Don't let the Yelp rating deceive you. Sams kitchen is utterly unremarkable. Place looks run down and poorly cared for. Service staff is not friendly and came by the table once after ordering. This would be forgiveable is the good was any good-it's not. It's the most standard, boring diner food you can imagine. Worse than IHOP because at least IHOP has corporate quality control. Everything was boring, unoriginal. Portions were adequate but who cares if the food sucks. On top of all that, it's not even a good deal. You could eat at IHOP for less money!! Don't let the yelp stars fool you. SAMs kitchen is a waste of your time in a city with as much great good as Charlottesville. read more

We are a local, and tried Sam's Kitchen for the first time. Reminds me of a mom and pop style. Staff is very friendly and very attentive. It took a bit for our food to be delivered, but we were not really in a hurry. Will be back!!! read more

I'm actually shocked to see low reviews on sams! My husband and I go to sams quite often for breakfast. We have never been disappointed with the wait staff, food or prices. The home fries are our favorite part! Crispy with onions and peppers! I would have taken a picture yesterday morning but my food doesn't last long on my plate. I would highly suggest for breakfast (which is served all day!!) read more

Lunch time only had 3 booths, with 2 people each, and my food was terrible. Biscuits were burnt, so I returned them, only to get stale ones; country fries were half burnt ( nothing was done)and steak dry. Service was okay, but, the cook should have apologized and then just go home. read more

Went there with a party of 8, everyone enjoyed their breakfast. Several of the children commented that it was better than the nearby IHOP.

Great food and awesome staff. Good variety quality. Owner always there in evenings and everyone knows the guest.

I read the reviews for Sam's Kitchen, so I decided to try it. If you are a stuck up snob you wont like Sam's. Everyday food, made and served by everyday people. I think it's great! Have eaten here twice both times the food and service (Steph) was fantastic. My wife and I will make Sam' a weekly thing. read more

These places are fun! Local. Fresh food. Ok price. Why would you go to iHop when this is across the street? Full of locals. Even a neat little bar in the back if you are here in the afternoon complete with a few taps and Sake (the owner is Chinese). Friendly staff...you can tell that many have worked here for years. Oh....food is great too. Had biscuits, gravy, eggs. Friend ordered an omelette. Service was very slow by American fast food standards, so go with someone you want to talk too. Or bring a good book if solo. Food made to order which takes time. Ask for butter early; it comes out frozen. read more

Solid diner. Good service, good food (in general), good portion sizes, good prices. My husband got steak and eggs and the steak was over cooked. I got eggs benedict and mine was perfect. I would return. read more

Classic country cooking, including grits and country ham! Super nice wait staff! By far, the best breakfast stop in Charlottesville!

Really good home cooked food. I got the pork tenderloin special with mashed potatoes and kale. Delicious. Can't wait to go back to try more!! And right down the road from our house. read more

My family & I have eaten here for many years, and are so thrilled that Sam came back out of retirement & reopened in a new location! We first discovered this place via staying @ a nearby hotel & ordering take-out, & being pleasantly surprised at how great the food was! There isn't anything we've tried that isn't tasty, and their portion sizes are good, too. Not outlandishly huge, nor microscopically small. We've sampled everything from a typical American full breakfast, to pizza, lasagna (enjoyable!), comfort foods galore. Their prices are great, the food is great, the atmosphere is ok. Think morning-style diner, not subdued lighting for romantic dates. This place is solid for a regular, good meal with comfort foods on a budget! read more

Food was delicious. I had sausage links that we're so flavorful and not overly salty. My husband had eggs benedict that were perfect. Good place and very reasonably priced. I would recommend coming and will return. read more

Breakfast all day but I don't recommend sausage and gravy over biscuits. Biscuits were dried-out and hard. Sausage gravy was a bland saw mill gravy with pieces a sausage patty added apparently when plated. The bacon is well cooked thick slices. Hash is not made from scratch, so I didn't even try it. read more

Normally decent food for a decent price but lately has been understaffed with subpar food and service.

Classic local old school dinner. Wonderfully simple breakfast food. Amazing home made biscuits. Ask for Cassey as your server and you'll be in for a treat of a time. Definite hidden gem. read more

Went last Sunday for breakfast and will not be back. Dry biscuits, poor service, average eggs and sausage. For the money I'd get better food at McDonalds! read more

This place is a gem. We are staying at a local hotel and hopped on Yelp as we didn't feel like doing the hotel breakfast or IHOP. Food was good and the service was amazing. Sweet servers who were attentive and friendly! Check it out and avoid the chain restaurants! read more

Great eggs Benedict, walnut pancakes, and scrambled eggs. Good prices, clean, and friendly service. Kids menu is good for young kids but will be way too much food for a toddler. Wanted to try the huge variety of crepes but too much food. Sign shows more parking in back. read more

Went for breakfast . Had the New york strip, two eggs, potatoes and toast for $10.00?! Are ya kidding me! Very good cut of streak. Steak and eggs were just as I ordered. Love mom and pop places! read more

Close to perfect. Food was great and came to the table quickly after ordering. We didn't get a coffee refill until we were finished eating, and then it took forever to get our bill. They were extremely busy though. read more

One of the worst meals i ever had. The broiled chicken breast texture was foreign. Horrible. The 4 and 5 star reviews of this place are deceiving. read more

First visit - Goods: classic diner style fare well executed. Our group of 4 ordered off both the breakfast and lunch menus during Sunday brunch. Patty Melt, Turkey Sub, and Meatball Sub were hot and tasty. French toast rated better than I-hop. Reasonable prices and friendly "what can I get y'all sugar?" waitstaff. Needs improvement: we were cautioned by the owner that they were short staffed and food was taking longer than expected to arrive. Fair enough. In the end, it took 1:15 for our order to arrive. Not happy about that. Bottom line - I'll give 'em a pass for the slow service once and plan to visit again. Quicker service would rate at about 4 stars. Give it a try! read more

If you are looking for good food at a reasonable price, this is the place to eat--especially breakfast. But, beware....the floors need to be stripped and re-waxed, the bathrooms are TERRIBLE and not even accessed from inside the restaurant. The owner is a nice as he can be--as well as his daughter. Barbara is very friendly and does a good job taking care of the patrons. But--lately the wait has been long. Need more cooks? More wait staff??? Don't know... But even though the people and food are very enjoyable, the atmosphere is getting to be a bit much. Needs a good cleaning! read more

AMAZING food! If your in Cville you have to try this place out. It's a Cville treasure with down home cooking. The owner and staff are friendly and just wonderful. I highly recommend it! You can have breakfast all day long and the pricing for the food is out of this world affordable. You MuST try this place! read more

Writing this review seriously pains me. I've been eating there on and off for some time and in the past I was generally pretty satisfied. So today, I placed my usual order (the triple decker) which has always been good and very filling, especially since it came with fries. I could get similar a sandwich elsewhere for around the same price, but the fries always pushed the order into the "good deal zone" for me... Apparently, now if I want fries I have to *pay extra* on a nine dollar sandwich (8 and change) meaning... I could go to a chain sandwich joint and get a sandwich at least 30% bigger for the same price. No longer can justify the expense when compared to other nearby eateries; at least for what I order, and it's sad that a business I so often recommended is now one I can't recommend in good faith. read more

Great place, kind of hidden off main road. But loved it for breakfsst! I had ham egg and cheese biscut. Everything was fast and fresh. Prices were great, very affordable and staff was beyond friendly! Even the other servers would stop by my table to make sure everything was okay and ask if I needed anything. Would definitely recommend to another! read more

My husband and I went there for breakfast this morning. It was our fist time and it was great! That was the best homemade breakfast we've ever had in Charlottesville. This is the place to go and we can't wait to go back again! Great service too! read more

First visit 12/1/12 and loved it! If you're looking for no nonsense homestyle comfort food at a great price you'll find it at Sam's. Have heard that the breakfast (served all day long if you like) is wonderful as well. Glad we now have a good breakfast spot on this side of town. Yes I know IHOP is across the road, not a fan. Give it a try. read more

Good home cooked simple breakfast. The Virginia ham and grits were excellent. The biscuits were also delicious. Weird decor but great service. The food is a great value. read more

Good, hearty breakfast! And super friendly wait staff! Thanks Sam's!

My boyfriend and I were passing through and decided to stop here for breakfast. It was great! For was good homemade food and service was excellent! Our waitress, Amy, was FANTASTIC! Friendly with a great personality!! Will definitely come back one day. read more

Fantastic service, the breakfast staff were some of the friendliest people I've come across in my travels. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. read more

best pancakes in town! we think it used to be chinese place and they kept the decor, floors could be cleaner but amazing food and OK service

This is a fun place. The food is always good, and breakfast is always an option. The staff is super-friendly as well. Highly recommended!

I had breakfast here this morning. The place is across the street from IHOP and it is behind the 7-eleven. Parking was not a problem. They are open every day of the week. They have a very large selection for breakfast. I had a mushroom omelette with hash browns on the side and all was very good. The establishment has many booths and has a number of tables. The service was excellent. The ambience is simple. I highly recommend this place if you do not want to have the standard IHOP fare which always seems like it is mass produced. I also had coffee and there was an ample supply of packaged jelly at the table. Besides their breakfast menu, they also serve burgers, subs, sandwiches and hotdogs. Breakfast is served all day. They also serve dinner, pasta, seafood, pancakes and waffles, French crepes and French toast. read more

Been for Breakfast and Dinner. Classic diner fare, including an outstanding Shepard's Pie special on a cold rainy night. A great value and a pleasant find in a town full of mediocre restaurants. Great service in a pleasant space. read more

I got the wings and things plate. It was pretty good for fried food. What I liked even more was the chef's salad with oil/vinegar. Great lunch dish! read more

The lunch is not good. Got the meatloaf and bake beans which tasted almost rancid and green beans. My husband got the meatloaf and mashed potatoes which was ice cold and macaroni salad which tasted terrible. Was not worth the money. read more