La Cabana Restaurant | Colombian Food |Colombian Restaurant | Best Restaurant Tampa — Restaurant in Tampa

We've driven past La Cabana thousands of times, since we live really close to it. We finally decided to stop in. We didn't have to wait long on a Saturday night for a table, though the wait picked up a little after we got there (less than 10 minutes). We like trying to new restaurants and don't mind standing out a little at times. We wouldn't have said anything about being one of two sets of non-native Spanish speakers in the restaurant if our waiter hadn't asked, "Where are you from? You look like you're from Europe." When we told him we live less than a mile away, he was really surprised. Most of the clientele are Spanish speakers, as are the staff. Even so, the staff were all very welcoming, were prompt with food orders, and did a great job.

As for the food, it was good. It wasn't gourmet fare or particularly innovative, but it seemed like authentic food. The steak was thin and well-flavored, the rotisserie chicken was juicy and had just the right smoke flavor, the chicharron was a little on the tough side, but had a strong pork flavor. The bean soup we had was hearty and delicious. The rice was plain, but worked well with other parts of the meal. The plantains were perfect. We even tried a passion fruit shake based on other reviews. It was good; not amazing, but good.

There were three of us. We ordered two meals and brought home enough food to feed us a second time. Admittedly, we are pretty thin and don't eat a lot, but portion sizes are big.

If we're looking for a nice, authentic Colombian restaurant in the future, La Cabana will definitely...

This Colombian restaurant offers the usual delicious selections from the Colombian cuisine. Be aware that at the time of this review this place is under construction. You can hardly realize if it is open or not, but it is! Atmosphere is casual. The front of the house makes you feel right at home and welcomed. Waiting staff is very amicable and always checking on customers’ needs. I ordered the beef soup and the fried whole fish.

Positives: Soup was deliciously prepared with homey flavors, simple but delicious. Soup is considered a bit thicker than “caldo” in Colombian cuisine. I’d say what I was offered was a “caldo”, still very good.

Portions are very generous all across. “Patacón” or “Tostones”, very crunchy.

Less positives, not necessarily complete negatives: “Hogao” (Colombian sofrito sauce) was too oily. The fish was well cooked, but on the verge of too salty. This makes it to build up on salt in your mouth to the point you must have some relief from it. Ordering flexibility: if you order the fish (my case) you have options as sides. I wanted the “tostones” (plantain tostón) as a side, but wanted the “hogao”… I had to order another “tostón” order which comes with the actual sauce. I was not offered the option to just add the hogao. I ended up with a lot of “tostón”. Price tag: A bit pricey, but on this particular I can see that portions were very generous. Rice was better cooked than in many other restaurants.

Overall bottom line: Recommended with these...

This is my 2nd time here...quick summary of 1st time: a 4 star experience. There were some issues then but today issues were rampant and worse. Today’s visit definitely took it down to two stars. First problem on today’s visit: ordered one glass of water, took almost 30 minutes to get to our table. Second problem, ordered an appetizer and it came after our entrees (one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to restaurant service). Third problem, for a hispanic restaurant (really marketed as authentic colombian) it lacked proper seasoning... my cazuela de frijoles (bean casserole) seemed like it never met a salt shaker . My family’s meal was better (bandeja cabaña). The 4th problem: NO NAPKINS were ever brought to our table. This place seems like they need better leadership when it comes to assigning waiters and tables. Place was full but not packed and you could see all the waiters bumping into each other, hot large plates hovering too close over you and children. It seems like they were unprepared and lacking coordination with the kitchen. It’s disappointing, because I really want to love this place. The only positive was that our waiter was polite, sadly he never came to refill my water or offer another soda can since he probably had like 15 more tables to serve. There are other better colombian restaurants in Tampa, those are smaller establishments but they do not disappoint like La...