Sambuca Restaurant - Atlanta

10/25/09

Great Place to Go

by chocness at Citysearch

I thought Sambuca was a very good enviroment. On Dec 27th 2008 my hubby and I went there for the first time to celebrate our anniversary and we had a very good time. The jazz band that performed that night was called "Papa Soul" and they were amazing, they sang Happy anniversary to those who were celebrating theirs or their birthdays, also the food was delicious and so was the drinks, at first we had to wait to be seated, but it wasn't a long drawn out wait, I did recommend others to go and they said that they had a very good time as well going to the one in Houston, which I plan to go again but in the city of Houston where I now reside again.

09/07/09

YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED

by simplysaid at Citysearch

NOTHING!

A friend and I went to your restaurant/jazz club on Friday, Sep 4, 09 for my 59th birthday. We made reservations for 6 pm. We arrived at 6 pm. were seated right away given the menus. We waited for 40 minutes, we got no water. Finally (2) waiters came to the table, no apology, and no water. By the way the restaurant was NOT BUSY. Why the delay? We order our meal; it took 50 minutes to get our meal. The roasted chicken tasted old and very dry. Finally half way through the meal we asked for water, we did get the water pretty fast. But, OMG, I had heard some many good things about SAM BUCA.

We were really disappointed.

Please let me know what the problem was that night, I sure this does not happen often, if so you guys need to take a class in customer service.

SO SAD………….

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: VERY BAD SERVICE AND FOOD

07/28/09

I make a full correction to my first impression

by ChefMark at Citysearch

I am a retired chef so I am hard on restaurants, but I feel I am fair. Any establishment can have a bad moment. It can be corrected by HOW the management reacts. Jayme the General Manager of Samuca, reacted properly. To digress, I sent a copy of my first review to the GM of Sambuca's. Within an hour I had received a reply apologizing and explaining the volume problem. The letter was professional and it invited me to reconsider. So I renewed the reservations and I am glad I did.

Basic Facts: Two show 7:30 and 9:30 with choice of $15 seats or VIP $25 seats. We took the $25 ones but I think the $15 would still be good, at least on weeknights. Very good waitress and nice menu choices. My wife's seafood risotto had perfectly cooked shrimp & scallops. The risotto was over cooked but tasty. My MR petite fillet with fried lobster was rare but the quality of the steak overcame any desire to send it back. The lobster was great with it and the fresh asparagus side was very good.

What made the evening memorable was the Southern Gentlemen, a true, talented group. Their music, their performance and their persona were stand-up applaud style. They had a guest violinist, Michael Ward, who took the performance even higher. He played jazz to bring tears to my eyes.

If you can afford $60 and above per person and want an outstanding evening, then run, don't walk to get to Sambuca's. (Call ahead to make sure that they have the style of jazz you want.) I will return!

• Pros: Food, Music 5 stars
• Cons: Pricey for some

03/28/09

Big disappointment

by BigRed at Citysearch

Took my family there for my mothers birthday and the place was just terrible. Tacky on the inside, the food was total junk, and the drinks were the most watered down I've had literally in my entire life. Even after telling the waitress about the watered-down drinks, she made no effort to replace them and the service was terribly slow. To top it all off, this place is overpriced.

If you're wondering about where to go for a fun night out...don't wonder anymore about Sambuca. This place is a flop that really does not fulfill its potential, and it will leave you feeling cheated out of a night of fun.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Everything

01/22/09

Not worth It! Food not good and Poor service.

by personaltrainer09 at Citysearch

I was there for the New Years Eve bash. It was overpricedt the food was awful and the service was horrible. When the check was given to us the tip was presented as though it HAD to be included. When actually it was optional. ( I would have tipped but just not as much as he expected) My bill alone was $167 which included a $28 tip. The bust boy waited on us more than the waiter. The next day I called to complain about how the ticket was presented. The manager promised to call me back but never did. For a table of 4 the waiter made over $100 on tips alone. The bill for all 4 of us was over $500 which was sooooo much not worth it. This evening was a huge disappointment. I will never return unless I'm sitting at the bar NOT eating and just listening to the music for FREE. I would not recommend Sambuca.

12/16/08

What a great time!

by sgirl3331 at Citysearch

I had never been before even though I had heard about it. My company had our Christmas party there and it was one of the best we have had! We had a great view of the band, the food was great and the music was really good. The band covered all kinds of songs. Later in the evening the band got a little louder and conversation with anyone except for the person right next to me was a little difficult but then we just all got up and went on the dance floor. I will definitely be back to see the other bands they have.

• Pros: Ambience, Food, Live Music

10/16/08

Pay more and get less

by Darrylrhoades at Citysearch

Very disappointed. My wife and I have been here several times and tonight will probably be our last.

Prices are upscale, decor is upscale, food is okay but service is declining and for a club that proclaims jazz, we saw a band with the keyboard player wearing no shoes in faded jeans and we both felt overdressed.

The club use to flaunt class and now caters to people who want to pay inflated prices for less service and in these economic hard times I believe that will not include me.

• Pros: decent food
• Cons: inflated food prices, mediocre service, moderate entertainment

08/11/08

Enter at your own risk

by 3Shuns at Citysearch

This is the first time I have ever wanted to voice my opinion so badly. I moved here from Dallas and was a regular at the uptown location loving everything about the establishment. Thinking that this location would be as nice or maybe nicer being in Buckhead. I have never been so dissappointed and embarrassed. I spent the evening apologizing. Our stay was less than an hour. First we were greeted with the valet(expected), then "can we help you?", the cover charge is $15 per set tonight if you want to stay". My answer was "if we can have a drink or 2 we can decide in a few." We went in for a drink and appetizers at the bar since we had not previously purchased tickets/table for the shows. We learned later that there was a radio station that comes on Thursdays. The bartender who was also the only server in the only area took a while to come take our order, but not before stopping table to socialize. He was very helpful once he made it over and explained the atmosphere or attitude of the restaurant. This restaurant really needs a professional staff make over and soon. I was not impressed with the staff,service,food or drinks. A waste of money!! It is a long way from being a "Jazzed-up supper club and posh Buckhead hot spot." I seriously doubt if I go back to this place again. I will wait until I go home for visits to Dallas.

• Pros: The name their are 5 locations, Ambience
• Cons: Professionalism, customer service

07/07/08

First Class but not stuffy!

by fab50 at Citysearch

Walked into a darken room, the family & I were seated immediately for another birthday celebration (fab 50 is soon becoming shrewd 60). The restaurant itself is beautiful & very eclectic. We went the last weekend in June, the singer was excellent. We had so much fun, the singer kept the audience involved. We ordered starters; crabby cakes;shrimp tempura & calamari fritti; all were excellent. Entrees ordered were shrimp tempura;ny strip;pork chop;hamburger; chicken toscana & parmesan encrusted chicken(my favorite & it was my birthday). The cheesecake was shared for dessert but by the time we got dessert; who cared. Drinks flowed; music was first class and food excellent. We had a grand old time and will return again, maybe we will go back for a good blues night. I think because of the atmosphere, this would be a great place for a nice even romantic date; there were seats that were very intimate & cozy. I really enjoyed the experience, I would recommend to anyone wanting a restaurant that was cozy, intimate with good music, good food. Here is my tip for you, study the menu before you go because if you seated upstairs, it ,may be too dark to read.

• Pros: Valet Parking; Great Ambience
• Cons: Can be too dark to read menu in some areas

06/11/08

Great jazz, food and service

by AKADiamondKut15 at Citysearch

This was the first restaurant that had a jazz singer that could actually sing. It was a great experience and the food was wonderful. The customer service was impeccable!!

• Pros: Music, food and Service
• Cons: A little on the darkside