Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza and Grill

I have been to other Sammy’s locations in San Diego but this one in Point Loma is by far my favorite one! Our waitress (Kayleigh J) was wonderful! If you have a chance, come here and ask for her! :)

Absolutely embarrassing! Our server was Fredy. The service was terrible, none of the servers were helping their tables. I looked over and saw all of them talking to each other over by the bar. Our server never once came over to check to see how are food was or how we are doing. I’m a server myself and I can tell between a new server and a lazy one. He knew the menu very well which I can tell he’s been working here for a while but, he was NOT attentive. He went to pre-​bus and realized he had another table. He set the dirty plate on a clean table behind him and took the other tables order. Instead of giving an initial greeting taking the plate to the back then coming back to his table.
Fredy was not cheerful or welcoming whatsoever. Never made eye contact or smiled. He dropped the check and just walked away, no thank you or invitation back.
I understand that the time was slow and it’s boring but that’s means they weren’t busy so they should have been on top of everything. And we had to ask the host to get his attention twice for refills. The food however was excellent.

My review title is «Where did Sammy go?»
My husband & I had dinner on 1−20−16 @ 5pm. We’ve been eating at Sammy’s restaurants for more than 15 years & have always been pleased with the quality of the food. This changed on 1 – 20. The lettuce wraps were dredged in soy sauce. I only took 1 bite of mine and could not eat anymore. My husband only ate one (not usually his style). I thought they were made with a sweet & sour sauce, or combination of the two, but this was pure salty soy sauce. My husband had the Chinese chicken salad and said it was really good. I had chicken Thai pizza & there was something «different» about it. It had this glaze, sticky top.. There were hardly any julienne vegetables or chicken on the pizza. I know we should have said something at the time, but I am disabled with chronic back pain, and did not want to extend our visit. Not to mention, our server, Dean was seated with a 8 – 10 top party halflway through our meal, so he was pretty busy. But he always made time to stop by our table. He is the reason I gave the review 2 stars. I hope our next visit is more positive.

service was such a disappointment. sure, it was a weekday at noon, so it was busy… but how do they not anticipate this, given their location?
waited 10 min for someone to ask for drink order; 5
min for two glasses of water to arrive; 25 min for a ceasar’s salad and kid’s pasta orders (i had to ask about the delay); and no one ever checked to see if we needed anything during our meal– in fact i had to
flag someone down to ask for our check.
food was good– otherwise this rating would have been a 1 star.

Food: a wide variety of pizzas that are all VERY tasty, yet light! I was surprised not too feel like a manatee after putting away at least 10 pieces of pizza (I was sampling all the different flavor options, don’t judge… and if you do, I’ll eat another piece in your judgmental honor on my next visit!)
–Thai pizza
–Hawaiian pizza
–BBQ Chicken pizza
–Cheese on top of cheese on top of cheese pizza
–Ye old Pepperoni Pizza
–A «works», everything-​on-​top-​of-​it pizza
Just to list a few of the dishes we ordered. They were all very much approved by my 9month old too, except for maybe the Thai pizza, which was spicier than this mom had anticipated. My bad.
Atmosphere: High-​ceilings might give the feel of space, but really, I felt pretty cramped in here and my family (granted there were 8 adults and 3 children in our party) was one of few patrons there at the time of our dinner. Despite the aforementioned, this place is cute and definitely reminiscent of a rustic pizza shop. (I went to a back-​alley pizza eatery in New York once!)
Staff/​Service: very accommodating, especially for a relatively sizable bunch trying to use gift cards to pay for our meal. We were checked on often and our salads, pizzas, and beverages were brought out in good time!

Tonight Sam was our waitress and she was FANTASTIC! !!
My pizza was better than last time!!! Garlic chicken gluten free… so good! ! We got a table right away and had a great night.

I know better than to eat corporate product, I really do, but alas, when you live in Point Loma, and you’re on NTC (Liberty Station) sometimes you gotta eat what’s around.
The pizza was actually edible, it wasn’t great but ok. My biggest problem is that it’s corporate policy that you can’t get a dinner salad. I mean WTF? I go in by myself and if I want a salad to go along with my pizza, I must spend at least $ 12.50. Cripes!
But like I say above, it’s a corporation and it would be a violation of corporate policy for someone get me a side salad.

I understand that things go wrong in this biz but how you deal with that is where you can get people to come back or where you lose them forever. We live nearby and like to come in once in a while because usually the food and service are good. This time was one of those weird nights where everything seemed to go wrong. Im not going to mention every little mistake but something you cant do is bring out one person’s dinner 5 – 10 minutes before the other. When that second dinner finally arrives well done when it should’ve been rare and you have to redo it so that by the time it comes back the other person is completely done, a simple apology from the manager is not enough. At that point you need to take that dinner off the bill or at the very least offer a complementary dessert. The server was very nice.

It was okay. The staff here and the service is great. We were seated fast and orders were takes quickly as well.
The good was just okay. Nothing special about it. I honestly won’t be back in any hurry.

Stopped by spontaneously for a lunch break. Asked if it were possible to be in and out in under an hour. We were seated and served immediately. The wait staff was attentive, professional, and friendly. The food was good, especially the cajun shrimp salad. Finished in time to make it back to work. Overall a good dining experience.

Not a good experience.
I’ve been a fan of Sammy’s for years. But this was undoubtedly the worst experience. The service was good and our service took care of us. But I was very disappointed with the quality of the food. I ordered the flat iron steak which was $ 20. What I received was a tiny piece of meat about 2 inches by 2 inches on top of some really dried out baby potatoes. My friend had the lobster mac and cheese. It was a little runny and there was no trace of lobster to be found. I would have thought for $ 20 I would have gotten a more substantial cut of steak. After all this was not ribeye or filet mignon. I brought these items to the attention of our server who didn’t seem to care much. He said he had heard those comments before. Another gentleman came to the table a few minutes later which kind of surprised me given the disinterest of the server. He offered us a paltry 20% discount off of our meal. While sitting there I found a coupon in my cell phone that gave us a $ 9 discount. This was a few dollars more than they had offered so we used that coupon instead. I’ve been to several other Sammy’s in San Diego and my experience has been much much better. I don’t think I will be visiting this location any more in the future. This Sammy’s could use some improvement.

So I don’t really like writing poor reviews but I have to say I was really disappointed. I went to the Sammy’s for a quick lunch with two of my managers. So we arrived and were seated. The hostess was pleasant. We were seating in a booth. It was rather warm even though they had to air conditioning going (in their defense it was really hot outside but we stopped into Fitzee Foods right after and it was freezing, like it should be). Anyway… a few minutes later one of the three servers came over and took our drink order (two waters and an ice tea). We needed a few minutes to decide. She came back a bit later and took our order. We ordered:
Two bowls of the Lobster Bisque
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
New York Style Pizza (half without mushrooms)
Bread (for snacking)
So the two Lobster Bisques arrived and then about 10 minutes later the bread arrived. Slightly annoyed about waiting to cold sliced bread and crackers the girls finished their soup. I finally grabbed one of the four plates from the center of the table and discovered they were all filthy dirty… we attempted to get the attention of the male server as he was the only one we saw for about the next 15 minutes… no eye contact, at all. No issue… one of the girls finally grabbed a couple of plates from another tables one of the two was… dirty (shocker). A couple of minutes later our server returned with the lettuce wraps and we asked for clean plates and she handed me one and left the dirty stack. When she later returned with the pizza she took the dirty plates and finally refilled the beverage glasses. The pizza was fine. Not bad but not good. We finished our meal and she never returned to check on us but whatevs… we then waited about 10 minutes for her to return so we could request the check and a box. So I think and hour and a half is ridiculous for a lunch order but maybe me expectations or to high.
The two stars are because the food was not terrible and the ac worked really well in the restroom. I won’t be returning. Sorry.

We’re back!!! And it was just as delicious as the first time! Sammy’s… Our new favorite hideaway in San Diego!

It’s all about the food and the service. And tonight, the Liberty Station Sammy’s was over the top on both.
First off, a nice meal can be spoiled by bad or mediocre service. We’ve been regular Sammy’s diners until recently. In the past the food was good, but nothing special, and service was average. Tonight «Sophia S» at the Liberty Station Sammy’s was without equal to any server we’ve had help us, at Sammy’s or anywhere else. And. As you can see, we eat out a lot.
She was pleasant and engaging without becoming part of the conversation. She was helpful, made great recommendations, and anticipated our needs. My daughter was quick to note that she had figured out they shared a name, and that made her feel special. Plates were cleared and drinks refilled without interruption — which is something that had never been done to our liking at Sammy’s or most places in San Diego. She was genuine and friendly.
With «Sophia S» serving us even a mediocre meal might have still made for a nice dinner. The food this time, was also far better than our prior experience at Sammy’s.
Sophia let us know there were new menu items and explained what they were about.
We started with our old favorite appetizer, the edamame. It was very different than prior versions, this time made with toasted sesame seeds. No soy or ponzu sauce. I was disappointed when I saw they had changed the item, but that quickly changed to being delighted with the new taste. Very nice.
I ordered the balsamic chicken salad. An old favorite. Again, they changed it up, and it was better than ever. The chicken was moist and tender. Great taste.
My wife had a pizza with truffle and brie cheese. It was amazing. I’m glad she shared.
My daughter had the kids cheese pizza and Sophia was quick to bring out some ranch dressing so my daughter could dip the crust. She loved her pizza.
For dessert, the messy Sunday is always a favorite, and we also shared a Salted Carmel pudding. Both were great.
We had a cup of regular coffee, and that was the only thing that the was less than perfect.
Overall, the food gets a 10, and the service gets a 10+++. Our server Sophia has what it takes to be a great server — she already is, and I’m sure she will accomplish great things. We will be back for the great food, and if we are lucky Sophia S will serve us again too.

We have dined at this Sammy’s in La Mesa 6 or 7 times per year, for the past 3 years. We have also been to the Sammy’s downtown, but have found their service lackluster compared to La Mesa.
AMBIENCE: We sit outside because it is a pleasant area and they have heaters that work beautifully if it’s cold. Inside is not my style, it has kind of a louder, cafeteria feel between the kitchen sound, the guests, and the music. So, you can sit inside if you are with someone you don’t want to experience any silence with. :)) The inside is also very cold, which some people like a lot (even some in my family), but not me, and I’m paying, hehe. It has an area of raised booths inside, which looks fun to sit at, but again, too loud and cold for me.
SERVICE: The service here is great. The managers have changed from time to time, but he or she always cares about what is going on and they pay close attention to the tables. There seems to be good morale, which, of course, is top-​down. If you don’t like something or want to make a change, everyone is kind about it.
FOOD: For this type of restaurant, the food is very good. The pizza crusts are crisp and just the right thickness. You can adjust the pizzas as needed if you want to be vegan, or add more of something you love. They have an awesome quinoa salad with beets that could feed four small people. Of course, the ice cream dessert is an occasional must-​have and never disappoints.
PRICE: The price is right when you can get a bottle of wine, a huge quinoa salad, and a pizza for $ 60. Since we have a Passport card, we get one entrée free each time, so get all of that for about $ 45. Of course, we tip on what the whole amount would have been. All of Sammy’s restaurants are on the Passport card. Wednesday is ½ off wine bottles, and if you skip the alcohol, you can eat a ton of food between two people for about $ 24. The yummy pre-​bread is included.
Other than a couple of rude servers we had at the downtown location a couple of times, Sammy’s has it down. La Mesa is A+.

So… I want to go back up to my initial rating but this establishment needs to create a foundation for consistency. This visit was better than my last encounter with them. Jeff L. reached out to me and after a phone conversation I was left with the opportunity to have a credit of $ 50 to give them another try (my messed order was actually $ 75 after tip for a take out order but this was better than nothing).
I waited until my husband returned from deployment to use the credit. This visit we ordered the goat cheese pizza (the original one I loved and was ruined my second try!), the kayaks salad with quinoa, the fried stuffed artichoke tapas, and the babaganoush tapas.
The pizza: pretty good but still not like the one I fell in love with. Huge inconsistency in the kitchen. Whomever made the first pie I had… I miss you. The one I had tonight was at least far better than the most recent one from here.
The kale salad was ok. It wasn’t what we expected based on the description. The chili dressing wasn’t apparent at all and a lot of the beets weren’t great quality. Can’t be perfect, I know, but it isn’t a salad I would try again. In this instance I suggest quality control and better menu description to accurately match what will be delivered to the table in terms of flavour notes.
The babaganoush tapas: the flat bread served with this dip was buttery and warm with lovely herb accents. The dip was aromatic and tangy. We enjoyed the flavour and presentation of this fresh and light dip.
The artichoke tapas: I absolutely loved these! I hated the ranch dressing that comes with it so I ate them on their own which was a bit dry in my mouth. I highly suggest a balsamic glaze for these guys! The artichokes were flavourful and the goat cheese filling was creamy and bright. Definitely craved acidity in this dish.
Our waiter (Ben, I believe?) was friendly and did not smother us in attempt to make us feel welcome. I liked his attitude and appropriate attention to our needs.
I would be willing to visit this place occasionally if this was the bar for see his and quality of food with hopes for growth!

This place was pretty disappointing both in the food and service departments. «Meh, I’ve experienced better» covers it pretty much exactly.
We stopped here for a quick happy hour while waiting for a friend’s flight to arrive. The prices were good, but the wine offerings uninspired, and the food was basically a salt lick. All evening and the next morning we were gulping water like there was no tomorrow (or drought!). The food was so salty that my hands were incredibly swollen and I couldn’t even take my wedding and engagement rings off!
We were the only two people at the bar, and still had to flag a server down each time we wanted something, and each time it took 5+ minutes after they acknowledged us to come ask what we needed.
Especially if you’re right in Liberty Station, there are better places. Take a 2 minute walk and find them.

Another great snack/​light dinner at Sammy’s. The Roasted Asparagus & Prosciuotto accompanied with the featured Chardonnay made the perfect light meal!

Our group of young boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder had a great experience at Sammy’s! Daniel our server was extremely helpful and kind to our group of 12. The kids enjoyed the gluten and dairy-​free pepperoni pizza and cheesy bread. We will be visiting again soon! Thank you for including us today,
Include Autism
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This place is underrated and I don’t know why, maybe it’s because it’s pricy.
Hands down the best vegan pizza I have ever had. Fresh grilled vegetables on the best crust ever cooked in a wood fire oven. The only weird thing is the pizza I ordered didn’t come with marinara sauce so don’t forget to ask for it if that’s what you like. Also, don’t forget to ask for the complimentary bread.
Diet coke was on point and the refills were plenty. We must be picky because we had two waiters bringing us sides etc to make us happy and they did it with a smile. Great place.