Amazing sunsets, award-winning seafood and spectacular oceanfront dining. Perfect for family gatherings, business events and team off-sites from 10-300. Six indoor and outdoor spaces for lunch or dinner with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. Beach access. Lobster Clambakes. Full buyout avail.
View Private Dining DetailsMoms deserve the BEST! Panoramic ocean views and mouthwatering fresh seafood dishes such as gluten-free Half Moon Bay Petrale Sole with fingerling potatoes and local artichokes followed by Chocolate Blackout Cake with raspberry mousse and fresh berries! Enjoy our regular menus for lunch and dinner.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
We have a wonderful time, great food and service was spot on, and the beautiful sunset was a plus.
Came here earlier than our reservation time. And we got called on time we reserved it. It’s a packed place, especially on the weeekends, so I highly recommend reserving your table.
They brought wrong dish and then brought correct dish that was cold
Very good service and great staff and great food and great prices and great beer for cocktails and great
Food is awful and massively overpriced. They are living off their location. Avoid at all costs
Delicious food. We had Lobster Roll, fish and chips and shrimp cocktail. Patio view was incredible.
Thank You Sam's we had a great 50th anniversary lunch could not have been better. Thanks again for the complimentary Key Lime pie. Hope to be back for the 51st.
J&D
We were seated by a sliding door which looked like it’s meant to stay closed through out the day. Most servers when they passed by would keep closed and kept the breeze from disrupting our meal. But there were several times that servers wouldn’t close it and the cold breeze will rush through our table. I have to keep closing it myself even when I had asked the servers to close it after passing by. This got annoying after awhile. Overall though, the food was great and my wife and I would definitely come back.
No surprises...if the crowd is big...the food suffers. The crowd was BIG for midweek. Entrees were fine but not special this time. Apps were very good but the one salad was pretty bad. We'll go back...we are local!
Great place for happy hour, 50% off drinks. The soups are really good. I had a seafood entree which tasted very fresh, but it was somewhat bland. But the quality is good.
First timers, we loved everything about this place! Will come back again
A great location right on Half Moon Bay. The sunset was especially beautiful. Both the menu and food seemed tired. Not sure how fresh the seafood was. More of a tourist trap than a foodie place. You could do worse but can also do better.
great view and service. the chowder was great as well as desert!
With a spectacular view, creative menu and good service Sam’s Chowder House is the perfect spot for lunch or dinner! It’s a favorite with us!
Seafood Pasta was ok and the price not worth it...but lobster roll are the best...thanks to our server shes the best...
Can’t beat Manhattan chowder, lobster ceviche, and any special! Good wine list!
Finally made reservations and enjoyed a beautiful lunch with my hubby! I was excited to experience the food, the view and the environment. We ordered the Calamari and shared the Cioppino. Superb broth and the seafood was fresh and mouthwatering. I am looking forward to my visit to try other things on the menu.
Relaxing sitting outside on the deck overlooking the water. Food is good and tasty. Service was very good.
An excellent dining experience with friendly staff, delectable fresh food and a gorgeous ambiance by the lagoon! Would highly recommend this restaurant.
Maybe we ordered wrong (we wanted to avoid deep fried dishes), but we were disappointed, after all the hype. The lobster roll, supposedly named as one of America's 5 best sandwiches, came, yes, with a lot of lobster - but the bun had such a strong flavor in the crust that it overpowered the almost tasteless lobster. It could use some lime juice, mayo, spices. The petrale sole was very bland and served on a mess of grilled carrots and artichokes in a bed of pureed celery root; not at all appealing.
Great food! Only wished for crusty sourdough bread!
Even the salad has very fresh seafood! Everything scrumptious. Adorable waitstaff.
View was great. (Location. Location. Location.)
Service was excellent. (Our server made the perfect recommendations.)
Food was awesome. (Hot, cooked perfectly, perfrctky seasoned.)
Price was reasonable. (It really was.)
Sam - I love ya!
Excellent food - probably the best chowder I have had; loved the special sardine appetizer, enjoyed the delicious clam linguini and the sea bass. Great value. Sat outside and loved the view. Prompt wait staff and lively crowd. Very enjoyable - worth the ride if you want an ocean view and fine food in a casual setting
Very crowded with full parking lot. Seated right away with reservation. Attentive waitress promptly brought drinks and bread and took order. Time for getting our order was not unusually prolonged considering that the place was packed. Waitress checked in several times. Great view and ambiance. Food very good.
Excelllent food and the service was great! We’ll definitely come back again.
Made the reservation for our anniversary lunch. We come here often. The hostess was not very nice. Seemed she didn’t like her job much or just very disinterested. I asked for a table near the window and the table she took is to was very snug between two other tables and a very obstructed view. I saw another table, quieter and at the end and asked if maybe we could be seated there, well you would have thought I asked her to give me a million dollars. She was disgruntled enough that I just said never mind. She didn’t say no problem. Just plopped the menus down and took off. This was just rude. Then had to ask for bread. Wow. This never happened before. The waitress was very good and the food was great but wow no way too start off a lunch for our anniversary. So disappointed.
The chowder and the beet salad are the reasons we are repeat customers! Delicious and satisfying as always. Great service included answering questions, always refilling drinks, friendly and kind, and comped my birthday dessert! The strawberry rhubarb crumble was heavenly. We will be back again soon!
Had a reservation when the doors opened alongside many others and the staff was prompt and efficient seating everyone. Food was really good across the board; chowder, lobster roll, salmon burger and app special (shrimp & crab over avocado purée) were executed and flavored well. Service was pleasant and engaging. Can’t wait to return.
It’s always crowded so plan ahead and make a reservation. Walk-ins ahead of us had a 50-60 minute wait. We were shown to our table immediately. We sat inside next to a window that faced the beach and water on a gorgeous but cool day. Our server was very helpful and friendly. Portions are large. Even the cups of clam chowder were big; bowls were enormous. We enjoyed the zesty Manhattan style clam chowder complete with little oyster crackers. My bloody Mary was terrific and my husband enjoyed the beer selection. We also shared fried oysters which were battered crisply and without any grease. Delicious. Last we had two different entrées, the blue crab sandwich on brioche and also the lobster roll. The lobster roll in particular had a huge amount of fresh and deliciously dressed lobster in a very large bun. Accompaniments included coleslaw for me, pickled cucumber for my husband and lots of delicious crispy chips. This is a beautiful location during daylight hours and the fish is fresh because of the high turnover. Worth the drive from anywhere or plan to visit if you are driving down the coast to or from San Francisco.
Easy Access to Sams, great views of Half Moon Bay down the coast all the way to Monterey if clear enough. Service, ambiance, fresh fish and overall experience was friendly and quite favorable on multiple levels!
Anniversary
Incredible restaurant with exceptional service. Lively and fun. Would recommend it to anyone.
Very Very good service and food. Bar is very friendly and view from dining tables spectacular. Hostess could be more engaging.
I cannot say enough good things about the restaurant. My wife said it best-"the atmosphere is very relaxed and everyone is pleasant and the food is like a 5 star fancy restaurant". Delicious food made with fresh ingredients and you definitely get your moneys worth. The location and views are fantastic. Parking is ok but can be tight when busy. Recommend you use opentable and make a reservation to avoid a wait.
Good food, however, watch out when you make your reservation, I booked an outside table and they said they couldn't seat me outside because it was for walk-ins only.
Had reservations on busy Easter Sunday and we were promptly seated. We were amazed at how quickly our order arrived! The lobster roll did not disappoint!! The price seems to keep creeping up, but at least the lobster seemed abundant. Very good service and a great experience.
The fish & chips were excellent. However, the New England clam chowder was watery, the manhattan chowder was underwhelming (FAR, FAR more potato chunks than the TWO very small seafood pieces I got), and the Strauss soft-serve tasted watery/icy (not creamy). For what we got, the $8.50 menu price for the chowders seemed like, sorry to say, a rip-off. Even the lemonade seemed watered down. I adore seafood, so this was disappointing. The weather and views, thankfully, were stunning. Outside, the floral stand sold beautifully fresh bouquets. The "boss" and his helpers were awesome!
Best seafood around here, and good service. It is always fun to to visit Sam's.
We went there for Lunch to celebrate my wife’s 34th birthday.