Sammy's Trattoria II — Restaurant in Maryland

Let me start with, the original location on North Charles Street in Baltimore, MD is the better place to go, and should not be associated with their new second location in Hunt Valley. It is as if they are two completely separate entities. My mother has dined at the Baltimore location for at least a DECADE with her friends and has been satisfied every time! The fact that the Hunt Valley location is subpar surprised all of us last night when we dined there.

To begin, to enter the establishment was very optimistic - the ambiance and greeting was inviting. My mother, husband, two children and I happily sat, ready to enjoy what was supposed to be a memorable experience. However, as we sat down our first impression was how one of the two tables, and chairs slid around uncontrollably [an indication of possible subpar cleaning at night]. Initially, the server was delightful, doing her best as it seemed like she was busy and overextended. She took our drink order and delivered appropriately, but unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end.

Our server took our appetizer and entree order, and unfortunately, as the appetizer came out [Calamari Fritte, which was actually tasty], two of our entrees came out with it at the same time! We also ordered a Julia House Salad for my son, but it had not arrived yet. We told the food runner to send our entrees back and for our server to come. When our server returned she was extremely apologetic and specifically said she would have the kitchen remake our food from scratch. She then personally brought the Julia House Salad [Also very enjoyable - the dressing was good!]

While that seemed ideal and hopeful, the kitchen did not deliver AT ALL. We received our two Judge Sweeney's Pappardelle alla Bolognese entrees that were previously delivered with our appetizer, however it was clear the kitchen just microwaved it or sat it under the heating lamp for the 10-15 minutes. Usually, the Bolognese dish [when prepared at the North Charles location] has al dente noodles with a thick generous and flavorful sauce. However, at the Hunt Valley location, not only was it tepid, it was mushy, and filled with more pasta than sauce. It actually looked like a plate of leftovers where the pasta has soaked in the sauce as there wasn't any. The other three entrees, the Kelly's Penne alla Vodka, Pasta con Polpette and the Eggplant Parmigiana were satisfactory, except also tepid -- which led us to believe the kitchen also just let these dishes sit under the heat lamp or microwaved it.

Consequently, we felt obliged to just take home half of each of the meals, and ended up finishing our bottle of wine, paying the check and leaving. Our server was tipped well, but that was because that experience was not her fault; because as I said before, the kitchen did NOT deliver. She was lovely, energetic, clearly apologetic, but also unaware of the ball dropping.

A new restaurant is only as good as the chef, sous chef and their ability to deliver quality, hot, and consistently good tasting food to each and every table who sit to enjoy a meal and have a memorable dining experience.  While Sammy's Trattoria on North Charles is for the most part a solid 4 Star restaurant, their new spot in Hunt Valley is not comparable at all. Unless they step up their game and get it together, this location...

A few days before our visit to Sammy's last week, I had made reservations and specifically asked to be seated in the dining room, NOT in the bar area due to the excessive noise. When we arrived on Saturday, the hostess greeted us by saying that she knew we wanted seating in the dining room, then proceeded to take us to a table in the bar! I told her that my reservation was for the dining room, not the bar, and she just walked away from us. There was a second host who my husband approached and described the situation to, and his response was that there was a large party in the dining room and the noise level would be just as bad as the bar. When I asked again about the dining room, the hostess reported that it would be another 40 minute wait for a dining room table. Because I had a friend we were treating, we chose not to leave, and took the bar table. We were given water and bread by a young man, and at some point, a server came by and seemed surprised that we had water, but she did not introduce herself or say that she was our server. More frustrating was that she would breeze by us repeatedly, but not look at our table. Any time we wanted to get her attention, we had to wave at her to ask for more water or even a cocktail menu. My husband and I ordered salads, and I received mine, but my husband's was never brought out. After 20 minutes, we flagged the server down, and she immediately said "oh, your salad" but after waiting so long, my husband told her to take it off the bill as he no longer wanted it. When she finally returned to take our order, the server told my friend that she was "having a bad night" and that the servers had to make the salads themselves. We ordered our main courses, and although I asked for grilled chicken on my pasta, I received white chunks of boiled meat. The server brought my husband a different type of salad that he did not order and said that it was "on her" because of the mix up with the original salad. Although the server was very attentive to the table behind us, I never got a refill on my drink, and she never asked about how the dinners were until after we were finished. 40 minutes into our meal, one of the hosts came back to us and reported that there were now two open dining room tables and asked if we wanted to move. At that point, it was not worth it as we were more than ready to leave to get away from the noise. I won't be returning to Sammy's and will visit CuVino or Libertore's if I want Italian food that is tasty and an attentive...

TLDR: Great Italian restaurant perfect for family/large group gatherings. Diverse menu with family style serving available. Come for the pasta dishes!

Vibe: 5/5 - Located on the top floor of the Hunt Valley Towne Center (near the movie theater), Sammy's II has a prime location. Only steps away from a large parking lot, this is perfect for elderly and handicapped diners that require ease of accessibility. Sammy's II has a large footprint, complete with a bar area as well as main and large group dining areas. The fact that you can dine with a table of 20 or a table of 2 is very accommodating. Decor is modern with some Italian flair as well as nods to their Baltimore roots.

Service: 3/5 - My table of 12+ had reservations for Saturday dinner service at 6pm. We arrived a little before 6pm and were seated immediately in the large group dining area. Acknowledging that we were at peak dinner rush, the restaurant was busy in all 3 areas. It took a few minutes for our server to appear, and when she did, you could tell she was a bit overwhelmed. Food and drink orders were somewhat rushed, as you could tell our server was preoccupied with other tables. However, she was very kind and efficient at providing decent service. Empty drink cups sometimes went untouched for long periods of time throughout the meal and it was a bit of task to track her down for the final bill. The restaurant seemed understaffed for the volume of tables seated, so I don't entirely blame our waitress.

Food: 5/5 - Very impressive selection of Italian eats from start to finish. Our large table ordered a menagerie of foods, ranging from apps such as calamari fritte, Stanwick's crab toast, Rich's Mozzarella in Carrozza to mains like rigatoni amatriciana, lobster crab ravioli and filet Vivi (surf turf filet and crab). All dishes were prepared perfectly and came out piping hot. Standouts were all of the pasta dishes, including the rigatoni side pastas served with Secondi mains. The chicken Toni and Tina, a breaded cutlet servied with jumbo lump in a parm spinach sauce took best in show for the dinner. Portion size was also generous, with everyone leaving with to go containers. Bar program was also decent, with your standard selection of classic cocktails , wine and beer all at reasonable prices for the area. Overall, Sammy's II is the perfect restaurant to dine at with a large group, as their menu is well balanced, hearty in portions and at...