My wife and I had dinner there last night and the food was excellent and staff(husband & wife) were very friendly and courteous. I had the Italian meat loaf and it was excellent with a very light shrimp in garlic sauce and they both were wonderful. Would definitely recommend this homey little restaurant.
Elle S.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
My husband and I love this restaurant. We can take friends are our children or just go alone have a great time! They always remember what we like they treat us with perfection and the food is amazing. We hear weekly and you should too!!!
Tatiana K.
Place rating: 5 Irvine, CA
This place has such great customer service and really delicious food. My hubby and I were so happy we discovered it!
Courtney P.
Place rating: 5 Sacramento, CA
Sambuca is the perfect little gem of a bistro and has never disappointed in its service or its product. I’ve been to Sambuca quite a few times now and I have always left a very satisfied customer — I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to write this review. Regardless, if you find yourself in the area and are looking for fresh, delicious Italian cuisine, give Sambuca a try! Everything I’ve ever ordered off the menu, I’ve loved. Some of my favorites are the black linguini, the spaghetti frutti de mare, and the fresh pasta with asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc … yum! The service is always fast and friendly — they make you feel so welcome and appreciated when you’re there. They love to celebrate with you, whatever you’re out celebrating — a birthday, an anniversary, or just a girls night out. The wine is perfectly paired with the meal and you leave Sambuca happy and full.
Hannah F.
Place rating: 5 Aliso Viejo, CA
I love this place. Service is warm and friendly, food is DELICIOUS. Definitely try the calamari and the black linguini. Give the bread a miss. Their homemade bread definitely needs more salt in the dough.
Carol R.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
The food is outstanding .I had the Veal Parmesan. I’ve had the osso bucco lamb in the past which was excellent my husband had the tequila lime salmon, everything has been fabulous.
Adam L.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Excellent place Very nice owner Great house salad Great veal/chicken marsalla Ill be back for sure
Nicole M.
Place rating: 5 Huntington Beach, CA
This was my first visit here and I was impressed. I ordered cheese ravioli with meat sauce and my bf ordered spaghetti. It is such a cute little spot. The food was amazing and really well flavored. The prices are not bad and the food came out pretty quick. Staff was very welcoming. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and am happy I gave it a try.
Josh W.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
The food here is excellent! We had the Lamb Shank, Bolognese and Seafood Linguine. Then we chased it down with Tiramisu and Coconut Sorbet. Absolutely Delicious!
MIke C.
Place rating: 4 Laguna Beach, CA
This is a very small, intimate little spot in a non-descript strip mall, but a wonderful place to enjoy really solid Italian food. I love that the owner/chef is working right out in the open like a Denny’s diner, the wife is greeting and serving the guests. Reminds me of some small places I ate in Tuscany. The food is a nice variety of Italian favorites plus some unusual dishes like the black linguini with lobster which is my wifes go to favorite here. The wine list is approachable, nothing too expensive and some very good moderately priced options by the glass or by the bottle.
Siho H.
Place rating: 5 Manhattan, NY
We tried this off-the-tourist-track gem based on the Unilocal reviews and it certainly did not disappoint! The food is excellent and authentic, and the service is personal. The local feel is exactly what we wanted coming from NYC. Highly recommend it!
C J.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
I am a sucker for homemade pasta. Sambuca is one those rare find little neighborhood restaurants that makes super fresh food that is SO good! Tonight I got the Sambuca Seafood Linguine in a lemon dill sauce. It was SO yummy!!! I can’t wait to go back with my friends. The place is really small & packed on a Friday night at 630pm. I got lucky w a seat at the bar. I was able to watch the owner fly around the stoves making all the dishes. I thought it was interesting. The food was great & the service was nice! I love finding new places like this!
Tamara S.
Place rating: 4 Dana Point, CA
Place was small and crammed with a view of not the nicest looking kitchen. But the service was great, very friendly and you could tell the servers and cook were close. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place but my ADD brain hated the fact that I could hear the main dinning room areas music as well as the kitchen in the back’s music. Honestly, my fiancé and I came here for the food and that is what satisfied us the most. We both started with a Cesar salad, amazing, and I had the lobster ravioli Gorgonzola which I now dream about and my fiancé enjoyed his linguine Alfredo chicken. We will definitely be returning to Sambuca!
Sofie W.
Place rating: 3 Aliso Viejo, CA
The staff is very friendly although it can be difficult to get their attention sometimes. My friend and I split the caprese salad which was one of the best I’ve ever had. And we also split the chicken gnocchi($ 2.50 split fee). I left most of my chicken on the plate because it was dry. The meal ended with an excellent tiramisu. I would give this place another try simply because it does have a 4.5 star Unilocal rating and despite its small size it did stay very busy all night.
Kevin L.
Place rating: 4 Pasadena, CA
Great little Italian restaurant in an unassuming strip mall. Chicken Marsala, Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken, Spagettini Bolognese, Cesar Salad were all delicious and served in generous portions. Tiramisu is a must have for dessert. The service was warm and the environment was charming for such a small place. The only miss was the bread… which was dry and tasteless, but does not affect the Unilocal rating.
Alain T.
Place rating: 1 Orange County, CA
This rating is for the service. We came for dinner and waited around 10 minutes for a table. The waitress/hostess saw us standing there and kept talking to the other customers. When we finally sat down, we received our water and menus and that was the last time we saw our waitress until the check. No refills, no checking to see if we needed anything. Absolutely nothing, completely non existing service, although she was somehow to assist other tables. Clearly, my money must not be as good as the other folks in there. To be completely ignored during our entire dinner was inexcusable and poor treatment of people.
Gen D.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
I stumbled across this place on Unilocal and decided to give it a try. The reviews for this placed convinced me. I wouldn’t assume that this place would be any good, since it is in the same shopping center as Carl’s Jr. I walked in and the atmosphere was incredibly nice. I liked that the restaurant was small because it allowed time to talk and eat. I tried the Black Linguine with lobster and shrimp and it was absolutely fantastic! The flavor was so rich and tasty. I wouldn’t say this place fills you up, but it is just the right amount. The staff is super friendly and very accommodating and welcoming, I say this is a hidden gem! I had no idea this place was there and I’m usually not the biggest on Italian food, but this place has excellent food for a decent price and the food came out fast! Love this place and will definitely return sooner than later. Much love for this place, try it!
Daniel M.
Place rating: 5 Laguna Niguel, CA
Great food and great prices! This is a small intimate Italian restaurant. You’re always in view of the chef cooking your meal which is cool. We ordered the La Caprese and the Calamari for our appetizers. Both were great and the Calamari sauce is worth eating in its own. And great for soaking it up with the fresh bread. The Black Linguine with Shrimp and Lobster is amazing. As good as advertised. The shrimp are so big and tasty. It comes out very hot temp wise so be carful. Also tried the Creamy Pesto Sundried Tomato Bowtie Pasta. It was excellent and it comes with a lot of mushrooms so be warned. The Spaghetti Bolognese is also very good. The sauce has a taste of mushrooms or wine to it. It’s very tasty. The prices are also hard to beat! It’s $ 18 of the black linguine with shrimp and lobster. It could easily be a $ 26 dish.
Cindy W.
Place rating: 2 Henrico, VA
Pricey for what it was. Got placed right next to the cash register at the bar and faced vats of pre-cooked pasta, sauce, and darkened pots and pans. I was hoping the atmosphere would’ve been a little better, but it wasn’t. For the high rating, I was expecting much more and much better. Meh: Olive oil and vinegar dispensers — dirty fingerprints and dust all over Bread — tastes homemade, not particularly crispy exterior and dry/stale-ish interior Lobster and shrimp black linguine — pricey at $ 18. The seafood was cooked very well, but my pasta wasn’t al dente. At $ 18, I was hoping there would be some fresh greens like basil, but alas… Alfredo — maybe like 5 small strips of chicken, was laughable Our waitress — she was lackluster and kept pressing for wine and dessert. No smile until she handed us the check. One thing to note, we were literally the only mid-twenties in there and everyone seemed to be 45 – 65.
Wally P.
Place rating: 4 Ladera Ranch, CA
Pride of ownership is clearly visible in this small osteria. It’s like you’ve stumbled into a tiny corner of Roma, where the owner greets and seats you, then proceeds to prepare your meal himself. Excellent concept and service. Only a slight criticism to subtract from a perfect score — the pasta was fresh but overcooked in each of the four meals we ordered. The black squid ink pasta(two orders at our table) with diced tomatoes and seafood had excellent flavor. However an improved version would have had mussels and firmer linguini. The penne with four cheese and seafood was also tasty, however was cooked way past al dente. The penne with bisteca and mushrooms had wonderful flavor but also suffered from boiling too long in the pasta pot. Caprese salad — outstanding with sweet balsamic, and a slight twist with roasted garlic and kalamata olives. Caesar salad was well executed with a tangy garlic sauce and anchovies — the way Caesar himself intended it to be. The Tiramisu, soft cake drenched with espresso sauce topped with creamy goodness. I’m impressed and will be back.