Reviews Samba By The Sea

With all the mixed reviews about Samba I wasn't sure what to expect from this place...but then again that can be said about all restaurants I visit. Thankfully, the experience was pleasant and a lot better than I anticipated.

Samba is located next to the Redondo Pier. If you're looking to have a nice view of the ocean while eating then I highly suggest you go while the sun is still up because once its down, you'll be staring straight into darkness.

On to the food and service...Our server Ricardo took care of my group continuously filling our drinks without asking. There is a hot bar and salad bar for self serving to go along with the meats that are continuously brought to the table. I have to say I was impressed with the hot bar. Pretty good selections such as stroganoff, pulled pork, chili beans, multiple rice dishes, etc. Ive been to a few Brazilian steakhouses now and have not come across any that had these items for self-serve...two thumbs up for that.

There was a decent amount of meats brought to the table by multiple servers. I can only recall about two that I felt needed more flavoring (the lamb & the well done filet mignon) but all others were great. I really liked the sausages, garlic steak, spicy steak and the Samba signature steak. The two meats I really raved over was the bacon wrapped turkey and the blue cheese chicken. I couldn't get enough of these two. The turkey was very moist with flavorful bacon surrounding it and the blue cheese mixed perfectly with the juices of the chicken and its seasoning. Arguably the best flavor I've had from a dish containing blue cheese.

Stuffed and satisfied is how I left Samba. I only wish they would have brought out the bacon wrapped turkey and the blue cheese chicken sooner than the steaks. I would have eaten a lot more of the two. There were no Samba dancers dancing around during this visit but I can forgive that. All in all, this was a great dinner and I'd dine at Samba again whether it be this location, Universal City Walk or Vegas.

Visit Date 3/8/2016

It was good food, but not $10-$15 meals at all. Way overpriced, and they validated parking but we still had to pay for our parking.