We recently dined at Columbia for the first time in a couple years. Unfortunately they now seem to be trading more on reputation than reality. In particular, the service was abysmal from the hostess at the front to the server. Indifference seemed to be a core value. The food was also not to the quality we've come to expect from dining here over the years. It was inconsistently prepared with the roast pork being incredibly dry.

We found this gem while vacationing in central Florida last year and had to go back. My wife ordered the salmon, while I had the grouper and both were fantastic. Our waiter was very friendly and the atmosphere is fantastic.

I badly wanted to pay a visit to this restaurant from the moment I heard it carried faithful, Cuban and Spanish cuisine and for the most part, it didn't disappoint.

Ambiance is great. It has sort of an old Cuban colonial house decor though it wasn't as fancy as I thought it would be (the St. Augustine Lightner museum has spoiled me I guess).

Since I'm currently on a strict diet, I ordered their most popular salad (has a year number, can't recall it) and it was a very good one. It had plenty of lemon and Worcestershire sauce which made it more acidic that my usual salad fare, yet it was tasty enough for me to finish it all.

I also had two tapas (appetizers), one being the spinach-stuffed mushrooms (good, as expected) and the mixed pinchos with chorizo which tasted well but had quite a sad food-to-price ratio.

The tapas' size was the only problem I encountered. For the regular appetizer price of $7-$10 you get a very paltry amount of food. The pinchos had exactly two chicken pieces, two grilled onions (or similar vegetable) and one piece of chorizo (which was stellar, but geez, just one?). You get two mini-pinchos for a regular appetizer price. At least with the mushrooms we got 5 of them.

Come on, how expensive is it to make chicken, vegetable and chorizo pinchos? I would understand if it was something far more pricey and/or rare, but with just one measly piece of chorizo, I had to make sure I chewed it very slowly as to enjoy its fleeting existence.

If they had been more generous with the appetizers, I would have leaned closer to rating this establishment the big 5 stars, but they marked a noticeable, disappointing note. However, I liked the food and ambiance enough to give it another try at some other point. It doesn't hurt that its location is in a Stepford Wives-like portion of Celebration, which practically forces you to walk and relax.

For dessert, you may want to hop over to the nearby ice cream parlor. Yum!

This is one of my favorite restaurants. I grew up in Tampa and as a child went to the original Columbia. Was so excited when they built one in Celebration. Since then I have been to this one many, many times. I seem to order the same thing every time, bowl of Spanish bean soup, 1905 salad and of course some sangria! YUM! My husband loves the chicken and yellow rice. Fun time to visit this restaurant is during the Christmas season when Celebration has all the decorations up and snow!

The Gonzmart family have perfected the combination of food, service and ambiance and delver it to a combination of locals and tourists impecably. The Columbia was suggested by a friend before we left home. Four of us went to dinner on a Wednesday night. My wife had made reservations the week before with very specific instructions, and we were pleasantly surprised that they were followed to the letter. We were given a booth and were delighted with the food and the service. Khalil was our waiter and he patiently answered our questions about the extensive menu, and then prepared sangria, mojitos and salad tableside. A show in itself. I had the paella campesina which was superb and my wife had the shrimp salteado which she loved. Edward the manager came by the table to make sure everything was going well. We topped off a great meal with dessert (try the 3 amigos).
Our experience on Wednesday caused my wife and I to return on Friday by ourselves and were treated to another great dining experience. Edward greeted us at the door like long-lost friends and welcomed us back. Shafik prepared the white sangria and salad with the same panache as Khalil. I had the snapper alicante and she had the stuffed pompano, both of them terrific. We finished with a delightful dish of flan.
You pay up for meals like these, but in my opinion, it was worth every dime. The Columbia feels like the only real thing in the Disney version of a Florida town. This is a place to dress up and be treated like royalty.
One word of caution - the Columbia is not a place for kids that have trooped around a theme park all day. Kids aren't ready for fine dining after Space Mountain or Harry Potter. Bring them to lunch before going to the parks and tell them it's a theme park for adults.

Again - kudos to the Gonzmarts and muchas gracias. I'm warning you, we'll be back.