Best Historic Restaurants in Temple Terrace

My wife and I celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary at the Y-bor city Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, Florida. We had reservations and arrived a few minutes late and were seated almost immediately. Our Waiter "Keith" anticipated our needs and was very good. When Keith found out that we were there to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary he alerted the Manager who came to our table introduced himself and presented us with a congratulations card which was very thoughtful. The food was very very good, the Sangria was excellent and the "White Chocolate Bread Pudding" was to die for. We will be returning to the Columbia every chance we get for the food, service and ambiance. Regards, Greg and Brenda

I don’t leave a lot of reviews but I feel like this place is deserving. We chose this restaurant because we saw the Christmas decorations. We sat at the bar for a few drinks before moving to our table. The Old Fashion was great and the girls really enjoyed the “Cindy Lou”. When we decided to move to the table we were greeted by the friendliness waitress. We ordered a few appetizers but I would say that the bursts with duck prosciutto was the winner. For Dinner it was a toss up between the short rib dish and the Sea Bass. Although the smash burger was pretty good also. Looking forward to our next visit.

We thought this place deserved 5 stars. We were a little late to our 5:30 reservation… about 20 minutes. When we got there the hostess took our name and we were seated within 5 minutes. We started with the Sangria and the Basil Basilica and both were fantastic. For appetizers we had the ricotta spread (which was very good but a little too much ricotta cream), the octopus (very good) and the wagyu carpaccio (which was my favorite!). My boyfriend had the chicken for the entree and I had the Mafaldine. Both were absolutely amazing and will be going back!

Haven continues to delight every visit. This month they are running a "All Dogs go to Haven" hotdog special on the bar bites menu to benefit Florida Giant Dog Rescue. Last week the hotdog was named the Johnson after chef Chad Johnson. The hotdog was wrapped with bacon and had truffles 2 ways. It was incredibly well done. This week the hotdog is the Adrian named after long time waiter Adrian because it features sauerkraut. Overall this is a win-win that features great food benefiting a worthy cause.

We went for their Christmas Eve dinner. This was an amazing meal. One of the best I have ever had. From the hor d'oeuvres to the appetizers and then the salmon, duck, rabbit and langoustine. Then topped off by an amazing dessert. Of course, accompanied by a delicious lemon drop martini. The atmosphere was festive, and the wait staff missed nothing. Lilac is definitely on our list of favorite restaurants. Can't wait to go back. KUDOS!