La Pequeña Colombia

Most of my visits were in the distant past when they were open for breakfast and closed later than they do now. A very busy place that was always packed and they opened a location nearby selling a different menu of items.In the past, service and management was arrogant and some of the servers bordered on moronic. My son who is grown now, had his most horrible and distasteful birthday meal at this location. I will not go into detail but service and food was atrocious that day. They were so busy that they did not have to care about the customer. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!I finally returned after that fateful day at the insistance of a friend who was homesick for Tamales which they make. The place was empty at noon on Thursday to my surprise. Workers waiting by the door with effusive greetings as we entered. A completely different vibe from years ago. The service and management had changed drastically, very friendly, very attentive and helpful. I guess you become nicer when customers stop coming.My friend ordered Tamales and I had the Arroz con Camarones, an old favorite of mine. The food has always been mostly good and it was very good on this visit. My rice was very flavorful and chock full of succulent shrimp. I felt like it was an entirely different experience. I did not try any this visit but they do have some wonderful pastries and desserts that are a must.Hopefully the new trend of being humble and nice will bring the customers back eventually. There are many wonderful dishes to choose from, a nice location and a small bar. I feel like I can approve of this place once again.

I visited tampa in august and decided to try this restaurant but it wasnt the best experience. The service was HORRIBLE and I have a feeling that it was because I'm african american. I hate to say that but I sat at the bar since it was just me (plus the place was slammed so no tables) and the waitress just looked at me and ignored me. Another couple sat at the bar next to me a few mins later and she was all over them. They spoke spanish so maybe thats why? I also noticed other customers giving me weird stares like I didnt belong there. I was literally seconds from getting up & leaving when another waitress came over and gave me a menu. I finally ordered and she had to get another waiter to help because of the language barrier. I'm going to have to learn spanish if I ever come back to tampa!! As far as the food goes, I really enjoyed my dish. I got the "tostones carne y pollo" and the portion was on the smaller size but it was delicious. It didnt come with any sides either but for $13 im not complaining. I wish I remembered the drink I got but that was also good too. The waiter helping my waitress translate recommended it and he was the only staff member that was nice to me. Sad.Overall I give this place a 2/5 because the food was really good but the whole atmosphere was small, cramped and beyond awkward for me. I'm going to be looking for another colombian restaurant if I go back to tampa.

We came here for Valentines Day and overall such a fun ambience! We had great service and our food was amazing. I got the bistek and they cooked the meat so well that I finished my whole plate. Overall recommend coming here for Columbian food!

There is nothing not to love about this place. I forget to check in regularly lol because I start eating lol. The service is spectacular. The food full flavored and delicious and it's a family friendly spot, but like everywhere in the Tampa area, you want to be aware of your surroundings. Plenty of cameras make this place feel safe. We love it and the bakery counter usually costs us an every $20-30, but it's amazing.

My first time ever going to a Colombian restaurant. It seemed awfully similar to Mexican cuisine. I had no idea what I was walking into and when I opened the door for the restaurant I looked left and saw a bar, straight ahead I saw a bakery, and to the right I saw dance club balls flashing light and massive TV screens. Of course soccer was on tv.First up were $6 beef empanadas. I thought they were pretty good. Certainly not as good as Empamama at Armature Works, but certainly above average.Up next I ordered a $38 Argentino Paisa Churrasco. It had a steak, brown beans, avocado, rice, an egg, pork, plantains, and a sausage. The steak was actually alright. There was a smokey/grill taste to the meat which I like. The sausage tasted weird. The pork stuff was inedible. I don't like white rice anywhere. And the beans were ok.For dessert I tried $1.75 Cocadas. It tasted like an almond joy minus the almond and minus the chocolate. Overall, I really enjoyed the coconut taste. Trying to get anyone here to explain menu items to non-Spanish speakers was difficult. They would mostly just repeat the name of the item which means I have no clue what it is.I think this would be a cool spot to get beers and watch soccer.

Our food was amazing and it came out fast! Our service was even better, didn't get her name, beautiful with dark hair and a ponytail. She's great, fast with the food and drinks! It's always clean

We got there at 4 so mad could not get me my favorite sancocho this is soup is so good they sell out by noon everyone goes there ! And everyday ! Forgot to take pics of the arepa was not good and empanadas also has a dulce leche dessert bomb and a guava cheese a coconut pastry the flan was not good either server was bomb got or drinks fast and was good and attentive restaurant was packed !!

The place is nice and has festive atmosphere! Super fun and there are a lot of families. Ordered empanadas and chicharron con arepa. I love Columbia's empanadas but the ones they served me tasted like they were sitting there for 7 hours. No crunch and stale. They didn't skimp on the filling and the filling was great! They also gave it to me with no sauces, which it normally is served with. The arepa was dry and stale. Don't recommend. The chicharron was cooked well though with a nice crunch! Could use some sort of sauce. Service was quick! Our cashier was super sweet!

La Ppequeña ColombiaThe host/water at the door lied in my face. I am on the waitlist 15-20min. 20min go by. I see people go in and not coming out. I go in and he tells me that we still need to wait. When I ask what about the people that I saw come in and not come out, he told me they were on the list. I know that is not true because one of the ladies in that group had asked me if we were waiting. They were not on the waitlist.

Came in during lunch and the place wasn't busy at all. They have booth, table and bar seating. They even have a bakery area so that you can get your sweets before leaving. Which btw I'd recommend getting the chocolate chip cookie!We were with a group, 5 people and service was good. Orders were out in no time. You do get ALOT of food! 3 of us had to get boxes to take our food to go. I had the Arroz con pollo which came with plantains, salad and beans. The beans were quite tasty and even better when poured over the rice and chicken. The chicken was shredded in the rice. Overall good experience and good food.