6 Best Latin American Restaurants near Lakeland

“We took our son to Nineteen 61 for his birthday.Madison was our server, and we want to give special thanks to her for her assistance throughout the meal. Our son is gluten-, egg-, and dairy-intolerant, and she knew which menu items were safe and which were problematic.She was also very helpful with menu choices for the rest of us - cheerful, friendly, informative, while remaining professional.We started with some appetizers:I enjoyed the Pulpo 61 - octopus served in a great complementary sauce with fingerling potato slices. The others had the Brussels sprouts (tossed in maple balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with raisin caramel and manchego cheese), and the Chips with avocado mousse & tomatillo salsa (excellent).We all enjoyed the appetizers and then moved on to the main courses.I had one of the day's specials - a New York Strip steak, "gaucho style". Wonderfully flavorful and nicely seasoned, it was a large steak (no bone), so my son wound up taking half home for his dinner the next night. I also had a small "1961 salad" which was a very nice salad with cheeses (manchego and baby swiss), manzanilla olives, and the signature house dressing (like a slightly thicker vinaigrette).Two of our party had the Seabass Chimi - wood grilled with house chimichurri plus caribbean sweet potatoes). They loved the texture and flavor of the fish (and the potatoes).One had the Churrasco steak - a marinated flat iron steak with sides.All our meals came with one or two sides, and there was more than enough food for everyone.The restaurant had no desserts that were gluten-, egg-, and dairy-free (no surprise there!). We had checked the previous day, so we earlier went to Mimi's and got some great ice creams (yes - gluten-, egg-, and dairy-free ice creams - delicious). So - unfortunately, we skipped dessert at Nineteen 61 and went back to our hotel for a birthday dessert party.Overall - a great experience at the restaurant, and another shout-out to our server, Madison, who really made this an exceptional experience.Dietary restrictions: Reasonable choices for gluten-free and egg-free items.“

“Great spot. Great food and super nice owners.“

“The best lunch, pastries, breakfast and coffee in the area. This spot is held dear to my heart. There is a reason why they are busy, the food is well worth the wait. The entire staff is extremely pleasant. I am very thankful to the team that works hard to bring the cuisine I love so much to my area.“

“Excellent in everything Elizabeth attended us and I loved exceptional service [Original] Ecxelente en todo nos atendió elizabeth y me encantó servicio excepcional“

“Small nook like restaurant. Food was good. I got the fillet, but for me it was a little undercooked, I could see a pink tinge in the middle. Others may like it that way, but I prefer to be fully cooked. Flavors were good, fish was topped with onions and tomatoes in a nice little sauce. I liked that it came with a drink, so full meal. Meal was filling.“

“Buena y excelente comida, recomendado 100%“