meal. After years of coming here I’ll never come back and let them take my money.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great fun as usual. Our Cubanos weren’t as yummy as I remembered. We wondered if someone forgot aningredient. But, the 1905 salad and the Spanish soup were both amazing! Our waitress, Lucy, was lovely. All their waitstaff seem to be very happy working there despite how busy it is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food was spectacular! Everything had so much flavor. The bread pudding is to die for. I visited from NY, I'll definitely make this a regular stop of mine when I'm down.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing spot for Spanish food in St Armands Circle, Sarasota. My family and I really enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere of the restaurant. Our server, Tyree was AMAZING and really made the night fun for my family. Would recommend and will definitely be going back for dinner again soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Best of the best. If you have not eaten here, you have not had a Cuban sandwich.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great foodAwesome atmosphereHave to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cuban Bread, 1905 Salad for Lunch, Famous Salad
The vegan piella was bland, but they did take it off the bill. They black beans and rice were good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Let me start off by saying that I had high hopes and expectations for this restaurant due to its reputation and word of mouth, but unfortunately I feel like my visit fell way short..The server we had seemed aloof and not very knowledgeable of the drinks at all. We had to ask for limes for our soda water 3 times before we finally received them. Not a big deal overall, but I felt that we weren’t receiving the proper attention from our server. We ordered a salad to start, and the server dropped the salad bar behind us and then went on to clean other tables and just left it there unprepared. Finally, when he came back to make the salad he put a dirty napkin from the other table on the serving table where he was making the salad! The napkin was even touching the clean plate where he was plating the salad on. Ridiculous and careless! We decided to not say anything and just try to enjoy our salad and then we ordered our entrees. We ordered the Mahi mahi and the Steak Salteado. Upon tasting both of these dishes the flavor was a complete let down! The overall quality of the dishes did not match the the price you’re paying for them. They tasted more like $15 meals and not $30!! We also tried the flan for desert and once again let down, could find better flan in a grocery store. Overrated restaurant and more of a tourist attraction in my opinion. I really am disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
I've been going to this restaurant for 30 years... at one point I was let down, but I gave it another try a few weeks ago.OMG! The Stuffed Piquillo Pepper appetizer is AMAZING! I used the bread and turned the appetizer into a sandwich. DO IT!Joe and Giuseppe at the bar were phenomenal beyond words. They took such good care of my husband and me...I can't wait to go again. Gracias Casa Columbia!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5