Colombia Bakery Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Lodi

This establishment has become my preferred dining location due to its proximity to my residence. The cuisine is of high quality, the staff is consistently courteous and attentive, and the atmosphere is pleasantly uncrowded.

I have visited this establishment on numerous occasions, likely exceeding ten. Primarily, I have dined with my family, but occasionally I have also purchased empanadas as a morning snack for my colleagues prior to 7:00 AM. The empanadas have been well-received by all my coworkers.

Every dining experience at this establishment has been positive. We have never encountered any issues with our food and have always departed feeling satisfied. Some of the portions are quite generous, necessitating that we take leftovers home.

The service provided to my family and me has consistently been excellent. The waitress who typically serves us is exceptionally friendly and even engages in playful banter with us. The food is delivered in a timely manner, and she periodically checks on us to ensure our satisfaction.

The ambiance of the establishment is quite pleasant. The walls are adorned with traditional Colombian decorations, and music is always playing. Since my initial visit, the establishment has undergone some renovations, including the addition of a bar, strobe lights, and a sound system for hosting parties. Occasionally, the volume of the music can be excessive, and the strobe lights can be bothersome if one is seated in an unfortunate location where the lights constantly shine in one's eyes.

Overall, I am quite fond of this establishment and will continue to patronize it. On most occasions, the restaurant is not particularly busy, which creates the impression of having the entire place...

To put it short, order for pickup and avoid dining in. The food is very good but the atmosphere and service leaves so much to be desired. There is never a welcome smile, word or even the slightest acknowledgment. It takes forever for someone to come to your table and if it’s one of their male staff they won’t so much as greet you but rather bark for you to tell them what you want. Overall service is also VERY slow, almost as if to force you to occupy the space so it looks busy to the outside. If you’re lucky enough to be serviced by their female staff the experience is completely different and what you’d expect from a well run colombian business (ie warm friendliness). It’s really a shame because the food is quite tasty which is the most important aspect but hence my take out recommendation. I will note they are spacious, seemingly clean and try to have a decent ambiance but the male service tanks. I did pop over to the women’s restroom and all stalls were out of toilet paper so that was a weird miss nor was there the typical “staff must wash hands” sign but rather some food handler sticker from years past when this was an Asian restaurant. All in all, I recommend for the food but call ahead so you can be in and out. Not...

My bistec empanizado was tasty, but dry. The mondongo had a bare minimal amount of meat in it. The currasquito was very much enjoyed as were the tostones. The truth is, Noches de Colombia is much better at this, and the prices are the same, so just go to the better place. For anyone looking for a conversation, the music even at Sunday lunch is too loud for most folks to talk. For me the final jab was the 3% "Convenience Fee" added to the check. I was about to blow a fit but then I saw they also included the tip (for a table of 3), and the tip was only 15%. I would have left a 20% tip, but since they dictated the amount, they screwed their employee out of 2% plus the "Convenience Fee," since the only thing that was convenient was the parking and the fact that I didn't have to go to the kitchen and get the food myself. Having a waiter did make it more convenient, especially one willing to work so cheap. We will not be back. QUE...