Sam's Fresh Seafood and Grill — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I went to Sam’s “Fresh” Seafood and Grill for the first time today and was not impressed. I placed an order for pick up which was easy and stress free. When I got there to pick up the food (order for 2), the gentleman inside was very off putting. The young lady working tried to be helpful but he kept getting in the way. I was told extra sauce cost money even though I had already paid for it at which point the gentleman just snatched the receipt up, rolls his eyes and tells her to give to me. I order carrot cake and German chocolate cake. I was told “we don’t have German chocolate or carrot cake”. Seeing that it was my first time, I simply asked “ oh ok, no worries, what else do you have?”. He just points at the small fridge and sighs. The whole experience inside just made it seem like he didn’t want to be here and how dare you make me work.

When I got the food home, the fries were stone cold, hard and stuck together as they were not drained before packaging. The shrimp (most certainly NOT fresh) was over cooked and the breading hard. The crab cake had NO crab and there is an herb in it that is VERY over powering. The fish was pretty good but VERY salty. I could not finish it. Everything except the fish and crab cake was flavorless. The hush puppies are dry and hard. The sauces should probably be kept in a cooler area than just the counter unless you actually want people to get sick. Tartar sauce and heat don’t mix. The red beans and rice was pretty good but there was more rice than beans. Obviously the fridge isn’t set very low because the cheesecake was too soft and separating. The chocolate cake is exactly that. Chocolate cake, no icing…just cake. $3 and some change for a piece of FLAVORLESS bread.

Looking at other reviews, they seemed to be really good, and maybe today was just an off day for them, but it was odd enough that I will not be returning....

So, I have a mixed score here. I wanted to love this place. Like a lot. But unfortunately the fried fan fare fell a bit short. I don’t want to be picky. I wouldn’t call this food amazing. I ordered a bit of everything to try and then review. The sides felt really pre made and just no one liked the beans and rice or the little hush puppy things they have. Some people didn’t prefer the fish batter. I tried the wings and really, they were huge, everything is an excellent portion here. The place is so clean, I’d sit on the floor and eat with no problem. So it’s plentiful. I fed a family of five and it didn’t go so well. My daughter liked the chicken fingers. Everything was just fried and a bit drippy, I probably won’t be going back. I spent about 60$ and for a large variety of items we just didn’t feel the southern comfort. Wings didn’t have much flavor. There’s plenty of sauces to bury them in, but it’s really just a full sized fried chicken wing. With all due respect work on the flavor. Someone just try it. It’s not difficult. I’ve tasted almost every chicken wing in town and they have so much potential. Full size delicious wings would be excellent but this taste test fell short. I’d pass on this place but it’s impeccably clean and drinks...

We ate lunch here a few minutes ago and it was excellent. I had #24 fish/oyster/shrimp combo with cole slaw and hush puppies. My wife had #15 chicken/fish combo with red beans and fries. First of all, you get your money's worth in the amount of food you get. Everything was definitely cooked fresh and perfectly done. All of the food was delicious! The shrimp are huge! The oysters were perfectly fried. The chicken strips were also fried well and still juicy. Perfect hush puppies too and those fries were crispy and so good. The cole slaw was creamy and exactly how its supposed to be. My only little thing I'll say that isn't 100% positive is I wish the fish had a bit more seasoning on it or was catfish instead of white fish. It was still good but would be perfect with just a bit more flavor.

We ordered a large red beans to go they were so good and had another meal's worth of leftovers of everything else to take home. The staff is nice too. We will definitely...