Phat Sammy's — Restaurant in Huntsville

Another classic case of "I REALLY wish half stars were an option!"

3.5 for me based on my first visit.

My girlfriends came from out of town for Christmas and we decided to come here for a gathering. I was easily able to make reservations on RESY for a table for the three of us + 2 husbands + a bonus friend who joined last-minute (so, 6 total). Our reservation was ready on time, although our tables were two round-tops pushed together, which made talking to people at the opposite table (especially in the loud environment) kind of hard. I don't hold this against them too much because we expected a noisy environment; just something to keep in mind for larger parties.

They weren't super-duper busy but service was a little slow and disjointed. However, I got the impression our waitress was still a little new or overwhelmed -- maybe not enough other waitresses to cover all the tables or something. She kept up a pleasant and helpful demeanor and all our food and drinks were right when we got it, so that's a plus.

I'm not a huge drinker so perhaps some aspects of the experience were lost on me. I didn't want to miss out on the tiki fun, so I tried an Ango Colada. It wasn't really for me, but I didn't think the bitters would come through so...well...bitter -- I was hoping for stronger pineapple and lime flavors but I mostly just got alcohol, lol. More than willing to accept this as a "me" problem. The rum and coke I continued the night with was perfectly fine. Others in my party who got tiki drinks seemed to come to the consensus that it was good but not great. All the drinks have fun names, so that adds some entertainment value. The "Three Dots and a Dash" was probably the best/most popular drink at our table. We did all feel like the drinks went pretty heavy on the ice to drink ratio.

The food was resoundingly fine! In some ways though it was my biggest disappointment because I've been excited and intrigued by the PS menu in all its iterations since they opened. I ordered the K-Mac burger with fries, husband got the pork katsu sando, and others at the table got a variety of other things, to include the beef bulgogi rice bowl, the poke nachos, wings, Thai coconut curry, and a small order of fried rice.

Personally, I sampled the nachos, the pork katsu sandwich, and of course my meal. The nachos were pretty good -- very crispy -- though I only had a bite with sauce and veggies, none of the fish. My husband's pork katsu sandwich was probably my favorite thing I tried. Bright flavors, crispy breaded pork, nicely toasted bread. We both enjoyed the thick-cut fries, though they could've stood to be slightly crisper.

My burger was kind of...odd? The beef tasted good, the egg was cooked nicely, the flavor of the kimchi on top was fine...but I don't feel like it really came together. My biggest problem was that it was so absolutely enormous it was impossible for me to eat it with my hands. While I appreciate the size from a value standpoint, I really prefer not to cut my burger into bite-size pieces, haha. Additionally, having to do that meant it was hard for me to ever get a bite with all the ingredients on it, which kind of prevented me from getting the total picture. I also thought the kimchi unfortunately made the top bun pretty soggy pretty fast. If I ordered this again, I'd ask for no kimchi, mostly because of that.

I can see myself giving this place another go in the future. I like the creative food and drink options and the sort of underground tiki bar vibe is definitely a fun one. They also have lots of changing themed drinks, fairly solid happy hour deals, and fun events like Christmas movie nights, drag bingo, etc. Give them a try and see...

This place is really nice, and I really enjoyed my time here. The food was AMAZING. However, the reason for 3 stars is due to the service I experienced on Friday night. When we arrived, they already had a 20+ party (that had already been served) and had another 25+ showing up later. So, we decided to sit at the bar since there were no "open" tables (btw, the same 6 or 7 tables that were free when we arrived were also free when we left). When we sat down, the bar was gross and never was wiped down. We waited 15 minutes to get our drink order in. There was a worker who told one of the bartenders (there were 2) our order, and instead of assisting, they told their colleague, "I'm not working the bar tonight, tell the person responsible for the bar." That particular server wasn't even making anything. They were just standing there. Very much not friendly or a team player. Anyways, there were another 15 minutes or so before we received our drinks, and they were all out of the tiki syrup.

We got our food pretty fast, but the most annoying part of the night came when it was time to close out. So, the bartender that was "working the bar" was away so we asked the other bartender if they could close out. They closed us out and disappeared for about 10 minutes. So, the next bartender comes, and we ask if they can finish it. They gladly assist, and we immediately go to put our cards in the folder. However, I believe they get distracted, and we wait another 15 minutes before I politely asked the bartender that had been assisting us if they can run our cards, and they once again are happy to assist. However, the other bartender (the one that was rude from the beginning) says under their breath that "yall need to be patient. We're super busy" and mumbles on about something being broken in a very condescending tone... As if we hadn't been extremely patient and kind the entire time. The other bartender was very apologetic for the wait, but the other one really ruined the experience.

I don't know where the issue lies. I don't believe that they should have been taking any extra tables that night considering they had two massive parties and were obviously understaffed. I understand that as a worker, it can be frustrating, and we were very aware of that. However, I don't appreciate being talked down to as the customer especially considering that we were very patient and understanding the entire time, and the service was not good at all. When we arrived, the first big party had already been served, and by the time we left, the second big party had just sat down. So, they weren't even slammed during the time that we were there. I hate that my experience was tampered with by that one bartender's attitude, and I won't be returning based on this. However, I wish this establishment all the best considering that the food, drinks, and ambiance are...

From outta town, this place looked cool and site said they specialize in really cool drinks. The BARTENDER was NEW and clearly has never made a drink in her LIFE! I asked her what she'd recommend, she said a mai tai or a certain martini. I asked if they came in a small glass, as I was looking for something to sip on a little longer, she said the glasses were really big🤣 if you drink, you know that's not the case. I ordered something else, she took forever as she was reading the drink recipes as she was making them, with the paper all the way across the bar! My drink was 96% ice and she even mentioned she thought she put "too much juice in it"😬 I'm coming out of town so I didn't want to make an issue. I ordered enoki Frites, and played some retro video games that part was cool. She had suggested thinking she was better at that cocktail. It came in the tiniest glass, and she'd forgotten me while entertaining friends that had come in. As I paid my tab ($42.55), I asked if she was new and handed her a $100 bill. She said " oh girl that is way too much let me give you some change" WHAT??!! APPARENTLY SHE THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GIVE HER A TIP THAT WAS LARGER THAN MY BILL EVEN WAS 😡 I said oh no I need change. I was still going to give her a tip that she worked so she deserved it not really but that's just how I am, she gave me $52 back. Apparently she thought I was drunk off the ice that she served me and pocketed the extra $4 to $5, I politely went to the bathroom for the dollar with my receipt, wrote on the receipt explaining that she would have gotten a better tip if she'd give me the correct change. I put it on the bar and left. Very disappointing coming from out of town, the normal me would have said something and confronted her however I didn't want to get in trouble where I'm not from. Another couple pulled up while I was waiting for my Uber, asked me how the place was, I told them my experience, they went elsewhere. PLEASE TRAIN YOUR BARTENDER!! Teach her how to count and not to assume everyone is wasted or stupid!! I'm an accountant sweetie, I count...