500 stars for this Columbian/Dominican restaurant! No, that's not a typo. The food is just THAT…read moregood! Open just two years, the hours are Mon & Tues 11:30 AM to 7 PM; Thurs/Fri/Sat 11:30 AM to 9 PM; & Sunday 11:30 AM to 5 PM. The restaurant is closed on Wed. A big fan of Oxtail, the tender Oxtail (Rabo Encendido Al Vino) @ $19.95 that arrived @ our table was soaking in a bath of special wine sauce. It was the BEST Oxtail I've EVER TASTED. I cannot wait to return for a second helping! The two sides I selected (rice & pinto beans) were unbelievably delicious-- so flavorful (see pic). The "Iconic Columbian Dish," which is Bandeja Paisa, @ $18.95 was also EXCELLENT. You MUST SEE THE PHOTO! It was a HUGE entree that consisted of bacon, grilled steak, rice, beans, fried egg, pork rind, chorizo, maduro, arepa, & avocado. (The steak was especially tender & delicious.) Be prepared to take home lots of leftovers! The Fried Calamari (Calamares) appetizer @ $10.95 was very good-- not at all chewy. The Yuca Fries included in it were GREAT, & the Sweet Plantains side was good. We are excited to Return & Return & Return so we can once again order the sides of rice & beans; try the Arepa Con Queso appetizer; the Stewed Goat; Milanesa Pork Loin; Grilled Skirt Steak; Yellow Rice w/ Chicken; & one or more of the five delicious-sounding Monfongos (a Puerto Rican plantain dish). Oh, & of course once again enjoy more Oxtail & the Iconic Columbian Dish! There are three desserts on the menu: Tres Leches; Flan de Leche; & Flan de Maracuya @ $4 to $4.50. Beverages include Columbian & American sodas; juices; Lemonade; Iced Tea; Bottled Water; 5 Coffees; 1 Tea; & Pony Malta (a nonalcoholic energy drink). There are DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS that range from $9.95 to $12.50. They include soup on Mon, Tues, Sat, & Sun; Stewed Chicken on Thurs; & Sautéed Beef/Chicken on Fri. (Tripe is the Sunday soup.) The dining room holds 10 tables; it was very clean. The interior decor is casual & comfortable, & the clientele is mainly from Columbia & Puerto Rico (according to Manager Fabian). We were the only Caucasians seated here @ the time. I am optimistic that once word speads about the quality of the food, more diners will choose to eat here. It's truly a SUPERIOR restaurant. Although the chef gets a loud round of applause for his immense talent, Manager Fabian was also impressive! I had never before seen a restaurant manager work so hard beside his staff. He was front & center assisting w/ every aspect of the business. He also took the time to approach every table to assure there were no customer concerns. Amazed w/ our food, we spoke w/ him at least three times. He answered our menu questions & checked on our service. Just an incredible person to manage a restaurant! There's no question we'll return! Five days later I finished my Oxtail w/ rice & beans. It all tasted just as DELICIOUS on Day 5 as it did the day I ordered it. That speaks VOLUMES!

The chicken was very good but I would not order the doughnuts and salad again. It was takeout so…read morecan't comment on service and ambiance.

My husband and I stopped in one weekday afternoon because we were lookin for something different…read more Columbian sounded great, so we tried this place we had heard of. Such a tiny place but it is BURSTING with flavor!! Without a doubt some of the best food I had eaten in a very long time. You have to really pay attention to find it off Hwy 60 as this place is tucked away pretty well on Montclair between Lithia Pinecrest and Bryan Rd. The owner was super duper sweet and suggested this dish for us to share. I would have enjoyed the carne asada if I could cut it but we just got plasticware. Thats really the only negative thing I have to say. La Cocina de Cris is great, the food is better than great, and we can't wait to go back!! I think I can still feel my tongue dancing from all the flavors. :)

Came here for lunch. It's a cute little family owned business. The people who worked there are kind…read moreand the food was EXCELLENT! Very authentic and you could tell it's homemade. Will be coming back

Delicious Latin inspired menu in the Brandon/Tampa area. Fast service and great menu!read more

My husband and I like this place. It has very good food and the wait staff always nice and…read moreaccommodating.

Wow can't say enough. My mom had been here a little over a year before and had me spend a year…read moretrying to find the place because she could not remember the name and we aren't from here. Finally a week before her birthday we found it. The staff had changed but from what she said they were amazing the last time but are even better now and to be honest that says a lot because she is harder to please then me. I have to agree they were on point. Truly impressed. Now the food completely blown away. So so good and greatly priced. Freshly made to order. I wish I lived closer. I will be coming back soon

Breaded chicken, black beans and yellow rice, plantains, and fried yucca. Sooooo Goood!! Will drive…read moreback up from Sarasota for it.

This had all the promise in the world, and unfortunately, it felt very short. I went out with a…read morefriend to test the restaurant after a long afternoon and some serious hunger. So after I ordered the meal I can tell that 2 things went wrong. The side of bbq sauce I requested was missing and my partner asked for brown rice and instead got white rice. So we ordered the empanada and that was deliciously good. Full of flavor. I got the toston with pork and the disappointing part about this was the fact that the toston was not fully fried was disappointing. There's parts that were in the middle of the stone that weren't crispy and I can tell just by the fact that I was cutting into it too easily. Even worse than the rice bowl. When you first start eating it it's pretty good because it's warm. For whatever odd reason it is, it tends to lose its temperature very very fast. It was way too soon and then it started to taste very bland in flavor. I couldn't even eat the rest we ended up throwing it out. I wouldn't come back because it's definitely not in the area that I live in. But even worse than that I've definitely been to other Latin bowl like restaurants that ha

The yuca balls are enough of a reason to come here!!! They are the perfect amount of crispy, soft…read moreand cheesy!!! I definitely have to try more from this spot!

I didn't know about this place until my Yelp friend Tim wrote an awesome detailed review about it…read more It took me a while to try it, but I finally did last year. He was very right. Naida makes some tasty Cuban sandwiches here for a good price. The star of the sandwich is Naida's roast pork. It's well seasoned and it totally makes this sandwich shine. I usually get it with everything, but I keep forgetting that they'll include onions if you ask for it "all the way." It's good with or without it, but I prefer it without. Just keep that in mind and be specific if you don't want onions on your sandwich. Naida also makes the best café con leche. I sometimes go there just for Cuban toast and that awesome coffee. It gives me energy! They have a small hot bar area of daily offerings with some kind of rice and beans. It may change daily. I haven't ordered a platter, but I will one day. They do have a tasty arroz con salchichas side item. My mom used to make it sometimes with those little canned Vienna sausages. Yeah, it's a comfort thing for me. They also make wonderful breakfast sandwiches and ham croquettes. El Cuba Cafe is hidden inside of a Circle K convenience store on Bell Shoals Road. It's directly across the street from Publix at Bloomingdale Square. I know it has Cuba in the name, but their is a lot of Puerto Rican representation here. That may also be why I'm so fond of it. It's also super convenient, and the service is great. I usually drive in the back way to avoid all the construction nearby. There's no dining area. You just order your meal and take it with you. It's a no frills kind of place. A real hidden gem!

Great Cuban Sandwiches. Fast Service. Felt confused when I pulled up the lot, but it's inside the…read moreCircle K.

The best bakery I've been to and one of the best restaurants. Only problem I have with them is not…read moreenough empanadas. Constantly buy their gluten-free stuff for my friend with wheat allergies. Everyone is friendly and I've never experienced trouble with other customers. Love to hang around inside or outside.

Absolutely, the best bakery. Not only in the Valrico-Brandon area, but Florida in general…read more The environment is always very lively here, and the food is delicious. I love spending my time viewing all the beautiful pastries in the glass case while I wait for, quite honestly, the best breakfast sandwich I've ever had to be prepared. Moreno's will always have my business. Hot, fresh, food: Made with love. Not to mention the orange juice only has one ingredient.

My review is from DD perspective. I order from here a lot! Their food quality is superb! Love their…read moremofongo n Mangu options. The steak is real good n my favorite is their sancocho! It's always delicious! Love the Tres golpe best! Comes with mangu, 2 fried eggs, sausages and two large fried cheese slices. I need to show up in person one day. I cant believe is so close to me though, hiding behind walgreens in parsons.

It's so nice to have the feeling of an NY bodega! All the things you need to cook with including…read morefresh avocados (when you can get them before they run out!) And to top it off, the delicious hot food for a pretty low price! They saved my behind when I was stuck in the hospital during the hurricane. I appreciated having a hot meal during such crazy times!