Sambuca

Food was not that great. Shrimp scampi came in a bowl soaking in the sauce. The sauce was not very good. Service was slow. They were completely out of port on a Saturday night! I would skip this place if you have any other options

I just had my wedding reception here last week, and it turned out absolutely perfect. I planned this wedding from out of town and for $ 40.00 per plate, (not including tax, gratuity and liquor) I never thought that my wedding would turn out so wonderful. Thank you Allie and David who really helped in making the wedding reception a major success. Allie set out everything on the tables exactly as we discussed. David calmly assisted all the guests at each table with the food and wine needs.
Everyone loved the food and the warm, intimate atsmosphere of the restaurant.
Thank you to everyone at Sambuca for helping my wedding turn out so amazing!

My friend planned my birthday dinner here on a Saturday night. Because the reservation was for 15 people, we had to do a pre-​planned menu and the options looked amazing. It was hard to narrow it down but we eventually did and the pricing seemed very reasonable ($ 40 each before tip and tax, no alcohol included).
It’s a beautiful, big restaurant, especially for NYC. We didn’t have to wait too long for our table… once we were all seated, we didn’t wait long on drinks or the first round of food. Our waiter, Jasper, was great — personable, funny and attentive. My complaint was that the food wasn’t very warm. from the appetizers to the main course. Some of the food was good, some was OK… the Chicken Parm was great, the meatballs were delicious, the pasta with sun dried tomatoes and broccoli was boring… the chicken piccata was good. I had heard really good things about Sambuca so perhaps the problem was the big group? It’s hard to say, but overall the dinner was fun and I would come back. I’d give them 3.5 if I could but lukewarm family style Italian is a no-​no.

Came here with some friends. Very welcoming host. the place is very cute and ambiance is nice. Dark but not too dark.
We ordered a bottle of wine and two dishes since we weren’t that hungry. Both were pretty standard and yummy.

When the moon hits your eye, make a reservation at my favorite Italian restaurant in New York City. Sambuca not only has delicious dinner food, but their newly renovated space is extremely family friendly, particularly with their portion sizes. Ah, that’s amore.

The hostest wasn’t very welcoming. We walked in and the hostest turned her back to us to pay attention to her cell phone. We were just standing there looking around waiting for someone to seat us. There were only two other parties in the place besides us. Then after a minute or so she finally acknowledged us and sat us at the table we wanted making no eye contact. Our waiter was very nice but not very attentive. We had no water refills and we had to ask one of the bus boys for bread refills. I’m not sure why because there were barely any customers there. The food was just ok, not worth the money they charge for just ok Italian food.
I may come back one day to give this place another shot but I wouldn’t recommend it to any of my friends.

Usually this restaurant is very good-​be a patron of this restaurant for several years. This past weekend was the worst! Waitress had a very thick Indian accent, so she was hard to understand. I usually come with family and one with celiac (mom).
Food was bland and smaller portions than previous visits. The chicken was very dry, breaded mozzarella had very little cheese. We also got baked ziti that was very flavorless and had almost no sauce in it. Mom asked for the shrimp with gf pasta (instead of rice)-the pasta was ELBOW MACARONI. You know the kind you usually get in Mac & cheese. The restaurant said it was the only pasta they have that’s gf. Italian restaurant that serves all sorts of regular pasta but can only come up with one variety of gf pasta? Please.
The waitress almost sent my mom to the hospital-​mom got salad only to be told a few minutes later there was «gluten in the blue cheese, but a lot of people eat it anyway.» If my mom ate it she’d go into anaphylactic shock, with just a crumb of gluten.
At dessert, mom asked if the chocolate cake was gf and soy free. Instead of coming back and saying yes or no to the question she brought my mom gelato, without an answer or her ordering the gelato. The waitress said «I was confused about your question since I don’t know the ingredients of the cake, so I brought the gelato instead. Did you want the cake anyway?»
My aunt ordered tea and was brought coffee-​chalked it up to the noise level in our section, but with this waitress, it’s anyone’s guess. On top of this, my aunt had a foot injury, and the waitress stepped on my aunt’s foot extremely hard-​no apologies from her.
Will never go back.

I went here for a birthday dinner. The staff is very attentive, food is delicious. I had the wild salmon («Market Salmon» on the menu) it was lightly grilled with rosemary & parsley, it looked & tasted wonderful.
I also tasted the grilled steak, also nicely done.
This place is not cheap and neither is the service or food.
Loved It and look forward to going back.

The best thing about this places is that it is surprisingly affordable — for the location and décor I expected to pay more money! Wines were a bit pricey though, but good.
The décor was lovely, upscale but not stuffy. I had only wished we had a table in the «back» room — it looked very pretty and open but still intimate. We sat closer to the bar which was nice too.
No problems with service, in fact they were quite friendly. I truly hate pretentious places and people and was pleasantly surprised by the truly modern chic vibe and friendly service that was high end, but not obnoxious.
No complaints about the food. Quite good. The serve food both in single servings and family style which makes this a great and far more upscale alternative to the pleasing but always packed Carmine’s about 20 blocks away.
I will certainly go back and recommend to my friends.

Sambuca has a great modern Italian vibe. The food is ok… penne a la vodka was really delicious but the rabe pasta was meh.
Cocktails were really good. You certainly won’t have a bad experience, but probably could get same/​better quality food at other places throughout the city.

Based on the reviews on here I don’t know why anyone would go to Sambuca, but I did anyway, a few times. Was delighted by the great service (every time), delicious food and chill music.
Had dinner here just the other night and everything from their fried calamari to pesto pasta to chicken milanese was just incredible. Individual/​family size servings are great for groups who like to swap plates and try different things. Super family friendly, nice atmosphere– classy but not stuffy or pretentious, and great food. Service was fast and efficient and just overall happy with my experience. Would def recommend.

CONS:
Gluten-​free «bread» is disgusting. What IS that garbage?
Pesto pasta — bland; and too much pesto.
Server seemed clueless about the menu items and couldn’t make any recommendations.
PROS:
Nice atmosphere
Veggie meatballs with whole wheat pasta were good.
Decent prices.

Boxed pasta. (Don’t let them fool you) Dry meatballs. Salty meat. Overly garlic’d sauce. Cold fried shrimp. Overall, just plain Gross. Super super expensive. Would never return, and highly recommend going elsewhere.

I enjoyed my dining experience at Sambuca.
The place does a nice job pairing a nice classy and cosy feel with a wine bar. The front of the restaurant has higher tables and stool seats fit for some wine with friends. As you venture deeper into the restaurant, you’ll find the dining seating area. The food was pretty good and the portions were a pretty decent size for their price, especially considering the location (72^nd and Central Park West).
They even have a nice little garden area in the back where you are welcome to spend some time if the weather permits. I will be going back.

Not really happy with our past experience on this place. Started off with the bruschetta which was all salted tomatoes and garlic bread. Did not even try it after my friend said that it wasnt worth the time. There were the Chicken Parmesan — was okay, Chicken Masala — not that good — very bland, Dessert plate consisted of cheesecakes and cannoli’s — very normally done sweets not over the top really. The service wasnt that bad– they were very accommodating to our every needs. The only thing i liked the most was the Sambuco dessert wine– which was very refreshing at the end of the meal.
But I am never coming back here.

Disappointing and perfectly mediocre.
Our extended family (15 of us) went for Thanksgiving. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was outstanding either. For the price, I’d expect a much better quality of food. This is slightly better than Olive Garden; not inedible, just… OK.
I’ve got agree with the reviewer who described is as «underwhelming».
My brother has had good meals there, so I might go back, but for a first impression, this wasn’t a good one.

The quality of the food was good, but I was taken over by this restaurant. I ordered the shrimp scampi (small portion), and the waitress said that she could substitute broccoli for the pasta to accomodate my diabetes.
The food came, and there was pasta on my plate. A person who appeared to be the manager came by and apologized — so far so good. Then the bill came.
Sambuca charged me $ 45 for shrimp scampi. I inquired about this, and was initially told that I had ordered the large person. That was not the case, and the waitress didn’t do anything to make up for that oversight other than to finally acknowledge her mistake.
I left feeling mistreated and ripped off. Who knows if I was even served the large portion. It was the marathon weekend, and they probably thought that I was a tourist mark.
My recommendation is to eat some place else.

The place is very classy but also small. Our group had a backroom which was a little tight, but great since it gave us an opportunity to all mingle amongst ourselves.
The service was OK and as for the food? It was delicious and so was their sangria. All-​in-​all we had a great time but due to the higher prices I haven’t been back since =X.

Unfortunately, this place was incredibly underwhelming. I brought my family here, because my mother and I are gluten-​free. From the reviews– we were expecting amazing gluten free food!
To start off, the gluten free bread was gritty, tasteless and hard. It tasted like crumbled butter. They only use elbow shaped tinkyada pasta (though it comes in many, many different types). We chose the carbonara and the spinach and cheese ravioli. Both were such a disappointment. Over salty and just poorly made. The bacon was fatty, the peas weren’t cooked enough and the ravioli shell was terrible. Maybe my standards are high because my mother is a fabulous gluten-​free cook, but really, I would NOT come here if you’re looking for quality italian food– gluten free or not!
The regular non gluten free dishes were just as bad. Mass produced, over salty and just bad.
So with a bottle of wine, 2 regular sized gluten free pastas, 2 family sized entrees, and 1 family sized regular pasta and 1 appetizer the bill was $ 255+ tip.
What a waste of time and money!

From the outside, Sambuca seems like it might be a fancy restaurant. But, once you get inside, you definitely feel right at home. I like that the tables are huge and the chairs looked really comfy, perfect for having Friday night dinner with some good friends.
I didn’t eat there that day, instead headed to the fully stocked bar to the left of the entrance. There are about 10 seats and you can order food at the bar. The bartenders are really nice and I believe there were two flat screen TV’s.
You can tell it is a very chill place because at a certain time, a couple of mom’s came in with their kids, and they all sat around the bar and orderd sodas and snacks. That’s pretty cute, and a very residential thing to do.
If I was ever in the area again, I’d definitely stop in for some Italian food, it looked really good.