Walking in, this place had so much promise: spacious, clean, and a lovely jazz stage and atmosphere welcoming of jazz lovers. Went to have coffee, hear some music, and have a bite to eat on a Saturday morning. While one person was cleaning, the owner was the cook and greater who was fulfilling a carry out order. Two people were waiting before my party of two and there was a party of seven behind us. We waited. And waited. Would have been nice to hear a "I'm sorry. I'm short staffed. Will be right with you." But there was nothing. When we finally got seated, it took a while to even get the coffee order in. So, the service was the overriding factor for the first 30 to 40 minutes. As for my latte, it was pretty good. My "JC's Toffee Trane" was a solid 4 of 5. My food, for what I paid for it, was less than stellar: 2.5 out of 5. The grits were on point! My toast was stale, bacon was cold, and the eggs were ok. A mid experience at best, but will try again hopeful it's not short-staffed. PROS 1. Black owned 2. Jazz atmosphere 3. Spacious CONS 1. Short staffed, so slow service 2. No acknowledgment upon entry 3. Breakfast was mid at best read more

Sam's Place - JC's J.C.s Toffee Trane Latte - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

Great decor and ambience awesome vibe The lady with the white hair bum rushed me at the door because I passed a sign that said wait to be seated as I tried to approach the counter so I could order to go. She was rude and aggressive. I guess she didn't think maybe I'm a new customer who had never been here before as she proceeded to instruct me on what to do and where to stand. It felt more like she was talking to a child than providing service. The sign says wait if u want to be seated well I didn't want to sit. Great food and the man w the glasses gave awesome service. read more

I went back for a second Sunday breakfast at Sam's and it was awesome. The shrimp and grits that BF had were swimming in butter and generously portioned. My make-your-own omelette was large and stuffed with fresh spinach and mushrooms with plentiful cheese. Iced nitro coffee was refreshing start to the day. They've upgraded to real silverware and dishes that better match the ambience and quality of the place. read more

Sam's Place - Dining room - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Phenomenal coffee. We got there early and were the first customers. Sam was roasting coffee in the back. Came out and took our order. Started with a cup of Ethiopian drip which was just delicious. Then we ordered breakfast. I got the veggie omelette that came with a biscuit and a hash brown. Omelette was awesome and brought some home. The hash brown was standard but tasty. My wife got the single stroke, which was an egg, ham, grits with your choice of toast. Really good. We also bought half a pound of coffee to go because it was really good. read more

We have been talking about stopping at Sam's Place for breakfast for too long. This morning we finally made it. Wow!! The quality of the food & service is unbeatable. We had waffles and chicken. The fresh herbs in the chicken breading blends perfectly with the tender & juicy meat. Do yourself a big favor and experience Sam's Place yourself. read more

Sam's Place - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

I ate at Sam's Place for the first time and it have to say I was impressed. The place is designed quite well, it's cozy and it has a nice ambiance. The inside has a jazz theme with a small stage for jazz performances. The menu has breakfast and a Sunday Brunch, my wife and I ordered breakfast. I ordered the catfish, two eggs, grits meal. I ordered my eggs over easy , they were far from that, they were cooked hard, very hard. Despite that obvious gaffe, the meal was excellent, the grits were extremely creamy and the fish was seasoned perfectly. My wife ordered the shrimp and grits, that meal was outstanding. Mind you I only tasted her meal, but it tasted great. I ordered a caramel macchiato, and it was way too sweet!! Despite their issues, I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

If you are looking for a relaxing atmosphere with soul satisfying food, you have to check out Sam's Place. The atmosphere is filled with historical jazz themes. We came for brunch on Sunday, and wow. The service was amazing. The food transported us the the south with a homey touch with very affordable prices. We want to come back to check out dinner and see a live jazz show. There will definitely be a next time at Sam's! read more

Sam's Place is a nice, new addition to the Milwaukee jazz scene. The cafe is open from 7 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Sunday, but on Friday and Saturday it opens again from 6 pm to 9 pm for dinner and live entertainment. The space is nice and feels more like a cafe than a jazz bar. There isn't a bad seat in the house for live music. I doubt there's a table more than 30 feet from the stage in the small, intimate cafe. We enjoyed an excellent set by the Donna Woodall Group, and the sound was terrific. Food is good, but selection is limited. On Friday night, the menu only offered four items--two catfish dinners, shrimp and grits, and gumbo. The place also offers a small selection of beer and wine. Service was a little rough. I'm inclined to be patient as small businesses work their way out of the pandemic, and I hope service improves. We waited over 20 minutes after being seated for menus and to make a drink order. The server forgot the order at the table next to ours and had to return a second time. And I asked if they had a dry red wine, and the waiter didn't know. (He waved to bottles on the bar fifteen feet away from our table and said "that's what we have.") Good food and music are great reasons to visit. Stay patient with the service, and you'll enjoy a fine night of music on weekends. read more

Sam's Place - Friday evening with Donna Woodall on stage at Sam's Place. - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

What I had... Catfish and grits. Two eggs, a McDonald shaped prefab hash browns and over cooked biscuit for a ridiculous price of 19 dollars. The good first.... The best part of the breakfast were the grits. Creamy yellow grits done perfectly. The endless coffee was great too! Too bad I was only able to get one cup. The staff wasn't really concern with filling it back up. This is the end of positives. The small portioned catfish smelled of fish and the first bites were fishy and muddy. The ridiculous store bought hash brown is reminiscent of McDonald's. The biscuit was over cooked with a hockey puck feel. My date's breakfast..... Salmon croquettes , white rice, eggs, and toast for an unbelievably ridiculous price of 18 dollars! The two very small Salmon croquettes were cold to the touch and had the appearance and flavor of being store bought. The place is very Clean and orderly although it's an odd set up. This place could have been a bank before. I will never go to this place again for breakfast. read more

Went here for brunch with Husband! Atmosphere was very relaxing and staff was so welcoming. It was clean and the food was amazing! We will definitely be coming here again read more

See all

Food was amazing! I ordered shrimp and grits and my friend ordered salmon croquettes with a pancake. Everything was so so delicious. When we sat down, one of the owners came to take our order. We asked her about two options we were deciding between on the menu and she responded that "everything there is good". Very funny and she did not lie. 10/10 would recommend! Very quant, well decorated, and so tasty. Serving on plastic but the food is so good you won't even care. Amazing portions as well. read more

Sam's Place - Shrimp and Grits - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Love this place for breakfast. Good staff but lines are long, so there may be a wait. They pay attention to COVID protocols (thankfully). I feel really comfortable enjoying a meal here. They roast their own coffee. I buy a bag once a quarter. Great stuff. Items from around the world like uganda, and columbia, and more read more

The catfish was cooked really well and seasoned perfectly arrived Arrived warm but not pipping hot. My only complaint would be the beer that was half full in the glass after the foam settled. They played jazz music though out my lunch. It was enough food to make you full but not enough to take home for later which was fine for me. I would return to hear the live jazz read more

Sam's Place - Beer after the foam settled - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

Great food good service clean place. If you haven't tried this place you should can't wait to come back

After dining in for breakfast (including catfish, pancakes, eggs, coffee), I can say that the food, service and atmosphere were excellent. I look forward to my next visit! read more

The Jazz Whisperer - Charles Love returns to 8900 Bar - Brown Deer . 1/8/2021 Relax to Smooth Jazz sounds of Charles and a delicious Fish Fry dinner to match . Website : Reverbnation.Com/Jazzwhisperer Bookings 414-313-1985 read more

See all

This place came recommended by a coworker and several other people as a good breakfast place. Sad to say I was definitely disappointed. Me and my partner stopped for breakfast around 10am on a Sunday. There was no wait. It's a very clean and modern place filled with fun jazz posters and looks like it would be a great spot for live music. We had a younger waitress take our orders. Right away we got the wrong drinks. And when food came out, we were missing a side. The waitress didn't come check in on us after the food came out so we really didn't even have the option to let her know since we were done with our food by the time she was back. After 20 mins of waiting for her I had to go up to the counter to get a refill on coffee. I also had to ask for the check since she never came back to our table. We also had no clue once we got the check where to pay. As we sat there again waiting, no one told us where to pay. Do we pay upfront or wait for someone to check us out? I had no clue! It wasn't clear. I ordered the Sams's Sampler. Eggs were great and my biscuit was really good. The sausage and hash-brown was definitely just freezer food. It was a meal I could cook at home. I was hoping for some really great homemade food but I feel like I had a McDonalds meal with a couple of eggs. It's not a place if your looking for healthy or food made from scratch. Great atmosphere. Bad food. Poor service. read more

Beautiful space. Cafe Au Lait with plant milk is now my new favorite drink here. Inviting. Comfortable. Meet friends. Date night. Art of jazz greats abound. Meeting room space. In house, roasted to order coffee. The suggested selection was perfect and ground smooth and aromatic for me at home. Convenient location with a parking lot and plenty of street parking. I can't wait to return and try more coffee drinks and hear live jazz! How great is it that Milwaukee has a jazz great open his own place here! read more

Sam's Place - a bag of tea on a table - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

The food was ok. Went last night for Jazz night. They were awesome. The wife was very rude. My friend told me that she was very rude. So, I decided to go to the restaurant on Jazz night because I chose to see for myself. I never take the word of someone else. Yes! My friend was right. The wife is very rude. They're unorganized. They ask you to fill out the menu with your table number, circle your order, and put your name on the paper. We did all of this and they still forgot our food. Coming back asking if we had everything. I told the husband no. We filled out the paper like we were ask. Oh yeah, they don't tell you there's a cover charge on Friday until you're seated. I know we could've left. But, we were excited about coming here. So, we stayed. When we were paying the wife was very rude. So, my friend was right. Never again will we return. She's going to ruin it for Sam. read more

On Sunday 2/19/23, I suggested this establishment for my sisters birthday breakfast. We arrived at 1040am. There were NO other patrons there. None. I was told that normally parties of 4 or more (my party had 6 at the time, ended up being 8 total) needed to call ahead for a reservation, but this time they would make an exception (no patrons were there and no one with a party that large came in the entire time I was there, but ok). I was also advised that an 18% gratuity would be added to the bill ( no biggie, pretty standard for parties over 4), and that only one form of payment could be made, no separate checks (works for me). Devon was our waiter, and bless his heart. I think he was the only waiter there, so we were understanding, however throughout our dining experience he forgot to bring a pancake that was part of an order, and he forgot to bring a complete order of turkey bacon, turkey sausage, and eggs. Again, he was bustling, so we didn't make a big deal of it, but it wasnt the best service. We had to get up and ask for several items that took too long to arrive (a box, butter, water, etc). Note, my sister who ordered the turkey bacon, turkey sausage and eggs, DID NOT EAT! At some point he realized it, but we were like no big deal. My friend ordered an omelette and hash browns and when his dish was brought out, it was an or omelette and French fries. He was told "we are out of hashbrowns so we substituted it with fries." Okkkkkk, I guess fries will do since an option was not given. Again, at this point, no one is tripping. The catfish was good, the grits were good, they gave my sister a complimentary mimosa for her bday. My husband asked for over easy eggs, but they were well cooked, and my sister didn't care for the shrimp and grits, and never got a meal in place of it. Ok, we still rolling with the vibe. Then comes checkout....... sidebar: I came here about a month ago, and this same lady had a nasty attitude that time, but I let it go and went on about my business, but not this time. This time I went to the register to check out, the woman is light skinned, had on a white top and had blonde braids. She asks if I have a call in order, I tell her I'm here to pay the bill for the party in the corner. She then asks Devon "is everything on here? They were here for 2 hours, dang." and then proceeds to give me the total (yes we were there for 2 hours, this man moved like a turtle and it's a party of 8)! I ask to see the check (to check for accuracy, make sure we didn't get charged for stuff we did not get) and she says "yeah, you can get it after you pay, this copy is for me, everything is right on it." I advise her I'll pay when I see the check ( because I too can look and make sure everything is right). She hands me the check and says "that's my copy, I need it back." I tell her that's fine, I'll give it back when I ensure it's accurate. She stood there with her hand out the entire time I looked over the bill. She then says, "the lady told you it was 18% gratuity, but it's actually 22%, also I know she told you that parties over 8 need a reservation next time." Listen, It was my sisters birthday, so I was NOT going there with this woman.The bill was accurate and included a 15% service charge, which I took to mean the gratuity, so I swiped my card and hit skip when the tip part came, because I was told gratuity would be ADDED to the bill. She says "you pressed skip, you need to add the gratuity!" I said I know I pressed skip because the gratuity was on the bill. She responds "no, that is a service charge, that's added to everyone's bill, you still need to add the tip!" So, what is the service charge for? I was never informed of that, so there's a 15% service charge, PLUS a 22% gratuity charge (mind you, where do they do 22% at??) when I was told it was an 18% gratuity charge that would be added? In addition, like I said, the service was subpar and we were trying to cut y'all a break, and now you really sitting here talking to me crazy with a nasty attitude? Now you get NOTHING, do what you need to do with the service charge. Let me be clear and put this on the record, EYE ALWAYS TIP 21% PLUS SOME WHEN THE SERVICE IS EXCEPTIONAL! I am not a person who does not tip, however, the way she came at me, whew, she cost Devon every cent of his tip on that day the Lord made. After the fact my husband and sister told me when we were walking out she ran over to the table to see if cash was left for a tip, and then said out loud "WHAT?? She didnt leave no tip at all, I can't believe this!" NOPE, sure didn't! And because my husband and sister know me....they didn't tell me this until after we left! The take away is this: Food was good, Waitstaff was slow and forgetful, check out service was HORRIBLE, and because of that I will not be back! read more

Great space and ambiance. Disappointed in the food; soft eggs came out well done and greasy. The "hash browns " looks like the brick you'd get at Burger King or Wendy's- this is way too nice a place to serve that as a hash brown excuse. Chicken wings with the chicken and waffles looked great but lacked seasoning and flavor. Friends have had better experiences so I'll give it another try. read more

Food was amazing. Beautiful decor, great atmosphere. The owners wife attitude sucked though. Food was that good that although her attitude was nasty the food overshadowed it. Get it together woman! read more

Upon arriving at roughly 11:15am Brunch menu was not available due to it printing. Lady owner was unsure of menu items as well as waiter. After waiting 15 minutes no one took our order and a waitress had to be called over. We waited 45 minutes to get our food to no avail asked to have it to go. Order was not complete and portion sized was fit for a kid. Green beans looked like they were blanched, oatmeal was not done, didn't get one side that was suppose to come with the dinner, meatloaf was wrapped in paper and was shredded. Breakfast item was removed from bill but overall experience was terrible and very disappointing read more

Sam's Place - Cafes Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

What a cute place! Absolutely loved the music and the relaxed vibe. We had a great server as well. Chili was my favorite! Loved that it had noodles. We both got a tasty lunch entree. Originally we came because we thought it was breakfast all day! Only downside is it ends pretty early at 10:30. Would be great to extend for service industry workers who usually sleep in on weekends! I can't wait to come back read more

I went there for the first time & last time. Sam's wife was rude when taking our orders. She gave us only 4 options because they apparently didn't want to cook for a party of 13 people. Limited our choices of food, food was just mediocre. Eggs, grits was barely warm, served frozen butter for the toast, waited 1 1/2 hours to get served, while people that came after us was served their food first & had finished eating by the time we got our food. Chicken was undercooked, fish was too hard. I try to support black owned businesses & this is the thanks I get. Never will I recommend this place to anyone. There rate is a ZERO. Save your money do not go there!!!!! I had to give a rating in order to post this. Believe me 1 star is too generous. read more

This is a nice atmosphere to come and enjoy live jazz music, a nice hot specialty coffee made to order and good food.

I was visiting this place on my vacation from Houston. I wanted to support a black owned business. When you first walk in the host is not all that friendly(older lady with blonde hair). She took us to our seats, my friend put her keys on the table and walked away to say hi to someone. She picked the Keyes and tossed them in the chair which fell on the floor. Took some time to order, about 15 minutes. I ordered shrimp and grits & a side piece of fish( which the food was pretty salty). She had fish & grits and wanted a side piece of salmon patty (which never came). I'm going to cut the story short because it's pretty long lol. But at the end of the service my friend went to check and wanted to make sure that the salmon patty was not on the bill and again the older lady with blonde hair was rude again and threw/tossed the receipt at her. This place could be good if the owner get better servers. Sometimes hiring family is not the way to go. It's like the OLG ladies (Old Lady Gang). read more