The original Columbia Restaurant, located in the historic Ybor City neighborhood in Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, is the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States and one of the largest (with 1,700 seats in 15 dining rooms taking up 52,000 ft²) in the world. Founded in 1905 in, the landmark is still owned by the Hernandez/Gonzmart family and serves Spanish

Spanish cuisine

Spanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes, which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep maritime roots...

 and Cuban cuisine

Cuban cuisine

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences...

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In June 2009, the Columbia Restaurant was selected as one of the 25 iconic restaurants of the Tampa-St.Petersburg area

Tampa Bay Area

The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...

 by Laura Reily, the food critic of the St. Petersburg Times

St. Petersburg Times

The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...

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