Sampan - Philadelphia

CC restaurant week menu was perfect

I had a reservation at 8:15 pm but was not seated until around 8:30 pm. I did not even notice the wait because me and my date grabbed a drink at the bar while we waited. Even though I did not complain, the manager was kind enough to send us a free appetizer. I thought that was very sweet considering we weren't even upset. I've gone to the restaurant countless times. One of my favorites in Philly. The ambiance, the food, the vibe...love it all!

Sampan is a nice low key spot with great food and an elegant atmosphere. There is also a nice bar with a happy hour menu for those who want something more lively. The bar is separated from the dining area . Great for a date. The tasting menu is fantastic, alot of food, and well worth the cost. Good for sharing.

Very nice place the food was very fresh and prepared to a tee ,it was a fine take on Asian dining in the United States.

Had a really great experience at Sampan. We came for restaurant week and had an amazing meal. Each dish was better than the last. It was an incredible value for such amazing food.

Restaurant deal offered a lot and we left very full.

Food was amazing!! I love this place and it did not disappoint, as usual!

The food was amazing and the wait staff was very attentive! Will definitely be going back again

We went for restaurant week, and we left extremely full. We would highly recommend! There were generous portions of our seven courses. Our favorites were the Korean BBQ beef satay, hot chicken bao bun, crispy Brussels sprouts, and crab wonton tacos.

Scott made my sisters first dining experience at Sampan something she talked about the entire drive home. When a restaurants food and atmosphere is dynamic and then to top it off have high quality top of the line service is always like finding the golden ticket to get in at Willie Wonka’s.

Sabrina W.

It was awesome

Took my 80 year old "foodie" mother! She loved it! I had to order for the both of us (she couldn't see the menu, too dark). But, our waitress was wonderful! Very friendly and patient...
We had a lovely "pre-theater" dinner ....

Delicious food (limited gluten free - but all items glorious) and great service!

Hostess could use some social skills and to come off of her pedestal. It's a super hip spot, but no attitude needed. Definitely took some of the fun out of things. Not impressed.

I had a reservation for 7:30pm, however, we weren't seated until 8:15/8:20pm. To me, it's unacceptable. The reservation was for 10 people, and we were sat in a booth which was barely giving us enough elbow room. Mind you, there was an empty table right next to us that was eventually offered to us to spread out- but at the end of our dining experience. The whole evening felt unorganized and lacked professionalism. I have dined here many times and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. Last night was quite the opposite: dishes were mixed up, orders weren't correct, and we were all squished. I don't typically write reviews, but I was celebrating something special, and my evening felt quite the opposite.

Food taste, variety, and presentation were excellent. Terrific selection of sake. Noise level a bit much.

Sampan is one of our favorite places in the city, and this visit did not disappoint! This was our 5th or 6th visit, but the first in a few years. As always, we got the chef's tasting, and we leave the decisions up to the staff. Every single dish was wonderful. A few highlights were the rock shrimp, the sea bass, the pad thai, and the wagyu skewers. But to be honest, there were no lowlights. We have yet to have a bad dish at Sampan. Our server was excellent - attentive and knowledgeable, but not overbearing. We cannot wait to come back!

We were a party of 4 with a reservation crammed into a 2 top. After a short wait we were promptly reseated so the problem was corrected. Didn’t start well but food was great and it ended well!

The food was great but I had to wait for my table for like 20 minutes even though I booked a table

Delicious, creative , excellent! I can't wait to come back. We highly recommend the General Tsos Soup Dumplings, Cheesesteak Bao Bun, Swordfish Satay, Spare Ribs with lo mein and the XO fried rice!

Amazing food, exceptional service, great energy! I loved it.

The food at Sampan is always so delicious. The duck was phenomenal as was the wagyu beef. I could eat the crispy brussel spouts every day.

I made the reservation for NYE at Sampan simply because I walked by the day after Thanksgiving with my mom and she suggested I'd give it a try for our NYE dinner. I am so glad that I did! The food, we did the tasting menu option, was amazing. My favorites were the short ribs with noodles and the Brussel sprouts. While NYE was super busy, our waitress was attentive and had helpful suggestions for what to order and how each dish would compliment the other. We will definitely be returning on future trips to Philly.

Always amazing and great food! A must go. Get the chefs tasting to really experience all it has to offer.

New Years eve

The food at Sampan is great as always! Our waitress Angelica gave us a great service!

Great Food, Great Atmosphere

The food was absolutely amazing. Highly recommend the korean bbq beef and the XO fried rice. My friend had a variety of allergies (dairy, gluten, soy) and the head chef was able to come up with a dish to accommodate her needs. The service was excellent - our server and the manager came over to ensure my friend’s special meal was to her liking. We will be returning soon!

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment at this outstanding restaurant! The food was delicious along with the ambience. I will recommend Sampan Philly as one of the must dine gems of the city. Can’t wait to go back soon!

Very noisy. Food was so-so.

The food was excellent and the service was super fast. Loved it!

It was easier to get a reservation through Open Table than through walking through the door. And forget about them actually answering the phone

Overall, the experience was fairly poor, mostly because of the way the restaurant is run.
To be clear, the food is great, but everything else was poor.
We made a reservation, but when we arrived, we ended up waiting 35 minutes to be seated. Part way through our wait, we were asked to confirm our reservation name, so I think they forgot about us sometime after we checked in.
To make up for this, they gave us 2 plates for free, but it seemed like everyone was getting those as a gesture of goodwill.
We did order 2 plates on our own. 1 came out after about 5 minutes, which was great, but the second one took *another* 20 minutes.
At this point, we didn't want to order more food for fear it would take a huge amount of time.
Because of the wait for the 2nd dish, we got some free ice cream.
All in all, we got more free food than paid food, but I would have happily paid for all of the food if they can get rid of the waiting (both to get seated and while seated).

Everything was great except it’s took me almost 45 minutes to be seated when I made a 730 reservation. Other than that great time. I would still definitely come back!

Great food, and great time

Everything we had was outstanding. It took awhile to get two dishes out, and they comped them without our asking or us complaining. Our server was very good. We’ll definitely be back!

Food is always so good. Friendly quick, service. Favorite spot.

Delicious! We had the pork potstickers, beef short ribs, kimchi fried rice, and Vietnamese chicken satay. Definitely recommend getting several dishes to share with the table.

Had a great time and was pleasantly surprised with the freshness and quality of the food. Service was exceptionally fast. The chefs tasting was excellent. Every 3 mintutes the brought out another dish. Will definitely come back.

Has a great experience, didn’t feel rushed and everything was delicious as always!