We ordered fried oyster appetizer. Four small oysters for $26.95. Asked the waiter if there was a mistake. He said no, market price. Crazy! Blackboard specials have no price. We ordered veal and shrimp. Three shrimp and three mediocre pieces of veal. $45.95 per entree. Just fair. Used to be a great restaurant, no wonder there were only 3 other tables occupied.
I am really hesitant to say all the great things that makes this a five star restaurant because it has limited capacity seating. Having grown up in a predominantly Midwest Italian neighborhood i was raised on authentic Italian food. As such I am very picky and hard to please. Sammy's exceeds all expectations. He is a masterful chef and magician in his kitchen. The selection is authentic yet has a true "Sammy's " spin added in. I travel the US and abroad and no one tops this place. His son Vic is an awesome young man and a bonus if you visit. Simply stated..."il meglio".
The food was quite good. However, they only had ONE waiter working there. They really need to hire additional help because it was not very crowded but service was still slow. Worst of all, though, I had about a quarter of my salmon left and I had to use the bathroom. I covered my plate to keep the food warm, and by the time I came back it was gone. The waiter had simply assumed that I was done when I actually wasn't. Maybe I should have told the friend I was with not to let them take my food, but it was somewhat presumptuous for the waiter to just consider me done and take my food away.The restaurant is also quite expensive.
Super cozy, romantic atmosphere. Staff was phenomenal & genuine. Love that it’s BYOB. Reminded us of when we ate in Italy. The specials were amazing; veal & shrimp pasta then a pesto/scallop/shrimp pasta. For dessert, we had a flan type custard & it was so delicious that we almost ordered a 2nd one.
My girlfriends and I love coming to Sammy’s for a phenomenal Italian meal, great ambiance, and even better staff. We always close the place down whenever we go and no one runs us out. In fact, the even take pictures for you to make sure the night is always remembered!
Felt very much like I was back in Italy! BYOB cozy family owned restaurant. Service was excellent, food prepared perfectly to order and quickly. Delicious lobster ravioli appetizer with amazing sauce. Ordered the ribeye and shrimp special. Steak was cooked just right! The chicken florence with pasta in a lemon sauce was so fresh. Beautiful view of the capital building. Will definitely come back as we were too full to try desserts and recommend to anyone in the area.
The food and service was excellent. The young curly haired male Host/ Server was able to confidently recite the menu and bring a warm welcomed Comedic approach, to our service.Due to the small space, Everyone in the rooms chatter seemed like a stadium's roar. Making the atmosphere less desirable for a small dinner gathering among friends.Please verify your bill when it comes. There was some incorrect math being done manually, that was quickly resolved.I would like to go back when it's less crowed.Good Job!
The place has pros and cons.Pros.1) Ambiance is very cozy. It reminds me of a restaurant in NYC or Philadelphia. Small and cozy. You can tell the chef/family owns the place and works there daily. It also has the most beautiful view of the capital in nearly every seat, which adds to the ambiance.2) Sauce is homemade and it was very tasty.3) Tiramisu also is homemade. And it goes into the top 3 category of any tiramisu I have ever had.4) It is BYOB, which kind of balances out the higher price points of the food.5) Service was very good. Friendly and quick. I even talked to the owner/chef a little who is Italian.6) Parking is quick, easy and free after 5PM. No need to worry about that anymore. Plentiful parking all nearby.Cons.1) Pasta was not homemade. At this price point I except the pasta to be homemade. It really should be to be honest. The dishes are not cheap, and I have no problem paying for quality, but the pasta itself is definitely coming from a box. NOT OK.2) Portion was decent. Not oversized and not small. It satisfied me. I ordered the seafood pasta dish, I had two clams, two oysters, one shrimp, one small piece of fish and three calamari (which had to be frozen). Maybe having one extra shrimp and one extra clam I would of understood the price point a little more. OR if the dish had homemade pasta and the same seafood portion. The dish was $35.3) Pasta was not homemade. Again it is hard for me to want to order pasta here again at this price point if its not homemade pasta. The expectation from Philadelphia is if you pay more you get more. So for $35 dollar for the dish I should be getting homemade pasta and the seafood portion in its current form would seem appropriate. I just make a big fuss about this, because if the pasta was homemade I would rate this from 4 to 5. At this price point, in Philadelphia I order pasta and it is always homemade.General overview:The prices are a premium but if you like BYOB it does balance out when you think about it. I ordered one seafood pasta dish ($35) which includes a micro salad and a little bread, and for dessert I ordered a tiramisu ($11) and double shot of espresso ($8). The bill was $57.With that, I did bring my own mini bottle of wine, which saved me about $15 if I had ordered two glasses of wine at the restaurant. So if you remind yourself it is BYOB and you utilize it, then the prices will balance out and be the same as if you went to a lesser quality restaurant and ordered wine by the glass.I will be back to try some other dishes. Check it out if you like the BYOB experience with friends and flavorful food in a cozy setting.
Great location, but highly overrated & very disappointing.. Meager house salad consisted of a few wilted lettuce leaves along with 2 slices of un-ripened tomatoes. No prices were listed on the blackboard specials and I foolishly ordered a pasta dish that was listed on it. Turned out to be a very small portion of pasta served in an oversized bowl. The pasta dish was average and I wasn't very impressed. Did not order drinks or dessert. Sticker shock of a bill when I wound up paying close to $60, including tip, just for myself. Would definitely not recommend.
It was just okay. I have no problem paying for quality food. However I ordered the Chicken Parmenson. Who makes it with mini-rotini noodles? And if your going to make it with it can I get more than 12? Chicken was well cooked and a decent size, but the sauce was a little watery, and my some of my pasta was cold. Just was expecting a better product when I had to pay $24.99 for it.