Columbia Social Cafe & Bistro

Just got off the plane from a European vacation and headed home. STARVING, but exhausted, I knew I needed to order in dinner. Pizza, chinese, sushi… the usual suspects. But nothing seemed to be doing it for me.
Then, I remembered Columbia Social. Being a good 15 blocks away, I called and inquired as to whether they would deliver, and sat with fingers crossed awaiting my answer. They DID!!!
I ordered the shrimp and chorizo skewers to start. Pretty self explanatory. Skewered shrimp, cooked perfectly, surrounded by crisp and spicy chorizo sausage served over a zesty slaw. The dish was good, but for $ 9, I only received 2 shrimp. hmmm
For my main dish, I ordered the steak with a chipotle blue cheese sauce, bacon wrapped grilled asparagus and I subbed the roasted potatoes for their mashed potatoes. It was a HUGE risk ordering in steak, a risk which paid off. The steak was delivered still warm and cooked perfectly. The sauce was rich and spicy and didn’t overwhelm the other flavors. The perfectly grilled thick asparagus where covered with a crispy blanket of bacon and the mashed potatoes were laced with truffle oil.
Not only was the quality of food impressive, but the fact that they could maintain such freshness with their delivery earned 4 points in my book. I took away one star because I was quoted 30 minutes for delivery time, when the food didn’t show up for over an hour.
Will definitely be a repeat customer.

My boyfriend and I are always looking for new places to try out in the neighborhood and today we decided to try out Columbia Social for brunch.
We sat at the bar and the bartender was very attentive and took our drink order right away. After viewing the menu, I settled on the Grilled Atlantic Salmon sandwich. The portion was more than generous and the salmon grilled to perfection. It also came with a side of fries which were delish. My boyfriend had the Kobe beef burger and he enjoyed every bite of it. The prices were average, so no complaints there.
To drink, I had a coffee (which was fresh) and a bloody mary, which was a bit too spicy for my taste, and a little watered down. My boyfriend had a beer, so can’t go wrong with that.
There was live music (not too intrusive) and despite the rainy afternoon, the place was full. All in all, we left satisfied with full bellies. We will definitely be making a return in the near future.

Great brunch. Simple ingredients yummy food live the French toast. The pancakes are great too. But would be nice if fruit were include like the French toast dish, in addition to being stuffed with blueberries or bananas. The breakfast burrito is hearty an tasty. Flank steak is yummy.
Super busy and usually only 1 waitress!!!

The happy hour from 4−8pm lured us. We both ordered the sangria to start.
The staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable about wine.
We ordered the goat cheese, tomato crostini (yum), the corn, chorizo crayfish quesadillas (double yum) and the potato chorizo croquettes (so crispy).
There were some really interesting and unique paintings on the wall that we found out were for sale.
If I’m in this area again, I will def be back.

I came here during the «brunch» portion of Saturday (early afternoon) and their brunch menu was in full swing; on the laminated brunch menu, I saw there was nothing I could really eat. I asked if I could get something off the regular menu instead, and was told that would be okay.
There was still very little I could eat on the regular menu; I got whole-​wheat penne with sauce and eggplant – hold the cheese – which I was told didn’t come with a side salad. (Wha???) So I ordered a full-​size salad, which wasn’t horrible, especially for this time of year. All in all, the food was pretty average. I’m sure if I drank alcohol, I’d appreciate the brunch much more; but that’s not the point. My meal did cost over $ 20, though, so I would have been ahead if I could have done what most people do when confronted with unlimited alcohol.
Atmosphere was good, and service was good. I was really there to see my friend do his cabaret-​style act.
«I didn’t know you played keyboard,» I said to him when he was on break. «I don’t!» he replied. That’s the sign of a true entertainer; when in doubt, wing it!

My friend said yes to the dress so we decided to take it for alterations in the hood. The brutal wind led us to an all you can drink brunch, although we didn’t partake (insert sad face). The prices are amazing, the coffee is amazing (kind of key to a brunch place) and their eggs were prepared perfectly! We had an awesome time and left satisfied. Plus, the staff was adorable!

Why oh why do I have to go to school and work in food deserts? Oh the sheer irony of it all. Life can be tragic in that way.
I haven’t seen a school mate in awhile and we finally were able to coordinate our schedules and have dinner together. Since we didn’t want to venture too far, we opted for this restaurant.
We showed up really early at 5pm and the place was pretty empty. We sat by the window and had a nice view of Broadway. Service was decent here and everything went about in a timely manner.
Since it was only 5pm, we decided to just order small plates to share. We also weren’t that hungry either. We opted for the beet salad and the shrimp skewers. Both dishes were fine, enjoyable and predictable. But honestly these days, it takes a lot to mesmerize me.
The sad thing is, that despite their ability to perfect mediocrity, this is the best show in (this) part of town. Apparently, this is where the hotshots from across the street come to chow down and schmooze. I guess I’ll keep this place on the «networking» venues, but definitely not on the restaurant list.

I’ve dined in Columbia Social Bistro a few times & each experience has been relatively the same… I don’t really have any complaints about the food. If anything, the food is pretty good, especially the French fries & steak salad. Yum! I loved the steak salad! Only a bit pricey… But ok.
Anywho, I didnt much like the rude waitresses. Especially one brunette in particular. My date said she was fine but a woman’s intuition always knows… She was kind enough to ignore me during much of my meal. Whenever i asked her something she acted as if it were a stupid question & kept looking around instead of being completely attentive to our service. My date had to communicate w/​her for any requests /​refills since I was too annoyed to speak to her. She just kept flirting with him right in front of me… Thanks Hun…

My family & I love Columbia Social. We always order the cobb salad, finely chopped, & the burger. Both are very good. The cobb salad is the best in WaHi.
Service is incredibly slow for the drinks– I don’t know what’s up with the bartenders. Don’t they get tipped out at night? They could care less about the customers at the tables but, would rather cater to their «Happy Hour» customers who go only for the $ 5.00 drinks.
Waiters are always accomodating.
But, regardless, of the slow drink service they do have wonderful mohitos.
Amazing brunch with drinks at a incredible price.

Visited this place on a weekday for drinks with a friend.
The Valencia Fizz was tasty, but small and weak considering the price. Can’t remember which red my friend ordered, but she enjoyed it. Personally, I feel like their wines are a bit overpriced too. But then again, I tend to feel that way about wine at most restaurants.
The Belgian pommes frites were the highlight of the visit. $ 6, delicious and filling. My friend ordered the red beet and goat cheese with pistachios and mixed greens. Nicely presented and looked tasty. Maybe I’ll come back for brunch someday?

I’ve only been once, but the food was nothing special. My pasta (I think it was the special – it was tri-​color linguine with a cream sauce and bacon sprinkled on top) was really bland. My friends said their food was OK, definitely edible, but nothing special. I will probably go back just because we have so very few options around the medical center, but I definitely wouldn’t make a special trip to come to this place.

This is the best restaurant in the neighborhood… well the Italian place on 181^st (Saggio) is really good too, but that’s another neighborhood technically. So I stand by CSC&B as the best go-​to dinner place in the ‘hood. Quality food, good service, okay wine.
The french fries are outstanding!
Brunch is good too. When I’m going out on the cheap, I’ll go to El Malecon, otherwise you can find me here.

11.95 brunch in the Heights? Im a fan.
Their brunch entrée selection is pretty good, I had the french toast with fresh fruit on top (soo good! and nice presentation). Mimosa was delicious, too! Good service too, although it was noon on a saturday, and there were only two other tables…
I’d definitely recommend this place for the brunch special. Havent tried them out for lunch or dinner so I can’t comment on that.

Let’s be honest: brunch choices in Washington Heights are somewhat limited. I’m a West Village boy, so I’m spoiled in this department, but I’m dating a W-​Heights boy and am learning to make do while we’re in his neck of the woods.
The atmosphere is «suburban chain restaurant» chic, with moody earth tones and cast iron light fixtures. It all gets a serious boost from the huge front windows that are usually thrown wide open on warm summer mornings. If you come late enough (after 11 or so), they have live jazz, which is a great touch.
The brunch menu is quite extensive and everything costs $ 11.95. This is a welcome step down in price from my usual downtown eateries. This first time, I got the French toast which was good but nothing to write home about.
Last time, though, we both got the Country Breakfast plate: fried eggs with ham, sausage and bacon. It was like a delicious barnyard massacre all over my plate. Hung over though I was, I scarfed down almost every bite.
The waitresses can be slightly apathetic, but I never am in the mood to care much when I’m at brunch. After all, it’s the one meal that was made to be more about the company and the alcohol than it is about the food or the service.

It wasnt quite bad enough for the dreaded 1 star, but sooo close.
If you must go here… things to know :
Bartender/​wait staff doesn’t care whether you like their service or not, or their drinks… the eye rolling and whispers were not appreciated. Granted, I sent back my drink hoping to get something else… but man that was the worst mojito i have ever had. i know there tricky, and easily not made right, but damn. this was like, a glass of roses lime juice.
Happy hour… it’s in such a tiny glass, and has literally a quick 2 second
pour of liquor… your def not getting a deal.
Don’t get the white sangria… ew.
Dont expect it to be even remotely quiet… the rap/​pop music is BLARING even at 5 p. m…who wants to hear rhianna sing about S&M at 5 p. m?
Bread was stale… but that could just be my one experience, not a consistent mess up… who knows.
Chicken finger appetizer is pretty good. You get your 8 dollars worth.
I had high hopes for this place, An eccentric exciting menu for WH, Happy hour, and sitting by the doors (the ones that are open giving the feeling of being outside when your not exactly outside. not sure what to call it?)
Sucks its the closest WH has to a nice, trendy, place. it could be SO much better ! I’d say go to Coogans next door if your in the area and want a place to relax and drink.

Food is just so so… Its pricy than quality of food.

This place somewhat upsets me. My first impression of Columbia Social was that it would be a great diversion from the homey-​er establishments around Washington Heights. Then having looked at the menu, I saw many things (steak, tuna, etc) that caught my eye. With that said, we came in to try lunch there.
What a disappointment! First was the service. We got this server who seemed like it was her first day but she didn’t care that she didn’t know what was going on. On the menu, it stated something like «Home brewed ice tea – Ask for daily flavors.» When I asked, she said, «It’s just iced tea, the regular kind. We have soda pops of different flavors.» It peeved me when I asked her to clarify what daily flavors mean, she didn’t know it. Then she messed up by giving us fries instead of mixed greens with our entrees and went «I’m sorry about that, but I just forgot to put it in the system.» Grrr, was she not listening to both my friend and me when we ordered?!? Last, she was definitely not attentive whatsoever as we sat there waiting 10 minutes after we were ready only for her to take care of newer diners and their orders before ours. Maybe we just had bad luck with one server, but that was simply unsatisfactory.
The food was also a fail for the most part. The only good thing I enjoyed there was their pommes frites with 3 different dipping sauces. The fries were slightly soggy just as I like them and had substance. The disaster came with the tuna burger, which was what drew me to this place. The burger comes with seaweed and creole slaw. OMG, it was the worst tuna that I’ve ever had that I might as well eat tuna out of a can. I have never seen a tuna patty (looked mighty unusual) before, and it didn’t taste much like tuna probably because it was overcooked. To exacerbate the blow of ‘grounded’ tuna, they cooked the seaweed, which was really disgusting to eat. The slaw and the mixed greens were the best parts of the $ 15 entrée. My friend ordered the steak sandwich that I would have considered, and from the looks of it, the steak looked incredibly dry that she didn’t finish it. Another friend got the ravioli special, which she didn’t complain about.
Overall, I learn not to judge a place by its cover. Just because you are different from the rest doesn’t make you better.

Great alternative to it’s next door neighbor, Coogan’s, especially if you’re coming to have a good meal with friends and co-​workers… service is kinda molassesy. but there’s DJ that more than makes up for her velocity.
I went with the recs for a Kobe burger. actually not bad! The gruyer really didnt add much except a bit of oil to coat the meat, the fries need to be a little bit more crispy, but overall not a bad experience for an impromptu get together with friends after a hard days work…

Service is slow. So slow. How slow? Well, let’s just say that I met the man of my dreams, we had a turbulent relationship, ups and downs, no kids but it was a lifestyle choice and then we broke up… and I still had not received my burger.
Ok, maybe that didn’t happen, but it could have because the service is pretty damn slow. But the burger was pretty damn good. I ordered it medium, it came out well, but it was still juicy. How’s juicy? I’m not going to get into that. Substituted the fries for a salad, pretty damn good. On another occasion I had the shumai, we had 2 separate orders because it was that good. I also have had the steak salad, which is more like lots of steak on top of spinach and less like a salad. I would recommend this to a man who was watching his weight and went on a date with me. I wouldn’t call him a pansy. Which I would normally do if I went on a date with a man who ordered a salad. Why? Because he’s a pansy.
I’ve been for dinner and I’ve been for lunch, it’s only true drawback is the slow service. Other than that, the big windows, which lets in lots of light or makes it easier to people watch, whichever floats your boat, makes the space seem bigger than it is, which is nice.
As my niece’s doll would say «me gustar los platanos» but replace platanos with Columbia Social Café & Bistro.

Essentially the old Plum Pomidor restaurant (I spied several of the old Pomidor staff there tonight) which occupied the same space, with a few tweaks to the menu. Food is actually improved quite a bit.
The seared scallops with edamame purée appetizer is absolutely delicious. The seafood ravioli is perfectly done and very tasty.
The $ 15 Kobe Beef burger is excellent. Wonderfully juicy with crispy double smoked bacon, gruyère, sautéed onions and mushrooms, truffled aioli on a brioche roll with crispy on the outside/​fluffy inside french fries.
The interior has been completely redone… for the better. MUCH more open and airy, with great big French doors along the front.
Staff is very nice as before. The Kobe burger is a must have here!