I had a main course of chicken, a side of rice, and a dessert (a panne cotta variation) and mixed drinks. Using Indonesian & Vietnamese flavors, the chicken & rice succeeded deliciously! I sat outdoors by a fire and enjoyed the street scene -- State St., Santa Barbara. Nothing could match that evening since the theater district experienced magic at next door Granada Theater, however, you can create your own magic at Sama Sama!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenna Tan
Ok word from the initiated , when they say it’s kind of spicy, it’s SPICY!! Now that’s out of the way, the food here is sensational if you can tolerate your heat. We got the tamarind wings, duck salad, ribs, pork noodles and seasonal boiled peanuts. Every dish was delicious, well thought out, and a nice twist on southeast Asian food. Service was super attentive and friendly (also sympathetic to our sweating from the spice and offered us rice to settle the heat). It’s a beautiful small space in the mall which is well appointed. We were very surprised at how well priced our bill was considering the portions and quality of food. Highly recommended
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Randy
Delicious little restaurant with exotic South East Asian flavors. Every dish was pretty good. A lot of Indonesian flavors on the menu. My family loved the signature wings and the crispy rice salad. My favorites were the “Naughty Nuri” spare ribs, which were fall off the bone tender, and the nasa gureng jawa which, some of the best and most unique fried rice I’ve ever had.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
sam ball
Our dinner was outstanding. We loved every bite. We ordered the green lettuce salad, ribs, and the puffed rice. Delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perry Zou
Local restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating with delicious food! Also dog friendly, we had our mini dachshund puppy sitting outside and they provided a water bowl.
The food is all meant for sharing. We ordered the pork ribs, wings, and braised pork mie goreng, and all three were very flavorful. The waitress was friendly, and recommended we get 2-3 dishes per person.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Danielle Mansfield
We had an excellent experience at Sama Sama! It’s a great atmosphere - light, bright, and airy, but with personality.
The food was excellent - we had the bao (everything is meant to be share plates, but oddly the bao comes as one sandwich 🤔), green papaya salad, braised pork noodle, and the pepes ikan (black cod in banana leaves). The presentation was humble and inviting, but still professional and pretty. It all tasted excellent and we literally finished every last speck of food between two of us.
I love the Indonesian vibes and southeast Asian menu mashup. Would love to go again one day!
The bourbon revolver specialty cocktail was perfect 👌
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Andrew Brown
I lived in Santa Barbara for 4 years but somehow managed to never make it to Sama Sama, partially due to the amount of hype the restaurant receives. I always thought to myself - it can’t be THAT good right? Newsflash, Andrew, it’s THAT good!
They’re known for their crispy chicken wings, and for good reason. The meat was tender, the exterior was crispy, and the sauces were delightful. Our favorite dish we ordered though, was their black cod with coconut rice. The meat was succulent, the sauce was a perfect balance of rich and spicy, and the rice was an excellent vessel to soak up all the flavor.
Our waitress was also an expert of the menu, and was very patient walking us through how to best order - including our order of pork noodle to go. The next time we are back in Santa Barbar, we will be back at Sama Sama.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jovan turner
Pros and cons. I will start with the pros. It is perfectly fried. It is giving the crisp of a bag of chips. Nice and crispy. Cons for $20. You will get five wings. For $20 at the cruisery. You can get 10 wings and they are the same style, just slightly different taste. At your favorite Thai. You could also get the same style of wings for 10 pieces for $20. This place is the only place I've ever seen in my life to have the audacity to give you five wings. Not full wings. The half wings for $20. For $20. I would suggest anything else. As far as taste goes, they're pretty all right. But you can get the exact same thing at the cruisery if you ask for them to fry it extra crispy. It's not amazing. It's not terrible, but for the money and what you're receiving doesn't make any sense. If you are wealthy, this comment means nothing to you. Enjoy!
Michael Fiedler
Stopped by here with no reservation on a Saturday and was able to be seated immediately. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Ordered the crispy rice salad and Vietnamese wings. Was very impressed by the flavor of everything. Would definitely recommend and will absolutely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cat C
This place is so unique and full of flavor! 🌟🍴 Another amazing part? The great stuff (you know what I mean 😉)—SO good. We all absolutely loved Emma 💕 She felt like a friend—we seriously wanted to take her home! 🏡🥰 The twist on the drinks and food was next level 🍹🍛 My fave was the fried rice—the textures, the crunch, the flavor... chef’s kiss 👨🍳👌 And the wings? 🔥🍗 A little kick, but packed with flavor. Highly recommend! 🙌💯
Makes spending money on food easier when the food is that good. Would recommend the Vietnamese wings. Cocktails are great. Curry & Fish was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Chuyue Zhang
They dont have conscienceness to charge that，32 dollars for four ribs，and 20 percent required tips for pouring water by ourselves all the way. No one even came to the table.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Alex Grieshop
Absolutely delicious! The braised pork noodles are a must and the wings were so flavorful.
Emil-Jon Chavarria
Friendly staff. Amazing food. Relaxing ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
nicole mosa
I am in love…. Cocktails, wine, food.. a cut above the rest in a casual setting..
I had a main course of chicken, a side of rice, and a dessert (a panne cotta variation) and mixed drinks. Using Indonesian & Vietnamese flavors, the chicken & rice succeeded deliciously! I sat outdoors by a fire and enjoyed the street scene -- State St., Santa Barbara. Nothing could match that evening since the theater district experienced magic at next door Granada Theater, however, you can create your own magic at Sama Sama!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ok word from the initiated , when they say it’s kind of spicy, it’s SPICY!! Now that’s out of the way, the food here is sensational if you can tolerate your heat. We got the tamarind wings, duck salad, ribs, pork noodles and seasonal boiled peanuts. Every dish was delicious, well thought out, and a nice twist on southeast Asian food. Service was super attentive and friendly (also sympathetic to our sweating from the spice and offered us rice to settle the heat). It’s a beautiful small space in the mall which is well appointed. We were very surprised at how well priced our bill was considering the portions and quality of food. Highly recommended
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious little restaurant with exotic South East Asian flavors. Every dish was pretty good. A lot of Indonesian flavors on the menu. My family loved the signature wings and the crispy rice salad. My favorites were the “Naughty Nuri” spare ribs, which were fall off the bone tender, and the nasa gureng jawa which, some of the best and most unique fried rice I’ve ever had.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Our dinner was outstanding. We loved every bite. We ordered the green lettuce salad, ribs, and the puffed rice. Delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Local restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating with delicious food! Also dog friendly, we had our mini dachshund puppy sitting outside and they provided a water bowl.
The food is all meant for sharing. We ordered the pork ribs, wings, and braised pork mie goreng, and all three were very flavorful. The waitress was friendly, and recommended we get 2-3 dishes per person.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
We had an excellent experience at Sama Sama! It’s a great atmosphere - light, bright, and airy, but with personality.
The food was excellent - we had the bao (everything is meant to be share plates, but oddly the bao comes as one sandwich 🤔), green papaya salad, braised pork noodle, and the pepes ikan (black cod in banana leaves). The presentation was humble and inviting, but still professional and pretty. It all tasted excellent and we literally finished every last speck of food between two of us.
I love the Indonesian vibes and southeast Asian menu mashup. Would love to go again one day!
The bourbon revolver specialty cocktail was perfect 👌
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
I lived in Santa Barbara for 4 years but somehow managed to never make it to Sama Sama, partially due to the amount of hype the restaurant receives. I always thought to myself - it can’t be THAT good right? Newsflash, Andrew, it’s THAT good!
They’re known for their crispy chicken wings, and for good reason. The meat was tender, the exterior was crispy, and the sauces were delightful. Our favorite dish we ordered though, was their black cod with coconut rice. The meat was succulent, the sauce was a perfect balance of rich and spicy, and the rice was an excellent vessel to soak up all the flavor.
Our waitress was also an expert of the menu, and was very patient walking us through how to best order - including our order of pork noodle to go. The next time we are back in Santa Barbar, we will be back at Sama Sama.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pros and cons. I will start with the pros. It is perfectly fried. It is giving the crisp of a bag of chips. Nice and crispy. Cons for $20. You will get five wings. For $20 at the cruisery. You can get 10 wings and they are the same style, just slightly different taste. At your favorite Thai. You could also get the same style of wings for 10 pieces for $20. This place is the only place I've ever seen in my life to have the audacity to give you five wings. Not full wings. The half wings for $20. For $20. I would suggest anything else. As far as taste goes, they're pretty all right. But you can get the exact same thing at the cruisery if you ask for them to fry it extra crispy. It's not amazing. It's not terrible, but for the money and what you're receiving doesn't make any sense. If you are wealthy, this comment means nothing to you. Enjoy!
Stopped by here with no reservation on a Saturday and was able to be seated immediately. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Ordered the crispy rice salad and Vietnamese wings. Was very impressed by the flavor of everything. Would definitely recommend and will absolutely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is so unique and full of flavor! 🌟🍴
Another amazing part? The great stuff (you know what I mean 😉)—SO good.
We all absolutely loved Emma 💕 She felt like a friend—we seriously wanted to take her home! 🏡🥰
The twist on the drinks and food was next level 🍹🍛
My fave was the fried rice—the textures, the crunch, the flavor... chef’s kiss 👨🍳👌
And the wings? 🔥🍗 A little kick, but packed with flavor.
Highly recommend! 🙌💯
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Makes spending money on food easier when the food is that good. Would recommend the Vietnamese wings. Cocktails are great. Curry & Fish was nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
They dont have conscienceness to charge that，32 dollars for four ribs，and 20 percent required tips for pouring water by ourselves all the way. No one even came to the table.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Absolutely delicious! The braised pork noodles are a must and the wings were so flavorful.
Friendly staff. Amazing food. Relaxing ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I am in love…. Cocktails, wine, food.. a cut above the rest in a casual setting..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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