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Columbia Restaurant in Tampa is a two star Spanish restaurant. This inexpensive restaurant has been around for the last 25 years. This restaurant has been around since 1905 1905. It's been awarded the Fodors Choice and Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence awards. Upon entering the restaurant, you'll find a romantic atmosphere. This restaurant features private rooms, catering, lunch, and fine wines. This restaurant is good for groups. Diners found the food mediocre.
5.0 of 5 stars.
Loved the experience! So the service wasn't 100% polished which may account for the lack of a star from some reviewers, but some ppl just think too highly of their own opinion and probably have never...
yelp.com - user review - 10/06/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
I went here last night for the Flamenco show. It was pretty cool, I haven't seen any Falmenco before, so I don't have a barometer to measure how godd they were, but it was definitely cool to see while...
yelp.com - user review - 09/08/2009
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3.0 of 5 stars.
is this a columbian restaurant? i could of sworn from the menu options that it was either cuban food or from Spain. Either way i enjoyed my lunch. The waitress was very friendly and very helpful in...
yelp.com - user review - 08/31/2009
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5.0 of 5 stars.
When in Tampa, You have to stop at Columbia restaurant to get the true feeling of the city.First, the shows they put on will knock you out of your seat but more importantly is the quality of the food....
yelp.com - user review - 08/19/2009
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3.0 of 5 stars.
Very good food, horrible service. I would give Columbia 4 stars if not for the horrendously slow and inattentive service. The food itself is clearly 4 stars in my opinion...authentic, fresh, and...
yelp.com - user review - 08/16/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Historical Ybor City at its best! Get the 1905 salad, soup, and their bread for a $7 induction to this fabulous place. Has flamenco dancer entertainment and beautiful old tiles and Italian...
yelp.com - user review - 08/11/2009
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5.0 of 5 stars.
One if my favorite places to eat. Paella is fresh, the 1905 salad is great and even the bread pudding as a great alternative for breakfast.
yelp.com - user review - 08/06/2009
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3.0 of 5 stars.
I really like this restaurant but I feel as though it is very hyped and it hasn't been as good as it may have been years back. I like the quiet Clearwater beach location by Sand Key. The food is good...
yelp.com - user review - 06/14/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Coming to Florida I had this place on my list. If it's a legendary old restaurant I want in. Plus is it true JFK was here with Marilyn Monroe? Rumor patrol! Their mojitos were alright - their Sangria...
yelp.com - user review - 06/06/2009
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2.0 of 5 stars.
Food arrived cold and undercooked.
yelp.com - user review - 05/31/2009
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5.0 of 5 stars.
This was our first visit to Tampa, Florida and were so glad when a friend made reservations for our group at Columbia Restaurant. The restaurant has an extraordinary decor that was great for lots of...
yelp.com - user review - 05/27/2009
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3.0 of 5 stars.
I tried to issue 31/2 stars but I could not make it work. I know its an option as I have seen other people give 1/2 stars, so if anyone is dope enough to know how, holla at me! On to the review. Went...
yelp.com - user review - 05/26/2009
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5.0 of 5 stars.
You can not find much better Cuban food than this. It is simply delicious. This particular restaurant is the original, and the oldest restaurant in Florida. It is gorgeous inside, and on weekends...
yelp.com - user review - 05/24/2009
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3.0 of 5 stars.
I was in Tampa for a few days for work and asked the hotel to recommend a good place for Cuban food. They suggested Columbia and I get the impression that lots of other hotels were doing the same....
yelp.com - user review - 05/07/2009
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5.0 of 5 stars.
I have been wanting to come to Columbia for a long time. I know it is a major tourist trap but the food was the best. I have been to their sister restaurant in Celebration Florida a number of times...
yelp.com - user review - 04/23/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
This is a great place to bring a group of friends. . . .don't come if ya want to "relax" as it's a bit loud, but the food is absolutely wonderful and if you're in the mood for a good time the...
yelp.com - user review - 04/03/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
We hadn't noticed this was one of the first restaurants in Florida, and that it's almost always packed so we felt very lucky when we waited for no more than 2 minutes before being seated. A huge...
yelp.com - user review - 03/19/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
I knew that The Columbia was a place I wanted to take my friends for dinner on our recent 4-day weekend get-away to Tampa Bay. I've eaten here several times while on business trips -- my former boss...
yelp.com - user review - 03/03/2009
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All the food tasted the same, bland, tasteless, salty, and disgusting. Nice presentation, good waitress, really bad food. I hope I will not get sick. I am writing this as soon as I got back to my hotel room...
citysearch.com - user review - 02/14/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Came here with a party of 7 (with advanced reservations, we had to wait for about 5 minutes), and firstly, the atmosphere was amazing. The picture of the inside kinda shows you what it's like.. looks...
yelp.com - user review - 02/11/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
I almost spit out my bloody gazpacho when the 18 yr old (at most) waiter corrected my flamboyantly confident buddy about the difference between a pinot gris and a pinot grigio....f---king hilarious!...
yelp.com - user review - 02/06/2009
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Spanish and Cuban fare. Jacket not required, but don't wear your jeans. Food is consistently excellent. Great ambiance. Fairly priced. Separate dining room with entertainment: Flamenco dancing. ...
judysbook.com - user review - 02/02/2009
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Try their legendary salad - it is to die for!! The atmosphere is awesome, we have been many times and loved it every time. This place is a staple to the area and should be visited by tourists and locals alike...
citysearch.com - user review - 01/31/2009
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4.0 of 5 stars.
WHAT?! An hour and a half wait for a table for two? This place is huge, gigantic, absolutely massive why such a long wait....ohhh my gawd!We're gonna have to wait for 200 Red Hat Ladies to finish...
yelp.com - user review - 12/04/2008
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Excellent for a Date Night. Decent for a Business Lunch. The entrees aren't special, but the atmosphere is five star, the service is topnotch, and the entertainment (in the dancing room) is fantastic.
yelp.com - user review - 12/03/2008
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Columbia restaurant is unique and filled with history. The food is...
urbanspoon.com - user review - 11/10/2008
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So i've been here numerous times, if your new in Tampa or just want great...
urbanspoon.com - user review - 11/08/2008
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5.0 of 5 stars.
We were looking for a good place to eat in Tampa on a Saturday night, and Columbia was the unianimous recommendation from the concierge, our cab driver, and a few locals. Arriving in front of the...
yelp.com - user review - 10/27/2008
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3.0 of 5 stars.
This place is not too bad. It sucks that it's the ONLY Cuban restaurant that area hotels recommend, apparently because the other one in Ybor City, Tropicana, closes as the sun sets. When I get there...
yelp.com - user review - 09/25/2008
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I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE COLUMBIA FROM THE TIME I STEPPED IN THE DOOR TIL THE TIME I LEFT, AND I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK NEXT SUMMER WHEN TRAVELING TO FLORIDA. THE DECOR WAS AMAZING, OUR SERVER WAS TOP NOTCH, AND THEN THE REAL TREAT, THE FOOD...I HAD THE RIBEYE STEAK WITH POTATOES AND VEGETABLES AND A CAESAR SALAD AND THEY WERE ALL ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. NO MATTER WHERE WE END UP IN FLORIDA NEXT YEAR, I WILL BE MAKING A SPECIAL TRIP BACK TO YBOR CITY TO THE COLUMBIA RESTAURANT.
openlist - user review - 09/20/2008
The Columbia has been around forever, and is still one of the better places to go for any size group. Can't speak to having children along, but they should do fine (so long a Mom and Dad keep them in check)....
citysearch.com - user review - 05/12/2008
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2.0 of 5 stars.
The history alone makes this place a "must see" on any business trip to Tampa. Approach it like a museum with the benefit of cafe con leche. My snapper was really, really good. In fact, I shared it...
yelp.com - user review - 04/18/2008
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I loved the outside ceramic panels -- although covering one panel of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza with a bolted bench is really stupid -- and I loved the ambiance inside. One of the few decent looking places...
citysearch.com - user review - 04/16/2008
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This is a really fun restaurant with so much history and atmosphere. Their famous 1905 salad is so great, it's all I ever order but have been many times with large groups and everyone is always satifsfied with...
citysearch.com - user review - 02/12/2008
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2.0 of 5 stars.
I hate it when you visit a new city and all the hotel concierges and taxi drivers and pretty much everyone decide to send you to a rather expensive generic place. NOW I'm being a little unfair here....
yelp.com - user review - 01/04/2008
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1.0 of 5 stars.
The food is mediocre (after two visits). The service was horrific. 7:00 reservations resulted in 7:40 seats. The manager did not apologize, but rather blamed patrons who didn't leave fast enough....
yelp.com - user review - 12/27/2007
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3.0 of 5 stars.
The food is good and the service is great but for spanish food im sure i can find other places with a bit better food and better prices but still not bad at all.
yelp.com - user review - 12/14/2007
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2.0 of 5 stars.
I found this place searching around on the net when I was in Tampa on biz. I get the feeling it is one of those places that has been around forever, like Bern's. But sucks now. Unlike Bern's. The...
yelp.com - user review - 11/26/2007
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3.0 of 5 stars.
This was one of the restaurants that the Tampa locals suggested. My co-worker and I tried out one day after work. I really expected more but it was just OK. I never went back during my extended...
yelp.com - user review - 11/23/2007
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Didn't find it as great as everyone has raved. The food was decent but the prices seemed high for the type of cuban food. The atmosphere is nice though.
kudzu.com - user review - 10/16/2007
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I was not impressed with this restaurant. The food is incredibly over priced for what it is. It is cooked very simple and tastes like something you can make at home if you know how to cook even a little bit....
kudzu.com - user review - 10/15/2007
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2.0 of 5 stars.
We live in Ybor and have been here several times but to us it is more of a tourist attraction than a place to go for for the quality of their food. Nice atmosphere, good place to take friends from...
yelp.com - user review - 10/07/2007
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Disclaimer: i was pretty ripped by the time we had dinner here and some details are hazy. House wine was good quality (i think) and the mixed platter special of steak,chicken, fish and chorizo was...
yelp.com - user review - 09/25/2007
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5.0 of 5 stars.
My mom and her sisters grew up in South America. We came here in a large group the night before Easter, and everyone had an amazing meal. My one aunt had even been living in Venezuela a few years...
yelp.com - user review - 09/15/2007
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2.0 of 5 stars.
Que lastima. All atmosphere. Icky food. My rice consisted of cardboard chads. The chicken was just as dry. I regretted bringing my mother here. It was a disappointment. Not worth the money. The...
yelp.com - user review - 08/18/2007
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2.0 of 5 stars.
I realize this place is a landmark tourist attraction. They have live flamenco dancers, throw-back Spanish decor, and so forth, so when people visit, it's the place you gotta be to get "local" flavor....
yelp.com - user review - 06/27/2007
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5.0 of 5 stars.
We went here for my Mom's 40th birthday party. I have never been before, so I was excited since I have heard really good things about the restaurant. I'm not a big fan of Cuban food, but I eat it...
yelp.com - user review - 06/19/2007
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4.0 of 5 stars.
This resturant is very old, elegant, and in a cool part of town, the old cigar rolling district, Ybor City. The room we sat in was beautiful and our waiter was very friendly. The food was just ok...
yelp.com - user review - 05/31/2007
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3.0 of 5 stars.
4/07 lunch. Visiting from West coast, I think Columbia is an institution by itself. It should be listed as a World Heritage Restaurant site.The huge building has 5-6 themed dining halls. Each one is...
yelp.com - user review - 04/23/2007
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5.0 of 5 stars.
I have been there 4 or 5 times, and the food is AMAZING. I went there on Valentines day, just a few weeks ago. I had the best Fillet Mignon that I have ever had, and I've eaten a lot of steak! The...
yelp.com - user review - 02/26/2007
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5.0 of 5 stars.
Ahh,the Columbia @ Ybor! Went there for a late feast with my mates after a hockey game at The Saint Pete Times Forum (Toronto won!).From the moment we walked in,we knew we made a good call.Make your...
yelp.com - user review - 02/13/2007
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when i contacted the restruant i got no apology and was told they never had this kind of problem. when i told my story to others, others have told me they got sick there also was once told by a person whos...
citysearch.com - user review - 01/26/2007
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4.0 of 5 stars.
When I had a reason to be in Tampa recently with a colleague from Minnesota, I wanted to show her the Columbia, a restaurant I remembered from the two years I lived there nearly thirty years ago!...
yelp.com - user review - 01/23/2007
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Found myself on business in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Asked the concierge for a restaurant of local flavor. Columbia hit the spot. Think Cuban immigrants and the founding place of American cigar...
yelp.com - user review - 11/16/2006
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My family and I have been going to the Columbia on and off for at least 20 years. This year was no exception. The food this time was simply miserable. My husband's order appeared--and tasted--as though it had...
citysearch.com - user review - 10/06/2006
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I have lived in Tampa for over 30 years and had eaten at most Spanish restaurants in the area except this one. This was primarily because everyone always recommended other Spanish restaurants and all personal...
citysearch.com - user review - 09/05/2006
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This is one of the oldest restaurants in Tampa and their salad is to die for!! I found their entrees a little ho-hum for the price, but their appetizers and salads are fabulous. I have been here many times,...
citysearch.com - user review - 08/08/2006
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Tucked away at the end of Seventh Street in Ybor City, Tampa's historically Cuban quarter, this Spanish restaurant has become a huge tourist magnet, but ...
gusto.com - user review - 06/08/2006
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I loved the food, service and decor. Advice - order and entree for lunch instead of a tapa. More food for the same price! the gaspacho was perfect, as was sangria. For a nearly empty restaurant, we were not...
citysearch.com - user review - 05/19/2006
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I had the paella and it was delicious. it was pricey but a very beautiful spot. I would recommend it more as a lunch place if you want to save a little money and be in a more relaxed atmosphere- its great to...
citysearch.com - user review - 04/28/2006
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The Columbia Restaurant is really a tradition in Ybor city. The atmosphere really helps you get an understanding of the old ybor city feel. This restaurant takes great pride in their heritage and you ...
judysbook.com - user review - 03/20/2006
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2.0 of 5 stars.
Average, over-hyped food. I'm sure that at one point in this restaurant's 100 year history they made some mean Cuban fare.. just not now. Price is too high for food this mundane.The ambiance is the...
yelp.com - user review - 03/05/2006
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My wife and I were recommended The Columbia from family members in Tampa. The house special filet mignon the size of a child's fist came cooked in bourbon and it tasted just like that, a shot of bourbon in...
citysearch.com - user review - 11/27/2005
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4.0 of 5 stars.
Atmosphere is fantastic at any of the locations that you choose to visit. The original one in Ybor leaves the biggest impression, but then again the one on Sand Key is right on the beach - how can...
yelp.com - user review - 11/15/2005
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5.0 of 5 stars.
An eleven-room dining establishment that seats 1600, is heavy on classic, Old World charm, and takes up an entire city block, this is Florida's oldest and the world's largest Spanish restaurant,...
yelp.com - user review - 08/18/2005
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Recently I traveled to Spain, from every guidebook came "you must try the paella in Spain". So, listening to that advice I went to Marbella Spain (which I highly reccomend) and asked the hotel staff where the...
citysearch.com - user review - 06/03/2005
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How to describe the beloved Columbia? My husband took me there for Homecoming dinner when we were 16 and just started dating... had our wedding reception there with over a hundred guests 8 years later. Still...
citysearch.com - user review - 07/18/2004
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This is by far my favorite Tampa restaurant; I think I'll go there tonight. I wish I could make gazpacho the way they do - both that & the 1905 salad are prepared tableside, as is the fantabulous sangria (you...
citysearch.com - user review - 07/08/2003
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If you had three hours to introduce someone to Tampa, Florida, the Columbia would be the place to go. From the historic significance, location, decor, and most of all, the great food, it is Tampa defined in a...
citysearch.com - user review - 07/03/2003
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the quality of the food was very good. the interior of the building was authentic and well kept. there is also a show offered, but we left before it started.
citysearch.com - user review - 09/06/2002
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Columbia [STSTST] SPANISH -- Columbia celebrated 100 years in 2005.Its tile building occupies an entire city block in the heart of Ybor City. Tourists flock here to soak up the ambience, and so do the locals...
frommers.com - user review
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we had dinner at the original columbia, 2117 e. 7th ave. we got the "original 1905 salad" the food was mediocre, nothing like the food 5 or 10 years previously, when it was great...
igougo.com - user review
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food extremely ordinary, lacked pizzaz, overpriced...
fodors.com - user review
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spanish cultural appeal in the ybor district of tampa. you walk through the red velvet keyhole into a large low lit room of tables, some antiques and a dance floor in the middle. good spanish food and a decent...
usrg.com - user review
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a tampa classic, this spanish restaurant has been family-owned and operated since 1905. inside, it looks just as you imagine it should: wrought iron accents, dark woods, and colorful tilework. there's even...
10best.com - user review
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corner cafe serves up the past...
cityguide.aol.com - user review
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I discovered the Columbia while living in Tampa 25 years ago and absolutely love it! The cuisine is authentic -- true Spanish, not Mexican or Cuban, both of which I adore -- and tasty. I cannot
travel.yahoo.com - user review
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high above the waters of tampa bay, this restaurant at the pier carries on the tradition of excellent service and superior food that has been its reputation since 1905. while listening to music from the piano...
wcities.com - user review
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i take my wife there for our anniversary since discovering this lovely place...
restaurantrow.com - user review
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how did they get this rating? made reservations 3 weeks in advance. we attempted to entertain customers.....
tripadvisor.com - user review
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in a state where bigger and newer seems to be better, the columbia is one of the few originals left that offers the taste and feel of old florida. thatis why if we could eat at only one place in tampa, the...
gayot.com - user review
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this restaurant is owned and operated by the same tampa family that founded it two generations ago. beautifully hand-painted tiles and intricate fretwork decorate the exterior of the restaurant, while the...
wguides.com - user review
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