Allow me to reiterate what has been said over and over in the previous reviews. Awesome food, service, and atmosphere! 5/5 in all aspects. The Ropa Vieja was delicious, packed with tons of flavor. The Palomilla steak was flavorful and tender. Overall, a great dining experience and would definitely recommend going one night if you're trying to break away from the standard seafood frenzy. Loved it! read more

The Columbia - Palomilla - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

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I hate to write this but what a missed opportunity. This place is beautiful, the street, the history, the building, all perfect to deliver a great dinning experience but somehow they decided to be mediocre. It is probably the worst compliment to say that the bread was the best part of the dinning experience. Let's start with the roasted pork.....it is a hoax! They did not roasted a pig, instead, they presents theirs costumers with a sliced run of the mill/Publix fridge pork tenderloin cut dressed in a terrible sauce....if you ever had roasted pork and order this dish here you will want to cry. How can you be that lazy as a chef or cook (I don't think that kitchen deserves a chef name on anyones uniform). The Ropa Vieja, literally you have to intentionally want to ruin this dish, my grandmother makes one that people dies, it takes her 30 minutes, all from scratch and nothing more delicious. Here they somehow ruined it. The meet was seasoned poorly, swimming in red tomato paste based sauce, sour (not sure if intentional). My wife took a bite of my grandmothers order and had to spit it out (seriously....and we are the kind of people that really try to make folks feel good and be respectful). I ordered the Snapper "Adelina" (I think), the fish itself was ok, nothing to write home about, BASIC as it comes. It came with yellow rice and I would bet an arm to say that they cook toons of it and use it indistintively for Paella or as a separate yellow rice, the taste was decent, but it was a paste of rice and not rice, watery and mushy. My son had the palomilla steak and almost cried....dry, chewy, terrible. Rice and beans was mediocre at best. The sweet plantains was the only decent thing (and the Cuban bread). I travelled hours to St. Agustin, brought my mother and grandmother, 3 kids and my wife. I had decent reviews for this place and a couple of recommendations but Jesus....what a terrible disappointment. BTW: drinks are mediocre as well. Folks/visitors, please do not think this is good Latin food, Spanish food or Cuban food. This is NOTHING like the real Latin food. This was made for profit, by lazy tourist trap folks that are not proud of the craft of cooking. Be ashame. Do better. PS: Price is decent (but go for Pizza instead if the price is what lures you in) read more

Great experience and service. The food was good (not great). There are places that are very noisy but part of the restaurant is quiet.

The service was excellent! The server was very knowledgeable about the menu and super attentive! She made sure that our experience was a positive one and we were very appreciative when there was a minor issue with a beverage we ordered she rectified the problem without skipping a beat!! read more

I came here on vacation with my family. I got the Chicken Mojo Sandwich served with plantain chips. My uncle got the 1/2 and 1/2 and chose a cup of the Spanish bean soup and the 1905 salad. My aunt got the 1/2 and 1/2 with the Cuban sandwich and the 1905 salad. The 1905 salad is made at your table by the waiter. He mixes the dressing in and Worcester sauce then mixes everything together. That's a really interesting way to make the salad. They both loved the salad and their meals. They said the salad was amazing. He loved the soup and she loved her sandwich. I also loved my sandwich. I would recommend it. The chips were very good. read more

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Met family at the restaurant to have an early dinner. Beautiful place and polite service. Quiet environment but still family friendly.

I ate the chicken paella . However you spell it. The chicken was normal texture. Chicken wasn't really tendered. I enjoyed the fresh baked break. The waiting Part I can't really complain because we had a party about 15 people. It was a wedding rehearsal. My friend ordered the shrimp version of paella. My sister in law just ordered an appetizer that has about 5 scallops. It was cooked well. Everyone drinks was over loaded with shots. My family all agreed. Pretty much every bar was too strong. I only finished half the drinks. The most decent drink was the one that look like a mojito. read more

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We should have known from the time the hostess rudely said our table for our large party was finally ready that we weren't off to a great start. The area was quite busy with Night of Lights, but I don't believe that excuses the experience we had. Once we were seated we were quickly brought water and delicious bread and butter, but unfortunately that seemed to be the high for the night. After waiting an hour and a half for our food, the first wave of meals were delivered. Unfortunately one additional meal and all tapas were missing and some time later they arrived. Additionally only one of the six meals that was supposed to come with yellow rice did, while the others had white rice. This was a huge disappointment as many had planned than meal choice around the yellow rice and it was not communicated to us that the kitchen was out until we questioned it when the food arrived. It obviously is not the waitress' fault, but lack of communication surrounding timing for our meals and missing items is unacceptable, unfortunately those weren't the only issues. Unfortunately, no one at the table thought their meal was very good, from the ropa vieja,to the stuffed shrimp, to the croquettes and crab cakes - under cooked, to the flavorless calamari. One positive note came on the empanada tapa. We were certainly disappointed as we were celebrating a birthday and many at our table had dined at previous locations with an amazing experience. read more

We have tried to eat here several times but the wait has always been too long. We walked in to a half empty restaurant today. When I told the guy how many were in our party his response was, "we're fully booked today." He was very snooty and did not want us in the restaurant. So if the owner or manager is reading this, please give your hostess some lessons on manners. His attitude made me never want to try to eat here again. So we went to our favorite place, Harry's and had another fantastic meal. read more

Call for reservations early. Gets very busy on weekends. Food and service is excellent. If you go you must try their sangria. We got a pitcher and loved it! read more

Not necessarily a place I think you have to go to if you are visiting St Augustine. Empanada was good but the rest of the food just felt average to me. Environment was unique being a Columbia themed restaurant. read more

Beautiful atmosphere, amazing food and great service. I've only been once so I can't give it a 5 yet but if after a few visits it keeps up the same level of quality service and food, I will upgrade it to a 5 . read more

Food was ok.... Not the greatest but the atmosphere and customer service was good. I don't think it's worth the money.

Can I just only do a review on the bread pudding?!?! Tonight for the first time in about 10 visits in my lifetime (I live in Washington state so I only come here when I visit my grandparents) I had the bread pudding. LET ME BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THAT YOU COULD JUST EAT THIS AND NOTHING ELSE AND BE SATISFIED. From the taste to the firmness of the bread pudding, it HAS IT ALL. The taste is complex with the dairy, the white chocolate and the milk chocolate shavings, then to top it off... RUM! Ok I know I'm using way too many caps but I need to get this across to you... you HAVE to order the bread pudding. I don't care if you are stuffed to the brim from dinner, I don't care if a button from your jeans is popping off, I don't even care if you gained 10 lbs since sitting down from dinner an hour ago, you need this bread pudding in your life! I'm saying this after I had the creme brûlée--and I love creme brûlée--someone else ordered the bread pudding and I immediately regretted ordering and eating the whole thing of creme brûlée. I wish I had more room to help them eat the huge serving of bread pudding. Some one else in our party HATES bread pudding hand she absolutely loved it! Now, I think I may have conveyed how good this bread pudding is to you, but now you'll just have to see for yourself. Ball is in your court. As for everything else--Customer service is always top notch. Food is tasty. Tonight for the first time the sangria (ordered by the glass) was weak and watery so we informed them and they took it back and let us re-order for the pitcher that they mix everything table side. Love that they do some of the food preparation table side, offers a show with dinner. I always make a point to eat here anytime I'm in the area. read more

The Columbia - White chocolate bread pudding is the jam - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

I love this for Cuban food, but they outdid themselves for Thanksgiving as well. You can also get a good steak here. read more

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The servers were short, and it seemed as though they were irritated when asking for something. We were seated quickly with reservation. The only thing that we ordered that was not completely bland was calamari, which was fresh and crispy. The sauce that came with it was the best of the appetizer. The Definitely not impressed with this restaurant and would not eat here again. The acoustics in the place is very overstimulating. If you are a person who gets overstimulated easily. This is not the place for you, the place is very beautiful and the front desk staff was kind. I told the manager that I did not like the steak and that it was very bland and over cooked. He offered to bring me another steak but we were already headed out the door. He did not offer a discount or to take the steak off. Over prices, over promised and under delivered. read more

Very delicious food! I haven't stop talking about it since we left. I recommended it to a few people I chatted with. We did have to make a reservation as they were reservation only. Staff were very friendly and informative if we had food questions. read more

Extremely long wait times, cold food, and $30 for chicken and rice? Tom O. must be an owner of the restaurant or something because the only universe where this place deserves a 5-star review is one where Thanos's snap destroyed every other restaurant on Earth. read more

beautiful decor inside and professional service. make a reservation if you can. came for the tapas and ate em too quick to photograph them all, we did snap a picture of the mussels though. we had the scalllops and queso fundido tapas (2 seafood and 1 other tapas special $39). scallops were cook perfectly and queso fundido was a delicious braised tomato dish w fresh cheese melted on top. appetizers came w complimentary cuban bread, soft but not warm. two of us shared to 1905 salad (like an elevated club salad) and paella. super salty rich paella w generous seafood, but slightly over cooked. definitely coming back for more tapas and drinks!!! read more

The Columbia - sangria blanco and mango tango frozen cocktail (very strong!) delicious still water - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

Brittany did a great job , she handled a. Huge party all by herself and kept her cool, was calm and collective . She was patient with us and was on top of our drinks and food. Served us all without any help which was amazing . Will be coming again if I can only get HER service . read more

This place has been a favorite of mine for years. I have been to multiple locations but the paella here is unmatched. I used to live in Orlando and drove up with family or friends for special occasions or even just for a Saturday to eat and walk around town. I love their warm Cuban bread and butter. Very nice and family friendly environment. I even celebrated a birthday here before, and it is always such a nice experience. It is always a must when I'm in St. Augustine. recommend making a reservation every time if you don't want to wait, especially during holidays and weekends, the place is usually packed. read more

It is our first visit and it was a bit of a let down. We made reservations days in advance, the earliest available for a party of four was at 9:00pm and the last seating is at 9:45pm, I took the 9:00pm. The restaurant was very busy when we arrived, we were all on time and our table was ready. Quick apology, I didn't take pictures of the food as I felt a bit rushed. We ordered four tapas to share, mussels with chorizo (delish), seafood croquetas (delish), tetilla cheese fondue (eh where's the cheese?), pollo bravo (so so). Time for the entrees, one entree was sent back because it was inedibly cold, another was also cold but the guy was so hungry he ate it cold, mine was warm and decent but nothing to brag about, the fourth person ordered an appetizer. Would we go back? Yes, they're worth another try, could have been an off night as it was December 23 and late. Next time I promise to post pictures! read more

The Columbia - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

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The place over all has an amazing ambiance. The cocktails are pretty generic but they are still very tasty ( you can't go wrong with the sangria or the mojito!!) I may have shed a happy tear tear from trying the cannelloni. (Highly recommend) the server Tessa was amazing and very friendly. Highly recommend trying at least once if you're in the area! read more

Nothing terrible but absolutely nothing creative or outstanding. The owners Chardonnay was really awful . Too expensive for what you get. read more

I love this place. Have been here many times. From paella to steak this is consistently a great meal. I come for the sangria and tonight almost finished a full pitcher myself. Ordered the trio of tapas - you may choose 3 with either 1 seafood & 2 regular or 2 seafood & 1 regular. The later is $34 and we had chicken croquettes, shrimp casserole and baked scallops. All were fantastic! I had black bean soup which is not at all a soup but a small bowl of rice layered under black beans & topped with a little raw onion. SO yummy! I love black beans and have come close to getting it right at home but these = no clean up! Let's not forget the bread! And whipped butter- heaven! We had Ashley (?) who stated she'd been there 10 years. A lovely server who made my sangria table side and also made 6 salads and a flaming steak for nearby tables - also table side prep. That's tough on a server and makes it less enjoyable for the other tables needing a drink, a fork, etc. we liked watching. The section was very tight making it hard for the server to navigate between chairs. A small issue and moreso for her than the guest. No room for dessert but I know the flan and bread pudding are both excellent and the coffee... ohhh the coffee! Highly recommend!! read more

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I've eaten here so many times and was never disappointed until today. Perhaps the lack of employees has caught up with The Columbia. We were seated promptly for our 11:30 reservation and we were seated in the lovely main dining room. We ordered a Cuban Tamal as a starter and it arrived completely raw; it was inedible and was sent back. Our server got orders wrong and did go on a bit too long that the she had brought what we had ordered... until she consulted her order book. Eventually we got what we ordered and it was not exceptional. The signature salad was drenched in dressing and the black bean soup was just luke-warm. But you can always count on the loaf of hot Cuban bread to be perfect and it was. We will likely wait awhile before returning. read more

This 114 year old Spanish/Columbian restaurant was absolutely fantastic! We got a reservation for the four of us an hour or so beforehand. When we got there at 7:30, the wait time for the people without reservations was about 25 minutes. The decorations were very nice and welcoming. Our waitress, Danica, gave us great recommendations on what and how much to order, and she was quite cheerful to talk to. The service was wonderful all around. We started off with Danica bringing us warm and wonderful bread with whipped butter. Then we started our order with the hearts of palm salad. The salad was a great contrast to the 5 tapas we ordered. We got the fried cauliflower, and it was so amazing and flavorful. We also ordered the lobster croquettes tapas, and they were huge and so, so delicious! The empanadas and calamari tapas were also very tasty! The last appetizer we ordered was the stuffed mushrooms, and they were spectacular! We ended up only getting one main course after ordering so many tapas, and we chose the a chicken dish. It was lightly breaded with perfect sweet and savory seasoning and it came with fresh vegetables and rice. For dessert, it happened to slip that it was my birthday, and four waiters came over with flan that had a candle in it, and they all sang happy birthday in Spanish!! The flan was amazing! It was perfectly baked all the way through and the caramel had a nice strong flavor. We also ordered the churros with chocolate, caramel, and guava dipping sauces. They were totally awesome! The only thing I may note is that if you are looking for a big dessert, the sauces would last two orders of churros. All in all, we highly recommend this restaurant and we would gladly go back!! The food was spectacular!!! read more

Ok but not impressed Pricy and mediocre food The decor is nice but I don't see myself going back . Sadly I had the same impression in Tampa read more

Click to read the captions that's all you'll need to know about this restaurant. Super Duper delicious read more

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We were visiting from out of town and were able to get a seat right away (monday afternoon). their sangrias are wonderful and the staff is very attentive. they are also very accommodating when eating vegan- i had their vegetarian paella which was wonderful. the cuban bread they give out is great too! the ambiance is beautiful & overall a great place if you're looking to get authentic spanish food :) read more

The Columbia - vegetarian paella - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

Paella, can you say that. Great, fantastic. Beautiful restaurant. Very Spanish. Food is to die for. Service is great. Drinks are flowing. Prices, not bad. Will be back. Frank G read more

We have been to Saint Augustine and Saint Armands locations. Each time we come here it's a treat. We love the Spanish bean soup! We get it every time. The service is always good. We always enjoy it here. read more

We met 2 other couples for dinner and had a wonderful time. We started with a pitcher of Sangria Cava which used Jaume Serra champagne which is one of my favorites. It was delicious. I had a tapas trio of lobster flatbread, pork riblets and stuffed mushrooms. The flatbread was the highlight of my meal. Perfectly cooked and seasoned it was delicious. The pork ribs were very dry but that was my fault because I didn't realize they were served in a vinegary sauce. Once I saw that they were great. The lowlight was the stuffed mushrooms. They were stuffed with spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese and garlic. They were very bland and didn't really taste of the garlic. They could have used some chorizo or bacon to give them a sharper flavor and a little texture. When Danica (our server) suggested them she asked if I liked mushrooms and I have to agree with her they were very mushroomy. My wife had the pompano in papilla. Pompano stuffed with shrimp and crab and baked in a paper bag. She said it was delicious and from my bite it was cooked perfectly light and flaky. She also had a side of asparagus which was gone before I could get a taste. They must have been great. One couple had the empenadas which she loved, her husband had pork loin which had a hole drilled through it and stuffed with chorizo. There wasn't much left on his plate when he was through but gravy. The third wife had grilled red snapper which was too large to finish. Perfectly cooked too. I'm unsure what the last person had as he was on the far end of the table. All-in-all a wonderful meal excepting the mushrooms. Worth the 45m drive from Jacksonville. read more

We attempted to have dinner today, January 23rd. The service was awful, we were waiting just for the tea for 25 minutes. The server was totally inattentive. We decided to leave and before that asked to see a manager. After 10 min the manager was found. He didn't even think to apologize. All he said: I will talk to the waiter. I don't think we will ever visit this place again. For the level of promotion they have and prices they charge this is absolutely unacceptable. read more

We have been coming here for over 15 years now and consider Columbia a safe fall back if we don't want to try something new in St Augustine. The food has been consistently good over the years but the service has ranged from fabulous to poor. That is why I really can't give them more than 3 stars. Poor service can make the best meal unsatisfying and that is what we had again on our most recent visit. It took a very long time to be greeted, get our drinks, check back that our dishes came out OK and even get our check. But on to what is good. The red sangria is excellent - not too sweet (miss the bull though). I am not a sangria person and don't have it elsewhere - but we do split a pitcher (or two!) here. The seafood is also excellent. I highly recommend the Paella Marinera, Croquetas de Langosta, Pompano "Lido Key" and Grouper "Jimmy" - all excellent dishes. read more

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I love this place. And I got one of the best services ever. They should promote Rafael as a manager! He was so courteous, nice, humble, everything you want in a server. I hope the manager sees this. The food was delicious I ordered the grilled mahi mahi. This is one of my favorite rest in St. Aug. read more

The Columbia - Spanish Near Me - St Augustine, Florida

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I would highly recommended reservations here. I hopped onto an app and did so for a late dinner. The inside is beautiful, with an open style seating. High ceilings and beautiful, colorful tiles. For starters, they served crispy, fresh bread with butter. Ahh. Heaven. I had red Sangria, which packed a punch. It tasted like my family's recipe from Spain. I had Roast Pork "a la Cubana", which was pork loin with black beans, white rice, yuca, and plantains. Onions come over the beans, so use caution of you don't like onions. For dessert, I had key lime pie. This wasn't your ordinary pie. This was a cloud on a plate. So light and fresh. You have to order this. Service was exceptional. I will be back. read more

It's an absolutely beautiful restaurant. Service was impeccable. Our server (girl with bold colorful eyeshadow) was on top of all of her tables, making sure everyone had what they needed/wanted. The food is mediocre, just like the Tampa location. I ordered a cuban dish that had pork. The pork looked like it came from a cat food can, it didn't taste great either. But the flan dessert was AMAZING! I'd go back just for the Flan. read more

Excellent atmosphere staff is amazing great food. In the heart of St Augustine! A must!

Only way to describe our experience there is WORLD CLASS SERVICE. What started out as a reservation for 10 grew to more than 20. They were accommodating every step of the way. We were initially welcomed/greeted by several staff members including the manager. They couldn't have been any nicer. Our table was ready on time and we were all happily seated. The service and the food were outstanding, and we were all amazed at how well the 2 servers handled everything with such efficiency and always with a smile and friendly personalities. Everyone in our group walked away raving about our dining experience and I couldn't agree more. The Columbia Restaurant is a place not to be missed if you're looking for great service and a great meal. read more