Lou & I would take family vacations down to Florida often over the years. (East Coast? West Coast? That is ANOTHER blog post!) We first started going to Columbia Restaurant when our kids were young. I remember sitting around one of those big tables with the kids, deciding what to order. SOOO many options! We were at the Sand Key/Clearwater location and I remember thinking that it was so beautiful. The restaurant is colorful and warm and on the water! We ended up going to this restaurant twice that particular vacation, and left with the Columbia book filled with family history and loads of recipes, along with a ceramic sangria pitcher that I CAREFULLY transported back home!
We have since tried a few different locations – they have places in Ybor City (Tampa), Sarasota, and St. Augustine, among others. Their menus at each location are very similar, and they have a wonderful website that you can check out!
I have recently shared their Arroz con Pollo recipe on my recipe page here on my blog. It’s a family favorite! OH! The waiters at Columbia are AWESOME, by the way. If you order certain menu items, they will prepare those items table-side! Their “Columbia’s Original “1905” Salad®” is fabulous. It’s named for the year that Columbia Restaurant was established, and is made up of crisp iceberg lettuce with julienne of baked ham, natural Swiss cheese, tomato, olives, grated Romano cheese, Lea & Perrins ® Worcestershire sauce and their famous garlic dressing. LOVE it.
They also assemble their famous SANGRIA drinks tableside. WINNING! And pick up something at their gift shop – of course you can pick up a sangria pitcher, a book of recipes, their signature dressings or a piece of ceramic pottery.
So we pretty much gather at a Columbia Restaurant every time we go down to Florida (It helps that 2 of our 3 kids live down in the Sunshine State!). It’s not just a meal – it’s an experience!
If you end up going to Columbia (and please don’t forget to make a reservation!), let me know! I would LOVE to hear about your experience. And I want to know what you EAT there!!
All photos property of Columbia Restaurant
2 Responses
The arroz con pollo is a family favorite. But my personal top dishes are either the “Grouper Jimmy” or the “Cannelloni de Langosta”, Grouper Jimmy is grilled grouper, topped with blue crab meat and a lemon butter sauce. Seafood on top of seafood? Yes please!! The cannelloni is a pasta stuffed with lobster meat, shrimp, scallops and shallots blended with a lobster sherry cream reduction. The whole thing is then covered with a lobster sherry Mornay cheese sauce and pieces of lobster, then baked. Lobster on top of lobster with a lobster sauce??!! How many ways can I say “I CAINT QUIT YOU LOBSTER!”
We visited the Clearwater location last week (while staying in Treasure Island) and you ain’t kiddin! They had me at hello with the decor. I was entranced with all the vintage photos on the wall and the beautiful tile work. Then the drinks and food came… PERFECTION. And impeccable service the whole experience from the hostess stand to the bar to the table. I cannot wait to go back!