Sam’s Famous Pizzeria

The place was no frills. You had to eat up against the window, but the pizza slice I was served.was amazing. I don’t know why everybody isn't raving more about this place. It’s was $3.50 for a slice in Jan 2026. It was hot, plenty of cheese and I liked the sauce. It was everything a true NY slice is meant to be. Forget about Joe’s. Got to Sam’s!!!

The pizza was a soupy mess. There was way too much cheese and the crust was soft and limp. Underbaked (perhaps the oven is not hot enough and/or they didn't cook it for long enough). When I was handed the pizza box it felt way too heavy. This is supposed to be thin crust, crunchy pizza. When I called to politely explain to the store, they blamed the driver and ignored what I had just said. Multiple times. The driver can't be blamed for it being undercooked with too much cheese. So in summery the pizza is terrible and the employees don't want to hear clear constructive feedback.

We stopped at this pizzeria on our last day and we’re very impressed. The pizza was actually good quality unlike most of the pizza spots around this block. The pizzas fairly priced and the slices are huge. The beef patty with cheese was fire. The pepperoni and bacon pizzas were both fire. I’d recommend this spot to everyone

I love this place but could you guys reconsider your decision to pour cold tomato sauce over an oven baked margherita pizza? I mean come on

Cheese slices are 3 bucks, meaty options are 6+, but it is huge slices and loaded with meat anf cheese. Got the chicken bacon ranch - good chicken bits, very well seasoned. They toast it before handing it to you where you can add some salt n pepper or seasoning to taste. Very iconic late night food. Limited seats inside.

This is the second or third time I'm sick from eating their bacon... i stopped eating there a year ago, specifically for this exact same reason..I tried to call but you know they didn't care clearly. Uh-huh the guy tried to tell me they got the bacon from a new place ... then why did it also make me sick a year ago?!?!?!! LIES

Basically, everyone knows that New York City has the best pizza and that’s because of the water. I have had many pizzas around New York City and they’re all great. However, I decided to try this one out and it’s actually awesome. I have to preface all this because my father was a chef at some of the top Italian restaurants here in New York City, and my beloved is a Mi Michelin Star trained chef in French and Italian cuisine and actually had her own Italian restaurant up in Provincetown for 20 years, so I have a sense of what taste when you say something tastes good. We ordered two pies, one more difficult than the next I believe. The first. Fresh Mozzarella Pizza with basil with fresh mozzarella cheese. It had a thin crust, and yet perfect to the bite. Then I asked for Supreme Deluxe Pie which is with mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions and olives. I requested that after the pie comes out for them to put an extra layer of cheese, and have it melt by itself. This pie is hard to do because you have many different textures from the onions, the green peppers, the olives and the thin, sliced sausage and pepperoni. Then when you add the two layers of cheese with a thin sauce and becomes amazing and perfect. This is why I consider this pizza place, not just great but completely awesome. We will definitely be going back to them again and again.

I have been coming to this place since I moved here 22 years old. Nothing has changed. Pizza is just right

I have been craving pizza and this is my default go to pizza spot. As you can see it is also a lot of people's go to spot too. The staff is constantly moving / working. Their pizza has a thin crust, with the perfect amount of cheese and tomato sauce They also offer other food items. We ordered: Large Cheese Pie Garlic Bread Please note, it is a cash only establishment. So make sure to bring cash!

Sam's Famous Pizza is really the old school, mid-Century neighborhood corner pizza place, where people in this part of East Harlem have been grabbing slices for over 60 years. Tasty with a good crispy thin crust, it's satisfying. Better than any chains or one of those $1 (or now $1.50) slice places, Sam's knows how to do it right! If you're looking for a pretty, pretty good classic New York cheese pizza when your, check Sam's out! Note - Cash only!

Grabbed a mushroom slice it was a little cheese but the sauce and the crust are still really good. The mushrooms although Being the canned weren't so watery that they made the slice feel wet and damp. I been coming here for years. It's def traditional nyc style pizza

My neighborhood pizzeria ... good flavors, fresh ingredients, fast service. Whether you want a slice, or a pie, gyro, beef patty or something else remember Cash ONLY! There are only a few seats if you need to eat hot out the oven; most people takeout!!

The pizza was a soupy mess. There was way too much cheese and the crust was soft and limp. This is supposed to be thin crust crunchy pizza. When I called to politely explain to the store, they blamed the driver and ignored what I had just said. Multiple times. The driver can't be blamed for it being undercooked with too much cheese. So in summery the pizza is terrible and the employees don't want to hear clear constructive feedback.

I ordered 3 pies here and they were delicious. It was one veggie pizza and 2 plain pies. The dough is chewy with great flavor and the sauce was perfect. The staff was friendly and fast. The shop is your typical pizza shop in a good way felt like a childhood memory.

Great slices in East Harlem. Counter service. Cash only. Included garlic rolls (come in 4 ct) in addition to the bacon ranch chicken slice and the pepperoni /sausage/onion slice. Bacon ranch was not greasy at all and ingredients portion was strong. Pepperoni crust was perfectly crisp and easily foldable along with plentiful toppings. Right off the #6 subway line at 115th.

Basically, everyone knows that New York City has the best pizza and that's because of the water. I have had many pizzas around New York City and they're all great. However, I decided to try this one out and it's actually awesome. I have to preface all this because my father was a chef at some of the top Italian restaurants here in New York City, and my beloved is a Mi Michelin Star trained chef in French and Italian cuisine and actually had her own Italian restaurant up in Provincetown for 20 years, so I have a sense of what taste when you say something tastes good. We ordered two pies, one more difficult than the next I believe. The first. Fresh Mozzarella Pizza with basil with fresh mozzarella cheese. It had a thin crust, and yet perfect to the bite. Then I asked for Supreme Deluxe Pie which is with mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions and olives. I requested that after the pie comes out for them to put an extra layer of cheese, and have it melt by itself. This pie is hard to do because you have many different textures from the onions, the green peppers, the olives and the thin, sliced sausage and pepperoni. Then when you add the two layers of cheese with a thin sauce and becomes amazing and perfect. This is why I consider this pizza place, not just great but completely awesome. We will definitely be going back to them again and again.

I don't know what's going on since the original owners left a few months back , it just has not been the same. This pizza is tasting cheap. There's so much cheese that when it comes out looks like those pan pizzas from Papa John's. I miss the sauce, the taste of the sauce and not so much cheese on top ,and the dough crust is not cooked right it's just not the same and I'm so disappointed because this was one of the original pizzerias from New York from back in the days... there name should change-It should not be Sam's famous pizza the originality is gone.....

Walked it looked up at the menu to see what to order ..I guess I was taking too long cause the worker looked past me and took the order of the person behind me. WTF? At least have the courtesy to say you will be back for me. Anyways the pizza sucked. Too many good pizza establishments in NY to go back here again...

Just ordered on GrubHub 2 slices with pepperoni and garlic knots for my daughter. This is a well-known pizza joint in East Harlem. My daughter said the slices were good as usual but the garlic knots were hard and not enough garlic, Sam's please do better. We will still go there and or order but come on guys let's not slack off in your preparation department.

The pizza here is delicious! It is a very busy restaurant and outside the restaurant is a bit sketchy especially at night. However, the food is amazing. The garlic knots are so delicious however sometimes the garlic is too overpowering. The slices are enormous but it is a cash only business so make sure you have cash on you.

Thank you Bronx for this little local pizza gem! It gave us a great slice of heaven! We were able to get the full NY experience as we took it to to go to enjoy!

Our go to all the time best pizza in Harlem, the service is also great I only deal with a handful of workers

The pizza here is huge! But it also very tasty. Plenty of flavors to choose from here. They deliver and you can pick up but be aware that this is cash only when inside.

I have been coming to Sam's for years. Hands down, best pizza around. They give you a nice big slice for $3. Others may cost the same, but their sauce isn't that good, the crust isn't as thick, or the slice isn't as big. No other pizzeria compares.

I came to this place years ago and it was okay, not bad, not great. Fresh and always ready to eat in a short time. The service is always quick, and friendly as well. Not much has changed other than the prices and the quality. The slice was very fluffy with sparse sauce and cheese. It looked as if my slice was trimmed at one side which was odd. The flavor is about the same but that texture you associate with NYC is slipping away. Locals seem to still like it, the orders are coming in frequently as I sit an people watch out the window. Will I come back. Idk maybe if I'm as hungry as I was a few minutes ago. But 2.75.... I really gotta contemplate.

We gotta do some math to figure out this rating... So, just on the pizza alone, it's a 3.5. The pizza isn't spectacular, at all, but it hits the spot. The throughput is good enough that it's not stale crap. +1 for having the order window +1 for being old school +1 for having a soda fountain. So, damn that's already 5 stars. I have low standards lately, what can I say? It's true NYC pizza and I appreciate it.

Real cheese ,fresh crust and the sauce is not overwhelming. Don't know how people have to be petty and put 4 stars when they like it . I've been to other places with better reviews and they're mid at best or got me sick, definitely give this place a try .

I was in the area and was looking for a light lunch and saw this spot on my yelp bookmarks. It wasn't too crowded for lunch time. I just ordered a regular slice which was $2.50 and it was huge and hot since it just came out the oven. The pizza slice really looked liked it was going to be delicious. Unfortunately sometimes looks can be deceiving, Surprisingly it was one of the blandest slice of pizzas I've tasted in a long in NYC. The $1 slice pizza joints have more seasoning on their pizza than this joint. I was able to spruce it up with a little garlic and red pepper flakes that really saved my poor slice. The staff were real cool and sweet and treated the customers respectfully and with a smile. However, they missed the boat on the slice I had. I would definitely return to see if they just forgot the seasoning on the pizza pie I ate from or if this just the same ole same ole, bland style pizza.

It's just regular/normal nyc tasting pizza. Got two slices of sausage and pepperoni (10$ is a bit too high for the location). A tad too soggy and soft in the middle. It's 7.5/10 taste. Thankfully the sauce is not too sweet like some places.

Walked by this place today and decided to try it out since it's down the block from where I live. Tried their Margherita slice which looked just like a plain slice at first because they don't use fresh basil here. That was the first tip off that this place isn't serious about their pizza. I then told them that I'd like it to go and they proceed to fold my slice in half and stuff it into a small paper bag. Why they can't buy bigger paper bags so they don't have to completely destroy the integrity of their customer's pizza I will never know. Are paper prices that high these days? The worst part was that they had the audacity to charge me $4 for this mediocre slice of Margherita pizza with no basil, despite their own menu clearly stating that slices were $2.75. Way to rip off the locals. Lastly, they really need to do a better job of keeping the beggars out of this place. Because this joint is cash only, you have beggars coming in harassing customers for cash. It's incredibly uncomfortable. One guy asked me for a dollar and then blocked my exit. The employee said nothing even though he witnessed this encounter. All of this wouldn't be so bad if the pizza was good, but unfortunately it was thoroughly mediocre. The lack of fresh basil on a Margherita is a capital sin in itself. In addition to this, the sauce of the pizza did not taste fresh at all. I can honestly say that for $4, this is the worst slice I've had in the city. There are so many better pizza places in NYC and even in East Harlem. No need to come here. Let it drown in its own mediocrity.

Stopped here to grab a quick bite before class and I was in and out in less than 2 minutes. On a sunny fall day, it was nice that the had the door and side open so lots of a cool breeze was coming in. I was greeted really nicely by someone behind the counter and luckily they had just pulled a cheese pizza out of the over (Winner!). The pizza was hot and cheesy and super delicious. I added my usual garlic, oregano, and crushed peepers to add some kick to it and couldn't even wait before I was taking bites (hence the half eaten pizza picture, sorry!). Definitely will be back again when I'm craving pizza before class. Only $2.50 for a plain slice.

Very good slices fast service especially during time of Covid - 19 perfect staff. Very responsive, respectful people around the neighborhood good choice.

Great pizza!! The ingredients are fresh and always delivered hot and never burnt. This is my neighborhood spot for some teal good pizza!

Totally prefer sams over milanos. Nice thin crust, sauce is good, and always hot and fresh. Delivery guy was friendly and the pizza came quick and hot. Definitely have ordered here multiple times and will continue.

Real Italian Pizza. This place is no joke. They have the best pizza and gyros in East Harlem.

These owners are SO rude!!! They ignore their customers at the window and are very mean once they do speak to you! When they do get back to you they yell at you and tell you to wait. They do not acknowledge you at all. This is not my first bad experience with them but I have been trying to give them a chance to redeem themselves. No such luck. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 25 years and have been a faithful customer to them as I was growing up. They treat you like filth if you do not speak Spanish. They try to overcharge you for subpar service not to mention their pizza is not as good as it used to be. If I could give them 0 stars I really would!!!! There are not enough words in the English language to express how downright rude they are! Ugh! Such a disappointment to the neighborhood and the community.

I love pizza and honestly this pizza is the best place within the area of Harlem. The pizza is huge for one slice which is why they're around 3 dollars per slice. It's filled with a thick layer of cheese and tomato sauce all in one. One slice will fill you up for the rest of the day. The only problem was the customer service. The old white man charges more than the Mexican.

OMG, Sam's Famous Pizza was certainly fabulous. Love this place. They have a phenomenal menu as well. The team was really pleasant and service is amazing. Sam's Famous Pizza: Definitely worth a visit.

absolutely disgusted with the pizza. they sold me recooked pizza, burnt and dry pie. the worst pizza I ever had. I been going there for years and it's been on a nose dive recently. find a better place to eat for your family sake and worth your money

I feel as if pizza is just that one thing you can NOT get wrong. If you do... if you do! Pizza making just isn't for you. Nothing drives me insane more than nasty pizza. Sam's Pizza is one of my favorites. The pizza is consistent and the staff is accommodating, courteous and sometimes funny depending on the day. But, if you're having a pizza party or just want to show off, go to Sams.

Ordered a whole Sicilian pizza and received a pizza that clearly the corner piece was removed and an old slice was put in its place. Absolutely disgusting and management was unhelpful.

Pizza is bland. Not worth the $2.75 for a plain slice. Definitely not worth the $4.00 for a white slice. If I'm going to pay this much for a slice, I'd at least expect something a bit better. At least the slice was a decent size. Also, one of your staff is a slimy pig. He short changed me. On purpose. And I'm sure it's not his first time doing it.

Place it at the very corner of Lexington and 116th St. Very good pizza. Huge slices, too. I love their simple cheese slice, but their Margherita is delicious. Would be even better if they added a little more basil. I think service could be way better though, even if it's a mostly take-out place -- hence the minus one star. But the pizza itself is great. I don't understand why it says otherwise here, but they do deliveries. Also, they don't take cards -- CASH ONLY! There's an ATM machine inside the deli store around the corner, next to the pizzeria, on the Lexington side.

It's ok pizza that I get when I'm in a rush / really hungry. Not worth the $3 per slice but ok. The thing that really and truly bothers me is when they (and I mean various people including the managers) handle the pizza without wearing gloves. Once that is served to me that way, I lose my appetite.

I will soon be moving all of three blocks away from Sam's (I live just across the street now) and I love the pizza, the place, and the people here so much that even that short increase in distance is giving me the heebie jeebs. Sam's Pizza occupies a much larger space in the collective hearts and minds of El Barrio's residents than its tiny premises indicate. It's been an enormous culinary and cultural blessing to this neighborhood for I don't know how many years (does anyone know? I'd love to). First, since it's useless to make "best pizza in NYC" claims, I'll just say that it's my favorite pizza and I've eaten at all the usual suspects. Medium-thick crust made fresh on site of course, HUGE slices, delicious sauce, excellent cheese but not buried in it. AND STILL ONLY TWO DOLLARS. Thus Sam's provides an antithesis to its older East Harlem competitor, Patsy's, which serves a delicious paper-thin slice for those who prefer that iteration of pizza. Then there is the overall ambiance of the place: If you had to explain a significant chunk of what makes NYC unique to a newbie, you could do worse than to bring them straight to Sam's, with its tiny tiny premises presiding over one of the city's busiest and most distinctive corners: the junction of 116th and Lexington. If it's not too hot to stay inside, order a slice and sit at the counter across from the ovens. Watch the wonderful multi-racial, multi-lingual mosaic of El Barrio stream by you as you enjoy some of the best pizza you will ever have. If it's too warm for this strategy, order from the sidewalk window and lean against the outside counter while ingesting both your pizza and the above-mentioned mosaic of incredible diversity. Strike up a conversation with the hard-working African guy who sets up his own mini clothing store on the sidewalk next to Sam's, which he keeps tidy with a broom and dustpan borrowed from Sam. Sam himself, the 60ish guy who's nearly always there, is a crucial component of the ambiance, as is the younger, really tall guy I call Young Sam, who manages the place when Sam Senior is out. Both are without question two of the nicest proprietors on the planet. Even if I haven't been in a few weeks (I try to never let that happen) I am always greeted with my nickname, "Big Guy" (I'm almost as tall as Young Sam) by whichever of them happens to captaining the ship, as well as by whoever else is working there. Sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your nickname, especially if it's one the place has honored you with. Another crucial,definitive El Barrio component of Sam's ineffable wonderfulness is the fact that everybody else working there is Latino, so the tiny kitchen space rings with both Spanish and English as a small sea of red-striped shirts swirls around the huge ovens that churn out the matchless slices and pies. I once brought my entire class of twenty first-semester college students here on a field trip from Honkytown, NJ. Many of these young whippasnappas had never even been to the city, much less East Harlem, before. All were without exception blown away by their slices -- which were prepared with lightning speed -- and I was touched by the genuine enthusiasm that young Sam and his expert accomplices in pizza excellence showed to my rather shell-shocked class. Sam's Famous Pizza is an undeniable treasure of El Barrio and of NYC as a whole. I love the place. Love it.

The pizza here is fine. Not good, not bad, just fine. I have no idea why this place is getting so many 5 star reviews. It's kinda ridiculous and makes me lose faith in humanity, a little bit. The slices aren't even that big! I don't know why everyone's going on about how big they are. What's going on here!?

I wish Sam was my dad. He is the nicest pizza-place owner i met and the pizza are so good and so cheap. I could sit there a whole week and be entertained by everything that is going on in there - local landmark. Sam adopt me and feed me with pizza

A slice of pizza here could hold you over for lunch AND dinner. The slices are huge! And also delicious. When I don't have dinner plans and don't feel like cooking, this is the first place I think of. Their white slices are absolutely fantastic. This is what people are talking about when they talk about how fantastic NYC pizza is. It's a hole-in-the-wall kind of place with really no place to sit (they even have window service to further expedite your dining), but it's clearly an important establishment in the neighborhood. People come and go quickly, but they chat with each other and there is a certain level of familiarity between patrons and employees. It is a family business, which of course adds to the charm! Come here when you have an empty stomach and an empty wallet. This is the best $2/3 dinner out there!

Horrific experience. I remember El Barrio's pizzaria on the corner of 116th street and Lenox. They had the best pizza and we have been there for years. Saturday, March 6, 2021, i was out with the kids and they wanted pizza and noone had a recommended location so me remembering the savory slices from back in the day went to my go to. When I pulled up, I noticed the name change which is now Sam's famous pizza. I ordered a large pie, half pepperoni and slice with pepperoni. $25.00. Eyebrows raised, but justified the cost in my mind for paying for good food. the service was curt and abrupt, borderline rude. I chalked it all up to the price of good pizza. I got my slice, medium warm and it was horrible. Doughy, no sauce and the cheese did not stand out. It was absolutely, by far the worst pizza I have ever eaten. Note that I'm from the Bronx and know good pizza. When the kids got home they complained also. never, never, never again. Horrible experience never to be repeated. I would go to Fordham road or 149th and grand concourse before coming back to this dump.

I only had a Cheese slice. It was delicious. Thin tasy crust, nice amount of Cheese, and hot out of the oven. 2.25$ was steep in my reasoning. But it was a damn good slice. And as my friend Pointed out that slice Was bigger than my head! So maybe I should stop complaining About price. Will have to try their other slices to see if I can say This Is one of the best pizza. So far it's a front runner.

Worse experience ever! I called, a heavy accent person picked up. I asked him, "is this Sam's Pizza, on 116th & Lexington Avenue?" He, asked the Manager, and then came back on the phone to say, "Yes." He asked for my address, he didn't even ask me for my order, I had to tell him I want a large pepperoni pie, hot and fresh...this was at 8:20pm November 2nd, 2018. I called back at 10pm, to ask if it's on it's way. The guy spoke firm, but sounded annoyed, saying he just left, meaning, they did not get started on making it. Then he hanged up, 30 minutes later, I left to get Chinese. My appetite was already on the verge of changing taste buds/craving something else. This time I did not call, at 11:30pm, the delivery guy called to let me know, he's downstairs from my Apartment building, but I did not pick up, and ignored their call. They lost profit, and the person that recommended me to them, lost my trust. I'm a pizza man. But not only am I picky with pizza, but of also, picky with the quality of service. I'm so lucky I did NOT PAY. Their lost, not mines. But he went back soaked, because while I was in Chinese restaurant, it poured, so he must've got drenched on the way there. That's karma. Well, if they're lazy, and don't want to work, then they should close down the pizzeria, give it to someone else to manage, or close it down. Like I said above, their lost.

Is this pizza famous for being subpar? My cheese slice was weak on the cheese and was more tomato sauce, and the crust was sad and floppy with no sign of crisp whatsoever, not to mention bland and doughy. It could've used another several minutes in the oven. A total skip if good pizza is what you're after.

Pizza here is like my 4th grade art teacher- Messy and sloppy and having an affair with the custodian After driving by many times I was excited to see a rare occurrence in this neighborhood... A Italian (maybe) pizza maker inside- So I had to try it out... Well this pizza is typical hood pizza- so much cheese which floats upon the oily sauce like my pictures of Cindy Crawford cut out of Redbook set upon a sea over over-generously applied Elmer's glue

What exactly makes Sam's famous? Bad pizza? A step above frozen. Not my choice of a neighborhood slice. Cheers! N.

Went there in person to get a medium pie with 2 different extra toppings on each half. The price for extra topping on full pie was $4. So when I placed the order the guy told me that extra topping would be $8. When I tried to explain that I'm only getting half and half which should still make it $4, he pointed to his friend acting like the manager. None of them were owners or managers. I don't mind paying extra for good service but i definitely mind getting cheated by some a-hole who think that they can dupe someone. Karma!

I am pretty into the fact that I can get a giant piece of pizza for $2.25 here. Do I expect it to be good? No. Not at all. Is it good? It's passable. When I'm having an insatiable pizza craving, I venture over here. Would I go here if it weren't directly across from my apartment? Definitely not. Their garlic knots are pretty delicious though. Those are worth getting. Suuuuuper greasy.

Not bad pizza. Very old fashioned looking place. Pizza was ok not amazing but was good. I liked the vibe of the place more than anything else