Food is incredible but our service was very rushed and we saw a noticeable decline in quality as soon as we didn't order any expensive bottles of wine (which they seemed to try and push fairly hard). I'm talking taking cocktails that had several sips left off the table, bringing us the check with dessert, not checking back in for anything else, etc. Disappointing to say the least. I would recommend for the food alone, but for the price we were expecting to be treated better so I would steer clear for special occasions. read more

I've been to Sammie's on three different occasions and each time was amazing. The food and wine hit the mark each time. I never thought I would be recommending a Cesar salad ...but it's a must have also. read more

Great place. Very small and old school feel. Plan far in advance to get a table. Perfect date place. I am not sure if it would be good for kids. read more

I had been waiting to try Sammies and was finally able to get a decent timed reservation. I will say that all of the reviews about the noise level in there are 10000% true...surely fits the ambiance, however I could not hear the person across the table from me. Besides that, the food was decent - we started with the Burrata and Caesar salad, both were fabulous, and then got the veal parm and lumeche alla vodka. The veal was good, pasta was quite undercooked. They also had a really good wine selection. Not dying to go back. read more

Food was great...but our entrees came out 10 min apart. And service was horrible. Had one glass of wine and was not offered another. Ordered dessert. Only saw our waitress twice and others delivered dishes. read more

Nice staff. Food is so-so. Environment kinda sucks. Went on a Wednesday night for a date night and it was incredibly loud and more of a diner vibe. Obviously our fault for not doing the research. Just not the elevated environment I was expecting. read more

Quite frankly the best Italian I have had in Austin, maybe all of Texas. It is a small restaurant and a bit cramped. Getting a table is hard but if you do you will be happy with the experience. I like in Lakeway and I will drive downtown for Sammies and Qi next door. read more

We had such a great meal here. Our waiter, Brent, was AMAZING. Definitely get the Caesar salad. Lasagna is bomb as is the veal parmigiana, but I'm betting you can't go wrong with whatever you order. read more

best vibe ever. feels like i'm traveling outside of austin everytime i go. such a new york vibe. pricey but so worth it. licking the plate afterwards read more

Sammie’s - Shirley Temple - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

See all

Second time at Sammie's. Two strikes. First time, had bad clams. This time, ordered their burger for a Friday lunch. It was served completely raw. I asked the kitchen if they could kindly cook it a bit. They said sure. 40 minutes later I was served the burger. Everyone else at my table had finished eating by then. Sat at my lunch, without a meal, most of the time. Look - great ambience, great live music, and wonderful drinks. But to not be able to eat your meal with everyone else at the table? To be served nothing for 40 minutes?! C'mon MML. read more

Delicious everything! The ambiance is divine even though it's quite loud, I would totally go back.

Zach was the best! He made incredible wine and whiskey suggestions and also made us feel so special for our anniversary dinner. Will be back again soon. The food was phenomenal, and that's an understatement! read more

So excited to try another new Austin restaurant! I was able to snag a reservation because I happened to be on my phone the day they came available. Starting with parking - their valet is not complimentary but the valet was very quick and accepted venmo! The inside of the restaurant is fun and unique, it was very crowded in a good way and enjoyable people watching. The service was also great. As far as the appetizers - I was very disappointed in the 'warm burrata' dish. Absolutely no flavor, not warm and it is not shareable with more than two people. The homemade mozzarella sticks our server recommended and they were great! For pasta - I ordered the rigatoni bolognese and my husband got the ricotta gnocchi with pesto. I think I preferred his meal over mine. It was good, but I wouldn't say it's some fo the best pasta I've had in Austin. Overall the experience here was enjoyable and when I go back I will just try new items instead! read more

Sammie’s - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

See all

Best and biggest lasagna in town. Feels like a dream to eat in there, just overall very aesthetic and good time. If you get the mozzarella sticks over the other stuff there, you're an idiot. Also, servers I hope make a lot and are treated well, they do a great job. read more

The food was great! Our server was super professional but nice. My only complaint is the table next to us was smoking a cigar, there was another group with a pregnant women outside I think that's a bit rude and they should've been told to stop smoking. read more

Delicious food and place. Loved eating there only downside was that I went to celebrate an anniversary and as soon as we sat down we were given Prosecco for our anniversary, didn't ask for it, and when we got the bill we were charged for the Prosecco that was served to us when we didn't order it. Not expecting free stuff but thought it was odd to be given it saying it was for our anniversary and then charged read more

Honestly, this place is the real deal. Folks complain about the small room, and noise in the restaurant. They're absolutely right, the place is small. Sammies reminds me of true Italian restaurants I grew up going to with my grandparents in Boston & New York. The attention to detail that went into the layout and interior design of the restaurant is really impressive. OK - so the FOOD! We got the bruschetta and a caesar salad as appetizers to share with a party of 4 - these were pretty good! The main course was where I was really impressed. I got the chicken parm. The chicken parm was excellent, the sauce was truly homemade and reminded me of my grandmothers homemade Italian sauce, everything about the dish was excellent. My girlfriend got the lasagna & to be honest it was also excellent, the sauce, meat, cheese it all was very well prepared and tasted true to one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Boston. I'm short, I highly recommend. Yes, the restaurant is noisy and honestly I felt like a giant eating at the table with my group. The portions are large. The food is well prepared and tastes fresh and authentic to local mom'n pop Italian restaurants I visited frequently in the Northeast! read more

Everything we had was excellent, from the warm burrata to the breadsticks, chicken parm (the sauce), and dessert. Great cocktails. Best Italian place in Austin by a landslide. read more

I'ts the atmosphere for me! and of course the food & service were top notch, definitely recommend. read more

Food, service, ambiance (even outside on the patio in the heat) -- bravo. You cannot go wrong here. The service from Braden, Ford and Jerry occasionally checking on my party outside made us feel so loved! My husband cannot stop talking about the burrata. The chicken piccata was amazing. Highly recommend! read more

Great atmosphere, service was great. Value was in the service not in the portion size. The server was friendly and shared lots of tips for touring the area. Food was good but overpriced compared to other home style Italian restaurants. read more

Service was poor as staff was very short with customers. Pork chop was dry, but meatballs were good. Atmosphere is nice and it's good for people watching, but we were disappointed in the food and staff. read more

What a wonderful staff and great food. We valet parked our car. A homeless person walked by and stabbed the front tire with a knife. The valet and manager, Rudy came to our table to tell us what everyone had witnessed. They were so kind and caring. They called 911 as later he was again walking on the other side of 6th. St. screaming. Thank you Sammies for being upstanding in so many ways. We appreciate you and your amazing food! read more

Great Italian, authentic gravy/sauce on the pasta and the meatballls were a pleasant surprise with Ricotta on top and basil. Calamari was just the right crispy. Chopped salad was OK a little too much red cabbage for my taste. My husband had the veal which was bone in and very good. Only bad was the music while out on the patio, heavy dance music with language just didn't seem right for this quaint Italian place. Patio was lovely to people watch though. Our waiter was very attentive. read more

I think this is the first review I've ever left but felt compelled because of how disappointed we were with our visit to Sammie's. Vibe is fun but the food is really not good at all and the prices are steep compared to the quality. Very salty American Italian food. Lack luster at best. We will most definitely not return. Head elsewhere. It was actually pretty gross. read more

I had heard great things about the place and had high expectations. We went at 7 pm and sat in the middle of the room (there were 5 of us). The noise level was deafening. We were yelling across the table to be heard. The service was fine, the food was inconsistent. Beets in beet salad were hard and undercooked. Be prepared for very high prices. I had heard portions were huge but not true of the bolognese. Did not meet our expectations. read more

The food was AMAZING !!! we got the mozzarella sticks, Sammy Lasagna, and chicken carbonara. The atmosphere was romantic but dark, only one small lamp at tables or candle at the round tables. Loud so hubby and I couldn't really hear each other but we made it work. read more

My wife and I have been looking to come to this place for a while now and we were not disappointed! It was expensive but it's worth it. The mozzarella sticks are a must. They will try and tell you the Caesar salad is to die for but in my opinion it was just good. Try it if you have the extra $18 but it's a Caesar salad. We got the chicken parmesan and the lasagna to share. The dishes are very large but we got two because we wanted to try both and take the rest home. I'm glad we did because both were fantastic! Lasagna could use a little salt but other than that we were very pleased. Our waiter, Eric H., was very helpful and went through the menu with us since it was our first time. Another thing worth mentioning is that we had multiple people either clear away dishes and get us more water or bag up our leftovers. Very much a team environment which I love. All things considered I would recommend trying for yourself! read more

This might be my new favorite Austin spot! I love what they did with the place (it's elegant, but cool and sophisticated, but casual ...great vibes in an intimate setting) the food is great and the service is excellent! read more

We loved it here. The food was amazing. Veal chop Pamigiana was like butter. Radichio salad with pears was light and tasty. Service was excellent. Ambiance gave the restaurant a true Italian flavor. Definitely highly recommend despite the high price. read more

Went to Sammies last week. It's a very stylish and upscale venue that would be at home in LA or NYC. Food was good, service was Great! However - - the noise level was way too loud for a fine-dining establishment. The place is not very large and it's very crowded for such a small space. This would be okay if not for the noise level. It's very difficult to converse with people at your own table. I hope they find a way to reduce the noise level, perhaps acoustic tiles!? read more

Super hard to find great Italian food but this place has nailed it. Hard to get a table but worth the wait. Service was really good too. It's refreshing when servers actually know the menus. Btw Don't pass on the cacio e pepe! We almost ordered a second plate read more

Ehhh the prices at OUTRAGEOUS and portions are small. Overall the food was ok not great. I would not return here.

One of my fav restaurants in town! Have tried every one of their plates and Cant go wrong with the penne a la vodka, it is SO delicious! Reservations can be tricky so book a bit in advance. read more

Loved this place! Definitely the best Italian I've had in austin by far. Highly recommend the fried mozzarella, Cesar salad, and alla vodka pasta with a side of meatballs! Can't wait to go back read more

We wanted a real meal after a long day at ACL and this place delivered. The mozzarella sticks were maybe the best in the world. The lasagna portion was huge. The ambiance is dark and romantic. Most importantly the staff was kind. I could have felt out of place in my bright festival gear while the staff was rocking old school red jackets but they were just great. They did a great job of feeding us and getting us on our way with none of the extra fuss or talking that I was too tired to handle. I can't wait to come back for a romantic night with my partner. The only reason it isn't a perfect 5 star is that the food is slightly more expensive than it is spectacular. read more

We had rigatoni bolognese and spaghetti arrabbiata and both dishes were so good! Definitely settled our craving for Italian!

I absolutely love this place. The ambiance is incredible. The staff is super friendly. I have gone a number of times now and only once did I have a meh experience because the dish was a little too salty for my taste. Otherwise every other time I have been has been super fun and tasty. I highly recommend this place. It's seriously one of my staple places to go now. read more

Exceptioally loud. Most of our choices were fine, however the eggplant was so tough you could hardly cut it which tells me they don't know how to prepare it. It was difficult getting refills on drinks and then after leaving I noted that they had charged me for a drink we did not have. Overall OK is the best I can give it but at their prices, we will not be returning. read more

The staff was awesome from start to finish. The help with drink choices was amazing, our waiter Dustin really knew his stuff. The awesome experienced continued with the choice of food. Our favorite was the veal and the lasagna. Great experience would recommend and come back. read more