Sammie's — Restaurant in Austin

First time coming here and we will be back. Make sure to make reservations; you can come without reservations but expect a wait.

The interior is something has the "old school" feel to it; old photos cover the walls. Nice music playing (a bit loud).

They brought out fresh bread and bread sticks. We had to repeatedly request olive oil and balsamic vinegar but honestly, you don't need them. The bread has a really nice hint of rosemary and they taste freshly baked.

We had the Caesar salad and these are quite good. Oddly no croutons or parmesan cheese. It's a delicious salad but just missing the typical accoutrements. We also shared an order of Calamari and it's quite good.

For our main entrees, we had Cacio e Pepe, Rigatoni Bolognese and Lasagna. I tried the Cacio e Pepe and I know that is what I'm having the next time we visit here. It's an amazing pasta dish. The Rigatoni was also quite good. For the lasagna, it is good, but honestly, a bit heavy. They do not scrimp on the cheese or meat, but it was heavier on the mozzarella cheese and too little of ricotta (if there was any). The lasagna portion they serve is easily enough for four people, so if you are with a group and want to share a meal, just order one lasagna.

We had a variety of drinks and they were mostly disappointing. I do realize it's an Italian restaurant but I would still think they could serve just about any drink. I ordered a cocktail and when it was brought out, I was told "this is our version" and it was bad enough I had to send it back. The server was nice and told me that wasn't a problem. Ended up having a dirty martini with olives. To start off... the olives! I never thought I would complain about olives in a drink but these were not cocktail olives. And the martini was pretty bad and ended up not finishing. One in our party wanted wine and the server was not at all knowledgeable about the wine list. In fact, neither were the bartenders. Their cocktail/wine list is 26 pages and we just didn't have time to review it all. The glass of wine brought out was red and our friend specifically said she wanted something white. I went to the bar and the bartender couldn't give a recommendation. What's the point of this extensive wine list if your employees don't know much about it. I've worked as a server and had to memorize the entire bar menu.

We ordered desert and we were going to take it home; My friends had Tiramisu and they said it was the best they have ever had. I had the NY Cheesecake and it was quite good but I don't believe they make it.

The downside of our experience was the hostess. Some hostesses seem to feel they wield control and abuse that... as did this person. We did not have reservations and simply just wanted to put our name on a list for anything whether it was outside or at the bar if we couldn't get a table. It was 8pm and were being told 9:30 - 10pm. Although there were three empty tables outside and there were spaces available at the bar, the hostess was being quite obstinate. After awhile, it seemed as if she wouldn't even take our names but ultimately she did take our name and number. After an hour of waiting, we went back inside to see where we were on the list. It was now 9pm and there were plenty of open tables and she sat us right away. The bigger question is how long had those tables been open? I'm 100% sure if we never came back... they never would have actually called us. Extremely poor service by the hostess. I've been to small diners and they will text you updates on your spot on the list. So, if you put your name down on the waitlist, check back frequently because it's likely they will never contact you. Hostesses seem to have a...

Update (Mar 2024): As Sammie's used to be one of our favorite spots in Austin, we've gone back a few times this year to give them a chance. Consistency matters and Sammie's has sadly lost it.

Unfortunately, rather than improving back to the same quality of food and service that they had the first year they opened, in our experience, the quality of the food has gotten significantly worse. The once delicious and consistently outstanding lasagna now is hit and miss. Mostly it is a miss with poorly slapped together layers that seem like they were rushed in prep by the kitchen.

The Lumache alla Vodka that was previously so consistently delicious has over the last year also been hit or miss both in terms of flavor and especially so in terms of portion size.

The Crispy Potatoes with rosemary & parmesan that were previously consistently crispy and perfectly seasoned, have also become wildly inconsistent. Sometimes cold and mushy. Often times so overly seasoned as to be inedible.

The wonderful Cantina della Volte Rosé Lambrusco di Sorbara Spumante that Sammie's introduced us to years ago, is consistently now unavailable.

Sadly, Sammie's is not quite what it used to be. The most significant differences:

Service (2 - 2.5) -- it has gone from consistently excellent, to consistently bad. After some bad service a few times mid-week, I assumed we were just seeing some of the new staff that were being trained. After dining a number of more times including on weekends, it seems that almost all of the familiar faces that provided excellent service at Sammie's in the past are no longer there. It shows in the quality of the service and in the basic lack of familiarity with the offerings (food and wine).

Food (3) -- the consistency is no longer there and portion size in some cases has become embarrassingly small. When we dined at Sammie's yesterday evening the Lumache alla Vodka (one of our favorites that we've ordered for years) was a tiny portion size that amounted to about 3-4 spoon fulls of pasta. My guess is that the portion size was about 25%-30% of what it used to be. The plate with the Lumache alla Vodka looked nearly empty when it was brought to our table. Even if it is a kitchen mistake, how does a server bring such an empty plate to the table? The lasagna was still a good sized portion, but the amount of meat was a fraction of what it used to be. Inflation? When paying $38 for lasagna, surely MML can afford to include a normal portion of meat. For the lumache, there is just no excuse for such a tiny portion. Is it new kitchen staff struggling with the menu? Perhaps. Regardless, what used to be our favorite Italian restaurant in Austin is now way down the list for us.

Wine / cocktails (2) -- is there anything worse than bringing the wrong bottle of wine? I can't recall it ever happening to us at any restaurant before. It's happened to us at Sammie's the last two times we've dined there. Inexcusable.

There is a talented chef at Sammie's as there remain some highlights. Despite the small portion size and small amount of meat in the lasagna, the food was still good. The snap pea salad that we tried for the first time yesterday was excellent. It seems to primarily be a front staff and perhaps a bean counter issue at Sammie's.

Regardless of the cause, one of our favorite restaurants in Austin has now become one that we infrequently dine at and when we have dined at Sammie's the last few times, we've been consistently disappointed.

I'm not sure we...

I have been dying to try Sammie's Italian in Austin, Texas ever since it opened during COVID, and I finally got the opportunity to dine there TONIGHT.

Located on West 6th Street in the former Huts Hamburgers location, which closed in October 2019 to make way for the swankiest and most spoken about Italian restaurant in Austin, Sammie's feels like New York City's Little Italy.

Replete with a glamorous, but small bar, you can usually get a walk in spot there right at 5 when they open.

I had a reservation, and as I went to my table, I noticed waiters in red jackets with white shirts and black ties.

All the staff were friendly, and they brought me warm focaccia bread and breadsticks while i waited for my friend.

I arrived right when Sammie's opened at 5pm, and it was empty, by 530, half of the seats were full, and when I left at 7pm the place was PACKED.

We started with the mozzarella sticks, paired with a mundane marinara - but thankfully also with a delicious ranch with homemade pesto that leaves you begging for more.

The Caesar Salad was humdrum, but had a nice bite of lemon in the dressing, which was over what appeared to be half a head of baby Bibb lettuce.

For my main course, I had the lasagne, which could be shared by 2-3 people. I am fine with this, because I can go home and put this in the fridge and have tomorrow for leftovers but if you order it yourself, plan on finishing about 20% of it on your own.

Just saying.

My friend had the Mafaldine with Funghi and Tartufo, which is a pasta with a mushroom cream sauce and copious amounts of black truffle on top.

The dish was VERY RICH.

Just saying.

For our finale, we had the Tiramisu, which was a fantastic end to the meal. As you bit into it, you got hits on the alcohol, coffee, cream and cake in all the right amounts.

Paired with an espresso or limoncello, this final course is the FOODIE way to end the meal on a high note.

There is also outdoor seating - they do have heat lamps.

I would give Sammie's a 8.5/10 - the food could have been better, but the service, ambience and overall prestige make it a MUST DO in...