Has anyone eaten at Columbia REstaurant in Clearwater/Tampa/St Pete?

[DisOrBust]

Help! Anyone ever been to this restaurant???? I would like to go to the location at Tampa BUT is it in a good neighborhood?? Can I take my 4 and 7 yo ???

 

[krhm]

The Colombian was a tradition with my family for many years while we lived in Florida. It has changed and become more upscale in recent years, and the food is still excellent. If your children tend to like spicy or "exotic" foods, if they are willing to try new things, and if they are well-behaved in nicer restaurants, then I think you would be okay to take them. I don't believe this is the type of restaurant with a kids menu and coloring pages. As far as the neighborhood goes, it is not the nicest part of town, but as long as you exercise caution (park close, don't stay late, leave obvious valuables at the hotel, etc) as you would in any larger city, then you should be fine. Try eating earlier in the day, perhaps.

Hope this helps!

 

[DisOrBust]

THANKS!!! Do you think the locations in Clearwater or St. Petesburg are a "little" less upscale? They look more casual then the Tampa location.

 

[MartDM]

My husband and I were going to eat at the Tampa location but, after seeing what a seedy section of town it was in, we opted to eat at the St. Pete's pier location. It's a short but scenic drive from Tampa and there's lot's to see in St. Pete anyway if you wanted to make a day of it. The restaurant is at the top of the "upside down triangle" building on the pier and we had a spectacular view of the sunset and the boat lights on the water after dark.

It is not a "family style" restaurant although, if your kids are well behaved in mature situations, I'm sure they'd be welcomed by the very friendly staff (when we arrived in shorts and golf shirts and inquired whether we were too casual, the staff gave us a warm welcome, told us not to be silly, and sat us immediately - we then saw that although most folks were dressed a bit less casually we weren't the only ones in shorts). They have a latin based menu and most of the food is rather adult (no kiddie menu with mac-n-cheese or cheeseburgers here) so I'm not sure how your kids would like it if they aren't used to that or aren't adventurous eaters. Check it out here: http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/menu.html

My husband and I absolutely loved our meal there. The food was phenomenal (especially the paella) and the view was unbeatable. I highly recommend it & we'll be back next time we're in St. Pete.