Las Palmas Latin Grill — Restaurant in Tampa

A friend recommended we try Las Palmas Latin Grill, apparently they liked the food… so my wife and I decided to stop by for dinner and see what it was all about. The restaurant seating are is not very large, but the place is very clean, nicely decorated with a contemporary style and the music playing was on point. The menu has a decent selection of offerings, even my wife and daughter who are vegetarians found something delicious to eat. The primary server and co-owner handles all of the tables in a timely manner and is cordial enough to make you feel welcomed. Being our first time here, we wanted to try as many things as we could so we got a lot of sides and an appetizer. Everything was prepared and cooked fresh, everything was seasoned to perfection. Even the deserts we tried were delicious! Now, let’s talk about the STAR of the show, but before I do that, let me put into prospective who I am. I am a total foodie, a real meat lover. I have owned several grill and smokers, and specialize in smoking Short Ribs, Prime Ribs with reverse sears, Briskets and the occasional treat of amazing Wagyu filets in the BGE. So I am VERY picky about my steaks. I am usually disappointed with steaks from Long Horn and other big chain steak restaurants… Now, in the menu I see something that caught my attention. Churrasco Steak with a very bold claim underneath (The best in Town). I believe this was the only item in the menu without a price next to it. After inquiring with the server (co-owner) she explained that it is charged at current market price and today that steak is about $44 dollars. Despite my wife almost choking on her water I decided to go ahead and order it. Anyone who makes such a bold claim and charges a premium better be prepared to back it up. So I ordered the Churrasco and asked for it to be cooked Medium. After a few minutes of waiting the food came out. Before I reveal my thoughts on the steak let me say that every dish that came to the table was put together very nicely. I take my fork and knife and cut straight down the middle of the churrasco to see if it was cooked to my request. It was a perfectly cooked medium steak! Then I sliced a piece and gently put it closer to my mouth so I could smell it before tasting it. The smell was amazing, mouth watering with anticipation. I finally started eating the steak and the flavor profile was perfect, the tenderness was amazing. I remember closing my eyes momentarily to allow all of my senses to focus on enjoying this delicious piece of steak. When I reopened my eyes and looked towards the kitchen, the Chef and Owner “Ramses” was standing there looking at me as if he was waiting to see my reaction… I looked at him and smiled, gave him a thumbs up and said, it’s amazing! He came to the table and explained that he gets this cut brought directly to him from a game in Arkansas where they raise their cows to be extra fatty and tender. (I think maybe they are trying to replicate what the Japanese do to get Wagyu steaks)… He said, he wants to have the best churrasco in town, that’s why he goes the extra mile to get the best meat he can. I must give Ramses a shout out for making this steak so perfectly delicious. Cooking churrasco can be tricky because it’s such a thing cut, and for him to make it perfectly as I wanted it and with such an amazing flavor profile, I was really impressed.

So here are my final thoughts…. Yes, $44 dollars for a steak is somewhat on the high end for this cut. But, if you do not ruin it yourself by asking for it to be cooked anything more than medium. You will enjoy a mouth watering piece of meat. We enjoyed everything that we ordered and would definitely come back to Las Palmas...

The first time I ever ate at this place it was a storefront. I heard they had a fire and they never reopened as a storefront again. It used to be a great place then. Since then, they have reopened and become a food truck, I called once around 1230pm back when you could call and get someone on the phone and the said they weren't open yet, even though they serve lunch they still aren't open at 1230pm on a weekday. I thought thats crazy, so I just went to Latin Twist instead and thought to try again another day. Another time, my husband and I actually did an online order(because now, that's the only way you can place an order now unless you go there) and we got 2 cuban sandwiches. Everthing was fine. Cuban sandwiches were good. This latest time I tried to order a sandwich for myself only to find that they have a $15.00 minimum order and thats before tax and a tip, so just to order a cuban sandwich for lunch that costs $11.00, you have to add another item(like an epanada) thats $4.00 in order to be able to place an order and the cost just went up to paying over $16.00 for lunch.. Hopefully someone will see the review and fix the minimum amount issue/problem because, Im not buying something else that i don't want just to place the order. Thats just ridiculous. Ill stick with Latin Twist. This place has become way to complicated to just get something to eat for lunch. I gave 2 stars because when you do finally get something to eat from this place, it is decent food. Other than that, its not worth the effort and now I have to leave this long review to let others know. ...

IT'S A SHAME. This was our 2nd time going to this restaurant. Our first visit couldn't have gone better. The food was outstanding and a gentleman, I'm assuming was the manager/owner treated us like VIP's. He especially took pride in his skirt steak (rightfully so) and was genuinely invested in whether or not we enjoyed our visit. This 2nd visit today, however, we were treated AWFULLY. My wife and I had just left the massage place next door and we're carrying bottles of water the staff had given us. Mine was 3/4 empty and my wife's was not yet open. We walked in and we're greeted by a woman who I assume was an owner/manager. She asked us how many and we said "2 please". She then told us we can't bring our wate in with us and advised that there was a "sign" posted somewhere - which we did not notice. My wife showed the woman her bottle and said "it's not even open" as if to imply that we are not going to consume our waters on site and I began to finish my last gulp from my water. We always purchase beverages with our meals anyway. At this location last time, we purchased two cans of soda each at $3.50 a piece (if you can't believe that). The woman did not respond to my wife's comment and glared at us while we disappointedly turned and walked out. We won't be returning. When the restaurant fails, and, based on our experience today...my educated guess is, it will - blame it on poor...