Pete & Sam’s Restaurant

Haven’t been to this restaurant in many years. Was very disappointed. When you first walk in you smell a musty, wet, smoke odor that is not appealing. The seating is adequate. My salad was overflowing from the bowl and completely drenched and «swimming» in oil & vinegar! The menu was varied and I ordered the 6 oz. filet mignon. $ 23.50, so I expected it to be excellent. The server was a tall cute girl who did a superb job of meeting the needs of our med. sized group. The food came quickly and the steak was cooked perfectly with an accompanying baked potato. Dessert was spimoni and it tasted ok but was a little melted. The vanilla and chocolate ice cream probably came from a KROGER carton. Presentation of the food was non-​existent. Dinner was served on melamine dishes! Would not recommend this restaurant.

We always end up at Pete & Sam’s with huge parties and they always do an amazing job! Last night we had 35 people. They gave us 2 servers, helped with getting everyone situated and had even remembered a special request I’d made when I booked the reservation about the table arrangements.
Awesome people and atmosphere!

I get it. Your grandmother’s Italian food is better. Next time you see her, give her an application to Pete and Sam’s and she can cook for all of us. Until then, this place is it. 100% Abe Vigoda atmosphere. Il cibo qui renderà i vostri sogni!

What a great experience!!! A friend told us about this place and we decided to go for our anniversary last night. So glad we did. We made reservations, however, I’m not sure that was necessary. but better safe than sorry. We got right in… and we bright our own wine. Only 3 dollars per glass they give you. We ordered the toasted ravioli to start. Delish! We had the Tbone for 2 covered In mushrooms and onions… with salads, spaghetti, and a baked potato. The server made sure everything came out correctly and paced perfectly. Their salad dressings must be made in house and are full of flavor. The steak was made a perfect medium as we asked… and it was HUGE. The marinara that comes with the toasted ravioli was to die for. I wish we could have tried desert, but we were already in a food coma. Lol anyway, we were very pleased and can’t wait to go back!

Waiter was very pleasant and helpful, but I believe they had been been drinking recently by their breath. One meal was satisfactory and the other appeared to be reheated… Salad was drowned in dressing. Not worth the price. It believe that it used to be a much more authentic place in the past, but nostalgia will not make up for quality to newer customers.

Awesome pizza!!! Great local family style Italian restaurant.
Can be pricy for the area it’s located.

One of the best, old Italian restaurants I’ve ever step foot in. It seems to be hole in the wall but the food is great and so is the service! I definitely recommend.

The lasagna dish is great. There’s plenty of authentic Italian food to satisfy customers. It can seat many people, but it’s good to get there early, around 6. Around 8 pm there is a large line waiting to be seated.
The lack of draft beer is the one negative mark, if any, I might give it.

This was a family favorite for several generations. My first memories were from the 1960’s and we were regulars for over 50 years.
Sam has passed and Vita and her family no longer have any input into the operations.
My last visit was so terribly distressing that I have not wanted to write this review. (That is why the delay)
With this review, I am saying farewell to a cherished family memory.
REVIEW:
The only thing that was right was the smile and hug the server gave my mother. Everything else was an unmitigated disaster.
Bread rolls: a signature P&S component. Should be crisp /​toasted outside and warm soft inside. FAIL
Bread was no longer round toasted tubes but were more flat and not warm or toasted. The recipe flavor did taste the same but not the same product.
TIME TO FOOD ON TABLE:
Total FAIL! We waited over an hour for the food to hit the table. No explanation. Very odd.
CHOPPED SIRLOIN: A consistent product that should be easy to provide was not edible. 3 Orders all requested as medium to medium well all came out as raw (mushy red) centers. When one sent back, it was simply put back on the flame after having been served and cut open by customer. There is no way anyone used a meat thermometer or even understood safe handling practices on this. Came back still raw in the center. Same piece of cut up meat.
The others decided to eat the outside of some of their steaks or not eat at all. We had been waiting over an hour and it was getting late for the older members of our party.
Italian Spinach: This has been one of the most memorable parts of the P&S story.
FAILED! (Different taste and very salty)
Why on earth would they change this???
Other items:
Spaghetti & Ravioli — all the pasta was overcooked and the sauce was runny like the pasta had not been properly drained.
I could make a statement about how old, drab & unclean the place had become but the DRAB and old Furniture were part of its «Divey» appeal when it was a better place. Now it’s just a low quality dive in rapid decline.

We went with a very large group for dinner. Service was more than slow, which can be expected, but they waited an hour and a half to even begin taking orders.
Once food started showing up, things went from bad to worse. No ones meal was prepared as described or was it even of high quality. A medium steak came out over well, a chicken tortilloni dish came out stuffed with sausage, and the cheese ravioli with plain marinara came out full of beef.
The restaurant itself has not been updated in years, and the carpet, walls, and ceiling show this.
Do not understand how this place gets great reviews.

Homestyle Italian comfort food, pure & simple.
Wonderful service. BYOWine (they have beer). Had eggplant parmigiana which was delicioso and the side of Italian spinach had just the right amount of olive oil and seasoning.
Even Prince Mongo made an appearance, as my Memphian relative pointed out, making the restaurant feel even more legendary!

I have been eating here since my Memphis St days and it is one of the few places that have always been consistent on their food! Great Italian!

Fun vintage 50’s supper club style. Good menu. Good Italian salads bread and toasted ravioli with meat sauce. Great staff.

Well I had deleted my previous review and photos of Pete and Sam’s thinking I didn’t want to promote them any longer and thinking I wouldn’t return. I also didn’t want to pan them with a bad review but you reap what you sow.
I have been to Pete and Sam’s countless times over the years.
I lauded Pete and Sam’s as having some of the best steaks in town. I won’t do that again.
About 2 months ago I went and ordered a Rib Eye, medium rare. I can easily eat a rare steak but what I was served was a raw and cold piece of beef with 50% fat. I am not one to complain. I normally would just suck it up and not return but after two bites the steak was so bad I told my server I could not eat it. My meal was comped and I left thinking not to return.
But I did. Tonight I returned thinking it had to be a bad stroke of luck. The steaks before have been so good.
I ordered a Beacon salad, avoided the Rib eye and chose instead the Sirloin strip medium rare.
The salad was room temperature, limp lettuce only half eaten as it was taken away.
The steak was beyond atrocious. So tough and tasteless with an odd purple streak through the middle. I tried a couple of bites but I could not eat this abomination. Again my meal was comped but it wasn’t worth the effort.
Since Sam has passed this place is on a steady decline.
My last visit ever.

Pete and Sam’s is a Memphis institution. Old, dark and has had very few changes since opening in 1948. Let’s be honest the food isn’t modern anything as the menu never changes much at all. With that being said, there are a lot of great things on the menu including but not limited to the beacon salad, sausage pizza, lasagna, spaghetti with sausage or meatballs, etc, etc, etc. We have learned to stay away from a few items but there a ton of great things in the menu. Make sure and take several bottles of wine and its BYOB. This is a great place for birthday parties or just parties of any kind! Forgot to note that they make a great steak.

This place is your NYC no windows Italian steakhouse, but down South. The menu is unchanged. The food is simple and delicious. Instead of bread, they bring baskets of wrapped crackers. The salad is lettuce and a peppercini pepper with oil and vinegar. The pizza is THIN and cracker like! The steaks are thick!
It is simple, it is plain… it is perfect.
However, the most emabbarrising part of it is that the food item that got my beloved Pete and Sam’s on this list I have never tried. and I am ashamed to say I haven’t. The BBQ chicken pizza… WHY THE HELL WOULDN’T I TRY BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA AT MY FAVORITE ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN MEMPHIS!!! THIS THOUGHT HAUNTS ME… I try not to think about it…

There’s an Italian phrase «Mangia che ti passa» that means, «Eat and it will be over, you’ll feel better.» In other words, Italian is the ultimate comfort food.
And this place is the perfect old timey Italian joint — I can’t emphasize just how very old school this place is, which is a huge part of the charm. That, and the verrrrry personable waiters, and the yummy food, and the huge portions. OK, so there is a lot that adds to the charm of this place. And the mini pizza sides are cuuuuuute — pocket size! Loves it.
Anyways, if you’re not sure what to order, you can’t go wrong with lasagna or ravioli. Ahhh, pasta. I’m going into a carb coma just thinking about it.

Childhood memories shattered!
Returned to a place I really enjoyed as a kid and young adult. It had been along time since our last visit. For years my wife refused to go, now she has me in her camp.
Arrived at 6:30, party of eight, promptly seated and then we sat, finally a waiter comes over said did not think his station but let me get you some water and find your server. It was him and he worked hard but he was covering for a no show, I hope.
Long time to order, appetizer only came after asking for it after salads, food took over a hour to arrive. Food was at worst cool in some places to room temp at best. Manicotti not good, pasta with red sauce cold but ok, ravioli not good, spinach ok, Italian sausage too spicy, hard and been cooked a long time (maybe for days) and warmed up to room temp, mini pizza under cooked and cool.
Waiter tried his best and took care of us apologizing for the kitchen being over whelmed. As I recall Friday night was a big night for years there and do not understand how kitchen could be unprepared. It appeared they were short on wait stay.
I guess if you are a regular, it might be better.
I prefer the memories of years ago and will try to forget this night but do not plan on going back again any time soon.

Since moving to Memphis, I’ve been on a mission to find a good Italian establishment. After my initial attempts were not very fruitful, I turned to the good people of Unilocal to recommend some establishments and was lead here. I’ve heard a lot of conflicting reviews of Pete and Sam’s, but decided to give this place a try. We walked in and it truly looked like this place had not been redecorated since the 70’s, which honestly I kind of liked. This place has a serious nostalgic feel to it, and the look of a true-​blue Italian establishment. However, the individual seating us had a somewhat cold and careless demeanor about him, which struck me as a bit odd, as typically you’d want the first face a customer sees to be warm and welcoming. After all, first impressions do mean a great deal, but I digress. Regardless, this was a place that had the right feel to it walking in, and I really wanted to fall in love with this place, so I went to my seat with an open mind and eager anticipation.
After being seated, we were greeted by a very friendly server who was attentive throughout our dining experience. The girlfriend and I each decided upon the full Italian dinners which come with an entrée, two sides, and a salad. I got the chicken parmigiana and the lady got linguini and clam sauce. For my two sides, I got spaghetti and marinara and a small pizza.
One thing I need to throw out there is that this restaurant has a very eclectic mix of people. I was in a polo and jeans, a gentleman at the table to my left was wearing a full suit with well-​groomed hair, and a gentleman at the table to my right was wearing a Pantera shirt and rocking a buzz cut. And somehow, everything blended in and just worked.
As per what’s typical of Italian establishments, bread and butter came out; their’s was pretty good. Then the salad came out; the salad was also very good as was the dressing. They did not shy away from using cheese in their salad which was nice. We’re off to a great start!
Then…the mini pizza comes out. It’s super thin and as crunchy as a cracker, and frankly tasted eerily close to a hot pocket. Definitely would not recommend this side to anyone except for the most avid of hot pocket lovers.
Then the chicken parmigiana and the spaghetti with marinara come out, along with the lady’s entrée. The chicken parmigiana looked promising, as it was a hearty portion and swimming in marinara sauce. The spaghetti though was very minimal in size and they used linguine and tried to pass this up as spaghetti; this trick wasn’t working on me. The chicken was good, but the marinara had a somewhat funky aftertaste that I couldn’t put my finger on, but definitely distracted from the meal.
We got the bill and felt that the price was rather reasonable for the amount of food we got, although the quality certainly could have been better across the board. This place interestingly has you pay on the way out, which is a lot more like a Denny’s than a nice Italian restaurant, but again, I digress. We went to check out and the same indifferent individual who seated us was the person who checked us out. He again acted rather indifferent and did not act in a fashion that expressed gratitude for our business. So we walked out on an awkward note just as we had walked in.
My girlfriend then informed me that he was part of the ownership of this establishment, which was a huge disappointment. Things may be different around here in general (although as evidenced by another local establishment is not lost on this region), but one of the things that really makes an Italian restaurant is a friendly owner who will walk around the establishment while people are eating and ask how everything is, introduce themselves, thank them for coming to their restaurant, and strike up a conversation with their guests. Italian restaurants aren’t only supposed to have a family feel to it, but are supposed to make you feel like you’re family. Pete and Sams has the nostalgic element and friendly servers, and it’s sad that the missing touch on service came from the ownership. I sincerely hope this was just an off night for this gentleman.
Overall, this was a middle ground experience for me that left much to be desired. I would not be surprised to see myself coming back here at some point in the future, but my focus for good Italian restaurants is shifting in other directions.

The food is average Italian fare. I honestly do not see how this restaurant is consistently ranked as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city. Maybe it’s nostalgia? It has a very loyal following as it has been in business for generations at the same location.
But I found it to be overpriced, noisy, and just «ok».
My main problem was the service. When my partner and I walked into the place, two male employees standing behind the counter just sort of stared at us like some sort of Mexican standoff as we waited to be seated. Finally, we said, «table for two» and they seated us. Why didn’t they walk right up to us, greet us, and seat us? It was quite strange. We didn’t feel welcome.