Vacationing in the area and stopped into this restaurant seeking a new food experience. Decided to try the bandeja paisas and empanadas colombianas. The empanadas were amazing and the house hot salsa which was served along side did not disappoint. The bandeja paisas was phenomenally well seasoned and prepared. The service and atmosphere were like nothing else. The waitress was extremely polite and ensured we were happy with our experience. Needless to say our group returned the next night when they had live music. The restaurant was packed full and our service was excellent again. I could go on, but hopefully by now you are on your way! read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Bandeja Paisa - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

This is easily my favorite place to eat in Brandon. The service is excellent. The food is outstanding. It's a small family run place that serves Colombian food with pride. I usually get the Breaded Steak which is always excellent. The plantains are done to perfection. Don't miss this GEM on Hwy 60!! read more

Yo this food is so so so good! I enjoyed every bite I def will return soon! Worth every penny

I've been to the bakery side several times not even knowing they had an official dinning side. The empanadas are the best in brandon. The bakery carries fresh baked breads and sweets. My family and I decided to try the food last weekend. I was shock to see how nice the dinning area is decorated. Service was good and fast. The food was good but to me the portions were small considering it's a Latin restaurant. Most Latin restaurants I've been to has large portions. We had empanadas as appetizers and I had shredded beef with white rice and beans. My husband had steak with rice and beans. Overall it was good but I expected more considering the empanadas were so good read more

Food was so so, service SLOW and they charge 18% gratuity hence the reason you have to flag them down for service! Won't be back, sorry.

I was excited to try a new "hole-in-the-wall" spot, especially since I drive by this place all the time. The service was good, our waiter & waitress friendly, but unfortunately, my excitement died down quickly after that. The food wasn't amazing at all. I love empanadas, but theirs were not good at all. No one in my family liked them! The whole time, we all kept saying, "we should have gone to ____ instead." BUT, if you still happen to pop in, leave room for dessert. Their tres leche was DELICIOUS. That would be the one & only reason I would go back. read more

Finally decided to give this a try after a coworker said the food here was great. I went for lunch with a small group of 7. We all order different things and overall we all agree that the food was good, some dishes more flavorful than others including sides and soup. I order Ropa Vieja it was tasty as well as the rice and plantains but was told that the Palomillo could have been better. Keep in mind that they serve dishes from different Spanish cuisines but their specialty is Colombian food which I did not try. I would go back but would probably do Take Out, the service was good but waited too long to receive our food and we were the only ones there. read more

If you like good, authentic, Colombian food look no further. Cali Viejo is a must for anyone that appreciates quality Latin food. My family and I have been going to Cali now for years and this place always delivers. Per usual, we started it out with a plate of empanadas and as always, they were incredible. The side sauce that comes with the empanadas is amazing!! For the main entree, I got the "Bandeja Tipica". It is served with white rice, beans, plantains, arepas, steak, pork belly, and a fried egg. One Bandeja Tipica can feed two but I am usually selfish and order a whole one for myself. The pork belly is incredible. Don't be intimidated and just try it. If you have anything to do after a big meal at Cali Viejo other than take a nap, I'd suggest ordering a cafe con leche. It will give you a nice energy boost. read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Bandeja Tipica - served with rice, beans, plantains, fried egg, arepa, pork belly, and steak. - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Phenomenal. Used to come here when I was in town with a friend. When I knew we were going to be in the area, I just had to stop. The service is soooo friendly. Moreover, the food is great! My husbands skirt steak arepa was so flavorful. I am going to have to find a recipe and cook it when we are back home. My basic cheese arepa was also as good as I remember. read more

Great service. All the servers were very friendly and attentive. We went on a Saturday night and they had someone playing live Hispanic music and singing. It was a lot of fun and very much like being home, that being Puerto Rico for me. The food was great, I had the bandeja paisa and chicharrones. We also had the sangria, which was 2 for 1. The sangria was very fruity and I like mine more like wine but I still enjoyed it. Service was fast and our server accommodated us to our liking. It seems that they have a separate room for party reservations. It also seemed that they have a separate bakery that I did not have the chance to visit but definitely will next time. read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Bandeja paisa and chicharrones in the back with a side of beans. Yum! - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Really great colombian food, the staff is really a tentative and quick to serve you , highly recommend. read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Breakfast lunch and dinner ROCK. I love their hearty breakfasts complete with rice and beans.The Parillada is just awesome - i prefer no morsilla (blood sausage ) and so i get their highly flavorful chorizo instead, along with incredible ribs, chicken, salad, rice, platenos, red beans, churrasco steak and fresh lemonade -- man, this is living well and eating well among nice people and a great setting. The Bistro side is open during the day - the more fancy restaurant style side to the right at night, often with good Brazilian style music or latin tunes. read more

Had bistec a caballo. The steak had no flavor and the white rice was horrible. The rice tasted old and had a weird texture. My husband had chicken with white rice and maduros and same thing with the rice. We end up eating less than half of our meal. Before leaving the place we heard a family on another table saying something about the taste of the rice and the waitress took the plate with her. I would not come back again. read more

Great Margarita, my wife love it !!!! The food is always fresh and the attention is great, all the service was fast, hot and is the staff is always smiling . My whole family LOVE CALI VIEJO !!!! read more

I got the 1/4 chicken and it was very well cooked. Still juicy with lots of flavor. The Cuban sandwich is one of the best I've ever had! Definitely recommend this place!! read more

Absolutely Outstanding ... Way more than I expected and simply delicious !!! It is very family friendly atmosphere and service was completely on point!!! read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Amazing food! Everything that we tried was simply delicious. Wonderful service! So customer service oriented!

They are our go to restaurant when we have a party! Every time the food has been excellent. Edgar is wonderful to work with and we look forward to having thier amazing MOJO pork, rice and beans, Yuka, and mini empanadas again! . read more

Went for lunch with some coworkers. Since none of us have visited Cali Viejo we really didn't know what to expect. One of us ordered the Cuban sandwich - half of which was taken home. One of us ordered the chicken and yellow rice. I tasted it and almost wished I ordered it! A side of sweet plantains was ordered. I tasted those, too! They were cooked to perfection. So often sweet plantains are over cooked but these were just right; sweet, firm and melted in my mouth. Delicious! I ordered the tamale. The dish was $9 so when I was told it only came with one tamale, I was skeptical. I think I expected a Mexican style tamale. What I got was far from it and I was pleasantly surprised. The tamale was presented on a fresh banana leaf with a pile of white rice. The entire dish was so flavorful. It had a perfect mixture of sauce, potatoes (or yucca....not sure which), veggies and was filled with beef. It was very flavorful and all the ingredients tasted so fresh. I will definitely go back to try another dish! Can't wait to take my family! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because the menu in the menu link is the wrong menu and when we mentioned it at the restaurant they seemed like they had no clue what we were talking about read more

Cali Viejo Restaurant - Tamale dish - unexpectedly amazing!! - Latin American Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Pissed bc I ordered through grub hub and I got no rice and I wanted fried plantains and not the sweet so to pay the amount I did for an incorrect order is annoying. read more

Great atmosphere, very good food, good service... What more can you ask for? Prices were reasonable for the quality of the food. Our party of 5 had a very pleasant and enjoyable evening. read more

Unbelievable! Absolutely untouchable in the Tampa vicinity. It doesn't matter what you get here it's amazing!

Wanting something different for a late lunch, we decided to try this place and we were not disappointed! From the Columbian empanadas to the Cuban and steak sandwiches we were both pleasantly surprised. We will definitely be back!!! read more

Meh.......... We recently moved to the Brandon area, and were looking for some local joints to get a good meal. After passing this place a few times, we finally decided to stop in and give it a try. If this is what authentic Colombian food is supposed to taste like, I'll pass..... My girlfriend ordered the Ropa Vieja (which is basically shredded beef), plantains, and rice. The beef had little to no flavor at all. I ordered the 1/2 chicken, red beans and rice. The chicken was decent, but definitely nothing mind-blowing. On a positive note, the decor and the service was very nice. Cool art covered the walls and shelves, and they had a few TV's in the dining area. Our waitress was very nice and attentive, and was happy to explain the menu. Maybe we caught them on a bad day, but judging from past reviews, this may be the norm. read more

A hidden gem! Small place with great service and amazing food! I had the bandeja paisa and my friend had the fry whole fish. The fish was a little to crispy but good flavor. One of the best bandeja pausa I had ever had! In orlando and Tampa!!! Love the place. Will come back!!! read more

This was one of the few places open on Christmas day. Had a great Christmas dinner with family and friends here. HUGE portions - be prepared to leave very full. Good food and super nice people. We've probably eaten here 10 times in the last few years. Every visit includes a stop at Cali Viejo. read more

Such a great place! Awesome sangria and they have a 2 for one which makes it even better. Love their crunchy bowl - chicken is juicy not overcooked, the shell is perfectly crispy and the dressing really tasty. Many other dishes on the menu are also delicious. I recommend giving them a try. read more

I came here recommended by a friend and I have had a great lunch experience. The food is fantastic the juices are out of this world. Now that I have found it I will come often. No doubt in my mind. read more

Ate lunch here today and I wish I could have licked the plate lol. It was so good worthe the 35 minute drive. The place is very clean and the staf is awesome. I definitely recomend. read more

My Goodness ... how many times I have passed this place and not stooped because it looks like a little hole in the wall with bad parking ... what a fool I was. This place is very good. The food is well done, and the service is friendly and efficient. If you are a fan of South American dining (especially Colombian), do yourself a favor and give them a try. read more

The restaurant may not seem much from the outside, but the the indoor ambiance is nice (with live music on Fridays), the staff are very friendly, and the food is excellent. We had fresh mango and pineapple smoothies that were delicious. The beef empanadas were amazing. I had the churrasco which was very good, my fiancé had the chuleta Colombiana which was very tasty, and my daughter had their nicely cooked rotisserie chicken. Also the portions were very generous. Will definitely come back when in the mood for Latin food!!! read more

Great little spot. Had the pulled pork Cuban, yum! In a sea of fast food, this place is a little gem!

The restaurant is small, but the menu is expansive and the food is out of this world. Seriously some of the best Latin American food I have had outside of Latin America or Miami. The ONLY complaint, and the thing that will keep me from going back was the noise of the music. It was SO loud my ears are still ringing an hour later, and I was completely unable to talk to my wife during dinner. Very disappointing. read more

We ordered thru BiteSquad yesterday. What a huge mistake. Steak had raw liquid seasoning and cold. Chicken had no flavor. Green Plantains were hard as a rock. Fries were put in a glassine bag and the portion of a children's Happy Meal. Food was all thrown on top of white rice. Some of the rice was cooked well and some grains raw. Total waste of 48.00. Never again! read more

Excellent Columbian food with a number of items familiar to Puerto Ricans such as the Chuletas and Morsellas. Great coffee!

Very authentic Columbian food. Beans & yellow rice was very good and the skirt steak was awesome. The sausage and pork belly was extremely dry and surprisingly bland. Overall the food was hit and miss. I'd be willing to recommend it for its authenticity but the service was awful. read more

This place deserves a five star to bring it up to a 4.5 which is what it should be. It's really good! I travelled quite a bit in this area for work and always come here. Yum-O. read more

Let me start off by saying that even though this is a Columbian restaurant, they have several different types of Latin foods. There are an abundance of menu options for every budget. I got the skirt steak with black beans and yellow rice... They definitely did not disappoint! I'm a huge Latin food lover and they're in my top 5 for sure. My only wish is that I had more stomach space to try more meals. I will be coming back soon. read more

Service was good. Staff was friendly and worked fast. The Colombian empanadas were perfect! Good sauce with it too! The Cuban sandwich was great! The bread was really fresh and soft. Also got the ropa vieja tostone sandwich but was not impressed with that. The ropa vieja was definitely not great. Not a whole lot of flavor. Regardless, I'll be back. read more

I would give zero stars, got zero recognition for over 20 minutes. A Spanish couple came in after me and received service before I did. That's bullshit. read more