Columbia Restaurant - Sarasota

Sarasota, Florida, USA Cuisine Style: Spanish, Cuban Average Price: $$ Overall Rating: 3/5 Dined in February 2016 Columbia Restaurant is... more

We do not live in Sarasota but visit often. We always go to Columbia each time we come to town and always will. Keep in mind, the restaurant is always crowded with tourists and due to accoutics, is pretty loud as well. However, it is crowded for a reason!! Keep in mind. The food is excellent!\r We go back because the food is good. We really enjoyed the frozen drinks and SANGRIA!!! We love the fish dishes and authentic Cuban flair in others. We absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the 1905 Salad they make tableside, served with hot Cuban bread and butter. YUMMMMMM!!!!!! We go to Columbia for this!!! We have also had many other dishes that we like...one was a fish dish with a mango salsa that was AWESOME! The desserts are tasty too...coconut flan was wonderful! We recommend this restaurant for the food and drink alone. We buy the dressing and bring it home we like it so much. Try it! Pros: 1905 Salad made tableside, hot bread, outside seating Cons: noise, crowds more

After reading other reviews from different sites and magazines, this came highly recommended. Why....we can't figure it out. This is a loud restaurant with many families. This is not for couples. I should have had a clue upon entering. We made a reservation (recommended from other reviews but certainly not needed) we did not even have a chance to give them our names. We were rushed inside to a table without even a formal welcome. I felt like cattle being herded in to be fed. The hostesses (there were three) need lessons on greeting! Sharon did not give us the time of day. Very rude. Food was just ok. The Columbia salad was delciious; however, I ordered the black bean soup and it had no spice whatsoever. It was as if they opened a can of black beans, then heated and served them on a bed of rice. The server was very polite. (only positive of the night) We had planned on having a leisurely dinner; however, we decided to quickly eat the salad and what little I ate of the soup and left. DO NOT RECOMMEND. Pros: Server was polite. Good for kids simply because its loud with kids! Cons: Hostesses rude, poorly flavored food, loud noisy atmosphere more

This place is always packed and will probably always be from tourist, but I live here and have been to the Columbia three times and each time was disappointed. The atmosphere is nice especially sitting outside but the food is just awful. Very salty in fact the food has no taste except for salt. The staff is not friendly either. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Pros: Outside seating Cons: Service is not good and the food is not authentic or good. more