Big Sammy's Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Plainfield

4 of us had dinner here on Saturday night. Have to say it's unclear what this restaurant is trying to be. Upon first walking in, it appears to be a sports bar, with large TV screens and football games on. The bar also dominates the center of the restaurant. But they had a singer who gave it more of a "lounge" feel. While we liked the choice of music (and it looked like the staff was really enjoying it), it was too loud for us to have conversations and as a result was unenjoyable. If you go for dinner (and sit inside) on a Friday or Saturday night, be forwarned.

Food overall was decent and reasonably priced. All entrees were extremely large portions. Chicken Limone was good. Chicken Parm entree and Chicken Caesar wrap were also decent, however the potato skins that came with the wrap were pretty skimpy. Also tried the AL Salmone pizza (they had lots of good pizza and calzone offerings). It was good but needed a little more smoke salmon flavor. There was also gluten free pasta available.

We tried 2 appetizers. The godfather meatball was large and both it and the sauce were good. However the beef egg rolls were not impressive.

As for drinks, the choices were not overly extensive but were sufficient (we had sangria and wine) and had moderate pricing.

Finally, service was really very good. Our server was helpful and knowledgeable and prompt. The restaurant also seemed to have a lot of support staff as well, which was refreshing to see given so many staffing shortages at other...

My wife and I had been here several times. The experience was always positive and actually had this place as 5 stars. However, the last one was not.

My wife has a gluten and dairy allergy. She ordered gluten free pasta with chicken but when the order came out, the pasta was not gluten free. The server took it back. We noticed instead of cooking a brand-new dish correctly, they just cooked new pasta and added it back with other food on the plate that was previously cross-contaminated.

The manager on duty that day was Marco. He asked my wife to pick something else off the menu but so much time had passed she was no longer interested. He then offered her a free desert to make up for the mistake which she could not have because of her allergy. Marco then said since I did not have the allergy and could technically have my wife's incorrectly made food, that he would not take it off the bill and best he could do was half off since I could eat it or take it home to someone else.

After this experience, I learned they do not know how to handle food allergies or customer service. In the past, we had no issues especially when Sammy and his wife were present the initial times we went.

Outside of this issue, the food was always pretty good, and the staff was great too especially the one server Thomas. However, it is hard to trust going here again after our last visit as I cannot risk my wife...

The experience here could’ve been better if the service person was more attentive.

Everything was hurried and more transactional. Not much warmth in the service at all unfortunately. In fact, after serving each thing, the lady serving us was just rushing back. Never returning to ask “how is everything going?” There were that many people that she was serving.

The bread that was served was very chewy and not easy to bite off. I wanted to tell our server about it but could not get a word in since she was rushing constantly. Then I noticed that other tables were also struggling with their bread as well.

We got: Italian beef rolls for appetizers - tasty and good but not great. Deep fried so definitely not healthy at all but worth trying.

Gnocchi - which was just OK and nothing exceptional for the price charged for it.

Eggplant Parmesan - which was very good and differently worth ordering if you go.

The ambiance of the place is very festive and joyful overall. Liked that very much.

When it was time to pay, the tip options were: 20% and above Hmmm… For the service we received, that did not seem fair.

When you go to a pricey place like this, service is more important than even the food in my opinion. And just because of that alone, I would not recommend...