Columbia Restaurant

Columbia Restaurant

2117 East 7th Avenue  

Tampa, FL 33605-3903

(813) 248-4961
http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/pdfs/menu_dinner.pdf

Our little day trip to Ybor City.

Greg decided to meet me in Tampa, FL and took me on a tour of Tampa on foot and by bus to see the downtown skyscrapers, gives the look of the city life mix Columbus, GA. Our last  destination was Ybor City, FL.

Ybor City looks like an old town mix of Columbus and Savannah, GA. The city has quiet street with industries and homes sitting along the boulevard, followed by the center of town where there is a long strip of small businesses with and older district feel. 

We checked out some spots and came across this restaurant, from the street we admired the architecture and the stone and tile work all over the building. We took pictures and where dying to go inside to check it out. 

The inside of the restaurant was even nicer than the outside. It was breath-taking, like walking into a foreign city or a Zorro movie set.

Everything inside looked so authentic and dated the restaurant to it's original owners, and on top of the wonderful sights, the food was incredible.

We started with the Imported Sangria, made fresh at our table for our enjoyment. It was so tasty that I got drunk off the first few glasses because our taste buds were dancing so much we didn't even need to order food.

We enjoyed the simple Cuban Black bean soup with such enthusiasm we almost wanted to lick the bowl. The combination of the rice and the onions topping the beans was a delightful pairing. We didn't want to give up the bowl and decided to order the Empanadas de Piccdillo, this was a unique flavor combination of beef, tomatoes, and the hint of sweetness from the raisins and a hint of saltiness from the olives, fried in a pasty half moon shell topped with the most lovely tasting roasted corn and black bean salsa.

I think we were on a roll!

We didn't give up our plates yet, but we were addicted and wanted more tastings. I ordered the Croquetas de Langosta. These were two large battered lobsters with some lobster sauce that I couldn't get enough of

To get my seafood fix, I decided on another seafood; Shrimp and Crabmeat Alcachofas. This looked like a dip of shrimp, but it had crabmeat and artichokes and topped with Romano cheese.

To finish off our night we polished off the sangrias  and we ordered the Catalana, and the Guava turnover Carmita. It was a celebration in our mouths.

Please visit the restaurant for your own unique experience. It was amazing.