Sam’s Restaurant & Saloon

This is a classic (aka not great) Delco place.
The same crowds come here all the time, the servers (usually women) have that hard Delco look about them and all the food is some type of Italian or seafood that’s broiled. The place hasn’t changed in years and has a musty smell about it in some areas.
I got the broiled seafood combo and it took forever. Forever to come out. I’m not impressed with this place at all but I think it stays in business because the same older people come here or funeral wakes.

I have been to Sam’s over the years for special occasions but not for several years.
We had no idea that it has taken a nosedive and is in the midst of renovations when we made a reservation for a party of 9 for a milestone birthday dinner.
We felt like we were in some sort of time warp while looking at the décor, including disco ball, and listening to the music selection.
(It is not appropriate for Windex to be out in the open even if remodeling is in progress.)
The wait staff seemed very inexperienced. We were, as I said a party of 9. There were only two couples dining at the same time so our hour wait for our meals was ridiculous. I actually felt bad for our server as he apologized about the wait. Part of our order was wrong.
I recall the bread and peppers being much better and the lettuce in the salad was clearly old. The escarole soup was average at best. The serving size is WAY too large. My aunt put it best saying that we would be much happier with half the size of the dishes and half the price. The stuffed eggplant was three servings for me. All of the pasta dishes were ok and the sauce was just the way I prefer.
We asked about desserts and were brought a «dessert tray» which was what looked like a party platter with artificial sunflowers sitting on it. It had three slices of unidentifiable cake. They seemed like samples from somewhere. One was rainbow cake… even blue and purple! None of us ordered any dessert and as a result we bought a cake on our way home.
As with many places I would suggest that they LIMIT the menu and do those things very well.
Much improvement is needed for me to return. One of our guests said that it was, «the worst dining experience of his life.»

I’ve only been here a handful of times (and I live around the corner), but I’ve never been overly blown away. Honestly, I can’t even tell you what I got as far as food goes. I think the last time I was there, it was some sort of pasta in alfredo thing which I remember thinking was not good at all. What sticks out that I did really enjoy was the roasted peppers.
The only thing keeping this from a 2-​star, is that it’s actually a super fun place to go on a Friday night. They have upbeat live music and a pretty good beer special ($ 2 domestics I believe). I’d absolutely recommend it for a place to get a beer and have a good time on a Friday!
I’ll give it another go for food and update my review when it’s fresh in my head.

I visited Sam’s Saloon on a Saturday afternoon for a family party. It wasn’t crowded at all.
I ordered:
The Turkey Reuben which was described to have coleslaw, russian dressing and turkey on rye. I asked for the russian dressing on the side and confirmed that it came on rye. What I received was some sort of panini that had cheese, sour kraut and turkey on sourdough bread, pan fried on both sides. It tasted horrid and was pretty distant from what I had ordered.
I liked:
The seafood appetizers were enjoyable. I had two crab stuffed clams.
I disliked:
The service was sub par as I constantly had an empty glass in front of me and the waitress seemed a tad disorganized.
The food everyone else in my party ordered was also nothing to write home about.
The repercussions from the food I experienced later that night in my bowels.
I would never go here again nor would I recommend this place to anyone I liked. It’s a marvel that a place like this stays in business.

I ate here last on Easter with the family, and it was a half-​decent meal. I tend to eat here with the family when they do special menus on holidays, and there they do an OK job. i will admit I don’t go there for regular meals so I am not sure if it is any different. They seem to step up their game on those days.
I do see that it is getting some negative reviews. They may suffer from down nights quality-​wise, and the service is occasionally a bit grumpy (in Delco, I think that’s called «tradition»).
But last time I drove past on a weekend night you couldn’t get a parking spot near the joint, so they probably think they’re doing something right. I wouldn’t expect it to change.

Do you miss 1953? Lucky for you, this place never hasn’t changed since 1953!

After getting totally lost via crappy directions from Google, my mom and I finally arrived at Sam’s for a bridal shower — a half hour late. Fortunately, the bride was even later, and we didn’t ruin the surprise.
Sam’s needs a major update, stat. The air smelled of old carpet and everything had kind of a sticky feel. The room we were in for the shower was decent enough, and a bartender kept soft drink pitchers filled, with plenty of glassware and ice available.
We had a choice between chicken parm and crabcakes. Chicken seemed like the safer option, which is what I ordered. To start, a round of garden salads with just about the palest iceberg I’ve encountered. The dressing was tasty though, and there were black olives (bonus points there). Entrees were better than expected, although not super flavorful. The crab cakes were more filler than crab, but my mom liked the veggies served alongside. My side of pasta was weak, but the tomato sauce was decent and the chicken itself was fine.
I most likely will not return to Sam’s on my own volition, but I’m not super familiar with the area to know how it compares with other spots. I’d recommend using the Unilocal app to find alternates if I had to offer advice to someone passing through.

Yeah — you’re right. The staff could definitely use some happy tips. We like to sit at the bar and sometimes the bartender is OK, sometimes not so OK. There’s a little waitress there we like Kara or Karol or? Nice, but some grumpy people there. That being said, their food is unevenly good. Prices really good so they do a big senior citizen crowd — can you say foxtrot on the dance floor? Had their spag w/​crabsauce and found it tasteless, but I was there for a catered party over the holidays and had some GREAT dishes. Good selection of tap beer. Good happy hour specials. A story that kept us out of there for years: I bought a $ 50 gift certif. for a Chrstms presnt. Got to my car and discovered I didn’t have it. Went back in, table cleared off. I asked the Mgr or whoever he was and he could not have cared less. About 5 years I stayed away. Not that I hold a grudge or anything ha ha — but the guy was just rude.

My parents were regulars at Sam’s for years. We spent many of a birthday or special event as a family at the restaurant. My mom became sick in 2001 (and she died in 2005) and needed a wheelchair to get around. For my birthday in 2002, we planned on going to Sam’s. We made reservations and explained that mom was in a wheelchair. We asked to be in the front of the restaurant since it was hard for mom to get around. Instead, we were put at the very last table in a backroom. Mom had a horrible time getting her wheelchair through a tiny doorway to the backroom. The staff ignored us. Our food order was wrong and they never did bring that birthday cake to us. The owner yelled at us for having a handycap person in his establishment. Never again! I