Category Archives: Tapas/Small Plates

Columbia Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

This location features a beautiful interior design, much nicer than the original in Ybor City, and yet retaining the feel of a place that’s withstood the decades (and I guess it’s almost 20 years old, now that I think about it).

The food is the same as at the other Columbia restaurants, which is to say rich. A good third of the dishes include chorizo, and many are casseroles with no small amount of butter. So it’s not light dining! But it is tasty.

My favorite dish was the scallops, although the empanadas and quest funded were also good. The 1905 salad is also tasty, but ask them to go light on the dressing.

Service is best described as bustling and well-intentioned, perhaps not quite fine dining caliber, but certainly appropriate to the always busy atmosphere.

There is an extensive wine list that is not offered by default, so if you’re interested in Spanish wines be sure to ask for it, as there are many high end selections at reasonable prices.

Columbia Restaurant
649 Front St
Celebration, FL 34747
(407) 566-1505
http://www.yelp.com/biz/columbia-restaurant-celebration

Norman’s

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*** (3 stars)

I have to admit I don’t really get Norman’s food. I’ve been to a couple of special events here that I liked quite well, including a Paul Bocuse dinner that was superb. But it was Paul Bocuse’s food, for the most part, that made it so. The restaurant’s normal menu doesn’t do it for me. It always seems to me as if there is one too many spices in each dish, that somehow muddle the flavors. It leaves me yearning for something a bit simpler, where the quality of the natural ingredients is allowed to shine through.

Service is pleasant, although I’ve run into more than one server who was clueless about wine. One server had never heard of the expression “corkage charge,” which is a bit amazing for a restaurant of this caliber.

The room is pretty, although it can be noisy. If you’re staying at the resort, it’s probably worth trying. It’s certainly better than the dozens of steakhouse alternatives that surround it in the tourist area. But when I visit the Ritz I eat at The Vineyard, which has a better wine list and a subtler touch with the food.

Norman’s
4012 Central Florida Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32837
(407) 393-4333
http://www.yelp.com/biz/normans-orlando