Sam's Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of East Hampton

What a disappointment! We arrived at 7:45pm and seated without a long wait on Thursday before Memorial weekend. We thought we were very lucky. Then everything went south. We waited 15 min. No one came to our table. We asked the hostess and were told a waitress should be here soon. Waited another 10 min. We almost left but we were too hungry and too tired at that point, so decided to stay. Finally a waitress came and told us NO ONE TOLD HER WE WERE THERE. This is not the smallest restaurant but not a big restaurant. She knows her section and could easily glance over. We kind of knew what we want to order by then but asked a few questions about Angel Hair Pasta. She said that’s the most popular dish that evening & everyone liked it. I also asked about the mussels and she said it’s good and also good portion. Since we weren’t in a mood for pizza that day, we opted for capri salad, baby spinach salad, mussels and angel hair pasta. The both salads were ok. Spinach salad dressing tasted worse than I tasted at the airport lounge. But we had no idea the worst was yet to come… again we waited long for the dish when finally arrived mussels were so salty I couldn’t eat. I had to return which I hardly ever do. The pasta had no tastes at all and extremely dry. The grilled chicken inside not just dry but tasted like rubber. We were too hungry at that point, so we ate pasta without chicken. But it was sooooooooo bad. Left over food without heating would taste better at home. When we asked the check I gave her feedback about the pasta being tasteless and the chicken wasn’t edible. Guess what? We waited again, then the waitress basically throw the check on the table. This is the established restaurant since 1947 and I expected to be better. Much better… well, we...

Always very, very pleased with the food and the waitresses are lovely. Only four stars however because I was extremely disappointed by the hostess (specifically last night 06/05).

I put my name in for two and was told about thirty minutes. It was super busy as usual, so I said we’d be waiting outside. We waited the time, sitting in chairs right out front of the restaurant and when the hostess popped her head out to call my name I whirled around and called out “oh, right here!” quite loudly. She didn’t wait or register what I said, but I was at the door and holding it open in seconds. I held the door for two people exiting with pizzas and stepped in less than a minute later from the initial name call to see two other people who arrived after us being seated at what was supposed to be our table.

The hostess eventually came back over and while looking at me questioningly I said “you just called my name.” She barely apologized — and I do mean barely — with a toss of “oh sorry, another table should open up soon.” The look on her face very clearly expressed that she knew she should have given us a chance to walk in the door.

Another 15 minutes went by before we sat, making for 45 minutes for a table for two because the hostess could not actually look around and/or wait a full minute for the waiting party. It left a very sour taste that was only salvaged by our absolutely delightful waitress (I wish I knew her name as we’ve gotten her every time and she’s always quick and attentive and sweet. She served us at the table just before the other dining room with the favorite...

We have been going to Sam's for 25 years and been through now two or three owners and the menu has been pretty much the same throughout. The current owner, Irish by the way, is great. The staff is attentive even when crazy busy which is all the time during summer. Great homemade pizza, all of them. Really good standard Italian entrees you will love. very large tables for the kids, booths and tables for couples. Fair prices that won't break a family budget. There's a wait to get in on summer weekends so be prepared for a half hour delay. It's worth the wait. You'll love this old tavern type lovely restaurant. See you there...