Carly and Bryce are the best bartenders! So fun and make amazing drinks! My favorite place in cola for margs!

Monday night is taco night. Great deal, great food. Diverse menu with vegetarian options.

Payton was our server and she was super nice! We came for 4$ margs and 2$ tacos!! Food was very good and margs were good too. We got the watermelon margs which were very good and everything came out super fast!! read more

The food is white washed, the proportions are small. The waiters felt rushed and uncomfortable. The restaurant looks great but is lacking in many areas. read more

Had a great time here! Was in South Carolina for one night and chose to go here. Definitely try their on-tap kombucha and tuna poke bowl!

Publico was an excellent dinner spot in the perfect location of Columbia SC! We had an amazing quesadilla and just about every taco on the menu - all of them great. Fast service, very personable, and a nice selection of drinks made it a wonderful night for dinner and drinks. Our server was Jen and she was awesome! Definitely coming back read more

Frequent publico brunch goer and one of my favorite date spots for the past four years however, I likely will not go back after my recent experience with the bar staff. As someone who has worked in multiple restaurants I have never encountered anyone so rude. Ruined my night and ruined my opinion on publico. read more

Went for my first time yesterday and had the best time! The drinks were amazing and the food was great. Our server Morgan made the experience even better, she was on top of everything and even though she looked like she had a lot of tables she was still taking the time to talk to us and be super friendly. Definitely requesting her as my server next time! read more

Absolutely beautiful rooftop with cabanas. We came here after brunch so we were only drinking at this point and didn't get to try the food. It was pretty empty when we went around 1 but got packed at about 4. I would definitely want to come try the food here next time though. The service was great and they were all very kind. I was pretty impressed! read more

I really like this place because of the location and the fun environment. They have amazing drinks and specials so it's cool to hang out at, but the food is really not all that stellar. The menu is pretty random, but even with the different options no one ever really likes their food... read more

Food was very good I got the churro French toast. A waiter came up and asked how things were going after we ordered and I asked her if I could sub my turkey sausage for bacon and she said she would get my server. The server never came and when she finally did come she had our food which had the turkey sausage. No worries about that. The reason for the review was because a waiter in a tan cardigan today reached down to touch and pet a dog and then went straight back to the kitchen. She had some glasses. I felt this was very unsanitary. read more

Brunch specials are amazing!!!! BoGO free drinks alongside delicious food.... makes my Sunday awesome!!! I can't wait to come back during the week! read more

Publico - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

On a particularly rough day dropping my little brother off for his first day at USC, my mom and I stopped in for a drink. Really cute place. Hostesses were friendly arriving and server made the entire experience enjoyable. Super knowledgeable of the specials, beers & breweries, etc. my mom ordered a cocktail flight and I asked the waitress to put together an IPA flight for myself. Knocked it out of the park! All were delicious. The place smelled so good we also ended up grabbing food. Queso & chips and edamame. Our server suggested trying their specialty hot sauces w the queso and they were all to die for. We ended up leaving w 6 bottles to enjoy at home. Overall great experience and will most definitely be back. Fave spot in Cola so far. read more

One of my go-to columbia favorites! Every taco I've tried is amazing, bbq chicken might be my favorite. For brunch, the chilaquiles egg plate is my favorite. The margaritas are not very strong and kinda fake tasting, but great if you're looking for a cheap easy margarita. Sangria is very flavorful and tastes stronger. For sides, the street corn, plantains, and french fries are all so good it's always hard to decide. read more

Publico - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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One of our favorite downtown restaurants. Food is really good and unique, especially for Columbia. Not just a college hangout... "old" people enjoy it too. Especially like the open windows when it's not sooo humid. Fried plantains are really good as a side. As good as I've had on my travels. Wait staff is always very friendly and seem to like their jobs. Positive environment and fun. read more

Very tasty. Ordered delivery to our hotel room after a long day of driving and it hit the spot! We had flour tortilla tacos--classic and carnita. Very good, fresh ingredients and good flavor. Also got lettuce wraps for two of the tacos which is a great option. Nachos were also good--lots of toppings and the chips were still crunchy! Caramelized plantains were soft and cooked just right. read more

So, we unfortunately were not able to eat here. The place was packed, but there don't appear to be many people waiting, so we put our name on the list for first available. The hostess said the wait was 15 to 20 minutes maximum. After 35 minutes of waiting, the hostess said that she was instructed not to seat anyone else because the kitchen was slammed. She said the wait would be considerably longer, and she didn't know when she would be able to seat us. She apologized and asked us to come back to visit. I do understand that this us graduation weekend for USC, but I am pretty shocked that we basically told to leave. read more

Do NOT get takeout from publico. Literally disgusting. Trust me when I say just go to chipotle. It was completely not what I ordered and my tacos were so soggy they were wet. Usually their food is so good but I will never be getting takeout from here ever again. read more

I love Publico but things were a bit off last time I went. The service was absolutely amazing as usual. But.. what happened to the food? I ordered my usual queso appetizer and was extremely disappointed in what I got. It tasted and felt like elmers glue. read more

This one of the best places that i have ever been to!! I got the Macrobiotic Bowl with no meat and it is one of the best dishes ever!! This place is great for vegans and vegetarians and very welcoming of all people! The waiters help you choose whats best for you and check on you constantly! Im completely satisfied with this place! read more

Carly and Bryce were the best bartenders. Great service and great recommendations. The drinks and the food were fantastic. Everyone in Columbia should check out publico. read more

Always a good time, great tacos, friendly atmosphere. Their deals are amazing and their 3$ beer of the day is always a steal!!

If you haven't had brunch here you are missing out! Along with the great atmosphere and amazing food if you are lucky enough to have Collin as your server you are in for a treat. He is a energetic and friendly you man. I never had to ask for anything during my visit, he was always on top of it. If his table is available...jump on it! read more

Excellent food and drinks! A variety of taco fusion options with fresh ingredients! I will definitely visit again!

Great vibe, lots of people. Interesting menu and great drink options. Good location. Service was a little slow and wine pours less than generous but overall would recommend. Shrimp ramen was not a winner (no flavor). Stick with the poke and small plates. read more

The food here is amazing and unique! The service is always great and they have great deals on Monday's. Our server, Morgan R, was so sweet!

Madison W was bomb. Great tasting food and even a better waitress! I will definitely come back!

My friends and I are regulars here! You can always find us here on Sunday for brunch. The atmosphere has a great energy, the place itself is chic and well put together. The staff is always fun to talk with and they take really good care of you. And the food- I don't know how anyone could call it bland! Even the nacho chips themselves are delicious- I don't know how they do it. You can bring your four legged friends with you on the patio as well- there's even a full menu for them! Keep up the good work! read more

Last night was my FIRST and LAST time coming to this place. I was really excited to try it for my friends birthday. We were sat immediately so there was no wait. Our waiter Jess came to greet us and said she would be back with water but never came. Another server (?) or maybe the host (?) came by and asked if we wanted water.... So we said yes again and waited for that to come out. Probably 15 minutes later our actual server returned and asked if "we wanted to order food" we all asked if we could order drinks first and then asked what the two frozen drink flavors were (the menu literally says ask about our flavors) and she did not know the TWO flavors. Once we finally ordered our drinks nothing ever came and no one ever checked on us again except to say that the bar was backed up. We waited for over an hour before deciding to just leave. No drinks and didnt even get to order food because no one took our order. As we walked back through to leave I was expecting it to be slammed inside (as a server in town I get it sometimes it's nuts on a Saturday night) but there was no one and two people behind the bar laughing and playing around and a bunch of servers just standing around near the kitchen. I'm extremely disappointed because I was so excited to try this place but again- I will not be returning. Horrible service and horrible communication. read more

We have been a few times food is good, this time the service was slow and the chips were stale. This was the first time I have sat at a table, slow service has not been typical to the bar. read more

Their brunch is amazing! The coffee cocktail was super good. Bring back the breakfast jook!!!

I have been a publico fan for a few years now and would consider it a Columbia staple, but the past two times I've been, the service had been pretty bad. Not sure if they're understaffed or something, but my group waited on our food for 1.5 hours last night with minimal service for drink orders from our server. Our group has frequented publico and we were all really disappointed with the experience. I hope this can change! read more

The decor was great and the menu looked so promising. But, alas, this place is a bust. Two stars are for our server who was kind, attentive, and able to gracefully move through the tightly packed tables. The beer was good, but that is hard to mess up, right? My tacos? They were just sad. Based on the menu descriptions I was expecting flavor bombs. But, they were limp, soggy, and flavorless. I travelled in Vietnam and was excited to see a Banh Mi taco on the menu. And it came with pork belly?! Score. But, the pork belly somehow was cooked to the point that it had no flavor or richness. And there were none of the other tell-tale flavors of a banh mi in play. The other taco I tried was the Gochujang shrimp. Exciting! I love Korean food and keep a big tub of gochujang (a spicy, sweet, and salty fermented chili paste) in my fridge. My taco, however, had no sign of gochujang. Was it supposed to be a sauce that was left off? Did I receive the wrong taco? Was the cook just thinking about the sauce while tepidly grilling the shrimp? I'll never know. For both of the tacos, all of the ingredients just collapsed into each other. I didn't make out any distinct flavors. Did I mention that the tacos are all on flour tortillas? :( I had high hopes for this place, but it just bummed me out. read more

Things have changed for the better at my last visit. They are bottling their own hot sauces now one of which is a coconut ghost Chile. Want spice. Now you have it. The food seemed to have been stepped up too as the tacos were better than we remembered. Of course, having had horrible food at white duck taco may have just made it seem that way. I still think that for this type of fusion Mexican, it is the best in Columbia. If you ever get to Atlanta, go to Taqueria del Sol for the original creators and best of this type of food. You will wait in line to order for a while, but they are the original and the best by a mile. read more

I met a couple of friends here over lunch the other day and had the Mongolian beef rice bowl. It was delicious. I've eaten here a few times and have not been disappointed with the food. The atmosphere is wonderful. I love when they open the garage doors. Will definitely be back! read more

Well this place was ok. Not bad but not particularly good. I got the chopped salad and the tuna poke taco. The chopped salad would have been good if it had a more flavorful dressing. It was just kind of bland. It did have Bok Choy in it though which I really liked, it added a good crunch. The tuna poke tacos tasted mostly like the avocado spread they put on it. I did have a good margarita though and the beer selection is top notch. Don't be afraid of flavor and salt is all I'm going to say!!! Good idea just mediocrely executed! read more

Not thrilled about my experience here. It's a really cool place with a great location is why they get two stars. The prices on the other hand are unreal. We ordered two Local craft beers that we order everywhere and when we got the check we noticed the beers were 7 dollars a piece!!! No prices on the drink menu so I had no idea how much it was setting me back until I saw the bill. My girlfriend and I ordered an appetizer and ate a couple bites and was not impressed at all. Only time I'll return is if I win the lottery to be able to afford more than a drink. read more

This place was a solid 4/4.5 until about two weeks ago when they changed their menu and got rid of the best tacos they make. There is literally zero chance of me going there until they bring back the Puffy Taco! Otherwise, great beer selection. Ask for the Beer of the Day - $5/pint on quality beer. read more

Absolutely best crunch roll and quesadilla I've ever had in my life! Always good service and an awesome outdoor seating area when the weather is nice. read more

Not a bad 'beer and burger' pub. The beverage selection is very extensive, the service was diligent and attentive. My burger was very good. Fries were a bit weak but okay. read more