Sammy’s Deluxe

“Ate here in May to celebrate our engagement. Everything was phenomenal. We loved trying the local cuisine on the midcoast— especially the brown bread. Sammy is an excellent chef. We can’t wait to go back!”

“The food is made to be the star at Sammy’s Deluxe! We ate family style for apps and shared bites of entrees and loved every dish! Amazing clean farm to table food cooked to perfection. Friendly prompt service. Felt like I was eating in the chef’s kitchen. Loved the melon and ginger horchata, brown bread, fiery zucchini, lentil salad, fettuccine, and chicken leg dishes with hen of the woods mushrooms. Wines by the glass perfectly complimented our choices. The cod with beans and potatoes was so perfectly balanced and delicious I almost picked up my bowl to drink the broth! Next time I might. Don’t expect white tablecloths here, expect food cooked with love.”

“Wow so delicious was the food!! The cod was mind blowing. We couldn’t stop talking about it. Similarly the crab toast was packed with flavor along with HUGE amounts of crab. The broccolini was ok but it wasn’t broccolini it was cauliflower and they didn’t really mention that until they brought it too us. Had I known I def would’ve ordered something else cause I don’t like cauliflower, oh well, my friend loved. The vibe of this place is just perfect. So homey, charming and genuine with no signs of “try hard” and again the cod was like the best thing I’ve ever had.”

“We made reservations weeks in advance to celebrate our 15th anniversary here. Unfortunately it turned into one of the all-time worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. We arrived on time, and were told our table was just finishing up. So we took seats on the cozy couch and waited. And waited. And waited. Around 40 minutes in, another couple with reservations after us was taken to a table, and again we were told that the diners at our table were just finishing up. We were a little baffled, but rolled with it. 15 minutes later — 55 minutes past our reservation — we were seated. At the bar. With walk-in buddies of Sam’s on our right, and a walk-in couple to our left. By this point we were quite hungry and so, so thirsty. We told our server that we were a little thrown by our wait and she just shrugged and gave us a “yeah, and?” kind of response. At least the bottle of red was delicious, as was the eggplant pasta. They were out of the beef shank, so I ordered the burger. I NEVER send food back, but had no choice when I cut into it and the center (really the whole patty) was as bloody raw as what I buy from the butcher’s counter. They were kind to re-fire, but honestly what came back out was almost equally raw and my stomach had turned. Normally my husband and I like to linger a bit, with dessert, coffee, and conversation —and this was our anniversary after all—but we couldn’t wait to cork our bottle of wine and get out of there. No concessions were made in the final bill for any of our experience. When we made our reservation online, we had to provide a credit card number to secure it. There was notice that no-shows or late cancellations would be subject to a $15 per person fee. Alright, so if we have a responsibility to honor the details of our reservation, what about the establishment’s responsibility? It seems perfectly logical you have to hold up your end of the bargain as well. The whole tenor of our experience could have been avoided with a few changes in service. 1) it’s a small, cozy place. Everyone who works there (and Sam) saw us sitting on that couch looking less and less chipper over the course of our 55 minute wait. Perhaps you could have offered us water? Or directed us to the drink menu? 2) Perhaps our server could have made us not feel like it was our problem that the wait was so long? 3) it also seems like 2-top reservations should be sat in the order of their availability of 2-top tables, in order of reservation time, and not based on some mysterious choreography? The restaurant business is a such a hard one. It’s clear that at Sammy’s Deluxe it’s a labor of love. But we felt precious little of that love on our visit.”

“Having read Sam’s harsh rebuttals, I am reticent to share our experience, but here goes… Overall, we didn’t feel warmly welcomed by any server thoughout the evening. One server delivered our meal with a frown. The food was good! The salads were delicious. I was expecting the fiery zucchini dish to be either warm in temperature or spicy—it was neither. Disappointing. The wine was good. I wish there were more cocktail choices. The decor is tired, as well. I love the vintage/retro furniture and decor, but the dead plant and shabby lace curtains bring down the vibe. Sam, I’m surprised you’re in the hospitality business because every negative review is met with your demeaning response. You will HAVE to rely on your local regulars as you’re turning away the any critic who could be a repeat customer. I wish you and your staff peace and happiness.”