Sammy T’s

I come here all the time and I’ve never had a bad meal. The service is great almost every time, but I understand it can’t be perfect each visit. I usually order the apple cheddar melt, but I branched out this time I went with my mom and had the Ruben. Very good! I love coming here, it’s one of my favorite places to eat downtown!

My husband has been raving to me about Sammy T’s for as long as I’ve known him and he was not exaggerating. I chose the black bean burger special and he chose the bean and grain burger. Everything from the hummus on our appetizer to the burgers were exquisite. The real test was that it all tasted just as good the next day. I wish we lived closer, but this will be a regular stop when we come to visit. As vegetarian chefs, we’re always stoked to find inspiration and Sammy T’s gave that to us in spades. Food aside, the staff was also top-​notch and attentive. You guys rock! Thanks for a fabulous experience!

Stopped in here while traveling through the area, because they had vegan options. The service wasn’t the best, all the employees I interacted with seemed like they just didn’t want to be there. We got sat in a booth, and the whole restaurant is very dark. If the lighting was better, it would transform the place. The food was pretty good, though! I had the black bean cakes, which were delicious and flavorful. Everything was reasonably priced, and the fact that they had lots of vegan options makes me want to go back again!

Had lunch at Sammy Ts yesterday with a friend. We both had a cup of the mushroom soup and the Southwest salad. Both items were simply delicious. The salad wasn’t the type you find in other places, you know what I mean, a too-​large mound of greens with not enough of the good stuff. This was good stuff all the way through: grilled chicken pieces, some fresh mixed greens, plenty of avocado, corn, wonderful roasted red peppers, good tasting tomatoes, cheddar cheese, all with a mild spicy ranch dressing. We sat there raving about this soup and salad!

I am sorry to say that I ate here in November and loved the food and experience; however, I updated my review from five stars to one. I ordered the same menu item that I had last time a Mediterranean platter. The hummus looked crusty on top. I stirred it and tried it, despite it not being visually appealing. It had the worst aftertaste. Regardless, of what I ate or drank, after consuming one bite, I couldn’t get the aftertaste out of my mouth. I explained to the waitress that it had a bizarre aftertaste. Her reply, to my comment, «it was made this morning.» I was not offered any substation. Honestly, if it tastes and looks gross who cares when it was made? They could have validated my concern and offered more salad or apologized. I was just given my check and sent on my way. I guess don’t eat a full dish and pay full price is their new motto. No thanks! Will not be back.

Really great place to stop for a bite if you’re a vegetarian, vegan or pescetarian, though they do have dishes that include meat as well. Friendly, attentive staff. Decent beer selection. We will go back.

Chips and salsa… don’t waste your money. Taste store bought.
Chicken salad sandwich and club good… not great but good.
Fries were on the soggy/​floppy side.
Service was good and atmosphere okay.
Not bad but not a «we have to come here again» kind of place.

Sammy T’s is the definition of «jack of all trades, master of none.» I’ve eaten there five or six times now, and never been blown away. I’ve also never been unhappy with my food. They are very accommodating to vegans, food allergies, and any other specific requests you may have, and the service is always solid.
If you want amazing food, there are lots of other delicious options downtown. If you want to bring a group of picky eaters somewhere with a varied menu and everybody be satisfied with some decent food, Sammy T’s is the perfect spot.

I went here on a Monday when many of the other nearby restaurants were closed, and boy did I regret it! When we first arrived, it took forever for the waitress to find us a table (it says please wait) even though the place was really empty and there were plenty of tables. When she FINALLY got us seated, she was extremely unfriendly and inattentive during the entire dining experience. The food was also extremely poor. My mom ordered the vegetarian baked potato with soup, and the potato itself looked really brown and corroded (not even remotely fresh). My burger was over cooked and made me feel extremely sick after eating about half of it. My mom said that what she could eat of her food made her ill as well. We definitely won’t be coming back, nor would we recommend the food to anyone! If you don’t want to get sick, don’t eat here.

It’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s about as average as you can get. The menu for this place seems like a lot of your typical diner-​fare type stuff but with more vegan/​vegetarian-​friendly options. It’s in Old Town so convenient location, but nothing stood out enough to me that it’s worth another trip back.
I went in during lunch time on a weekday and it was pretty empty. I understand that it’s a historic building so there are certain things you can’t modify about it, but to me the atmosphere of this place really sucks. Maybe it was the fact that I ate here on a really cold and overcast day, but sitting in a REALLY dark restaurant in the world’s most uncomfortable booths didn’t make me feel any happier.
The service here was mediocre at best. Our waitress didn’t seem that excited to be there, never smiled, and basically did the bare minimum of what a server should do: took our orders, brought the food, brought the check, refilled the drinks once. I really shouldn’t complain, but with the dreary weather outside and the dreary interior of this place, I was hoping there would be at least one redeeming «happy» quality about it.
As for the food, like many of the other reviewers said maybe I should have gotten without meat in it. I had the turkey reuben which honestly was the best part of my experience with Sammy T’s. With that being said, it was your pretty standard cheap-​diner-​fare reuben, except with turkey, and a little bit pricier than what you’d probably find at other diners/​dives. It also came on a plate garnished with a HUGE random soggy leaf of some sort and a slice of lemon. If you’re going to add garnishes, at least have them make a little sense or add some visual appeal to the plate.
If I ever find myself at Sammy T’s again, I’ll try ordering something vegetarian/​vegan, otherwise I’ll have to pass on this place.

Tl;dr Nothing really redeeming about this place, but it’s not a nominal $ rip off either. Just not worth the time otherwise though
The longer version:
When you walk into an establishment that clings onto its old style, saloon-​esque décor, your meal can follow one of two trajectories. Either the meal is really fantastic in an old school kind of fashion, or it’s really bad and the overall experience pretty kitsch.
Sammy T’s is definitely the latter. The food across the board is pretty paltry. The tzatziki is nothing more than store bought yogurt mixed with cucumber and salt (note: no dill or garlic) and represents nothing close to what you’d find on the outskirts of Athens. The pita bread was bought just a couple aisles down from the tzatziki’s yogurt at the same grocery store, and it’s been «grilled» with some conspicuous toaster burns to make it look artisan. The taste still lacks even after that. Finally, the falafel are really, really bad. You get no taste of chickpeas, no seasoning, and it’s simply deep fried nothing. Couple that with unripe tomatoes, store bought pita and some pretty bland salsa, and you have a wholly unsatisfying meal… thankfully for only $ 8
The service matched the quality of the food, unfortunately. Asking for water before alcohol apparently comes as a surprise to the staff, and you won’t get the water anyways until 20 mins later. The rinds of the lemons are filthy that they put in such close proximity to your drinking water, and the glasses are streaky and just generally not that clean. The servers themselves are kind of pushy (but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing all the time) although they sometimes border on unaccommodating.
In the end, it’s good that there’s not too much cash outflow for a meal here, but your time for what might be a precious meal is best spent elsewhere

I have mixed feelings about this place. I’ve been coming here for nearly 15 years with my mother who has been both vegan and vegetarian. This is one of her favorite restaurants. I find it to be hit or miss, both the service and the food. The Mediterranean appetizer with the hummus, tzatziki and fresh vegetables is one of our favorites. I also love the Ellen salad with the felafel and the tahini dressing. In the summer they have a great gazpacho.
However, I have found that since having my daughter 2 years ago, I find that we are received with some sort of negative attitude every time we have come here with our stroller. The first time we sat outside and were told we had to fold up the stroller to keep it out of the way of the sidewalk. We were at the corner table so I just pushed it around the side of the building and it left plenty of room for people to get by. The next time we came here, this was not okay and the server actually argued with me that it HAS to be folded up completely because of the FIRE CODE and they will receive a TICKET due to our stroller being on the sidewalk despite the fact that plenty of people were able to get by without any issue. This was quite inconvenient for us as my daughter was sleeping in it at the time, so I then had to wake her up, take her out and sit awkwardly at this 2-​person table with a cranky baby on my lap the entire time.
The next time I came I decided against sitting outside ever again in order to avoid this issue entirely. The moment we walked in the door, we were greeted and then I immediately started trying to take my daughter out of the stroller so I could fold it up and leave it up front. The hostess then said «YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR STROLLER HERE» as if she could not see I was already preparing to do just that. My daughter was a little cranky and didn’t want to get out, so I told my bf to just go ahead and sit down and I would take care of the stroller. The hostess stood there and stared at us awkwardly like as if trying to verify that I was in fact leaving the stroller there.
So overall, I do not find this to be a very welcoming place for families with small children. It is all college kids working here and they do not want to be bothered I guess. Also should mention that the one time I tried the frozen yogurt around back, all the toppings were covered in mold and appeared to have been sitting out for a long period of time.

Sammy T’s is a Fredericksburg classic. Meat eaters, don’t be scared: the vegan/​veg entrée options are hearty and delicious– try the Camper’s Special if you don’t believe me. The front of the restaurant has more of a dive ambiance, with tall booths and bar seating. It’s a great place to catch an app and drinks with friends, and rarely has a long wait.
If you come with a family, ask to be seated in the back addition. It’s kid-​friendly and much easier to hear a conversation across large parties (I’ve sat in the back at a table for 8 with no problem).
Bottom line: don’t eat at Sammy T’s if you want a whitewashed Americana burger/​beer dining experience. Roll your stroller into the line at Capital Ale House. But, if you have an adventurous palate and are looking for a place with a great local reputation, eat here.

Very wide ranging menu, can satisfy pretty much any taste or food preference. Even though it was Saturday night, it wasn’t a human car wash. Service was great — friendly without being clingy — and the food was just what we were looking for. Would certainly go back.

Definitely not what I expected when we walked in. It looks like it’s just a dive bar. And probably should just be a dive bar. The booths are tiny and very cramped. Not a place for big parties.
My husband, toddler, and I stopped in this passed weekend for lunch. Husband ordered the burger and a side of fries, I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, and ordered our son the kids chicken tenders.
Food was meh. Our server was friendly and helpful. But I feel like this is a place for vegans and vegetarians. Live and learn.

My husband and I came to this restaurant for the first time while visiting downtown Fredericksburg one evening, at about 6:00 p.m. Upon entering, we stood at the front for about a minute as no hostess was present, and then a waitress walked by. I asked her if she knew how long the wait was for two, and she replied that she didn’t know because she didn’t work at the front, made no offer to get another staff to help us, and walked off. When the hostess finally appeared about another minute later, we put our name on the wait list and ended up getting seated sooner than the 15 minute wait time, which was nice.
Upon being seated, it took at least 5 minutes for a waitress to even come to our table. When she did, and she had a cold attitude might I add, we ordered beverages, a chips and salsa appetizer, and our entrees. About 15 to 20 minutes after ordering, our waitress had not even come back by our table, nor had we even been brought our chips and salsa. When our waitress finally passed by us, mind you not even intending to stop at our table, we flagged her down asking for our appetizer and drink refils, which she brought after about 5 more minutes.
After about 30 minutes later, for a total of about 55 minutes after initially ordering (no exaggeration) we received our entrees. My husband had ordered the fish and chips and I had ordered a reuben. I had long since wanted to just pay for our drinks and appetizer and leave, but my husband was so hungry by then and didn’t want to take even longer to go somewhere else, so we had ended up staying. Anyway, the fish and chips were good, but my reuben was poor quality-​not even good by diner standards. I was especially furious because of how awful the service was and how long it took to get the food. Major disappointment.
All in all, yes, they were busy, and I can appreciate that, but as I told my husband– if you are unable to provide acceptable service due to how busy you are, than do not even seat people to begin with. To allow patrons to be seated in your restaurant but then provide awful service is far is worse than to turn them away. I addition to that, there was no apology from our waitress for the wait time for the appetizer and/​or entrees, which tells me that the level of service we received is just status quo there. A couple of explanations or apologies about the wait for food would have even softened the blow, but nope. And our waitress came to the table maybe a total of four times during the 1+ hour we were there.
I would NEVER return to this restaurant, and do not recommend anyone to come here, unless perhaps you are going there for their vegetarian and vegan menu options, which actually make up the majority of the menu (be prepared for bad service). Perhaps that is where they get their following from, but to say I was severley disappointed would be an understatement. I am easy to please, just give me acceptable service and I won’t even mind sub-​par food, but this place was a joke.

So if you’ve read anything about the booths being uncomfortable, after sitting here for 45 minutes I can assure you they really suck!
As I sit here wondering if we’ve been forgotten, maybe our food was given to someone else by mistake, or maybe they just don’t like my goatee. Not sure… I fear death may come before our food. I wish I had told my family I loved them before I came in here. Oh! Wait here it is. I’ll take a picture so this moment of depression can last forever.

Small cozy but uncomfortable booths.
food was okay, have had better but I’ve also had worse
Frozen yogurt is just horrible, tasted like soap. Maybe they just cleaned the machines and needed another rinse? No clue.

I’m not a vegan or vegetarian. I’m actually closer to paleo minded. If you are looking for vegan/​veg food, nearly ½ their menu is dedicated to you.
I purchased chips with housemade salsa (store bought chips, good salsa — i’dk about how in-​house it is though), $ 5
salmon blt on pumpernickel (bread freshish, not in-​store-​made, the lettuce Is full, large leaves — so that’s good, the salmon nearly flavorless and very overcooked, bacon was generous, premade & crispy — not too fatty) $ 12
I also ordered a apple crisp which is a discrace to apple crisp, see picture. $ 4 — I think
Overall I would not bother coming here again u less I was seeking veg-​type foods.

The best spot for vegan /​vegetarian food. Went on a quite Sunday night & the restaurant was quite but staff was friendly and service was quick.
I ordered the hummus platter which was very fresh and good variety of veggies, plenty for 2 people. My friend got the adventurer which I was Abel to snag a bite & it was amazing. Will be back & next time I am getting the adventure and I am not even a vegetarian .
They are open till 10 & plenty of street parking !