Dinning Out in St. Petersburg, Florida?

The Columbia Restaurant
NE 800 2nd Avenue
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

If you ever visit The Pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, be sure to eat at The Columbia Restaurant. It is located on the 4th floor, and has a 360° view of Tampa Bay. This is another restaurant where you get to combine excellent food, while enjoying a beautiful view. They use their family recipes to prepare delicious Spanish-Cuban dishes, made from chicken, beef, pork and seafood.. The Columbia is open seven days a week and Thanksgiving too.

Their lunch and dinner menus are beyond description. It doesn’t matter if it’s savory Paella A la Valencia or Red Snapper Alicante, you’re pallet will be thrilled. I’ve had their chicken and yellow rice, which has one quarter chicken baked with yellow rice, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, spices and virgin olive oil. This dish is absolutely marvelous. It was seasoned perfectly and the chicken was moist and tender.

If chicken isn’t your style, you can sample the Roast Pork Loin A La Cubana. This is a dish of roast pork slices with a marinade, that is served with black beans, rice and plantanos. They also have Ropa Vieja, which is shredded beef, sauteed with onions, green peppers and tomatoes, and is served with white rice.

There menu is full of Spanish-Cuban dishes that you are sure to enjoy, and they don’t skimp on the portions either. They also serve soups and salads. Their Spanish Bean Soup and Cuban Black Bean Soup are two dishes you have to have, if you are a bean lover, and their 1905 Salad is huge, delicious and made from a 100 year old family recipe.

The desserts are simply out-of-this-world. I love their Flan which is a caramel egg custard. But they also have Godiva Chocolate Cake, Key Lime Pie and Crema Catalana which is Spanish cream topped with crystalized caramel. The beverages range from Sangria to coffee to sodas to beer, to Spanish and American wines.