We were a party of 12 and our service was great but the food was horrible. It was total waste of money. I've gone to a few Brazilian restaurant in the past and Samba was the worst. Don't waste time and money here. We paid $59 per person for a buffet that had food that looked like it had been sitting out for hours. Plus you don't get the table slice service. They bring your meat out on small wooden plates that are the size of a saucer for a tea cup.TOTAL WASTE!!!!!!
Abril Camarena
I'm so disappointed with this place. I had heard good things, so I was looking forward to it being my first time, but never again.The place wasn't the cleanest. The women's restroom has 2 stalls that don't close properly and the mirrors were dirty. The sneezing glass in the buffet area were dirty. The plate I grabbed at the buffet was all dusty.Then the food wasn't great at all. They charge $60 per person for "all you can eat." Not worth it! The meat wasn't seasoned properly and the garlic bread was not great. We ordered our meat to be cooked medium rare and well done, and the medium rare meat that was placed on top of the cutting board starting getting runny and flowing towards our plates. We asked staff for napkins twice and they didn't offer to help clean up. Some of the meat that was requested to be cooked medium rare was cooked medium. We asked for sausage and the waiter forgot and had to remind him and still waited a while. Don't come here.
stay different
We had our daughters 18th birthday party. This place is phenomenal with the best view and the friendliest servers. The owner , Elias, made us feel like part of the family. I would not hesitate to go back and recommend this restaurant to anyone
tutiqueen tutiqueen
Excellent food and customer service. We enjoyed the meats and side dishes. Everything is delicious ?. We also had desserts but forgot to take pictures
HeidiM929
This was disappointing. It was loud, dirty, and expensive. I did like that they had a salad bar only option so that helped to save some money. The waitress was really helpful and attentive so no complaints about the staff. But- food was plentiful yet average.
Flor Campos
I don’t recommend this place at all !!!! I came from San Diego looking forward to seeing this place. It was very expensive for a bad service for a bad food and on top of that they charge me $5 dollars per person for the samba dancers.They were very limited with the food choices. As myself I like to eat small and they were insisting of me getting the most expensive meal from the menu and I got a sad cheeseburger which cost me more than $20.
charlesp282
Having visited this restaurant years ago I decided to give it another try for a Valentines Day dinner. Normally closed on Monday and Tuesday, Samba wisely was open on Valentine’s Day to cater to the spillover crowds from other restaurants. One’s experience there may largely depend on expectations. The serving style is no longer typical of most Brazilian Churrascarias. Gone are the endless parade of servers, armed with espetos (Brazilian skewers), laden with succulent meat to be carved off onto your plate fresh from the grill. Instead the meat menu offers the traditional pichaha cut along with many others. The diner makes his/her selections, specifies the desired doneness and then the waiter puts the order into the kitchen. About 20 minutes later, a plate arrives with the selections arranged on a bed of salad greens. This process may be repeated as the “feast” option is all-you-can-eat for just south of $60. This disadvantage of this style of serving is trying to figure out which meat is which. The waiter did not explain this and I neglected to ask. Ordering an additional portion of a favorite thus became problematic. Most of the meats were good but most cooked far more than the medium-rare I requested. Apparently the meat is sliced before grilling which makes cooking to order hit or miss. I was served bacon wrapped chicken even though I didn’t order it. The chicken was dry as the Sahara so I would advise my fellow diners to avoid this selection as you would rattlesnakes and earthquakes! While waiting for your meat to arrive, unlimited visits to the soup, salad and vegetable bar pass the time and help ensure you will likely not request seconds on meat. The good news is that there were many tasty offerings. And if you ordered any of the many Brazilian libations, the wait for your entree passes quickly. The menu also offers a host of “a la carte” dinners, including seafood. The restaurant boasts an oceanfront location giving you a sweeping panorama if it is light outside. Sadly at night this advantage disappears in the blackness. By the entrance is a well stocked bar with a small dance floor. A disk jockey provided background music when we were there. The color scheme is largely black with a few tasteful decorations. All in all, Samba by the Sea is a reasonable choice for dinner especially if you know which meats to order and which to avoid. Dining early enough to catch the sunset would be a plus. Our waiter was fairly prompt and attentive, as was the hostess. But they didn’t seem particularly knowledgeable. Make sure you get your waiter to explain the meat choices and point out which is which on your plate.
Heidy V Rodríguez Clavel
El lugar espectacular , comida deliciosa todo excelente ,,!!! Excepto la señorita que entro en turno después de 5 pm y la señorita que está encargada en caja de los tragos dos personas totalmente pedantes groseras solo por el hecho que una persona latina entrara a comer en este lugar , donde claramente se nota que ellas son latinas , tanto el dinero de uno , es el mismo de otros !!!!
Ly Aaron Presley
excelent services all the way, beautiful ocean view , nice music, bar area and child-family area as well I love it!
Suzy Jayne Rich
The Food and staff were AMAZING! Perfect way to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
I loved the location of the Samba Restaurant...The treatment of the waiters was excellent and the flavor and the finishing of the meats to the taste of the clients is a delight...I will definitely repeat the visit soon...
Christopher Moreno
Amazing place to eat exquisite food. All meats are made to order which I prefer over someone walking around with the food to serve. Filet mignon was amazing but so were the rest of their meats. Definitely get the all you can eat. Well worth it. The view is stunning over looking Redondo beach and was able to catch the sunset. Service was also amazing. Will always comeback.Vegetarian options: Big salad bar. Delicious
Evan H.
We still like Samba by the Sea. However, since the d*** plandemic, things have changed. We recently dined on a Groupon for (4) on a Friday evening, usually Friday's and Saturdays are packed, even the bar area was empty. There were only about 5 tables seated in the buffet area, we arrived at 730p, still the buffet dining was pretty scarce. At first we thought it was a good thing. But, not really. One, there's a charge of $5 per person, including kids for the live dance shows which used to be free with purchase of the buffet. I mean Dayum, you guys are charging the kids to watch a dance show that used to be free??? Not a good look. I could see if it was $5 per table w/ optional tips, they did have a large tip jar during the show. Per person plus kids...Not cool. Recommendation: Just charge a $5 per table for the dance shows (1x total), not per person and do not charge the kids as an inclusion to that fee, that's low. Also, considering the dancers already had a tip jar - allow ppl to tip beyond the $5 fee per table instead. Give us the choice. Forcing the issue is not a good look. Choices always work better for everyone. We appreciate the dancers and the entertainment they bring during the dining experience. So, allow us to do this on our own. I'm quite sure other tables were shocked at being dinged $5 per person at each table. It's kinds crazy. Also, it seems a lot of restaurants including Samba are using the plandemic as an excuse to hike-up prices. Samba used to be a cheaper buffet experience w/ free shows and amazing drinks. Now, you have to buy drinks as a mandatory using a Groupon? Hmm. The traditional Brazilian meat servings cut from a sword used to be a nice touch, but now they only do platters omitting the traditional serving experience, which we used to like. The platter is cool in it's own way, you just choose 4 of your favorite meats cooked your way and it's served for the whole table to share, then reorder a refill as needed. Samba, we still love you, but your ways of old were much better. Docking 2 stars from the 5 stars. Once you're back on par with better options, even beating your old options, we'll update with the better experience. One other thing that made our experience a better one was our top service waiter, Eli. Much appreciated bro, service was stellar. Thank you! : )
Hector A.
Chef Ramsey would tear this place up. Better off burning it down and starting all over. Short staffed, food is mediocre at best, everything needed cleaning, expensive, AC needed to be turned up. Music was annoying. Potatoes taste like cardboard. Overall sad.
Paulina M.
If you like good food DO NOT come here! Im so sad with my families experience because I read the reviews yet still decided to give it a try. Even with a Groupon this place is NOT worth it. We had a party of 10 so gratuity was automatic, yet service definitely lacked. We ordered appetizers that didn't come out until we were done eating and had to ask for them at least 5 times. We ordered more meats and were never brought out. The meats we did try were not the best quality and were tasteless. Had plenty of leftovers that my dog will be enjoying. The sides are mediocre and who knows how long they sit there. Restaurant was not packed and had only a few tables with people... we should have ran out once we noticed that. The servers were nice and helpful but won't ever be coming back here again. I definitely DO NOT recommend. Do yourself a favor and literally DO NOT ENTER!
We were a party of 12 and our service was great but the food was horrible. It was total waste of money. I've gone to a few Brazilian restaurant in the past and Samba was the worst. Don't waste time and money here. We paid $59 per person for a buffet that had food that looked like it had been sitting out for hours. Plus you don't get the table slice service. They bring your meat out on small wooden plates that are the size of a saucer for a tea cup.TOTAL WASTE!!!!!!
I'm so disappointed with this place. I had heard good things, so I was looking forward to it being my first time, but never again.The place wasn't the cleanest. The women's restroom has 2 stalls that don't close properly and the mirrors were dirty. The sneezing glass in the buffet area were dirty. The plate I grabbed at the buffet was all dusty.Then the food wasn't great at all. They charge $60 per person for "all you can eat." Not worth it! The meat wasn't seasoned properly and the garlic bread was not great. We ordered our meat to be cooked medium rare and well done, and the medium rare meat that was placed on top of the cutting board starting getting runny and flowing towards our plates. We asked staff for napkins twice and they didn't offer to help clean up. Some of the meat that was requested to be cooked medium rare was cooked medium. We asked for sausage and the waiter forgot and had to remind him and still waited a while. Don't come here.
We had our daughters 18th birthday party. This place is phenomenal with the best view and the friendliest servers. The owner , Elias, made us feel like part of the family. I would not hesitate to go back and recommend this restaurant to anyone
Excellent food and customer service. We enjoyed the meats and side dishes. Everything is delicious ?. We also had desserts but forgot to take pictures
This was disappointing. It was loud, dirty, and expensive. I did like that they had a salad bar only option so that helped to save some money. The waitress was really helpful and attentive so no complaints about the staff. But- food was plentiful yet average.
I don’t recommend this place at all !!!! I came from San Diego looking forward to seeing this place. It was very expensive for a bad service for a bad food and on top of that they charge me $5 dollars per person for the samba dancers.They were very limited with the food choices. As myself I like to eat small and they were insisting of me getting the most expensive meal from the menu and I got a sad cheeseburger which cost me more than $20.
Having visited this restaurant years ago I decided to give it another try for a Valentines Day dinner. Normally closed on Monday and Tuesday, Samba wisely was open on Valentine’s Day to cater to the spillover crowds from other restaurants. One’s experience there may largely depend on expectations. The serving style is no longer typical of most Brazilian Churrascarias. Gone are the endless parade of servers, armed with espetos (Brazilian skewers), laden with succulent meat to be carved off onto your plate fresh from the grill. Instead the meat menu offers the traditional pichaha cut along with many others. The diner makes his/her selections, specifies the desired doneness and then the waiter puts the order into the kitchen. About 20 minutes later, a plate arrives with the selections arranged on a bed of salad greens. This process may be repeated as the “feast” option is all-you-can-eat for just south of $60. This disadvantage of this style of serving is trying to figure out which meat is which. The waiter did not explain this and I neglected to ask. Ordering an additional portion of a favorite thus became problematic. Most of the meats were good but most cooked far more than the medium-rare I requested. Apparently the meat is sliced before grilling which makes cooking to order hit or miss. I was served bacon wrapped chicken even though I didn’t order it. The chicken was dry as the Sahara so I would advise my fellow diners to avoid this selection as you would rattlesnakes and earthquakes! While waiting for your meat to arrive, unlimited visits to the soup, salad and vegetable bar pass the time and help ensure you will likely not request seconds on meat. The good news is that there were many tasty offerings. And if you ordered any of the many Brazilian libations, the wait for your entree passes quickly. The menu also offers a host of “a la carte” dinners, including seafood. The restaurant boasts an oceanfront location giving you a sweeping panorama if it is light outside. Sadly at night this advantage disappears in the blackness. By the entrance is a well stocked bar with a small dance floor. A disk jockey provided background music when we were there. The color scheme is largely black with a few tasteful decorations. All in all, Samba by the Sea is a reasonable choice for dinner especially if you know which meats to order and which to avoid. Dining early enough to catch the sunset would be a plus. Our waiter was fairly prompt and attentive, as was the hostess. But they didn’t seem particularly knowledgeable. Make sure you get your waiter to explain the meat choices and point out which is which on your plate.
El lugar espectacular , comida deliciosa todo excelente ,,!!! Excepto la señorita que entro en turno después de 5 pm y la señorita que está encargada en caja de los tragos dos personas totalmente pedantes groseras solo por el hecho que una persona latina entrara a comer en este lugar , donde claramente se nota que ellas son latinas , tanto el dinero de uno , es el mismo de otros !!!!
excelent services all the way, beautiful ocean view , nice music, bar area and child-family area as well I love it!
The Food and staff were AMAZING! Perfect way to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
Restaurantji Recommends
I loved the location of the Samba Restaurant...The treatment of the waiters was excellent and the flavor and the finishing of the meats to the taste of the clients is a delight...I will definitely repeat the visit soon...
Amazing place to eat exquisite food. All meats are made to order which I prefer over someone walking around with the food to serve. Filet mignon was amazing but so were the rest of their meats. Definitely get the all you can eat. Well worth it. The view is stunning over looking Redondo beach and was able to catch the sunset. Service was also amazing. Will always comeback.Vegetarian options: Big salad bar. Delicious
We still like Samba by the Sea. However, since the d*** plandemic, things have changed. We recently dined on a Groupon for (4) on a Friday evening, usually Friday's and Saturdays are packed, even the bar area was empty. There were only about 5 tables seated in the buffet area, we arrived at 730p, still the buffet dining was pretty scarce. At first we thought it was a good thing. But, not really. One, there's a charge of $5 per person, including kids for the live dance shows which used to be free with purchase of the buffet. I mean Dayum, you guys are charging the kids to watch a dance show that used to be free??? Not a good look. I could see if it was $5 per table w/ optional tips, they did have a large tip jar during the show. Per person plus kids...Not cool. Recommendation: Just charge a $5 per table for the dance shows (1x total), not per person and do not charge the kids as an inclusion to that fee, that's low. Also, considering the dancers already had a tip jar - allow ppl to tip beyond the $5 fee per table instead. Give us the choice. Forcing the issue is not a good look. Choices always work better for everyone. We appreciate the dancers and the entertainment they bring during the dining experience. So, allow us to do this on our own. I'm quite sure other tables were shocked at being dinged $5 per person at each table. It's kinds crazy. Also, it seems a lot of restaurants including Samba are using the plandemic as an excuse to hike-up prices. Samba used to be a cheaper buffet experience w/ free shows and amazing drinks. Now, you have to buy drinks as a mandatory using a Groupon? Hmm. The traditional Brazilian meat servings cut from a sword used to be a nice touch, but now they only do platters omitting the traditional serving experience, which we used to like. The platter is cool in it's own way, you just choose 4 of your favorite meats cooked your way and it's served for the whole table to share, then reorder a refill as needed. Samba, we still love you, but your ways of old were much better. Docking 2 stars from the 5 stars. Once you're back on par with better options, even beating your old options, we'll update with the better experience. One other thing that made our experience a better one was our top service waiter, Eli. Much appreciated bro, service was stellar. Thank you! : )
Chef Ramsey would tear this place up. Better off burning it down and starting all over. Short staffed, food is mediocre at best, everything needed cleaning, expensive, AC needed to be turned up. Music was annoying. Potatoes taste like cardboard. Overall sad.
If you like good food DO NOT come here! Im so sad with my families experience because I read the reviews yet still decided to give it a try. Even with a Groupon this place is NOT worth it. We had a party of 10 so gratuity was automatic, yet service definitely lacked. We ordered appetizers that didn't come out until we were done eating and had to ask for them at least 5 times. We ordered more meats and were never brought out. The meats we did try were not the best quality and were tasteless. Had plenty of leftovers that my dog will be enjoying. The sides are mediocre and who knows how long they sit there. Restaurant was not packed and had only a few tables with people... we should have ran out once we noticed that. The servers were nice and helpful but won't ever be coming back here again. I definitely DO NOT recommend. Do yourself a favor and literally DO NOT ENTER!