Sam's By-The-Sea — Restaurant in Okinawa

Been here countless times over the years, have the collection of cups to prove it on display at home. Well, after moving back to Okinawa last year this was our first time back, of all days for my birthday dinner.

Well I am sadly disappointed to the point that we probably won’t be dining here again. They get 2 stars because at least the taste/quality of the appetizers haven’t changed and the service was acceptable. Wish I could say the same for the steaks.

The Del Monico was ordered medium-rare and it was chewy as if the meat went from frozen to the fire. Have ordered this steak plenty to know what to expect and this was not it.

The chef’s recommendation (prime rib) was even worst. It was hard, dry and cold by the time it hit my table. Maybe my mistake for not sticking to what I have tasted in the past, but I figured I would try it. Took two bites and that’s all it took. Told my wife to send it back and when she told them it was cold, hard and dry they didn’t ask to make it better. I guess I was expecting to be asked to warm it up, replace it or offer something else but they did neither. We were only asked if we wanted it to go and I said not at all.

Lastly, the lobster which is (or should I say was) my wife’s absolute favorite looked more like a large prawn compared to what we had been served numerous times prior. If i recall correctly, they used to ask you which size lobster you wanted (which were priced accordingly) and now we got an ¥8000 crawfish.

Not sure if COVID impacted their supply chain or what, but tonight’s experience definitely impacted my decision to return again. Thanks for the birthday...

The customer service is what is actually holding the weight to my review. In the beginning and up to receiving my food they were awesome. We got seated fairly quickly( got there as they opened and had kids seated). They waited patiently as we decided what we wanted to eat. From the time sat down and began to eat, there was little wait. The appetizer was semi on point, soup was delicious, salad was light and just enough, and my main meal........... let’s say this is why I’m giving it 3 stars. The meal was delicious but the disappointing factor was how cold it was. What did not help was once we received all our food we did not get serviced meaning no one came around asking how our food was. We nearly had to yell at waitresses walking by to get them to pay attention to us. I had the Maine lobster and steak which I felt was not worth the money I paid. The lobster dish was suppose to be a whole lobster but after digging through seemed like half a lobster that was disguised with all the sauce ( that was because I had the saucy version instead of plain). If you choose the Maine lobster make sure you get something else besides the saucy one so you can see that you are in fact getting a whole lobster. Then again I would get their Tahitian lobster as that is cheaper and the sauce is really what I liked out of my dish. Overall if I had a hot meal and customer service throughout my entire meal, the night would have been complete and been worth taking my family to this place as the...

I NEVER give places lower ratings then 4 stars unless I have a real reason. First of all; I don't get the hype. I've been here 2 times. The first time I had the pasta and it was not good, at all. I loved their curry soup and their bread it was so so good. I decided I wanted to review them after a second or third visit. The second visit was the worst. We went with a group of 6 and we got drinks at the bar and got seated after, our whole group was not there we were missing 2 people. The waiter or manager whatever he was that was taking care of our table was RUDE! He went up to me 3 times to tell me to pay for my drink. Ok dude I'm not going to walk out. After, he kept asking about the 2 other people who were supposed to be there. He told us if they didn't get there in 5 minutes we would have to leave our table. Now, I understand a group should all be there in order to sit but they just sat us so it wasn't our fault. I had the coconut shrimp that night and it was OK, again not worth the money. After my second visit I don't want to ever go back. The staff is lovely and nice but whoever that guy was, was SUPER rude. Also, I just don't think it's worth the money. There are better restaurants out here with better food. I don't mind paying money for food but if its not on par with the price then I don't get it. I'd say everyone should try it for themselves at least once since there are a lot of mixed...