The decor is modern and youthful, and there is plenty of seating, indoors and out, at real tables. Food is pretty much the same. The Cuban sandwich may be the best one in the state of Florida.

Columbia is the oldest restaurant in Florida, but not this location. The original in Tampa’s Ybor City has been around since 1903 (although, until recently, it was thought it was established in 1905). The Celebration restaurant has had its high and low moments in the past 15 years; lately it has been doing better. The menu is not as authentically Spanish as they would like you to believe. It’s not even all that Cuban. But the creative stylings at least get the spicing right. Try the red snapper Alicante or the scallops Casimiro. Desserts are less satisfying.

I can’t really see the difference between this place and similar restaurants specializing in Cuban cuisine. But I can tell you I liked the food very much. And the casual picnic-style atmosphere. And especially the way I was welcomed by the staff of Cuba 1800’s.

It’s big and splashy, but early indications are that more effort was put into the ambience than into the food, which is under the direction of James Beard Award-winning chef Guillermo Pernot. It would seem the vibrant flavors of Cuban cuisine have been dumbed down for the tourist trade. Even the drinks are disappointing. It’s bad enough that they can’t seem to make a decent mojito, but you’d think they could at least have a stellar Cuba Libre.We started with a salad of watercress with crumbles of Cabrales, the tangy blue cheese of Spain. Fresh, but indistinguished.
A fish course followed comprised of sea bass a la plancha a Chino-Cubano. Yes, a Chinese version of a Cuban dish, complete with fried rice and a sesame sauce. I found it rather strange, although the quality of the fish was good.
The meat course had grilled skirt steak on a sugar cane skewer paired with roast pork stuffed mofongo — not an ingredient in the bunch that I don’t love. Yet it was all almost flavorless, without any seasoning. It looks like this will be another Latin restaurant that’s afraid of offending the delicate palates of tourists. That’s a shame.

Beat the drums, this ain’t Bongos.

Estefan Kitchen has opened its first location outside of Miami, one of several restaurants at the new Promenade at Sunset Walk near Walt Disney World.

Gloria and Emilio are the Estefans of the name, she the renowned Cuban-American singer who along with Miami Sound Machine gave us the effervescently zingy “Conga” and other classics.

As the name suggests, Havana is actually two venues, a bistro on one side and a cafe on the other. What’s the difference? It’s subtle, but suffice to say that on one side of the place you order from a menu on and the other side you choose from among prepared dishes that a staff worker plates up for you. Again you ask, which is the bistro and which is the cafe? I have no idea, but you’ll be able to figure it out when you walk in.

I chose the dish-it-out side. The rules are very clearly stated at the start of the line: You choose the type of meat you want from among the available varieties, such as roast pork, stewed chicken and ropa vieja, then the type of rice you prefer (white, yellow or congri), and then two sides. I chose the roast pork on congri with yuca and red beans.

And then I watched in marvel as the young woman behind the counter started piling up the container with my selections. It was a tremendous amount of food, so much so that when she tried to close the cover of the takeout container she had to use a couple of pieces of tape so that it wouldn’t spring open.

The roast pork was wonderful — and more tender and I could have eaten it with a spoon. The rice and beans (and more beans) were good, too. Only the yuca was a bit of a disappointment. Usually yuca is heavily doused in a garlic sauce. This yuca was not. In fact, it wasn’t doused in anything. It was basically just starch. But I added some of the hot sauce that was offered at the cash register and sprinkled it liberally over everything. Perfect.

I thought I had made a discovery of a new and wonderful Cuban cafe. Turns out that Los Autenticos has been around for a long time – it’s just new to me. But still wonderful nonetheless. Very small place with big-flavored food. Be sure to have a cup of the chicken soup, and then move on to the roast pork or maybe a Cuban sandwich.

Don’t pay much attention to the cafe designation. This is mainly a nightclub with elaborate (and good) entertainment. You basically come here for the show and to have drinks. The food might help alleviate the affects of the latter.

The décor is a bit cheerier than it used to be, but the food has gotten a bit run down. Still, there are good things to be had on the menu, such as black bean soup and ropa vieja. And it’s a good place to dine when you’re in a hurry but want a filling meal.The minced meat consisted of ground beef in a tomato-based sauce. It was served with white rice and a cup of black bean soup. The rice mixed well with both the meat and the beans, and made this a filling dish. The plate also contained fried ripe plantains and the usual Cuban salad of iceberg lettuce, tomato slice and dressing of vinegar, oil and chopped onions and parsley. My stuffed-potatoes dish consisted of two balls of mashed potatoes deep-fried to achieve a golden crust. My croquettes were a bit shy of stuffing but were topped with a meat mix. In fact, it was the same meat mix as my lunch guest had on her plate. My dish came with yellow rice and the same plantains. The rice was good, but with the mashed potatoes, it turned out to be a rather starchy meal.

There is, of course, a lot more on the menu than grains and legumes. R&B offers an array of mofongos (mofongi?), seafood, beef and pork dishes with Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican touches. You can order from the menu, or you can do as I did and choose a big platter of goodness from the items on display at the counter. For a lunch special of $6.95, you get your choice of rice — white, mixed with red beans, mixed with black beans, or yellow mixed with vegetables; sweet plantains or boiled yuca; stewed red beans or black beans; and one of the featured meats. I chose two types of rice (with black beans and with red beans), yuca (love my yuca), black beans and the roast pork. All good, and very reasonably priced.