Sam’s By the Beach

Impeccable. Fine dining the way it used to be — amazing service, beautiful and delicious food, and an environment where you can actually enjoy conversation. My honey took me here for my birthday and our meal was perfect from start to finish. We arrived at the time of our reservation and Sam insisted we wait just a couple minutes for a couple at a prime corner table to finish up their meal, which they promptly did. While we waited, we received wine and complimentary spinach ricotta pastries. Our meal was delightful — soup, tuna tartare, black cod and lamb shank. Each dish was beautifully presented and perfectly cooked. We had bread pudding for dessert, followed by a chocolate ganache cake for my birthday. Sam refilled my wine on the house and took care of us in a way few places really do these days. I’ll definitely look forward to returning here.

We were on a weekend get a way and stayed across the street from Sam’s and after reading reviews we decided to give it a try. What a treat!
The atmosphere is intimate/​romantic and service is impeccable! We were waited on hand and foot by the owner Sam and manager Jean Michel, both gentleman know hospitality very well and how to make you feel like you’ve been going there for years. The food was delicious and we will make a point of going there again. it is rare to find all the characteristics one desires in their dining experience all in one place. Merci!

What a great restaurant, came here for a special occasion and the night was perfect. Sam is a great restauranteur and his team was right on, the cuisine was perfect as well.
We started off with a couple of glasses of bubbles,
The cheese salad was delicious, however the sam’s trio was perfect.
Our entrees of the lamb chops, and the quail were phenomenal!!!
We had the bird’s nest and the bread pudding for dessert.
I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK, great service and cuisine.

My wife and I were looking for some place special to celebrate our 14^th wedding anniversary. Sam’s received such great reviews on Unilocal that we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, our experience wasn’t anything like what we read on Unilocal.The service wasn’t great. As an example we asked multiple times for butter to go with our bread and didn’t receive it until our meal was half over and then two different servers brought us butter. In general the staff was not very attentive. We did order the pumpkin ravioli and it was fantastic, but since you only get 4 raviolis it isn’t very filling. I ordered the rack of lamb special and though others had raved about it, the taste of vinegar overwhelmed everything else and it was very rubbery. I would not recommend Sam’s.

My fav go to spot. Ask for Sam, he’ll take care of you. Pumpkin Ravioli is Exquisite. It’s an entrée but why not have it split for an appetizer? Seriously.
Fennel and Pear salad. Oven roasted Cornish hen. Very special Specials daily.
Small intimate personal space. I’ve had 4 business meetings here and they all were extremely successful due to the ambiance.
The date I had here, not so much.
But you can have an actually conversation because the volume in the place is approachable.
Special food. Quality service.
Hidden gem

Simply a very special place. It’s small and cozy. The food is flavorful, unique and delicious. We had the salmon, seafood soup and organic duck. Wow. The salmon was perfectly cooked, maybe the best I’ve ever had. I was impressed with the wine selection. I would highly recommend It for a special occasion or a romantic date night or for a special dinner with friends. The service was attentive and helpful. I’m gluten free and my dinner mate is dairy free — they were knowledgable and helpful with our dietary restrictions. We were so full we couldn’t order dessert but they surprised us with the special plum and coconut ice cream on the house! It was delicious! We wouldn’t have ordered it on our own but it was so unique and flavorful we found a way to finish every bite!

The location is right off of the PCH and it is a small high end restaurant with really well done cuisine and the owner makes you totally at home and is looking to make sure your having a good meal. I went here on a date and had a very nice time.

Parking — Parked my car in the «Sam’s» spot right by the restaurant, then the restaurant owners says you must pay for valet
Food — Have had much better lamb, was definitely not fresh. My girlfriend got the tuna, which was super fishy and also not fresh. Food was not worth the prices.
Service — We were asked about the occasion and told the guy that it was our anniversary. We ordered dessert and we were still charged for it (everywhere I go for an occasion like that I get a complimentary dessert, especially when the bill is +$ 100)

This place was fantastic! The food was creative and so tasty. The spinach salad was exceptional. I had the fish special and my husband had the duck which was full of «flavor bombs». Jean Michael was funny and charming and made us feel special. And they topped it all off with a complimentary divine poached pear and coconut sorbet just because they felt like it!!!

Very enjoyable meal at Sam’s. It is off the main drag so I assume that’s why it was quiet on the night we went but I’m happy to say that was no reflection of the food
The exterior of the restaurant looks very pretty but as said by other reviewers, the interior décor is a bit dowdy & dated looking.
The service & food however were very good. Nice choices of healthy appetisers & fish options as well as steaks etc.
Definitely a cut above many of the other restaurants in the area

Absolutely delicious and unpretentious. You can truly taste the quality of all ingredients. I have to admit that the sardines spaghetti is a must.

Well what can I say this place is simply a delightful adventure. I came here for lunch over the weekend I had the seabass and my girlfriend had a chicken dish. We both enjoyed our entrées and then saved room for dessert. They have a nice selection of desserts. Their cocktails are very good and they have a wide selection of wines. The service was very nice and the manager came and checked on us while we were dining to see if everything was to our satisfaction I found that to be very kind of him.

Eating at Sam’s is not just going out to eat — it’s literally an EXPERIENCE. I have been twice with my family when they’ve visited LA and we will absolutely always go back, and I’m always so excited to recommend this place to absolutely anyone who will listen.
The feeling of eating out in Europe — lengthy, experiential dinners, where the owner is incredibly proud and comes out and explains the menu and gets to know each customer — THAT is Sam’s. He is so tied to every component of this restaurant and experience, it truly feels like an honor to sit in one of his chairs. This is what eating out should always feel like.
The rest of the employees are as wonderful as him. The décor is romantic — it’s a tiny restaurant with intimate tables and lush cushions. The food is outstanding — so well prepared and decadent. I cannot sing my praises loudly enough.
The only annoying thing is parking — it’s right by the PCH so valet is really the only option, and the area can get congested with people merging off the highway and a few popular restaurants right next door. There are spots down the street but it’s a few min walk.

The service is absolutely outstanding. The staff is as good as it gets with just the right mix of being charming and engaging without intruding on your meal and company. The dining area is intimate, but relaxed, making this restaurant a great choice when the desire for conversation or a higher end casual experience is at a premium. The food was a touch expensive, but very worth it, with a moderate sized menu providing a fair variety of well thought out dishes.
Bottom Line: The food was great and the service put many good competing restaurants to shame.

My family and I had the pleasure of enjoying an amazing meal here. The service was fantastic! We were a large group so I had the luck of tasting quite a few items. The spaghetti with squid ink was incredible as was the cornish hen. The lamb shank was absolutely amazing as well.
The perfect ending came when the dessert arrived… simply delicious. We had three of them, but my favorite was the bread pudding and birds nest.
I look forward to the next time.

We were recommended to this restaurant by a group of locals. For your information, it’s not by the beach and if you don’t look closely, you’ll miss it.
And they insist that you let their valet park your car in their carpark lot which you can easily park it yourself.
8 of us went there in early December last year for dinner. We waited for 30 mins for our orders to be taken. After our meal, as the waitress clear our dishes, she dropped a knife that was on the dishes down the back of one of our friends! One of our friends ordered cappuccino and the same waitress served it with the coffee spilled all over the saucer. We looked at her as she served it, then she decided to redo it. the second cup is still spilled. so we decided to take it as we don’t think it’ll get any better. When we were presented with the bill, we were told TWICE by the captain that the amount does not include service fees. Although we were not happy with the service and not impressed with the food, we’ve decided to tip the waitress about 20%. When we paid the bill, we paid in partial cash and only a small fraction with credit card. While waiting for our taxi to arrive, the captain who told us twice about not including service fees in the bill, ran to us and with his finger close to my friend’s nose said:“I’ve told you we didn’t include the service fee, and you didn’t include any in your payment!” We calmly told him that even though we were not happy with the service, we gave more than 15%! We asked him to check. He said, «oh! «After he checked and realized there was, he didn’t apologize or say anything to us. it’s the most horrible experience of a $$$ restaurant! It is utterly disappointing and over-​rated!

More like 3.5 stars. First of all, I like how small this restaurant is. So cozy and personal. I get the family run feel. In any case, two friends and I came here early on, at around 5:30 when they just opened. They have valet, but I went further up the hill on the same street and found plenty of free street parking.
In terms of the food, I think the dishes overall were good. However nothing really stood out in my mind. It was also quite pricy, but they did have decent portions for sure.
1. Viognier: not my favorite. The one they had tasted pretty watered down for some reason.
2. Spinach ricotta rolls: decent. The owner have us these for free, which was very nice of him. Good way to start off the meal.
3. Bread: fresh and very lightly flavored. The oil was pretty bland though.
4. Goat cheese salad: really liked this dish. Enough flavor although can be pretty heavy for a salad.
5. Lamb shank: delicious! Meat falls off the bone and has great texture.
6. Tuna: probably my least favorite dish. The fish was flavorless and it was over seared on the outside and mushy on the inside. Good garnishes on the side though.
7. Jodori chicken: chicken done well. Very tender and flavorful.
8. Birds nest: unfortunately this was not very good. Very creative dish but it was hard to physically eat because the bottom «nest» that was made of very thin crispy noodles crumbled and made it hard to pick up. The top is a very sweet heavy white material. I liked it but was no in love with it.
Overall, dishes were hit or miss. However great ambience and service which is why I bumped it up to 4 stars.

A class act place all the way!
Very inviting, Sam came to say Hello!
I’m the pickiest eater in the universe.
I shared, the shrimp salad with a ginger dressing that was to die for. Whole cooked shrimp placed on top of the salad. The main dish for me was salmon. It was served with the root of sunflower. To be honest that scared me! Ha, but let me tell you it was heavenly.
Tasted like a sweet crunchy potato. I guess that’s the best way to describe it.
The desert we went for was chocolate mouse. It was amazing. I kept thinking there was rum in it. No rum, found out it had expresso mixed within. Whatever it was the whole experience was lovey!
Thank You, Sam and staff!

Excellent restaurant le long du Pacifique.
Plateaux de fruits de mer, langouste, poissons grillés ou cuisinés.
Bön service, à découvrir absolument si vous restez quelques jours à Los Angeles.
Déjeuner ou dîner le long de la plage sur la route n°1 pacific coast.