Las Palmas Columbian & Cuban Cuisine

Although the Halal/​Hispanic fusion is a bit confusing since Hispanics eat a lot of pork, the food was awesome and fairly priced. I’ll be returning!

Sadly they recently changed management for the worst. No, the food and service are fine, but their awesome lunch special is now $ 6.99 and with no options. They have a special of the day, that’s it. However it is still a good deal, comes with soup (lentil soup both time I was here, which was broth-​y the way I like it), rice, sweet plantain and a small side salad (which I wish they don’t put it on the same plate as the entrée).
Their regular menu items are in the range of $ 11 – 15, a little pricey for Latino restaurant. And ironically they don’t have Cuban sandwich at a Cuban restaurant.
I am still a fan and will be back for lunch, but boy, it was much better with 3 special options a day for $ 5.99. Oh well.

We stumbled upon Las Palmas when we were looking for something open on New Year’s day. What a pleasant surprise! The lady who greeted us was so sweet! She was very warm and welcoming, and she had such a lovely smile.
As for the food, the menu is a mixture of Cuban, Columbian, and Ecuadorian cuisine. It’s heavily protein based so there’s not much for vegetarians except for a few side dishes. I ended up asking for a plate of yellow rice, black beans, green plantains, and guacamole. I also asked for their hottest salsas. Though my entrée was a culmination of small dishes, the food was delicious. I particularly loved the guacamole with it’s lemony zest which had a wonderful kick to it. The salsas tasted very fresh and blended perfectly with everything. My friend had a cuban sandwich and french fries and I tried a bite of her fries and loved it. The french fry was slightly crispy, full, and soft on the inside, and had just the right amount of salt to it.
The décor is simple and quaint. The interior presents itself a lot better than it does on the outside, where it’s located in strip mall in an area that’s pretty drab. If you can get past that, then the food and service will not disappoint. Price wise too, very pocket friendly.

I highly feel that Las Palmas is a work in progress. The food is generally very good but everything else about the business seems completely backwards from what you would expect.
The venue is located in a shopping strip with very low square footage and fills up quick. The interior is very much lacking the luster of décor.
Service. The service is very below par. I wouldn’t want to discourage people, but our total lag time of service was in upwards of 2 hours.
To elborate on my single visit– I had purchased a Groupon deal without doing my review research prior. Not recommended! I arrived with the deal receipt and was seated with a party of four. We were seated, given silverware, had our drink orders taken, and did not see the waitress again for literally 30 minutes. She then came out with our drinks– merely waters all around. We then placed our orders with an appetizer for the table.
Time breakdown– 30 minutes for appetizers and well over an hour for entrees. Only two people in the party were given their entrees first, then the other two another 15 minutes after. 20 minutes for the check, which was merely paid through the Groupon!
Ideally, I would like to think this business does better for a lunch. Especially since it is one of the few restaurants with such rare cuisine, it may be worth the trip.

Food and service leave a lot to be desired. It didn’t look like there were any Colombians, Cubans, or Ecuadorians working there which made the dish a bit questionable. Our server could not answer questions regarding the menu. The menu said «white corn tortillas» which didn’t make sense since it was listed with the Picada. I asked if that was meant to say Arepas and he didn’t know. I finally got my food and it did have Arepas (not tortillas). I then asked for the fried plantains that were supposed to come with the order. He brought the but then charged me extra (?). They said that they meant tostones (which were included in the picada). I paid for the extra items even though they didn’t apologize for the confusion convinced that i am not going back. convinced didn’t expect to have such a bad experience considering I’ve been to all three countries and am a native speaker. Definitely won’t recommend to anyone

The meat eating man generally leaves restaurant selection up to me but he wanted to give this strip-​mall Cuban place a shot. After reading a few reviews I figured I could cobble something together for myself there.
We were one of only three tables so service was pretty on top of things. The server/​manager/​not sure was very cordial but wasn’t super great about answering my menu questions. I’m working my way through my Rosetta Stone as quickly as possible but my Spanish leaves much to be desired. Anyway, the yellow rice, black beans and tostones seem to be okay for the vegheads. The rest of the menu is meat meat and more meat.
The rice was unexciting rice, the tostones greasy and flavorless but the beans were smack damn delicious. Meathead’s pulled pork something or another had him oohing and ahhing.
Conclusion — He’ll probably be going back without me.

Just picked up dinner for tonight and it was delicious! Cant wait to go back!

This place closes at 6 on Tuesday.

I’ve been here at least 7 – 8 times & never disappointed. One of my favorite lunch spots! (my co-​workers would agree as well) The lunch specials are HUGE, hearty and cheap (5.99) I love the breaded pork special. First you get a LARGE bowl of soup (delicious) and then your meat, side salad, rice (yum) and plantain. I always get a cheese empanada as an appetizer ($ 1) that hits the spot. The authentic milkshakes are also good (usually don’t have room for one) The service has always been very warm & friendly. The atmosphere is nothing great but it seems very clean & well kept. I have not been here for dinner yet but it’s on my to do list. Don’t be turned away by the location and the fact it’s in a strip mall.

Food was average. Had the combo plate, and the ceviche. The ceviche in the ad looked amazing, but what we got was soupy, watery, and flavorless. It was horrible, and I think ruined the entire experience for us. Not sure where they got the picture for their ad, but it could not have come from there! Prob won’t ever go back, even though I usually try most places twice, even if the first visit was bad.

Ok, my new favorite street for ethnic comfort food is South Blvd in Starmount. Went to Las Palmas on a whim for dinner, and was pleasantly surprised by their food and menu. Ordered the Columbian empanadas as recommended, and was very pleased. Ordered my old standby — fried pork chunks, fried plantains and white rice. Excellent. Also had an amazing red seafood soup. I forgot what it was called, but there’s a picture of it on the menu. I saw it, began to salivate and pointed at it when the server took my order. Other gems on this street include Punta Cana, Maria’s, Saigon Palace and Vietnam Grill.

Great lunch location — Cuban, Columbian, and Ecuadorian cuisine. Their $ 5.99 lunch specials (Mon-​Fri) are a phenomenal deal. You receive a giant bowl of soup, a side salad, a fried plantain (sweet, but not too sweet), and your entrée. I had Arroz con pollo and my coworker had a lemon chicken that looked good (he said the sauce was delicious). For a $ 1 more, try a Columbian empanada. The Cuban empanadas are strong, too, but the Columbian empanadas are really good. The table next to us had some sort of passion fruit smoothie that looked perfect for this 95+ degree day.
Don’t get scared away because it’s in a strip mall. I’ll admit the outside isn’t much to look at, but they do a pretty good job on the inside of making you feel comfortable. The waitstaff and servers are knowledgeable and attentive. Friendly, fast, and hardworking.

I’m from Tampa Bay, home to many Cubans, and my husband is Puerto Rican and desperate for a taste of home (Cuban is about as close as you can get to Puerto Rican food), so we tried this place with some friends from Columbia and Mexico. We took our toddlers with us and went for lunch on a Saturday, so it was pretty quiet and they didn’t disturb anyone. I was impressed with the food, and the service was very good. My husband had a Cuban sandwich and although he said the meat was a little fatty, he liked it. I had the Ropa Vieja. It was very authentic and satisfied my cravings. The plantains were a little dry, but tasty. My portion was HUGE. The menu also had Columbian and Ecuadorian food too. We started with empanadas, one meat, one queso, and they were good. Small, but not greasy. All-​in-​all I was very happy and will be back!

Open space to accommodate a large group. You will definitely need a lot of space on the table because the portions are large!
We ordered one of their main dishes that had a bit of everything on it. The rice was delicious, the meats were flavorful, and the plantain was sweet and just right.
The service was good, but you may not get everyone’s entrée at the same time. If you go, just go with the flow.

If it weren’t for UYE’s, I think a lot of us would miss hidden gems like Las Palmas! I had the pleasure of attending an «Ethnic Cuisine Training Wheels» UYE and I’m so glad I didn’t miss this event!
1. We got swag bags! (thank you, Chad) Who doesn’t like stickers and stuff with clever Unilocal sayings?
2. The group was so much fun (we even had people from out of town)
3. The food was delicious! (easy on the tummy; easy on the wallet)
I got the Arroz con Pollo and Yuca Fritas (which are very similar to potatoes, except more starch). I also nommed on the Colombian empanada, which is different from the Cuban empanada b/​c it’s crust is a maize-​based instead of flaky pastry (whatever, flaky pastry or corn, it was *explicative* tasty). Lastly, I indulged in some Tres Leches cake, which was a little too runny for my tastes, but super rich and delicious!
All-​in-​all, this place was wonderful. The wait staff was pleasant and kept the drinks full, and my dining experience was very charming. I’ll definitely be coming back to try some of the Cuban food.

Tiny, unassuming little shop in the middle of a strip mall. Cute, diner décor, with some Cuban flare thrown in — my fav were the wooden carvings of lit cigars gracing the northern wall.
Not the easiest place to eat as a veg, but its doable. Huge portions for the price, you can cobble a relatively balanced meal together out of sides (ensalada, arroz blanco, platanos or tostones, cassava) and appetizers (empanada de queso). Ensalada de Aquacate was insanely large for its 4.50 price tag. Empanadas were greeeeeasy but yum — plantains stellar and fried cassava, fantastic. Pepper plate consisted of two pico-​esque soupy salsas and a purée of mostly cilantro with a mysterious kick.
Dunno if I’d make the jaunt by my lonesome, but I’ll be back with pork lovers in tow. While they nosh their piles of carne, I’ll be happily putting away empanadas and fried yuca. No problemo.

We checked out Las Palmas with a handful of friends and I think we overloaded them. Though we went at an off-​hour (4pm on a Saturday afternoon), and there weren’t too many others in the restaurant (two tables?), there was a real problem with service. I’ve worked in restaurants, so I get that large tables are tough because they all place orders at the same time. But you could have all your tables full at once, right? What are you going to do then?
Nonetheless, the server’s attitude was good — he just couldn’t keep up. So we made do, talking with one another and it’s not like the wait was bad. It just made certain thing tough: Food came out at odd times across the table, couples got served at different times, glasses went empty, that sort of thing. Perhaps it would be different at a busy time of day, but I don’t think so. I think it would be worse because more people would be there.
As to the food: It’s so-​so. Part of the problem is that some of the food sat out waiting to be delivered. My platter, for instance, looked much different than the one that came out a few minutes later and was sat down next to me. You could see the difference in the poached egg and how the meat looked dried out. It probably didn’t taste much different, but it just had a really different appearance and overall presentation that really made the dish.
One thing I would do is make sure that you avoid the cheese empanada. Those things were really horrid. The beef ones were much better. To be fair, the server did tell us this, but we wanted to check out a variety of items. He didn’t tell us how bad the cheese would be. In fact, he didn’t tell us much other than the beef was the best. So this isn’t the kind of place you want to have them suggest something. He suggested almost everything, and wasn’t a lot of help in that regard.
Luckily, we had good conversation to keep things going and things weren’t all that bad. I’ve been at many places where even that can’t make up for such problems. So it’s not a bad place — just not great.

I heart Unilocal,I wanted to go to Las Palmas today only because I read about it on Unilocal.I couldn’t remember the exact location so I called Dave S and he told me where it was located. Guess what Dave S.‘s name is in my cell phone… Dave S. That is pretty darn funny. I am going to hit the funny button 27 times. Anyhoo. We arrived around noon and the restaurant is half full and not many gringos. This is a good sign. Service was a little slow, there was one server trying to wait on everyone. So be prepared to be patient. We ordered two empanandas, a mixed salad and shared a Cuban sandwich. My favorite thing were the salsas, there was a vinegar pico, a mild green salsa and a spicy, cilantro salsa. All were yummy. Everything was good, our waitress forgot our salad, but I think it was a language barrier. That was ok, we lived. I can’t wait to go with the Unilocalers this weekend.

Came here for lunch one day with the coworkers. It was a pleasant change from the usual pizza/​burgers/​chinese buffets. I had a Cuban Sandwich, which was delicious. My friend ordered a platter of some sort which was piled ridiculously high with food. The place sits in a strip mall and as such I expected it to be have a «hole in the wall» feel. Not so. Despite the small size, the place was very clean and well decorated. I almost got the feeling that I was «south of the border». All around, a very pleasant place to have lunch. I would go again.