Sam's Restaurant Reviews

I've been going to Sam's at least once a month for over 10 years; since I moved to the neighborhood. Their pizza is great; the equal of any of the fine NYC pizzas such as John's, Grimaldi's, Totonno's, etc.. The italian food on the menu is fine, I haven't tried any of the other items or don't eat meat so I can't speak to that. Louie is a pleasure. If I can think of any flaw, it's that the service is sometimes not quite quick enough, even when it isn't crowded; the service is slow when it is crowded. That's the price you pay for this fantastic pizza. The atmosphere is great, the food is great, Louie is great; just an old gem.

Not the best Italian restaurant in Brooklyn for sure, but nethertheless correct (e.g. lasagne, gnocchis). Atmosphere is typical of old times, with a friendly owner. A bit dull however, as we were the only clients on that evening.

We love pizza so visited a number of pizza restaurants during our week in NYC. Of the 6 we ate at (including Grimaldi's and Lombardi's) this place was the best. Lightly crispy (without being charred) bases with simple tomato and incredible greasy, stretchy, delicious cheese heaped on top. Wonderful and thoroughly deserving of five stars.

You walk in the dojo and you feel like you just came out of a time machine the pizza is one of the best I've had the veal parm hero is my favorite everything is pretty good here

Old school Sams been here forever. Louie is loud and in your face but a gentle sweet heart. Standard italian fare.

Thanks to Matt at Barnes& Noble up the street, we ended up at Sam's, early afternoon, and had the place all to ourselves! Louie was the server and everything else, except the chef, I think, and he was OUTSTANDING! We had our grandson with us and Louie gave him lots of extra attention! The pizza, brick oven, was fabulous - you know, REAL NY. We had a peperoni for our grandson and a garlic and sausage for ourselves. Got 2 so we could take some home, and we did. Fabulous! The place itself is great, like what you might see in a movie: about three steps down from the sidewalk, plastic tablecloths, booths, great! A little known place to people not from there. Just what you want!

Sam's is a forgottem GEM! This place has been around for 75 years, and they've perfected the art of Pizza. I can't understand why Grimaldi's, Totonnos, Difara's etc. get so many reviews, while Sam's seems to fall through the cracks! (maybe a good thing when you really think about it!) This place is right out of a scene in The Godfather, down to the checkered tablecloths and phone booth (non-working). Louie, THE waiter of waiters, is Brooklyn personified. Loud, friendly, and fun, he serves with as much gusto and warmth as you'll find at any restaurant in NYC. Now....the Pizza, the REAL reason to go to Sam's. I must say, I've eaten pizza everywhere, followed every Pizza-based website, even had a favorite in Connecticut (yes Connecticut) which topped Grimaldi's and the Totonnos etc., until I ate a Sam's pie, and I was HOOKED. Ingredients are fresh and quality, with the best mozzarella and a delicate sauce, and the crust is truly amazing in its simplicity and charred perfection. They use a coal fired oven, built when the restaurant opened, and let me just say that pizza ovens must be like good wine, they get better with age. If you want fancy-schmancy, stuffy service, and a huge bill, go elsewhere. If you want perfect pizza (and homemade cheesecake) served in a place that will take you back to the by-gone days of Brooklyn, by waiters who instantly become your friend... then this is the joint for you! R.G.

If you dont go for the food go for Louie, Original Bklyn family restaurant where they tell it like it is.

ate there last week, ordered veal rollatini with mushroom sauce. best i can say about the meal was that it did have some moisture.... sauce on the spaghetti was, well, colored red. the bread was served with a lovely blackened over-baked crusty exterior, for that carbonized taste. they did serve butter with it, so there's that.... later i woke up at 3 am with the most amazing cramps and chills. 3 hours of trying to decide if i should get to a hospital or not, but thankfully i expelled it all and was done. so few people eat there, how can anything be fresh? just looking at the place, you know they are serving outdated product. i am at a loss as to how anyone can think this dingy dirty place has old school ambiance and charm... bright? maybe at 2 in the afternoon. the owner keeps it dark to save money. plastic tablecloths ? stained asbestos ceiling tiles? really? i see reviews from people who dont live in nyc who say the pizza is great; compared to the cardboard crap you get outside the northeast, anything would be good. i am aware that food poisoning is possible at any time, so i will discount that. i will say the old waiter is friendly and helpful. i respect the owner for not changing to cater to the yuppies that live in the area, and keeping his old school attitude. he is for real. and quite a character.

The pizza is good, owner has a cranky attitude but I guess that's some of the appeal. The restaurant is a little run down, with the bathroom facilities being really scummy. Would I go back? Probably not, but the Court Pastry Shop up the street makes up for Sam's misgivings.

Yesterday my wife and I visited Sam’s. For me, it wasn’t just a visit. It’s always a destination. I live in Florida now. But I’ve been coming here all my life. My 80 year old mother came here as a child often when she lived around the corner on Clinton street. And she sat in the same booths that I sat in last night. I visited Manhattan with my wife, and we had no cause to come to Brooklyn. But we did, just to eat here. This will always be one of my favorite restaurants on the planet. It’s always going to have the best decor. And the best food. For some folks, they might not agree. After all, if you’re looking for modern this isn’t the place. It looks pretty much like it did 91 years ago when it opened. But…it’s also got the same amazing homemade food that it did 91 years ago too. And…it looks like it did for decades. Where can you find that? Sam’s is authentic. It oozes authenticity. Real food. From real ingredients. Cooked fresh. And delivered to your table like you’re a friend. Not a guest. Who really wants to be a guest anywhere? Guests are outsiders who come in. Friends are folks who are a part of something. Here you can feel part of something. An authentic something. Louie, the owner, is as authentic as the food and the place. It’s wouldn’t be Sam’s without him. Friendly, gregarious but outspoken and happy to make your meal engaging, he’s a breath of fresh of and life in an otherwise sterile world we live in often. Just a couple hours last night and I’m saddened to leave from hanging out with him. We left and I told my wife “if I lived here I’d be best friends with that guy.” You should go to Sam’s. Everyone should go to Sam’s. For the complete experience it offers. Some - like me - would argue it’s the best Pizza in NYC. But putting any prejudice aside you’ll still agree it’s top 5 for sure. And, pizza aside, the food here is great, fresh, real and authentic. Plus, everyone should feel Sam’s. The atmosphere. The time capsule of it. A restaurant is an experience. We all know it’s not just great food or great atmosphere. Both matter. You’ll get both here. I promise. Go, and take it all in. Make a special trip. You won’t regret it. Please tell Louie hello for me and that I hope I see him again soon.

This is the BEST pizza I have ever had, and I own a pizzeria. Yep, read the reviews, this is a throwback to an era when checkered tablecloths were popular, it's true the decor does not look like it has been updated since 1972, and it's true that your server is Louie, and only Louie, and he also owns the joint, makes the drinks, and won't seat more than 4 tables at a time in a mostly empty restaurant. (we did indeed watch people be turned away while there were only three tables full...) So why the fantastic review? Because that's surface stuff, really, and to go simply off of that would overlook the true beauty of the Oh my God Pizza!! Seriously, I've eaten more pizza in the last 10 years than I care to admit, and Sam's is the best that I have ever had. It's so good that we all had a moment of silence after the first bite, and one of our party almost shed some tears. This is not a place you stumble upon. It's mostly empty, marked by a mildewing plastic sign out front, has no music coming out the doors, and it definitely not full of Brooklyn hipsters. You really have to search this place out to end up here. We were lucky enough to have a friend recommend it and arrange to meet up for dinner. I'm glad we took the chance, I have no idea what they are doing that so sets it apart from other pizza, but truly, this was the best I have ever had. I will definitely be back.

Walk through the door of Sam's and you go back in time to Brooklyn the way it was decades ago. The decor takes you back, the high quality, delicious Pizza and Italian dishes take you back, and best of all Louie (the owner, chef, waiter,-what ever needs to be done guy) takes you back with his friendly, straight forward Brooklyn style. We went recently to celebrate a birthday and you sit down and it's the ambiance of Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Bronx Tale. The Pizza is one of the very best I've had anywhere, high quality Sauce and Mozzarella, no additives, baked in an old oven that you cannot find today. The Chicken Parmigiana was also Excellent. Everything that was ordered by our party was authentic and delicious, and is made fresh, so you will have to wait, but it's worth it. I give it five stars because of the food, and because there is no place quite like it that I have found. It is a unique trip back to a simpler time, a Brooklyn where everyone and everything was 'straight up' and not watered down.

From the size, to the taste and price, all really good value. The staff is really nice and make you feel like home, relaxed and smiling. Besides the place itself has an old fasion look that brings you back in time (that's why it has been used in recognized tv series). I've tried other pizza places in Brooklyn but overall this wins the prize.

Great vibe; Louie is an awesome personality; pizza and anything "chop-related" is pretty great; avoid everything else

Good brick oven authentic Brooklyn pizza, if they will serve you. Apparently Matthew is one of their best customers since he writes half the reviews here. The owner is rude, old school, will only seat you if he feels like it. I guess he likes Matt! We had a terrible experience, being told we had to wait 30 minutes when the place was half empty. Remember the soup nazi on Seinfeld?

My son took us here and said the Pizza was good. It was in fact very good. Having moved from NY to Florida the Pizza was "Manna from heaven". We tried that and we also had two Chicken Parm hero's. All was good. The service was OK but the waiter had to gab with everybody like he knew them for life. The owner was cranky! When the server came out with the Pizza there was no spatchler. I asked for one! He told me " what they didn't slice it through for you"? I said yeah they did, but we needed one to get it on the plate. He told me if I ask the owner for one he get's pissed off. Really, nice to know. If you can deal with a typical NY attitude given by the messenger it is fine.

We came here with friends who now live in Brooklyn and this is one of their favourite local restaurants (and now ours)! We were greeted and waited on by the charismatic owner who made us feel so welcome and told many funny jokes and anecdotes, we may as well have been in his house, it felt cosy, old school and welcoming. The menu is limited but what is on there is excellent, we shared two massive pizzas all with half/half toppings, one of them had no cheese because our friend was vegan. Nothing was too much trouble and the wine we ordered went really well with our food. Very inexpensive as well. Definitely have this restaurant on your radar if you're in the Brooklyn area.

Got to the restaurant at 12:10 pm on a Friday. Business hours are stated as from 12 to 10 pm. Door locked with staff inside. Walked around the block and returned at 12:30 to still find the door locked. I don't care how good the product is if the customer can not rely on the stated opening hours then the product stinks. I am not the only person to complain about the owner opening when he feels like it. Their loss. We ended up at Pane e Vino on Smith street and wow what a great meal. Get your act together, Sam

Disappointed from a visit to the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum (separate review) we walk for some time on Court Street, crossing Atlantic until we reach an old Italian section where I hope to find some restaurants with the touch and feel of “old Brooklyn”. Most of the places are hip and advertise nothing but organic, healthy and green food… Ah, here’s something different: a two story building that’s obviously so old that its roof is trying to give in, the building itself is one step lower than the street level, as if it had sunk under the weight of its age. “Sam’s”, the sign says, “since 1930”. Ok, in we go and look around in the dim light: plastic table cloths, one long table occupied by a happy company which sings in Italian, then in French(!). Only one other table has a couple. Nobody else around, so we pick a table and wait. A busy guy shows up, brings some food to the long table, takes the order of the other couple and disappears again. A bit later he reappears and brings us menus. For starters, the place appears truly inexpensive (as it should be, given the atmosphere and the “cash only” sign at the entrance). Long menu with all kinds of goodies. We order a bottle of 2013 Valpolicella which at $19.75 is an absolute steal and something nobody can dream of in a Manhattan restaurant. Today is Sunday, so we decide to splurge: appetizers in the form of anchovies, roasted red peppers and salami, then pasta fagioli and spaghetti with meatballs (when in Rome/Brooklyn…). It does help that the guy has an authentic and inimitable Brooklyn accent. I’m guessing he’s the owner and does not have servers this time of the day since they are not busy. Wine arrives and is poured unceremoniously. Eventually, we get bread and butter. I ask for Olive oil, but owner(?) tells me “no olive oil, they drink it, it costs too much!” The roasted red peppers are fresh out of a can but the anchovies are good. The salami is horrible and we leave it untouched. I tell the waiter (owner?) to “recycle it” and he tells me that he knew I was trouble as soon as we entered. From here on it only gets worse. Pasta fagioli is so mushy, it must have been frozen and thawed several times to reach such consistency. The meatballs in the pasta smell bad; I cannot decide if it’s lamb or just bad meat… Check comes to $55 with the bottle of wine and tax, before tip. We leave most of the food untouched and go out hungry planning to have coffee and desert. We find that in the form of another disappointment at Market Pattisserie (separate review).

Neighborhood Italian restaurant, my family favourite. Pizza is amazing, chicken or veal parmigiana fills the entire plate, delicious. Garlic baked clams are to die for, one order is never enough. Thank you to the Louis,who now manages the restaurant since his father Mario has passed. His recipes handed down to him by his late mom Rose. Old style Italian restaurant.

An old fashionable and atmospheric restaurant close to downtown Brooklyn. Definitely a locals place.. The portions were huge - one pizza pie would have been enough to feed four. My wife and I finished ours for breakfast next morning! Very tasty too. The owner was initially rather grumpy and off-hand, but relaxed as the meal progressed and became friendly and helpful.

I went here as a stop on Scott's Pizza Tour. This is not the type of restaurant I'd normally go to on my own, but I'm delighted that Scott made this a stop on his tour. The pizza here is absolutely delicious! Like the environment - which is decidedly dated - the pizza looks fairly ordinary, but don't let appearances fool you. The crust is perfect, and the tomato and cheese topping really tasty. On the way out, I looked at the menu. Both Sam's selections and prices remind me of Italian restaurants from my childhood in the 50's and 60's.

This place is amazing!! A step back in time. The pizza is incredible and Louie the owner is a total gem. It's like your having dinner with him in his living room! Go, you won't be sorry!

Very basic old-time neighborhood Italian restaurant. Reminds me of places in the North End of Boston back in the day. I love their sphaghetti and meatballs (great meatballs). Their chicken and veal parmesan is very good as well, if not what you might get in a more upscale place. Service can be slow, but it is a friendly place, so who cares. Reasonably priced. It has been around forever.

Great Italian food, in an old school place. We have never had a disappointing meal there. We liked not being rushed out, and we actually had the time to enjoy our meal. Its not your typical pizza place. If you are in the mood for pizza or a calzone, you can get it, and if you want baked clams or an entree you can get that too. Wine is priced right, and you order a bottle when you might have just had a glass somewhere else. Cash only, so make sure you have some before you go there.

Came here on a recommendation and it absolutely lived up to it. Myself and my son were made welcome by the owner from the moment we arrived, and given that he's two years old [my son, not the owner] that's not always to be expected. We had a stupendous pizza and delicious parmigiana melanzane. The owner proved to be as honest as he was friendly when he later went to great effort to chase me down after I had mistakenly overpaid. Long may this gem prosper!!!!!

Been there with my two children many times and was never disappointed. Great marinara sauce. The owner is worth the trip.

You walk in the dojo and you feel like you just came out of a time machine the pizza is one of the best I've had the veal parm hero is my favorite everything is pretty good here

We had plain regular NY pizza. The crust was nice and crispy, sauce was full of flavor and the cheese perfect. The owner was so accommodating and personable.

Quick lunch today with my bro. Really good inexpensive hero’s. Wouldn’t mind going back with my love to share a pizza and veal scallopini in white wine sauce, shrimp parm and some brandy Alexander’s. I love my baby. We had a nice time at Sam’s a few years ago. Unpretentious and delicious food.

Really enjoyed meeting Louie the owner, the best home made pasta sauce ever! Well stocked bar, delicious food, Will never forget my visit with friends.

Great italian food.Nothing fancy just good neighborhood food.You won't go broke eating here.Since I was a kid I used to eat here,for pizza his pies are really good.The place has seen better days,if you want upscale furniture go someplace else.If you're hungry and want to fill up and are not counting calories ,eat here.

We stopped in on a Saturday afternoon for a bite to eat. After we saw the pizza the table next to us was eating, we decided to forego the pasta and share a sausage pizza instead. We were not disappointed. The crust was good, but the sauce was great! It was made with good quality tomatoes and not much else. There was just the right amount of cheese on the pie and it tasted like fresh mozarella. The sausage was OK, but not outstanding, and the service was surprisingly friendly. We were visiting from out of town, but if I lived in the area we would eat there once a week.

Great People Great Food Great Walking Place too. We found a place that has been there forever called Sam's Restaurant and they make the Best Pizza and Baked Clams I ever tasted and the owner Louie is a real Brooklyn Guy and a riot too !! Great Place Great Neighbor GREAT People !!

The pizza was good,very good.The service stunk .He's been in business a long time owns the place outright and doesn't have a waiter.Manhattan drink prices in a Brooklyn pizza place ,this guy is nuts.I've been coming here on and off for the last 50 years.Was very disappointed with the service. I imagine if you come here on a rainy night your service might be good.Next time I'm going to Queens Pizza and restaurant on Court st.

Louie is a throw back to my Brooklyn roots. Haven't seen his type since 1976. Terrific pizza in a place that they should film more movies. If your patient and like to go back in time, there is no better spot

The best pasta fagioli that I've had outside of my house it's made fresh to order the clam sauce is made with real clams not out of a jar

Good pizza,don't eat any veal dishes here tastes like rubber.I was there 2 Saturdays ago and the service stunk. It seem the owner waits on his friends first.I wasn't to keen on the prices of drinks either.Overall it's a good stop off if you want to have a great pizza.

Many people have lots to say about Sam's. I have going here for decades and now that the hood has changed, well, Sam's has NOT. Try it and you might find yourself thinking your in an old 1970's movie. They made the first pizza in the area. It is excellent brick oven pizza (I love there baked clams also). Worth going with the family....but do not the 'tough' staff bother you, they actual have bog hearts and like to push and be different. Worth it to see the face on the kids when they are the focus.

Sam's is an old-time restaurant in Brooklyn and looks it. However, it is clean, bright and well kept up. The pizza is very good and the appetizers and entrees for the most part are excellent. This is not a fancy Italian restaurant by any means, but a good old fashioned place for excellent traditional Southern Italian cooking. I highly recommend the baked claims and the Eggplant Parmesan as appetizers. All of our entrees were hot, tasty and large. Wine is served by the glass or bottle and is nicely priced so it won't break the bank. Service on out last trip was sort of spotty. The waiter started out somewhat grumpy but eventually warmed up to us. The best times to be there are when the owner's son-in-law is there. He is a riot and is worth going there just for the entertainment value. He's great. Wish he were there every time we visit. One last thing, Sam's is cash only so be sure you have money when you go. No credit cards are accepted. I guess that is one way they keep the prices so reasonable.

This place does have great food but it's by no means the best I've had. I do LOVE the neighborhood it's in. The pizza was good. We had pasta and chicken parm. Probably wouldn't make a 2nd trip.

There are a zillion pizza places in NYC. I live in Staten Island. My friends and I pay that $17 toll on th Verrazzano Bridge to go to Sams for the best pizza on earth. Louie the owner is a super guy. The place has old world charm. Just love the place so much. I must have eaten thousands of slices in my life and none come close to the pizza Lou serves.

This is a Carroll Gardens institution! Sam's has been around forever having traded hands from Sam to his son Louie, the food remains outstanding if you like old school Italian food (veal cutlet parmigiana, etc.). The pizza is also a must.

Visiting Brooklyn relatives last weekend, and we went to Sam's for pizza. Excellent thin crusted pizza. Large sizes only (8 generous slices). The ambience is basic - wooden tables and chairs that have seen better days but clearly the owner/family knows almost everyone who walks through the door. They great customers by first name, recite their "usual" order and ask if that's what they want tonight. The beer and "by the glass" wine menu is small but adequate - generous pours but that may because we were with regulars. They obviously do a lot of carryout. Just remember - cash only.

I've been going to Sam's for years and The food seems to be getting better and better today I had the pasta fazool made fresh and was delicious

I went here last night for the first time. It. was. amazing. Loved everything about it. The food; we had mussels in red sauce and pizza. Oh my god the red sauce. It was delicious. The pizza was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. They also have a full bar. The decor; so old school! The service; Lou, the owner/server, had such a great Brooklyn attitude. He made the visit absolutely perfect. Sam's is cash only. And if you're in a hurry, you should probably go somewhere else.