Our son who lives in the area was interested in trying this place with us and we were definitely intrigued – as not only do we like trying new things, but what we read about this place sounded great! The smaller plate concept is perfect for me, as I really enjoy trying a few bites of multiple different things and this format enabled all of us to sample a variety of dishes on the menu.
I’m almost 4 months behind in getting these pictures posted and getting the review written…but the positive memories of everything that we tasted are still pretty strong. Since the list of the dishes we ordered and tried is quite lengthy and there wasn’t a single one of them that we didn’t like, I’ll just list everything that we ordered here and you can find pictures of each below as well as in the embedded video.
For our dinner we had the following (see the order form we filled out at the restaurant below as well as a QR code to see pictures of all of their menu items in the pictures below):
Spicy Cucumber Salad
Soup Dumpling w/ Pork (6)
Pan Fired Bao Bites (8)
Dan Dan Noodle
Braised Beef Noodle Soup
Fried Rice (Chicken)
Beef Pancake Roll
Zen Chili Wontons (6)
Signature Xlb Sampler (6)
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While quality food might not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a Diner, I found The Wooden Spoon to be a solid stop for brunch. We were looking for a reasonable yet good place for a hearty brunch between Mass and the Lightning Stadium Series game – and that is this place fit the bill perfectly!
The three of us ordered the Triple Decker Reuben (see picture), Two Eggs Your Way (see picture) and Buffalo Chicken Wrap (see picture). As we usually do in the family, we shared tastes of each of our dishes and found each of them to be very good – definitely above average. I especially liked the sweet potato fries and the sauce that was served with the Reuben.
If you are looking for a hearty meal and a good value, you won’t go wrong at The Wooden Spoon in Riverview.
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We stopped in here for a quick drink at the bar with friends while waiting for our table at Columbia on a previous trip and immediately wanted to come back to try it for dinner. We were able to do it tonight and share the experience with our son who lives in the area. Wow – this definitely rises to the top tier of restaurants in the area that we would love to go back to on a future trip!
Absolutely everything that we ordered was top-notch quality and delicious! We started by sharing the Arancini al Burro (see picture) along with the Toasted Gnocchi (see picture). Both looked great on the plate and were even better once dipped heavily in the sauce and tasted!
For our main courses, my wife ordered the Casarecce “Rinaldi” (see picture) and my son and I shared the Veal Scaloppine Milanesa (see picture) with 3 added Large Meatballs (see picture). Richard, our server, recommended the additional meatballs and it was a great call. As we always do, we shared tastes of all of the dishes and all of us raved about all of them
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While still one of our favorite places to go when we visit our son in Tampa, we honestly thought that the quality of the food has slipped a little since our last few visits. Several in our party of 5 commented about the temperature of their food being a little on the cool side.
Our table ordered a variety of dishes (all pictures below): Water Works Meatloaf, SEafood Risotto, Aji Amarillo Ceviche, Barbacoa Shrimp, Water Works Wedge and Fire Roasted Chicken. With the exception of the Ceviche, all of the plates were really liked by each with the caveat as mentioned above (several were barely warm).
I’ll just say beware of the Ceviche, as it is not your typical ceviche – I’ve eaten a lot of ceviche and everything about this is different (texture, flavor, sauce vs. juice, etc.). It likely is a different style that I’m just not familiar with, but make sure you know what you are getting before you order it, as it was something that I will definitely never order again.
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1/12/2023
Our son lives in Tampa and recommended this place for dinner during our visit – and boy is it ever a gem! It is situated almost right next to the Armature Works on the river in North Tampa and is such a beautiful area to see before you even go inside. Once seated, Shelby our server introduced herself and she was awesome – great recommendations and information on all of our questions.
I started with a Honeymoon Strawberry Heffe (see picture) and it was great. For an appetizer, we ordered the Gator Tail (see picture) and while we enjoyed trying gator, we found it a bit tough to our liking.
For our main course, we ordered Water Works Meatloaf (see picture), 8oz Flank Steak (see picture) and Seafood Risotto (see picture). We found all of them very good – with the Seafood Risotto being the favorite and the green beans being very good as a side. Most importantly was our dessert…if you go you HAVE to finish with a bowl of Espresso Chocolate Swirl ice cream (see picture). It is SO good – everyone at the table loved it!
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This is the 3rd Columbian Restaurant that we’ve been to now on various visits to our son, with our first being the Riverwalk and the next Clearwater. We had been looking forward to this location as we heard that it was the original location and boy was it impressive! Our waiter shared with us that there are a total of 13 different dining rooms.
We decided to start the experience with a Mojito Pitcher (see waiter making it by our table), as we’ve had it before and really enjoyed it – and this time was no different! Similarly, we then shared a large 1905 Salad (also made by the table – see picture), as you haven’t really been at Columbia if you didn’t have the 1905 Salad!
For our meals, my wife ordered Paella a La Valenciana (see picture) and I ordered the Fideua Mariscos (see picture) on the server’s recommendation. We both really enjoyed our dishes as well as the samples that we had of each others – so will highly recommend them both. The Fideua Mariscos did indeed have a good kick with the spicy sauce it was served in – making it just perfect to eat!
And when you have 4 or more at the table, it is nearly impossible to pass up a dessert to share – after all, you each only have to have a couple of bites, right? Staying true to my sweet tooth, we shared an order of Pound Cake with ice cream (see picture)…and of course, it was delicious!
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We were visiting our son in Riverview and it was a Friday night during Lent…so seemed like the perfect place to eat dinner! The exterior definitely catches your eye as you drive up…even if it was just a bit over the top. The interior was a similar vibe – bit of a rough-sawn lumber, fresh off the wharf feel with license plates from many States as well as other countries all over the walls.
My wife started with a Yuengling, since for whatever reason, we can’t buy them in an Iowa liquor store. Followed by 6 raw Oysters on the Half Shell (see picture). For our dinner, we ordered the S2 Just a Pinch combination boil (see picture). While we enjoyed the combination, we struggled a bit with the crawfish, so would probably order our own combination without crawfish next time.
Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and the experience. Everything was solid and above average, yet nothing stood out in particular as being outstanding other than maybe the Value, thus justifying the 5* rating for it.
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My Dad was up for pizza for dinner, so we looked around the Riverview area and chose Cappy’s Pizza. The exterior of the building was a clean, modern brick facade with decking on the upper levels giving it a bit of a European / New Orleans feel. The interior was full of classic agricultural and automotive signs from yesteryear and was well-lit.
To start our meal, we ordered a large Greek Salad (see picture) to share and we were not disappointed – it was delicious! We ordered 3 pizzas to share (see pictures) – 2 NY Customs and a NY Cappy. We enjoy thinner crusts and found all of these options to be very good – wood-fired edges with plenty of sauce and toppings.
A rock-solid pizza shop that I would recommend and look forward to a return.
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We stopped here for lunch with my son and parents after a tour of his current jobsite in Lakeland. The atmosphere was amazing – clean and modern, yet rustic and welcoming. It is located in an old bank building (see pictures) and thus the ‘Federal’ in the name, with some tongue-in-cheek advertising on the signs outside (see pictures).
We weren’t super hungry, so ordered a little on the light side and shared our dishes (as is our custom anyway). As an appetizer, we ordered the Onion Rings (see picture) and they were awesome – huge, crispy and bit off cleanly. For lunch we ordered (see pictures for each): Kansas City Burnt Ends, Three-Meat Combo, BBQ Reuben & Smoked Turkey Breast. All of the dishes were smokey, juicy and full of flavor – but that didn’t stop us from trying the various bbq sauces on the table (see picture).
The next time you find yourself in Lakeland and looking for some good BBQ, stop by Mojo Federal Swine & Spirits.
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Another visit to our son’s house (this time with my parents) and another awesome experience at Tiki Docks! This time we had 5 adults ordering so had the opportunity to try a few things…but still stuck with a couple of our favorites.
Our dinner consisted of (see pictures for each): Mahalo Pork Sandwich, Fish & Chips, Surfing Shrimp Tacos, Pipeline Shrimp Cheese Grits and Pipeline Scallop Cheese Grits. We all shared bites and I’m happy to report that everyone thought all of the dishes were delicious!
Best of all, this time we had enough help so decided to share a Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwich for dessert (see picture). I was heavenly – all of us like banana bread, but grilled and paired with ice cream puts it over the top! Make sure that you give this a try on your next visit.
For a combination of unique and tasty food in a great location on the river with top-end service and a reasonable value, you will love Tiki Docks! If you go, please say ‘Hi’ to Rachael from The Food & Drink Guy – she is a fantastic server.
While I give very few full 5* reviews (usually the really nice places are also very expensive for example), I found this place to be quite unique and deserving of the recognition. We were visiting our son in the area and he suggested stopping here – and it was clearly our favorite place during our stay in Riverview. We’ve done the downtown Tampa and Ybor areas and found them both to be very nice – yet this place seems to have a great balance, hitting the top of the scales in all the areas that I rate (Food, Atmosphere, Value & Service).
We started with a round of drinks, including a Mango Margarita (see picture) and a half dozen Oysters (see picture). My wife and I both love Taijin, so were thrilled to find it on the rim of the margarita – which was very good. We were surprised to hear that our son had never tried oysters before, so that was a primary driver to ordering them so he could try them. My wife and I enjoyed them, but our son is now knows that he is not an oysters fan…which meant one more for my wife to enjoy…
For our main courses, my wife ordered the Pipeline Shrimp Cheese Grits (see picture), my son ordered the Tiki Wings (see picture) and I went with the Seared Ahi Saku (see picture). As we always to, we all shared sample bites from each others plates to enjoy multiple dishes and tastes. I found each of them to be near the top of similar dishes I’ve had elsewhere. The Seared Ahi Saku was prepared perfectly, was served on some great tasting fresh salsa and included a wonderful dipping sauce. There were two different flavors of wings and both were very good – juicy, tasty and delightful. Lastly, while the Pipeline Shrimp Cheesy Grits pushed the envelope on value coming in at $24 – it was sooo creamy, cheesy and delicious (I stole multiple bites of the cheesy grits).
Lastly, and while we were already quite full, no meal is complete for me without at least a few bites of dessert. When in Floriday, it is quite hard to pass up Key Lime Pie (see picture), so we shared a piece of it. Again, it was VERY good – I would definitely recommend a piece before you leave!
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We just finished up a 6 hour pontoon ride on the river and intercoastal waterway and the owner of the pontoon recommended this place for a bite to eat. It was a very open and lively place with a nice view of the river next to I75. As you might expect with many river stops – it is set up with an island-like theme to have a good time at the bar…but there isn’t much budget allocated to the bathrooms. The food and service were solid though, so I’d be up for stopping again on another day – especially after a long day on the water.
We had already eaten lunches and snacks on the pontoon so weren’t that hungry, but did enjoy a tap beer and a Shrimp Basket (see picture). While the cole slaw quantity was minimal, the shrimp were crispy and tasty – and I really liked the dipping sauce.
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This was the closest place to our son’s home and was along the drive home from dinner, so thought we would stop and check it out and have 1 drink. It was admittedly a letdown stopping here relative to several other places in the area, although it was later at night and we didn’t order food. While it looks like a fun place with a great view during the day, our stop for a nightcap was disappointing. The mixed drinks weren’t very good and I’m big on local tap beers – but there aren’t any tap beers here.
There was plenty of space to move around and a number of outdoor games set up that would be fun during a warm afternoon – but on this evening just after a rain shower had passed through and the grill was about to shut down, it was a disappointment.
We waited several minutes for someone to serve us at a table adjacent to the outside bar, then I walked up to the bar to see what beers they had on tap. To my surprise, I learned that they didn’t have any beers on tap! In addition, I was told that she couldn’t serve me…that someone was on the way out to our table. It took more than a couple of minutes for a server to get to our table – possibly because they assumed we were going to order food, so had someone from inside bring out food menus and apologize for the fact that the grill was shutting down in a few minutes.
This place has some good reviews for their food, is set up for outdoor activities and the view looks great during the day. We had already eaten and there wasn’t much liveliness left when we arrived around 8:45 on a Saturday night, so I can only speak to our experience. Honestly, my biggest letdown was that the there was no beer on tap…I really like trying different local beers on tap wherever I go and that isn’t possible here. Maybe we’ll stop by during the day for lunch on our next trip to sample the food and experience a different aspect.
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While looking for places to have dinner near our son’s house in Riverview, we came across this place that was a short drive away and had reasonable reviews. On the way to the restaurant, my wife was reading more about it and discovered that it had been on Bar Rescue in the Spring of 2022. This increased our interest in going even more, as we’ve seen a few episodes so thought it would be great to actually be in a bar after the Rescue. Driving there does get you wondering a bit whether you are on the right path though, as you drive through a very residential area to find the restaurant at the end of the street along the river.
We started with a round of local beers and Harbor Fog (see picture) drinks and found them each to be good. For our meals, my wife ordered the Dockside Cuban (see picture), my son ordered the Steakhouse Burger (see picture) and I ordered the Grouper Tacos (see picture) – the tacos on the recommendation of Shelby our server who was great! As we always do, we shared tastes of each others orders to see what we thought.
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from the food, as some of the reviews as well as the Bar Rescue excerpts we read spoke of a ‘friends and family’ staff – with the primary cook never having been a cook / chef in a restaurant before. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality each of the dishes though – finding their quality well above the average bar food. For some well above average bar food at a reasonable price, Jerry’s Dockside Bar & Grill is a great stop!
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Saw this on the way to lunch with our son after touring his latest jobsite, so had to stop for a flight on the way home. A solid brewery with a good selection of beers to satisfy most tastes. Looks like a great stop to enjoy live music also, although it wasn’t yet happening when we were there.
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This place was recommended by our son who lives in the area and has been here for lunch since it is near his latest worksite. This is a top-notch restaurant and was quite impressive – what I would have expected to find in downtown Tampa. Everything about the experience was excellent, with the only ding I can give it based on value – as it is a bit pricey.
This was a bit of a brunch stop for us, so we ate fairly lightly. My wife ordered the Arroz Chaufa Pollo Lunch (see picture) and 1961 Side Salad (see picture), my son ordered the Classic ’61 Tacos (see picture) and I ordered the Peruvian Ceviche (see picture). As is our custom, we all shared bites from each others orders and all really enjoyed all of these dishes, so would highly recommend them. The ceviche was creamy and tangy, the arroz chaufa pollo was moist and flavorful and the tacos were zesty, cheesy and delicious!
If you are looking for a great lunch or dinner stop in Lakeland, especially if it is a special occasion worthy of a bit of a splurge, Nineteen 61 will not disappoint you.
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We have enjoyed the Bahama Breeze in Lutz, Florida so thought we would stop by this one on our way to the airport to fly home from vacation. The experience was very similar and we enjoyed this location just as much as Lutz.
We started with a Cuban Mojito and Aruba Red beer (both hit the spot), then moved on to our main courses. I ordered the Tropical Fruit Chicken Salad (see picture) and can’t express strongly enough how much I enjoyed it – light, refreshing and so tasty! My wife ordered the Fish Tacos (Blackened) with a side bowl of Seafood Chowder (see picture) – both were delicious and are highly recommended.
Stopped here for dinner during our last night in town with our son based on one of his co-worker’s recommendations. It is a beautiful restaurant in the Armature Works building and the food & service were great – just be aware that it is a bit pricey.
We started with drinks and an order of Buffalo Cauliflower (see picture) – it was delicious and I’d highly recommend it! For dinner we shared a 20oz New York Strip (see picture) as well as a Sweet Potato (see picture) – all of which was as good as you would expect from a place that looks this good.
I would highly recommend this restaurant if the high prices don’t scare you, as the experience was great. As to our server, she was top-notch – shout out to Charesse and her great service!
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How can you go wrong with ice cream – right? We stopped for dessert after eating at a nearby restaurant and really enjoyed the stop. It is convenient, located near the north end of the Armature Works building and they have a great selection of candies in addition to cookies and ice cream (see pictures).
We only had the ice cream on this stop, but if you like any of these listed desserts, you will likely be glad that you stopped by to sample what they offer!
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This was my 3rd visit to Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill – all with my son while visiting him in Tampa. This time, we have a VRBO and stayed on Clearwater Beach within a mile of the restaurant.
We started with an order of General Antonio bacon wrapped Scallops (see picture) – have enjoyed them before and once again, they did not disappoint. My wife ordered a bowl of the She Crab Soup (see picture) that we shared and both found to be delicious (very thick and rich).
For the main meal, my wife and I shared The Three Kings pan sauteed grouper (see picture) and found it every bit as good as the description. My Mom ordered the Seafood Pot Pie (see picture) and loved it, while my Dad had to be talked into the Old School grouper sandwich instead of the hamburger he wanted…but really liked it.
For dessert, we shared a piece of Keylime Pie – and I’d highly recommend you have a piece before you leave on your next visit. As you can tell from our multiple visits, we really enjoy this place and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for dinner on the beach.
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We ate at the downtown Tampa location on an earlier visit and liked it so much that we sought it out for lunch during our stay in Clearwater Beach. Similar to our earlier visit, we thoroughly enjoyed the stop and would highly recommend it to anyone in the area looking for some great Spanish / Cuban food in a luxury atmosphere with a great view.
We had not ordered a pitcher of drinks before, but since we had 4 people in our party, we ordered the Mojito Pitcher and enjoyed the preparation performance as well as the drinks (see pictures). Given our previous experience with the 1905 Salad made at your table, we ordered it again and enjoyed the waiter’s performance (see pictures).
We initially enjoyed the complimentary table bread (see picture) – but be forewarned, it is very crumbly so it is hard not to make a mess eating it. My wife enjoyed a side salad (see picture). For our meal, I wasn’t very hungry so ordered the Empanadas de Picadillo (see picture) and would rate them highly. My wife ordered the Filet Steak (see picture), my Mom ordered the Shrimp & Yellow Rice (see picture) and my Dad ordered the Salmon Aurora (see picture). We exchanged tastes and all thought each of the dishes was delicious.
Lastly, no meal is complete without dessert. We ordered Cafe con Leches (see picture) and an Espresso (see picture) to enjoy with the main course – the Bread Pudding (see picture). All of them were delicious…but keep in mind that the Bread Pudding is very heavy and dense – so you’ll want a few people to help eat it or a box to take the extra home!
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Stopped here mostly to warm up while on a chilly morning walk, but found the place definitely worth a return trip for breakfast / lunch. Everything was made fresh and the Breakfast Scone that we sampled was delicious!
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