Sammy's Woodfired Pizza & Grill

🤷. What can I say. The pizza just wasn't great. While I was eating the sausage one with my wife, I instinctively said the following: "I've had much better Neapolitan style pizza from Trader Joe's. The frozen one imported from Italy." - then I said: "our friends who made it for the first time at that party was way better than this". They probably have a special fancy pizza oven and all the resources and skills to make a classic Neapolitan style pizza, but I dunno. I wasn't impressed at all. It literally tasted exactly the same as any frozen Neapolitan style pizza I've ever had. The duck tacos tasted pretty good, but I couldn't taste the duck because there was such a tiny sliver of meat in each taco. It's not like duck costs $45 a lb. The sliders were pretty good, but nothing special. Pretty sure they use store bought Hawaiian rolls for the bun. I don't understand how places like this stay in business. There is so much better food out there.

Had a great lunch at Sammy’s! We ordered the lobster bisque and mini duck tacos for appetizers, and the organic arugula and pear pizza and Brie cheese and truffle oil pizza for entrees. The food tasted amazing. We sat on the dog friendly patio and the service was quick and very friendly. There is also changing tables in the restroom. Recommend!

When we were visiting family in town, we swung here last minute due to long lines elsewhere. Our service was pretty haphazard, and most of the food was mid at best. However, I could eat dozens of those duck tacos EASILY.

My family and I just left. I have to say, the food was fantastic. I got the Spinach Tequila fettuccine. It was so flavorful. Our server Jose was great. He made sure everything was going well. Specifically, my wife asked for a candle or something to light up the table. He immediately walked away and brought back a candle. On to the negatives. Despite being a phenomenal location, the environment lacked ambiance. Sadly the restaurant was very empty so we got a table right by the beach glass. However the tables and area had no lighting. The fire pits were not on, and the restaurant has no signage. The food and Jose saved the night and earned the 4 stars, but the ambiance needs some love. I hope the restaurant sticks around.

This place is a must, the style and decor is modern, yet cozy and upscale, and the outdoor seating is lovely with all the plants, and it is located right on the corner. Great selection of Wines, but sadly, no hard liquor. And the Food was absolutely delicious, with lots of flavor, like the Margarita Pizza and I really Loved the Vegan Options also. And to top it all off, our waitress Megan was very sweet, polite and proactive to our family's needs, just outstanding. Definitely give it a try or 2 and Definitely ask for Megan.

Corporate really needs to listen to their staff and customers!! First off... I ordered the Water Bisque.. I mean Lobster Bisque. Now I have had my share of different bisques but this one was an emphatic NO! Maybe it's because I was born and raised in the city of Boston where we serve the best!! The Tomato Non-Basil Soup was again an emphatic blah. Absolutely zero basil to be found or tasted! Flavorless soup. The Truffle Fries were okay. I didn't get an entree based on the soup we tried. I would write a letter to corporate but I don't see the use. Not what I expected.

Mediterranean Dip combo is the best dish out there ! A lot of Vegetarian options available and also clearly marked in the menu ! The staff was very nice to us and agreed to add extra veggie toppings on one of their pizza preparations !

I love this restaurant. The food has been consistently delicious and it has a relaxed atmosphere. The DUCK TACOS appetizer is one of my favorites. The Mini Hamburgers were delicious! And, even though I am not much of a salad person, the CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD is probably my favorite thing. The pizzas are good, but I like the other menu items better. This is a great location, a little removed from the busiest part of town. It is a casual, beautiful place to enjoy a taste of California.

My favorite pace for a light meal. The sliders are a standout in a pleasant room with good service. Del W.

This is a great,pretty, fun restaurant to eat at and relax. I give the foods, drinks, employees and all business procedures a 100% out of 100% score.

Went in for happy hour. Seated promptly and David was superb taking orders, suggesting things, and adding cheery good nature to our supper. Wish they had smaller salads to use as side. The sausage pizza was just what I was hungry for. David recommended the lava cake. He said you're going to love it, and we did. Well done.

I have great respect and admiration for restaurant professionals who step up. Following a critical review that I did of Sammy's, La Jolla, the owner/manager, through their Marketing Director, quickly responded by inviting me to another visit, as well as extending a gift certificate. This generous and intentional gesture is greatly appreciated. It is what successful restaurant businesses do to keep themselves competitive and well regarded. Thank you, Cassandra Poindexter.

I came here last month with my friend and don't plan to come back. I've been to many Sammy's locations before and never really had any issues, but I've always found all of them to be overpriced. This time was different. We happen to walk in about 25 minutes before happy hour was ending (I didn't even know it was happy hour until we saw the menu.) The server didn't come to take out order until about 3- minutes prior to it being over. We were able to place an order but it took extremely long even though it wasn't crowded. While we waited, we saw several orders of bread and oil coming out to other tables when we were not offered any. I ordered chicken strips, which were pretty good, but in the middle of me eating them, I realized that there were small pieces of plastic underneath the breading. I told my server who seemed confused and was never even addressed by the management after reporting it. I told him that they should be aware of it in case there was more plastic in other batches and if small children were possibly eating it they could choke. They removed the item from the check and I just wanted to leave after that. The best part of all was when we went to pay the remainder of the bill, they DO NOT EVEN USE Apple Pay at this restaurant. It is 2025 and gas stations and coffee houses use Apple Pay but this restaurant has not seen fit to enter the technological revolution and join the rest of the world's technology for an Apple/ Google Pay POS. I didn't even have my cards with me since we had just come from the beach so I went to the bartender to ask what alternatives there were to pay (Venmo/ Zelle) or what people normally do when this problem happens and she quite rudely stated "one person will literally leave their party to go get a card to pay".... WTF is going on here I absolutely will not be back Weird service Poor payment processing Suspicious food presentation

Very nice place. Love the outdoor seating. They have a nice variety of food to choose from. I suggest going during happy hour 3p-6p as that menu had a bunch of options for half price food. And they were full servings. The service was friendly and good, even though our waitress was so busy. It's a casual place with something for everyone.

The brussel sprouts were so perfect and the 4 cheese pizza was amazing!! Service was super quick too.

Eh honestly the food and service was average. Upon walking in no one really greeted me and I had to ask whether I order at the counter or wait to be seated. He told me "If you're getting to go, go to the counter. If you're eating here, sit anywhere you want". Mind you, it was also fairly empty with only 2 tables occupied.. so it's not like the waiter was super busy. I ordered from their happy hour menu. I got the Brussel sprouts, truffle fries, mini burger, and the meatballs and Mariana. The most disappointing one was the Brussel sprouts. It was something I could have made at home. It's literally fried Brussel sprouts with a sprinkle of balsamic and raw walnuts. The burger was good; however, it's definitely bite sized. I was hopeful.. but left feeling underwhelmed. Won't be coming back. Won't be recommending.

Ambiance is nice, David was a great server. Lettuce wraps had WAY too much salt. PLEASE cut salt WAY down. The Bob's Cobb was nothing great considering the price, the turkey seemed processed not fresh. Nothing was not worth what we paid. Very expensive average food.

I have been coming here with my family for over 25 years and we still love it! Sammy's has a very pleasant atmosphere and is refreshingly non-pretentious. It's so nice seeing familiar favorites on the menu (aka chopped chicken salad and marinara meatballs!) as well as new items. Our server David made this place feel like home, which is exactly what I want when coming home to La Jolla.

The Accommodations were great , food and staff. The atmosphere is nice and calm. Nice place for families.

2nd time here and I must say I ordered a lot more dishes and very impressed. We sat outside and beautiful day, very clean and our server was amazing ! I forgot his name maybe Marco?? It was 10/2 and 4pmish Friday.

Always enjoyed sammys. Visited again after a fee years off. Great customer service, nice ambiance on the front patio, and great food. Recommend

The pizza and salads here are always consistently good and it's a great place for families. This location is a little smaller than the one that was in Mission Valley but they have smaller booths for 2 to 4 people. The service is also great even though the restaurant seems understaffed.

I ate dinner at your restaurant last night. Everything was fine until another Customer adjacent to my table had a large Doberman on the seat at her table and the dog was eating off the table and she was feeding the dog while she dined with her group. It was disgusting to watch in the restaurant. It should not be allowed to occur. Please advise customers to leave their pets at home. I have absolutely nothing against dogs, however I will tell all my friends not to eat here because of that experience and your policy should include not letting dogs eat off tables. You should be reported to the health department for allowing this. It's really unfortunate because it is a very nice restaurant It's equally appalling, It's in La Jolla, which is supposed to be a very posh place, but this did not reflect that at all. Shame on the management and the customer. It was vile to watch.

My close friend and I used to go to the Del Mar location all throughout high school and we absolutely loved the place. Always a good time and amazing food. I thought for my birthday I could maybe relive some cuisine from my youth so I made reservations for my birthday dinner at this Sammy's location in La Jolla. When I made the reservation I was kinda put off by the man on the other end of the phone due to his rudeness. I was under the impression that Sammy's was open till 9pm on Sat and Sun. Unbeknownst to me, the man on the phone said I couldn't make my reservation for 8pm because they close at 8pm. I made our reservation for 7pm. At 7:08pm, I got kind of a rude call asking if I'm still coming because my reservation was at 7pm and it's already past 7pm. I said I was running about 15 min late. We were driving all the way down from Orange County and hit some traffic but we thought we were still within the regular 15 min grace period so assumed we were okay. I was the first of my party to get there. There were multiple booths open but the waitress asked if we're okay sitting outside. There was NO ONE sitting outside as it was freezing. I was reminded again they close at 8pm. She said she could push two tables together but seemed greatly inconvenienced to do so and added that people don't like doing that in the middle of the restaurant. It was around 7:30pm before my party began to arrive. I thought since we were inconveniencing them that we could just order our food to-go so the restaurant staff wouldn't have to stay late due to our party. They were complaining within earshot about how late they would have to stay that night. We were not the only party seated. There were multiple other parties, including a family or group of about ten. The host or manager (I think man I spoke to on the phone) came out after my sister had arrived to tell us AGAIN that they close at 8pm and to ask how much longer it would be for the rest of our party to get there. My sister's husband was getting their newborn out of the car and my parents were parking. I said we could just order to-go and he suddenly said oh no no it's fine we can start there and THEN take our food to go. I literally just wanted to leave but then felt forced to stay even though I could tell the staff didn't want us there. We were all seated shortly and everyone ordered and I just ordered mine to-go because I don't like staying past closing hours or being rushed. I thought it'd be easier to get our food and leave. We still hadn't checked into our hotel as we were already running late. The staff wasn't very nice the entire time we were there and I tried being as polite as I could be considering the situation. I ended up leaving prior to 8pm due to crying cause I felt like I ruined everyone's meal by choosing this restaurant I had hoped would be special. I really wanted to come here especially for their birthday desserts I remember from my childhood-- always got the messy sundae with a candle in it. However, due to a disappointing experience I didn't get nor want dessert. My sister said that there were still people there when they ended up leaving after they finished boxing up their food and finishing their meals. Unfortunately, one of the worst dining and birthday experiences I've ever had. Sadly, this place isn't the way the Del Mar location used to be. Would not recommend coming here. Particularly not when it's an hour within closing time. Have never had such poor service at a restaurant even though we did come so close to closing. I feel really terrible about it (for the sake of my guests) and wish I had picked a different restaurant upon learning they close at 8pm. Also, not a single party came in to sit at the booths that were supposedly "taken" while we were there. Lying to your customers is probably not in your best interest. Worst part was that I didn't get to enjoy my food even. I did take it to go to eat at the hotel. They didn't give me a napkin or utensils. I ordered the chicken fettuccine Alfredo which tasted really heavy on garlic which wasn't the greatest but edible. I was really looking forward to the Alfredo. I had been craving it for a few days prior. Unfortunately, due to the heavy seasoning, and pregnancy sensitivity/morning sickness, I ended up throwing up all the Alfredo I ate. I didn't get to enjoy any of it sadly. I don't usually hold grudges but truly felt like my dad wasted his money on my birthday dinner here. Will never be coming back nor recommending to anyone else. Breaks my heart cause the Del Mar location was so amazing in the past. I thought this one would live up to its name as well but I was wrong.

I used to enjoy going to Sammy''s &. order the Small Balsamic chicken salad. Ordered and noticed price went up. Not much chicken in salad and was never offered any crackers or bread. Total bill $21.01 for just the salad no bread or drink La Jolla manager Kev . said you have to ask for bread or Crackers. Will think twice before returning.

I can't get enough of the chicken tequila fettuccine...Sammy's is by far the best! I do miss the salami they used to put in the chopped salad but still good! They weren't very busy and there were 3-4 tables with dirty dishes and nobody sitting there for the entire time we were at the restaurant. They just kept walking pass these tables and not ckeaning them.

We used to go to this Sammy's when our boys were small and have even had a chance to dine with Sammy himself on occasion. This visit we sat outside and enjoyed the view of fancy convertibles driving by and fancy dogs out for their evening walks. The service was also very attentive and we were happy to be back.

I had the best experience in La Jolla -Kevo was awesome the service was top notch and the food was incredible. I will def go back. He went above and beyond. Thank you!

I have really missed our Sammy's in Temecula so I go whenever I get the chance. Best chicken salad ever ! I do miss having bread ? Seems like it would include a slice when the salad is 20 dollars for a small ? But it's delish as always

Good food and service. Seated promptly, nice and quite. Very accommodating to our needs.

We had a terrific experience on the patio in La Jolla. Great service from David. Quickly received our fabulous chicken lettuce wraps, brussels sprouts and 5 cheese pizza all on happy hour.

Takeout order for work: I called to inquire about their vegan options. The team member I spoke with was very kind and helpful, however they were not 100% informed about the vegan options. When I asked about which crusts are vegan, they asked the kitchen, but no one sounded confident when saying "We think the gluten free crust and cauliflower crust are vegan" (The information is not available on their website either) So if you have seriously allergies, I would choose a different restaurant. I saw other Yelp reviews that said the GF crust was like eating cardboard. So I trusted the staff's info & chose the cauliflower crust. It was decent! I ordered the Mozzarella cheese pizza with Daiya vegan cheese substituted. (Cauliflower crust) I also added mushrooms & sun dried tomatoes. The crust was a little overdone (hard) around the edges, but overall the pizza was pretty good! A great option if you're vegan/dairy free/lactose intolerant and your family/work choose Sammy's!

Not what used to be. Unfortunate. Cutting corners on quality and ingredients and for the price. It's bad.

the pizza was amazing never had sliced pineapple on my hawaiian pizza. we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day! Our waitress was great.

I talked my friend into getting the meatballs. They are so incredible add a glass of wine and..... belissimo! Sammy's is one of the few places that has a larger glass size for the wine. I always get the larger option. Have the meatballs with the wine, then finish it off by sharing the very fun and delicious messy sundae! Scrumptious! We had a passerby look at us with envy and expressed a desire to have a bite, but I just couldn't share! He had to get his own!

We stopped by Sammy's on our way to the La Jolla Cove and it is such a beautiful restaurant! There were some holiday-themed ribbons and ornaments and a lot of beautiful flowers. We went around 2 PM on a Wednesday so it wasn't super busy and the service was so friendly! Our waitress was super attuned to our needs. This restaurant has a good variety of menu options, including gluten free pizzas! For apps we got the spring rolls and truffle fries which were both delicious! For our main dishes, we ordered fish tacos, a gluten free version and gluten version of the New York pizza, a wagyu cheeseburger, mini wagyu hamburgers, and the chicken fettucine alfredo. We also got a Caesar salad which was delicious! We wouldn't recommend the pasta but our table enjoyed the tacos and burgers! Everywhere else nearby was PACKED so we were grateful to find a quick spot to dine at!

I brought my mom and a friend to Sammy's for a birthday lunch and it was divine! Our server, Robbie, was amazing! My mom is vegan and he made sure to accommodate her food choices offering lots of suggestions. He was very friendly and checked on us often. The food was delicious.. everything we ordered from the hummus, to the vegan pizza, tomato basil soup and a variety of salads.. all super yummy! We sat outside on the patio in comfortable shaded booth seating, private for conversation, and thoroughly enjoyed the ambience with lovely surrounding decor. Highly recommend! And be sure to ask for Robbie! :)

Service was super fast and friendly but it's hard to stomach an $8 chicken taco and $10 shrimp taco that felt 2-3 bites each. Should've ordered pizza but wasn't in the mood and had a gift certificate to unload. Decor feels dated. It is a chain so to be expected I guess. Parking is always tricky in this area.

Service was amazing! We were taken care of by Dave. His recommendations were spot on and he had such a great attitude that kept us uplifted throughout our experience at Sammys today. Thank you Dave:)

The food at Sammy's is always good, but what made it special tonight was Melissa. Melissa was our server and she went above and beyond her regular duties to make our dining experience enjoyable! We will ask for her when we return. She did a great job! Thank you Melissa!!!

Went here a few weeks ago and ordered the balsamic grilled chicken salad. There was an actual caterpillar crawling in the lettuce when they brought it. It was large, bright green, and crawling around. They comped the salad, but we won't be going back to a place that doesn't wash their lettuce.

This is a very special Sammy's! It looks nothing like normal Sammy's restaurants around town! We almost missed it because the sign out front made it look like it was a business with a similar name. Glad we went to the front door and saw the Sammy's logo for the chain restaurant and asked the hostess if it was indeed the same company. They assured us it was - phew! I was so glad! We had the pick of the patio at 530 on a weeknight and it was still happy hour! It's hard to argue with a beautiful warm evening on the patio with happy hour food and beverages. We found parking down the street and enjoyed our meal here. As sunset approached the entire restaurant filled up - so come early to beat the crowd! As I've found with Sammy's across town the food is stellar. I had to get my usual shrimp pizza and my coworker had the wings from the happy hour menu. We shared the curried cauliflower and were both pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were. All in all a great experience from start to finish.

Food was great, but the best is having David as a server, great attitude, fast, friendly and kind! Kudos David!

Had a great time! Cute little spot on the corner with good eats and beveraginos. David made us feel right at home. Try the Thai Chicken pizza with cilantro crema ;)

Food was just OK, not memorable in a good or bad way. We were there around 5pm on a Sat and they weren't crowded. Kids wanted to order the wagu burger but they ran out so they settled for the mini burgers. Good friendly service but place looked a little tired and run down. I don't think I'd come to this location again. There are many other places near by that might be worth a try.

I have been coming to Sammys since I was 22 and now I'm 57 and it's still just as good as it has always been. I just had dinner with my son and our waitperson David was outgoing, friendly and based on his suggestion our dinner was amazing! Keep up the great food and service!

We had happy hours. A huge mistake! The most prophetic duck tacos were served here. How the quality of food has gotten so Low!

Ordered Balsamic Chicken Salad & the Arugula Pear Pizza. Delicious and great combo. Small salad was plentiful for 2 people. Our server was Robert B was great. He was fast, friendly and went the extra mile to provide excellent customer service. We enjoyed conversing with Robert and had common interests. Highly recommend and will be back! One improvement is needed; cleanliness of the bathroom! Would prefer keeping separate men & women stalls because the toilet seat and floors were wet from urine! Yuk! really disgusting, especially since its located in La Jolla! But the great food and our server is enough reason to bring us back!

Don't come here for the pizza. I'm a huge fan of wood fired pizza especially sour dough wood fired pizza. I feel like it's hard to mess up a pizza like this but it wasn't good. And it's not sour dough. The crust has a shit ton of corn meal on it. The sauce doesn't taste good. But that's my taste. I was hoping for better especially at the price point. I got the sausage and my wife had the margarita. Both sub par. The truffle fries were good. My server, a young girl was fantastic.

Haven't been here in a while (2019). There is outside seating and lots of tables inside. We ordered the Brussels sprouts. They were really good but just a bit salty. I'd order them again though. I had the Caesar salad with grilled chicken. That was awesome. The chicken was very moist. My mom had the fettuccine with chicken. The portion was huge, maybe a meal for three people. It tasted good and had extra to go. Shelby our server was very attentive, efficient and patient.

Went with my wife for dinner. Chop salad was delicious, and it's actually chopped which is the best! Lettuce cups were tasty and the sweet chili wings were ridiculously good! Highly recommend it. Shout out to Anthony for stellar service! We'll be back for sure

We noticed that they were reopening this week so had penciled in an early dinner to check them out. The decor is comfy and pretty! Lots of flowers etc. Our server, Megan, was awesome and took good care of us. She explained their happy hour offerings and so we made a few choices - after checking with the kitchen; there were a few items not available, so bummer on that. We switched to the mini burgers, a veggie flatbread and the red pepper hummus. Note- if you're getting one of the flatbreads, you probably don't need a separate hummus as we had huge scoops of hummus on the flatbread (minus falafel as they didn't have any tonight). Make sure to spread both the tzatziki and hummus around else it's pretty unbalanced bites :) There were two mini burgers on the plate- hubs stole one before I could get my camera out. Definitely worth another visit at some point. Place was starting to hop when we left around 6:30ish

Our server Anthony was so wonderful to us! He was funny, honest, helpful, but most importantly genuine. He was such a lovely presence. He accommodated our special requests and was a highlight of the night. Tonight we ordered the hummus sampler appetizer as well as a margarita pizza with sausage added. We also ordered the Pessimist (2019) blend to drink. Lovely outdoor atmosphere, food was good and wine was great.

Excellent Food and Service We've been coming since the Day it first Opened ‼‼.... Our Children and now Grandchildren really love going to Sammys ‼‼‼

We had the best service, great pizza, affordable price. Our server was amazing! Robbie gave the best service and was able to give us tips and pointers for the area. If we are ever back in the area, we will definitely be back and especially ask for Robbie.

Feel taken advantage of by this place. Lost stars before I even tried their food. My wife and I were in the mood for a pizza last night, and after a Google search of what is in the area, we decided that we would try Sammy's since it was new to us and since we live so close. We ordered a sausage, pepperoni, and mushroom pizza. $30. $30 for 6 small slices of pizza and an average amount of toppings. They could have placed the order as a 'New York Style' which has all the same stuff plus Salami, and just left out the Salami. Would have been $6-$8 less, however I should have read the reviews more thoroughly beforehand as it seems to be a reoccurring thing that they try and squeeze people. Nobody likes being taken advantage of. Doesn't matter if this is La Jolla or not. The pizza wasn't bad at all, and what could have been a new addition to our rotation, is now more than likely a one and done for us.

Met up with my #foodiesistersofsd last Tuesday and had the best time at Sammy's!! We ordered a few of their shareable appetizers like sweet chili wings, truffle fries, chicken lettuce cup, mini duck tacos, and Cobb salad. For my main entree, I got the lamb chops & Brie & truffle pizza. We were so full but we can't go home without trying their famous messy sundae!! Our server cesar was amazing!