The Columbia

Food was amazing I could have made a meal from the soup alone. Caesar salad was good as well. The Cuban bread was warm and crispy on the outside. For the entrees - I am a picky eater but found the Ropa Vieja and my husband had the Red Snapper. Everything was delicious. The decor is nice but it was very loud if trying to converse. Service was excellent and we would definitely recommend.

A twenty minute wait - even with reservations, but we were a party of 12.....so there's that. They have several dining rooms that can accommodate many people. It's all very open and can get quite loud. I ordered "The Salteado". According to their menu's description, This dish was inspired by the Chinese who lived in Cuba in the 19th century, a very hot skillet with extra-virgin olive oil is used to sauté sliced Spanish onions, green peppers, fresh garlic, mushrooms, diced potatoes, chorizo and red wine. It's served with yellow rice. Your choice of chicken, tenderloin tips, or shrimp. I chose shrimp. It was very good. Their red sangria is very good, I would recommend you try it if you like sangria and for dessert their Flan is excellent as is their Guava Turnover "Carmita" (It's a tropical sweet guava and melted sweet cream cheese baked in a soft crispy pastry, dusted with sugar granules, and drizzled with vanilla bean sauce.) It's a WOW dessert!A 2.5 hour dining experience which should have only been 1.5 hours maximum (IMHO). Good food, pleasant service, just beware of the time factor in case you have plans for later.

This is our third Columbia restaurant and it never fails to impress! The photos make the inside look dated but IRL it's a wonderful space curated to transport you to a Colombian mansion to have dinner with a friend (at least that's what it felt like to me). I saw two rooms (one 2 storied) with glass ceilings that brought so much light and ambiance; it was a great atmosphere to have a romantic dinner that wasn't dimly lit. We started with the crab cakes (fantastic!) and the sparkling white sangria, followed by the Grouper Jimmy for my husband who said it was more food than it looked like. He's an eater and didn't finish all of his rice after bread & apps filled us up. Nothing could stop me from finishing every bite of my lobster pasta, though! It was something interesting I'd never had before, sort of like taking a corn tortilla and making enchiladas with the lobster, then drowning that in this amazing cheese sauce. We were sad we didn't have any more bread just to dip in the sauce! We put the sauce on literally everything else we had at the table and it made each thing even better. We will definitely be back another evening!

As you enter this Old World Charm restaurant built in 1905, you become fascinated with the beautiful Latin decor. Not just one level but three levels of dining area plus outdoor seating. The building sits in a charming narrow alleyway as in the olden days with a water fountain. This is the original Columbia restaurant. There are other locations in Florida. You see tourists walking thru the alley sightseeing and trolleys rolling by as you eat outside with cheers from more tourists. You feel the good energy from everyone. A perfect location. Dress code is fashion casual as it is a classy place. Parking is available in a private parking lot next to Columbia. We had reservations there on Christmas Day and it was perfect.I ordered my favorite dish, Cannelloni Langosta-din. It was even better than last time if that's possible. Big, tender chunks of lobster claw meat in their delicious sauce. The best!! My daughter had the Stuffed Shrimp JG-din, which also was tasty but came in second to the Langosta. We also ordered the Cava Sangria Pitcher to wash it all down with. It was so refreshing and good. We shared a slice of Key Lime pie at the end of our Christmas Day celebration. Our server, Ernesto, was professional, attentive and knowledgeable of the menu book. We hope to return again next Christmas.

We've been to most of the Columbia Restaurants and decided that we needed to stop by this one as we happened to be driving by after finding out that our original destination (a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives place in Jacksonville) only took reservations and they would not make accommodations for us even after explaining we were on vacation and our TripleD adventures.Anyway, the service and food were as excellent as any other Columbia Restaurants we'd been to.The Ropa was excellent and a good portion size as well. The Pollo Manchego was fantastic.We started out with the 1905 Salad as usual and were not disappointed.The ambiance of the Columbia Restaurants is beautiful architecture and fits in so naturally with the St. Augustine area.Yes, we had to make a reservation here too but the difference was they were willing to accommodate us.

Great upscale restaurant in St. Augustine's historic district. Make reservation or you won't get into this popular and authentic Spanish restaurant! Great decor, impeccable personalized service and a broad selection of seafood, steaks, chicken and more. I have never heard of a complaint about any dish this restaurant offers and they have a nice drink menu as well as Postres. Free parking for restaurant patrons which really helps given it's imbedded in the heart of the action in old town.At our monthly dinner club event, Ernesto waited on our group of 13 and was spectacular including going above and beyond to ensure every single person was given personalized attention throughout the meal.

A very classy interior but casual. The food was delicious. I started with a Estrella Galicia beer. My spouse had the 1905 salad and we split the Paella A La Valencia. It was really very tasty. Even with two of us sharing, we had enough to take home for another meal. Very good service and great experience.

We made reservations well in advance for this restaurant during our Christmas week trip to St. Augustine, and I'm so glad we did. The place was packed, but the service was still impressively good. As Cubans, we have pretty high standards when it comes to Cuban/Spanish food, so I was a little skeptical, but I was pleasantly surprised. The ambiance was beautiful, with Christmas decorations that perfectly matched the festive spirit of St. Augustine. We sat by the water fountain, and it gave off a charming, old-world Spanish vibe--kind of like something you'd find in a quaint town in Spain with terracotta tiles and narrow, cobblestone streets.The food didn't disappoint. My favorite was the Cannelloni de Langosta--absolutely delicious. My parents ordered the paella, and they were happy with it as well. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations after reading a few mixed reviews, but I ended up being really pleased. And the sangria? Pretty fantastic, too. Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience and a great way to enjoy a meal in St. Augustine!

Beautiful establishment, but I would say a bit of a tourist trap.The waiter that we had was very nice, but the food wasn't great.They give you your own big piece of Cuban bread and butter, loved that! My friend started with the black bean Cuban soup, which is essentially black beans with chopped onion. We had the crab cakes which comes with two large ones, these were pretty good. We had the 1905 salad which they toss table side. It had ham, cheese, tomato, olives and cheese. It's tasty, not necessarily bad but it's just forgettable. It also smelt like wet dog in there. A pretty nice experience but probably wouldn't recommend.

Fabulous! My group and I had a great time dining at The Columbia! The food was delicious and the service was good. We sat on the second floor and there was beautiful decorations throughout the restaurant. Love this place!