Sam & Luca Italian Bistro

Went here for their Valentine's Day dinner. Four course meal, with plenty of options to choose from. Appetizer was shrimp cocktail, which is classic and delicious. For the first dish I got the skewers and she got the salad. Talk about large portions of cheese on that skewer haha, and the croutons weren't crunchy, but rather almost like oily. I didn't like that at first, but then you sit with it for a minute and it's like dipping bread in garlic oil and it came to be my favorite. For dinner we had the steak and the short rib, both were fantastic. The asparagus on the steak dish was quite charred though, which isn't my favorite. And finally, the most important part on Valentine's Day, dessert. The Chocolate cake was moist, and just dense enough to not be fudge. But you NEED to try the tiramisu... Best I've ever had. It's moist like a tres leches cake, which I prefer. Not a lot of coffee flavor, but I was easily able to look over that because of how perfectly it melt in your mouth. The espresso martini was one of the best I've had as well, not too bitter with espresso or strong with straight alcohol. The limoncello with peach was good too, but too sweet for me (personal preference). Our waitress was so nice, and she made sure everything was to our liking. The restaurant itself is beautiful, they play classic oldies, and it's just a dream. Even the people around us told us they frequent this place constantly. A true five star experience.

WATCH OUT for the SERVICE CHARGE!!! My bill had a 3.5% service charge added with no explanation. When I asked if it was for using a credit card they said yes it is but if you pay cash you get a 4% discount, so I paid with cash. The new bill did have a 4% discount for cash subtracted to the bill but when I got home I saw that they ADDED 3.5% back for the service charge. I called and was told the SERVICE CHARGE was to pay for the employees sick time & other costs. This is outrageous and reminds me of the feces that went on during covid and the practices that came from California, I will never go back and I will warn all of this policy.

This place screams upscale Italian dining and does not disappoint. The decor is upscale without being snobby and the service is excellent. The only downside was the noise level. When busy, it is very loud. The food was all presented well and served hot. From appetizers to salads, pasta and lamb chops, everything was flavorful and delicious. There is a full bar available. Pricing was not too high and was in line with the food and service. Worth going out of you way if you want to give this place a try!

Very dissatisfied with the quality of food we received to-go tonight. Only ordered two items and both were extremely disappointing... ordered the meatballs which were undercooked and mostly all pink in middle (not okay for these types of meat). These were a loss as trying to cook them in the microwave to a safe edible temperature thoroughly dried them out and ruined what probably was a great taste. We also ordered the Prosciutto & Fig "12 in. pizza" which was much smaller than what they advertised. Pictures attached for reference. This pizza looked like it could get lost in the box it came in! Diameter of pizza was about 10 inches. This meal cost $46 before tip. The staff were very welcoming and friendly but the quality of food for this price was not up to expectation.

I'm not sure why I've never been here until a few months ago, but my boyfriend and I went for date night the weekend before my birthday. We got sat right away, and our server was super nice! I started with the fig mule, and it was so delicious. We also got the fried zucchini appetizer and it was also super delicious. Anytime there's fried zucchini on the menu I have to try it out! We each got a pasta dish as our main, and we enjoyed it. Next time we will have to save room for dessert! The portions were pretty big though so we didn't save room. We will definitely be back!

My shrimp scampi was dang good! Lots of huge shrimp, not sure why people were saying 4 shrimp- also mine was with linguine not fettuccine. Delicious! Service was great!

Had a FB pop up of this restaurant offering a discount code. Thought ill try it and so happy we did! Upon entering we were immediately greeted by a pleasant hostess and from there it was perfection. Ambience: beautiful indoor/outdoor bar seating with spot on bartenders. Had reservations and our table was towards the back with good lighting and overhead noise not too bad. Service: Our server Collin was great as had a good sense of humor and patience. Josh the owner came by to introduce himself which is always a nice gesture, especially being a family run business. Food: Everyone agreed the food was delicious; I had the chicken Marsala and first bite I could taste the Marsala and was impressed! Note: Appreciate waiter automatically splitting wine and dessert between both paying parties. A great HH is advertised and we will be returning soon!

Mushrooms Al Forno were exceptional as well with the Salmon Rissoto and Rigatoni! We really enjoy the atmosphere and highly recommend this local favorite. The service is great. Thank you, Mark!

Had the lamb chops, not disappointed at all. Husband had chicken parmigiana and enjoyed it also. He had added a salad which he loved the greens it was made with. This was our second visit and plan on many more in the near future. Waitress are terrific and know their menu to advise you.

This is one of our favorite places to eat and drink. But tonight something was just off. We sat on the patio. It was a beautiful night. Our drinks came and just tasted off. Our food came and was absolutely delicious-salmon risotto and also shrimp risotto. We never received bread even after asking for it. I also never received my glass of wine that was ordered. Kind of disappointed but will try it again because in the past it's been awesome

Very disappointed! We ate here last year with friends, and all had a wonderful experience but last night we took my husband's 91-year-old mother who was visiting and all of us had issues with our meals. First, the Caesar salad was so brown we asked to return it and have fresh one brought out. The second attempt wasn't much better when we mentioned it to the staff member and he said "I'm color blind so I can't see it". That was it, no offer to do anything else about it. These salads should never have left the kitchen. Where was the kitchen manager too oversee and insure everything leaving the kitchen was up to standards. My MIL ordered the wedge salad which was so wilted and soggy and translucent we told her not to eat it. She was afraid she'd get sick eating it. Then our meals came out, lamb chops asked to be cooked medium were dried out and nearly burnt. MIL had a hard time using the steak knife to cut them. My special chicken saltimbocca was a bit overcooked and dry. My husband's short ribs and risotto was probably the best of the three meals we ordered. Though he thought it was also a bit dry and the amount of risotto served was pretty small. Spending over $200 for a special night out and having this type of experience is very disheartening. We did tell the waiter about the issues, and they subtracted the price of one salad from out bill. Very disappointed, we will not return. Too many other restaurant choices in the area. I was so sorry I was the one who picked this restaurant for our special dinner!

The ambience was low light date vibes. We came in around 4 PM and there was a toilet table available but by 5:15 the entire restaurant is full so if you're coming on a dinner date, highly suggest making a reservation which they do take the kitchen is an open kitchen so you can see all of your food being prepared and made right in front of your eyes if you so choose mozzarella sticks were probably the best mozzarella sticks I've ever had in my whole life. They were flaky and crispy and perfectly cooked, and the homemade marinara sauce was delicious. The ancho salmon was really well seasoned and had a crispy outside with a juicy perfectly cooked inside. The Alfredo was creamy and the chicken was outstanding. We will be coming back.

This place is a hidden gem!!! Staff is friendly and the service is incredible! The place is clean and has a great vibe. The food is out of this world!! Went tonight for a girls catch up dinner and we loved every bite!! Worth the drive from Ahwatukee to Mesa!! Highly recommend checking this place out.

The shrimp & scallops were SO yummy. Best menu options. The Valentine's Day menu was so unique and cute !

We decided to bring the whole fam for my birthday dinner and we're so glad we did! It was amazing!! We had a reservation, but came earlier because we were hungry :) while we waited for our table we sat at the patio bar and had a couple of cocktails that were tasty & the bartender was friendly and attentive. For dinner we had the beef shortrib which was one of the best I've ever had - and a huge portion! Also had ravioli, chicken Parm, chicken fettuccine and the special with shrimp and scallops in pasta. Everything was fantastic including the service! We'll definitely be back!!

Loved this place!! An adorable lil Italian place!! Great food amazing service!! We had great drinks, great food!! Our server was so sweet and very informative!! If you get a chance check this place out!!

Had a fantastic dinner and bourbon tasting at Sam & Luca. Included several bourbons from the High West collection as well as an elevated dining experience. The chef staff outdid themselves!!! Most amazing cheesy pasta dish I've ever had. Filet was perfectly prepared with a pepper glaze coupled with a lemon arugula salad. A great "twist" on the lemon/pepper flavoring. Each dish was specially curated and we were surprised that every plate came out at the perfect temperature given the number of tables being served at the same time. Dessert was a homemade Crème brûlée which had a hint of berries and mint and a prefectly glazed topping. They also prepared an off-the-cuff chocolate espresso brownie bar for our guest that didn't want crème brûlée. From the seating to the coffee, the service was impeccable the entire evening. Truly, a wonderful drinking & dining experience! Hats off to Steve & Josh and their entire team.

Really enjoyed our dinner at Sam & Luca. This is Mesa Italian restaurant has been on our list for a while, and I'm sorry that we haven't come sooner. There is a main dining room with a smaller room off to the side. There are wood paneled walls that give it a slightly rustic look. I love that you can see into the kitchen where the cooking is being done. Our server was lovely, very attentive and friendly. We started off with cocktails which were delicious. Who order the calamari which came with two sauces - - a marinara and a red pepper sauce. We moved on to dinner and it did not disappoint. We ordered the branzino from the special menu, which was served with a very light fresh tasting angel hair pasta. We also got the brasato, which was a very tender short rib served over wild mushroom and asiago risotto. It was absolutely amazing! Not only was the food really delicious, but the portion sizes are absolutely enormous! Even our appetizer of calamari was very large. We actually got a full second meal for my leftovers!

We went for the first time last night which was a Tuesday, got there around 5:15 and had no problem getting a table. Our waiter Phillip was very nice and attentive. We started off with the HH muscles which were pretty tasty. For my meal I had the chicken piccata and my boyfriend had the muscles arabbiata di mare, we both really liked our meals. The only thing that was different for me was the piccata came with a vodka sauce on the pasta. That was a first for me! But the sauce was absolutely delicious so I didn't mind. We will definitely be back! Also Phillip found out it was our Anniversary and offered us a dessert on the house which was a very nice gesture.

Sam and Luca is a great little Italian spot. The vibe is right for a nice date night. The food is amazing. The service is great. There is nothing about this place I didn't enjoy. I went there for the first time last week and have already returned for another dinner. Highly recommend this spot!

So let me walk you through my first experience at Sam and Lucas walked in pretty cool little place. I liked it sat down at the bar. Bartender was very attentive and very nice order a baron glass of water and he said I need to look at the menu and I told him no I said I seen this lasagna that you guys have is supposed to be pretty good so that's what I ordered. So then I got this huge piece of lasagna in this bowl that it was almost the size of the bowl I went wow that is a lot of lasagna. Even the guy sitting next to me said holy cow look at that so cut it took the first couple bites and it was lukewarm not exactly what you want Your temperature of your lasagna to be. It looks like it might've sat on the table 10 minutes before they bought it to me temperature wise.. so he was sorry sorry sorry I'm sorry. Let me go take it back. Let him heat it up for you. 10 minutes later. I get a new bowl of lasagna and it's about a quarter of the size of the first one even the guy sit next to me says wow that's really small. He was talking about the lasagna then someone else came over. Well let me get a couple couple meatballs and some bread for you.. what she did but it didn't make up for the small piece of lasagna. I do get military discount so that's good. Not sure if I'll be back very disappointed.

We finally made a reservation for dinner at Sam and Luca. What a great decision!! The minute we came through the doors we received a warm welcome and were shown to our table. Our waiter, Philip, took our drink and appetizer orders. The calamari was delicious and I'm still dreaming of those mozzarella sticks. Next came dinner. Our table ordered lasagna, cheese ravioli and eggplant parm. We all had the side Cesar salads. Everything arrived to the table hot and our meals were all amazing. We decided to share a dessert and ordered a slice of turtle cheesecake. If you're looking for a new place to try don't wait as long as we did to make a reservation at Sam and Luca. And do yourself a favor and request Philip as your waitstaff!! He went the extra mile and made a lovely evening even better!!

We have been enjoying Sam and Luca for years now! I love their short rib with risotto. We have ordered a little bit of everything off the menu but our favorites would be; the mozzarella sticks (to die for), the bruschetta (seasonal is always great), the short rib with risotto, chicken Alfredo... I guess everything is yummy. They make a mean dirty martini and also have a wine list that is dang good for a mom and pop restaurant. Highly recommend Sam and Luca and the service has always been excellent!

Ambiance was very nice, the server was great. He was the best part of the experience. The food was tasty however not hot . The Gluten free pasta ($4.00 up charge) was over cooked and warm at best. The server offered to send it back but GF reheats terribly. I said maybe because we may try it another night.

Loved it .. the chicken dish with the sauce was so good .. we sat next to a lovely family .. loved our waitress ... we will be back !

I went to this pizza place and enjoyed my meal. The pizza was tasty and not too oily, which I appreciated. Having one fixed price for all slices made it easy to choose. The staff was polite and worked quickly. The place was also very clean and safe. I'll come back when I want a quick bite.

service decent, although wasnt super busy but they were nice and attentive food was okay. Pizza was good, loved the chicken caeser salad, risotto so salty it was inedible would probably not go back for the price

This was a disappointing experience. This is a middle of the road, mediocre option in a town with much more to offer. Unfortunately, the food was just very mediocre. The ambiance was nothing special; it doesn't have any character or interest. Our waitress was fantastic. The rest left much to be desired. Frankly, I'll go to North Italia for basic Italian faire next time. It's the same price points with better service, environment, menu options and flavors. Alternatively, hit up Brio or Humble Bistro. Anywhere but here. 2/5.

This place is very small. Had a disagreement with a manager about making reservation for over eight. But we went anyway, and we proceeded together, lol which is very weird after a horrible conversation I had with the manager, But the food here is outstanding. I'm not a huge fan of pasta, but they had beautiful chicken and seafood dishes here and it was fantastic. Kudos to the chef ambience not great but it's not bad stuck in the late 80s early 90s booth and just random wood cables in the middle of the place, but it was really good. You might like it for a casual night out.

Our second visit to SnL. Came early because it can get busy after 7 or 8pm. Phillip was our amazing server and answered all of our questions. We both tried new dishes and everything was delicious. A wide variety of wines by the glass. Ended the meal by sharing a cannoli. We will be back soon.

BEWARE OF GIFT CARD BAIT N SWITCH! Through their own website. -purchase gift for birthday celebration of business partner -she took her two sons and they really enjoyed the food. It was amazing.!! -- she was treated as though the gift card was not genuine asked to review the email told the 16 digit code she had was not valid -- she had to reach out to me to see if I could forward her the original email which they still would not honor --JOSH the owner states this has never happened with their gift card system before---he kept her hostage for about 20 minutes until the point she just paid the bill -- he gave her a phone number to call and work out the gift card herself and is glad to have her back once it's resolved so she could spend it --ARE U KIDDING!! through this fiasco I contacted the restaurant and spoke directly with Josh after sensing his nasty attitude. I asked for his district manager.---- Josh advised me that this is a family restaurant and he owns it. ---he said he understood the situation was frustrating, but it was beyond his control and they've never had this issue with their gift cards before ---- what happened to the old days when you do something wrong and you treat your local clients like you want them to come back???? giving someone a customer service phone number and telling them to fix what's wrong with your system is so tacky. This is exactly why there's only one location in the valley. -- I have quite a few family members that come in and out of town throughout the year and we always try and do local restaurants. We were excited to try BUT after Josh's nasty attitude and hanging up on me with no clear follow up THERE'S PLENTY OF OTHER PLACES THAT WANT AND DESERVE MY BUSINESS.

Okay so I've been here NUMEROUS times and it's always incredibly delicious. I love the ambience, service and the over all mom and pop feel. Recently (last yea rod so) Josh the manager is so personal and has the best recommendations. We came here and he allowed us to have the private room for the gender reveal of our second baby, they were all extremely accommodating! Now here enjoying a date night he was kind enough to say hello, this is my go to Italian restaurant in Arizona. Will be coming back always!

Great place for authentic Italian food! The staff were friendly and attentive. Food was out in a reasonable time. Hot and well proportioned. Plenty of room for small or large parties. We will definitely be back!

This restaurant is BOMB! This is great Italian food with superb service! I'm sure many of you know how are it is to find a great Italian restaurant, and most of them are pretty mediocre, but this place is different! Not one is the food delicious, but the servers are fun and personable, and they have many unique dishes on the menu. For menu items we had amazing lobster ravioli, I always love their Caesar salad.... Our favorite drink is the limoncello martini, plus they also have limoncello tiramisu.... However our favorite is the salted caramel cheesecake! One of the other things that we absolutely love about this restaurant is that it is not an overly loud place, so this is a great date night restaurant because you can actually hear your significant other speak from across the table, lol! Give this place a try...you'll love it!

We just tried Sam and Luca for the first time and WOW. Fresh food, amazing service & daily specials. We will be back.

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in Mesa! Food is the best! Friendly staff and welcoming. Nice smaller personal and comfortable. I always recommend this restaurant.

Great food! I had the chicken piccata and it was delicious! I had it with angel hair pasta. My husband had the clam dish which was also very good. Our waitress Bea was wonderful. We will return.

Used to, this was one of my fave places to go to. They've definitely had some changes over the years. Tonight, after our valentine's date night, we most likely won't be back. First, we sat for a while,dismissed a few times by our server, who could have easily seen that we still had menus and no drinks. Finally, we had to ask our server to order drinks. They brought us bread. Three little slices for 2 people (it gave us a good giggle). Ordered chicken parm and the stuffed shell special. Chicken was overcooked and dry, a bit tough. Shells were not well heated throughout, and the cheese is cool and goopy. The meatball was really dry, tough and also at room temp. Halfway through our meal, the server came to check on us. We asked for some cheese, since we were offered it at the time that our meal was brought out, and finished dinner with a smile and nod. Sorry, but there are just too many great choices to eat at, to come back for subpar food.

Service was good, nice cozy atmosphere. Food was not hot and could use more GF items on the menu

I can't comment on the food because we never got to that point. About 3 days ago I tried to make a reservation and there were no slots prior to 8:30 open. I called yesterday to ask about a waiting list and was told they did a call ahead. Today I called to put our names in for around 5:30. I was advised at that time that since it was just for two and it was before 6 we would be seated pretty quickly. I arrived at 5:15, and advised the hostess that I was there. About 35 minutes later they came over and told us it would be another hour before we could be seated. There were at least 4 tables open but they were for four people. They would not seat us there. We were extremely annoyed and felt like we were being dismissed. We left as we were not going to do business with a restaurant that doesn't have an efficient service. I've been told time and again what a great place it was. My experience says differently. My companion and I took ourselves and our $100 plus 20% tip over to Carrabas. They seated us immediately. The food was delicious. They treated us like customers should be treated. This summer, when the snowbirds are gone and you're hurting for business, I'm going to remember our treatment. I'm also going to be telling my friends and family and acquaintances.

We showed up at 3pm, we thought this was the start of their happy hour on a Monday night, it says this on Yelp and Google, The door was locked :( but a nice young man, Josh came out and apologized for the misconfision, he even recommended a local bar for us where we could wait! We were impressed that he came out and greeted us to let us know! Well we came back at 4pm, and we are glad we did! We sat at the bar, the bartender was upbeat and friendly I like they had a bunch of nice wines by the glass, I had a dry rose and my husband had a glass of Cabernet. We split a yummy bowl of garlicky black mussels, then a huge cut of prime rib, it said 14 oz. But it had to be 18 oz. Perfect medium rare, with crispy potatoes and broccoli. We had a couple more glasses of wine and even added dessert! :) a lemoncello cake and some ice cream. The prices we reasonable, the service was solid, and the atmosphere was great! Nice to see a independent restaurant doing so well on a Monday night! Thanks Josh for opening the door early and capturing some new regulars, we really enjoyed ourselves

We'd heard about the Monday Prime Rib Special. We ordered Red wine, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib and Scallop Risotto. The Service was very good. The Wine was good. The Salad was quite large but had very little dressing. Not great and we love Caesar salad most places we go. Dinner was served too quickly as we both had a lot of salad to eat. A small amount of bread came with the salad but it wasn't great either. The tiny table couldn't really accommodate the entree and the salad at the same time. I loved the scallops. They were cooked perfectly. The risotto, not so much. Way too many sun dried tomatoes and not smooth and creamy as it should be. The Prime Rib was also disappointing. I've rarely had tough Prime Rib. It was a generous portion but seemed like it wasn't roasted low and slow. The broccoli was good but the roasted potatoes were cool. Overall, we won't be back. Too many areas that just weren't up to par.

My friends took me out for my birthday and treated me to the most lovely dinner ever. Everything from the greeter when you first walk in to the waitress to the servers refilling your drink to the owner and chef, the whole service was attentive and engaged. The food and comfortable experience was a true team accomplishment and I wanted to return the next day and try other dishes because everyone was happy with what they got. I had read reviews here on yelp that the chicken marsala was a bit dry so I let the group know. But we have die hard chicken marsala people and they both loved it. The rest of the bunch had eggplant parmesan and a salad and the bread. I tried the braised beef or brisato. The brisato was as juicy and tender as the reviews declare and I cleaned my plate. The sliced bread was moist and flavorful and didn't need any oil or vinegar; it was fabulous on its own. For dessert, a friend insisted I try the lemon cheesecake and it was refreshing and flavorful, not too strong of a lemon flavor. Very natural and yummy. I split a pistachio cannoli and it was really nice. I still can't find cannoli like they make in my home state of Michigan but, this one is probably the best I've had in Arizona, though it's not traditional and on the smaller side. The restaurant had comfy tables and chairs if your gut overflows and plenty of room for wheelchairs/powerchairs. It's a busy strip mall so parking is at a premium. Early dinner seemed the easiest to accommodate everyone. Every employee was genuinely friendly and fun. I'll be back! Hopefully soon!

Great Italian restaurant with a friendly staff. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the chicken parmigiana, and the linguine and clams.

We stopped by for dinner at Sam & Luca for the first time . It's a warm , cozy restaurant. Zoey our waitress is extremely nice and helpful . I had Salmon and my husband has lasagnas. The best !!!! Definitely coming back .

The food here is top notch!! When I eat here I feel as if I am eating with family!!! Great job to all the staff!!!

Went to dinner at 6pm on Friday night. $70 for 1 spaghetti dinner 2 half salads and 1 eggplant dinner and no drinks. Ordered cup of coffee. Waiter brought out cream but never any coffee. Waiter was more interested in taking care of tables that were having alcoholic drinks. Felt like he was judging us based on what we ordered. Food was ok nothing special. Probably won't be going back there. It Definitely is no Rigatoni's.

Food was fabulous! Linguine white clam sauce, eggplant parm! Service amazing took special care of us since my husband and our friend are allergic to shellfish. They also were very kind about my inability to have spice in my food!

The ambiance and service is great! We enjoyed getting to see into the cooking area from our table. The price is quite a bit high for the quantity. The food flavors could be more bold; the flavors were muted. The fried zucchini appetizer and complementary bread and oil were very good.