SAMA Bankside — Restaurant in London

If you’ve been living under a rock—or perhaps under a railway arch in London—you might not have noticed the city's rather industrious refurbishing spree over the last decade. Yes, our dear old capital has had a facelift, and Bankside is a gleaming testament to this urban renaissance. Once the grim underbelly of railway arches, Bankside is now a vibrant hub of modernity, filled with all sorts of curiosities and, more importantly, watering holes.

Enter SAMA Bankside. Nestled under the rumbling trains, this bar is the epitome of what the new London stands for: busy, modern, and efficient. It's the sort of place that caters to the masses—sharp suits and even sharper cocktails.

Now, don’t get me wrong, SAMA is an impressive establishment. It ticks all the boxes of contemporary chic: the lighting is dim but not dingy, the decor is stylish without being pretentious, and the service is swift enough to keep the most impatient of city dwellers content. It's the kind of place where you could easily imagine a group of young professionals clinking glasses after a hard day's work, their laughter mingling with the steady hum of the city above.

But—and here's the rub—it's not for someone like me. You see, I crave a bit more soul, a bit more character. SAMA, for all its virtues, feels a bit too polished, too clean. There's a sterility to its perfection that leaves me longing for the grittier, more lived-in corners of London's pub scene. The kind of places where the walls have stories to tell, and the barstools have seen generations come and go.

That said, I can still appreciate what they’ve done with the place. It’s a masterclass in modern bar management, and there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that even the once-dingy underpasses of our city can be transformed into vibrant social spaces.

So, is SAMA Bankside worth a visit if you find yourself in the area with a parched throat? Absolutely. Will it become your local haunt, brimming with character and old-world charm? Probably not. But in this new, efficient London, perhaps that's just fine.

For those of you with a thirst and a penchant for the new and shiny, SAMA Bankside is your oasis. For the rest of us, the quest for that elusive, soulful watering...

A big party of us had brunch at Sama today. To sum up the place, the venue has been really nicely done out with a nice bar and is a good drinks venue.

However, for a brunch / any sort of meal option I would not go to Sama again. The food is really poor - it’s a very limited menu and the quality of the food is really bad. A lot of deep fried stuff that gets served to you with poor presentation eg without any sort of garnish- they need to get a new chef a child could serve up better presentation than what was given to us.

There was not any healthy alternatives on the menu either, I just wanted some sort of salad and there was nothing like that. A lot of people had pizza’s for a main course and they said they were undercooked. Overall they are using the cheapest products and charging high prices for these. The brunch included unlimited Prosecco and a cocktail - however everyone told me the cocktail was just a sweet sugary drink and you could not taste any alcohol in it.

Also if you want to order off the main menu and not have anything off the limited brunch menu they don’t allow you to do this. I asked to just order something off the main menu as I was not drinking and did not like the look of the options. However the manager informed me I would have to pay for the brunch menu (£40 per person) regardless and it would cost me £40 for a main if I only had that! When I said to them I did not like the brunch drink options they instead offered me a take or leave it option of a non-alcoholic menu for £22 with two courses. But still this was not good value as the food was inedible and the non-alcoholic drink options were coke, lemonade and tonic water. I asked for a juice and they told me that would be extra!

Places like this need to massively up their game if they want to survive the pandemic - a nicely done out bar in a good location is...

I only wish I could share a positive review of SAMA but I never got as far as to actually get a booking.

I reserved a table for two for 19.00 at 08.30 a.m. the same day. I immediately received two confirmations, one from SAMA, and one from Google, that both reported 'Thank you for your enquiry, we will be in touch shortly. Please note this booking is not yet confirmed.'

Given that they were closed at this hour I didn't expect to hear anything back until later, but I heard nothing. Concerned that I would arrive later on only to find that there was no reservation, I made a special trip at 16.00 to visit the location to check in with the staff.

There was a private function until 17.00, but the people who had hired the space were kind enough to locate someone who worked there. He arrived with a clipboard and looked rather bewildered.

I explained the situation. He looked at his clipboard and couldn't find my name. I showed him the two reservation mails, with the reservation number. He then left and returned a few minutes later to confirm that there was no reservation for me.

Then he casually mentioned that there was another private hire that evening anyhow, so they couldn't accommodate any guests!

It was so odd - at no point did he offer any sympathy or support, but simply acted in a surly distant manner. I mentioned that perhaps it might be of value to the restaurant and their reputation that guests might be a little upset and some clarity to such situations would be of value, but he clearly had very little interest.

Very disappointing indeed and I must certainly will not be attempting to making...