Sam & Luca Italian Bistro

Review summary

1. G

   Gerald

   San Francisco

   14 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   14 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Very nice place very good service. The food was delicious and the waitress did a great job timing all of our meals as far as bringing the food out when we wanted it.
   

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2. T

   Tracey

   Phoenix

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was good, but I have to be honest, the previous Chef from the previous owners was outstanding. They kept some of the same dishes but the way they are cooked isn't as good. Example is the Shrimp Scampi. The use to get the large shrimp and grill them, then mix it with the past and pasta sauce. Now the shrimp is a bit smaller and cooked in the sauce. Not as good as before. Same goes for the Chicken Picatta. No sauce whatsoever on the chicken, only on the noodles that are next to the chicken. Making it very dry. I will come here occasionally but not like I did before.
   

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3. S

   Sheri

   Phoenix

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Food is not as good as it has been in the past. Our server was fine but the manager handling of sandy, gritty clams was not handled correctly. This meal was comp’d but the new shrimp meal that my son had to eat alone as we were all done eating should have been comp’d too. We then ordered 3 chocolate chip cannolis to find out that there is only enough filling to make 1 so we ordered a tiramisu too. Both desserts should have been comp’d due to clam dinner issue and not enough dessert. But this did not happen. We are not sure if we will visit again at this point. Thanks!
   

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4. B

   Bill

   Phoenix

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on 8 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The food was outstanding, drinks were great ,service was excellent overall wonderful experience
   

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5. S

   Suz

   Minneapolis

   110 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   110 reviews

   Dined on 7 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The waiter staff is always awesome here. Friendly and professional. I had the rustica salad 1/2 size which was still a good portion, and pasta with Marinara and meatballs. All good and had to take some home.
   

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6. L

   Lee

   Phoenix

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on 6 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The food and service was excellent. It always is. The portions on the short ribs and clams in garlic sauce seamed smaller than I remembered, but both were delicious, according to the people who ordered them. I had the lamb chops and portions were as I remembered, and again excellent. Fourth person has filet mignon and said it was excellent. We often dine at Sam and Luca's and would recommend to anyone who likes Italian food. Also it is one of the few restaurants that you can talk to members of your party without trying to yell over the noise.
   

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7. C

   Casey

   Phoenix

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on 1 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The specials were excellent! The chicken was cooked perfectly and the service is always great!
   

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8. A

   Amanda

   Caribbean

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 24 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food was absolutely delicious yet what stood out about this place was the quality of service. 5 star from the hostess, server and chef. This seems to be hard to find nowadays so we will definitely be back!
   

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9. J

   Jen

   Phoenix

   32 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   32 reviews

   Dined on 22 November 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The tomato bisque was absolutely amazing!!! So fresh and flavorful! My ravioli was hard so that was disappointing. I like my pasta soft, not hard. I just took it home and will eat it this weekend sometime when I can cook it longer. I was pretty full from sharing the soup at the time, but it wasn’t enough food to make it overnight when I woke up hungry. So kind’ve annoyed my meal wasn’t prepared right. My dad liked his meal and tried to share it, but the salmon was so greasy I couldn’t eat it. And my boyfriend’s meal was just butter and salt he said. He had the bacon scallops special. We are kinda picky people because we come from owning a restaurant and another person is a chef, so we know a little about food preparation. My mom’s shrimp was flavorful. Her meal I would have. It was the best prepared out of all of them even though they left the tails on. I’m going to say this one thing-we eat at home 13/14 nights out of the week for many reasons. We cook a lot. When I go out to eat, I don’t want to work at my meal taking all the tails off and making sure they’re all deveined properly. I want to just sit, eat my meal and enjoy the company. I’m not going to say other things about it. I’ll leave it there. Service was nice. Environment was nice. We will be back. It was nice to hang out there.
   

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10. D

    Darlene

    Manitoba

    21 reviews

    3.0

    21 reviews

    Dined on 22 November 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4

    Service was great. Started out with drinks. Ordered a lemon drop that was not well made.. was not very cold and you could not taste the alcohol in the martini. Secondly, apparently specials are no longer offered as they have gone with a new chef and a simplified menu . Both my husband and I ordered the beef short ribs. They were dry and tough. Both my husband and I left most of it uneaten. We have really enjoyed this restaurant in the past and to be honest this meal was a disappointment.
    

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