Sammy’s Fish Box
“We took our leftovers home and finished it over the course of 2 days…it was THAT much food but it was still oh so yummy!”
“I always leave stuffed and still manage to have left over huge portions”
“They also allow you to use any of their valet lots, which is nice when you don't feel like using the side streets for parking.”
Sammy’s Fish Box
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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This isn't my usual type of place but it was very good with very very old school seafood. Like going back to the 1960s. Vibrant place with very cool kitchy decor hopping busy on stormy rainy Saturday night at the tip of City Island. Fairly pricey but tons of of the good stuff – lobster tails, scallops, jumbo shrimp etc. nice valet parking with servers taking ticket in advance so your car is ready when u get to the lot. Is go back.
All I can say is "wow!!!" That was sooo good omg. People always talk about city island so I decided to check it out.
I started off w the San Juan Tropical Martini and it was great !!! The salad was fresh, the dressing was good (a dressing can make or break a salad).
My entree arrived and it looked amazing. The shrimp was perfect, seasoned well, butter and fresh sliced garlic sauce was delicious. The fish was perfect. The clams n mussels were small but good. I'm not a big fan of scallops but they were actually good too.
The service was great. Even tho it was very busy, my server was very attentive. He layed out a napkin w salt, pepper n hot sauce. He answered my questions about the drinks. My drink, salad & entree came out quick. I was very satisfied and I will definitely come back.
Seafood lovers this is the spot, good drinks n food. It's pricey though
#yelpislife
#imlivin
Not sure if i went to the right Sammies…there were 3 different ones. Anyway, we chose this place for a father's day lunch.
We parked the car across the street via vallet, and went into the restaurant. Place is decorated accordingly and has a wall full of pics of celebrities who've dined there.
We were seated right away. It was a little cold since they sat us next to the vent that spewed out cold air. It's okay, though. Didnt mind it too much.
We began to order our food and it was a bit overwhelming just looking at the extensive menu.
My table ordered:
– clam bake – my mom enjoyed this very much
– i forgot what this was called but it had a whole lobster and seafood but with pasta – my dad enjoyed his dish as well.
– spaghetti with red clam sauce.
– and i ordered an all fried platter. Sadly, the only thing good about this was the fried flounder, shrimp and tostones. The calamari was soft and it turned me off to the entire dish.
– while waiting to get our orders, we were served bread, cheese and sides. We noticed we didnt get corn bread.
The way the order was taken, I felt we weren't well-informed about the food. I've been there once a very long time ago. So, i knew what it was going to be like. The server didn't inform us that each plate of food is good to feed more than one person. None of us could finish, but it was OK because we'd definitely eat the leftovers and share. But it would have been nice to know. Also, closer to the end of our meal, I asked to get cornbread, knowing well that we should have gotten it when waiting to order. The server ended up giving us the corn bread.
Don't come here if you aren't into seafood. You can do without it. It's a lot of food, too, so yea (I just came for my dad). But if you ARE into seafood, I was told it was good enough…so much that you'd enjoy it, but it's nothing spectacular.
3.5 stars to be exact
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I visited Sammy's Fish Box with my boyfriend and a dear friend of ours. I must admit it wasn't the smartest idea for us to visit Sammy's Fish Box/City Island in the gloomy, cloudy, chilly Winter, but we did so any way.
The restaurant is humongous and they have an interesting seating area on the side of the restaurant we sat in and they also have booths for you to sit in. The restaurant had a nice ocean-like, relaxing atmosphere. Our waiter was an Asian man and probably around his 60's-70's and wasn't too friendly to us. He answered our questions, but if and when we were missing an item he didn't seem very attentive or helpful.
We ordered two entrees from the luncheon menu and two appetizers (BIG MISTAKE!) There was A LOT of food that came with the entrees that we couldn't finish everything.
Baked Clams – this was one of the appetizers we ordered and there was a choice between a plat of six or twelve clams and our friend decided to order twelve. The baked clams are a popular menu item according to Yelp. They were quite delicious and seasoned just right.
Fried Calamari – they were tender and good seasoning, but way too much breading.
New England Clam Chowder – this came with both entrees, so I tried it and it was very rich, creamy, and delicious.
Broiled Lobster – my boyfriend ordered this for our luncheon and the broiled lobster had really good flavors in it, perfectly cooked and tender!
Broiled Seafood Combo (clams, mussels, scallops, lobster tail, and shrimp) – our friend ordered this and it was truly a combo. The flavors tasted just like the lobster and smelled amazing.
After a full meal of seafood, the luncheon also came with ice cream. The fine print below on the luncheon section said specifically that our orders came with coffee or tea, but our waiter never offered it to us. How rude! We couldn't find him so we didn't make a fuss about it and stuck with our ice cream.
It was a nice experience and with good food, but too bad we were very full and couldn't finish everything. It would have been a better experience if our waiter was more warm and friendlier, but he wasn't. I definitely want to come back to City Island again and if we do happen to come back to Sammy's Fish Box, I hope we don't get the same waiter.
Tip:
There's a parking lot right next to the restaurant, so no worries about the parking situation.
Here's a tip – if you plan to go on a weekend make sure to make a reservation and know that you will probably still wait to be seated.
Good restaurant that goes over the top in food portions. I like this restaurant and would like to go back as well but their food portions are huge and it lacks flavor.
First we are served bread, butter, and picked Veges. I liked it but it's a lot – it will take your appetite of you eat it all lol
Next, had the lobster bisque. It's a huge bowl, lacked lobster pieces and was extremely rich. Too rich.
Dinner was served and ordered fish and I wish they told us ahead of time the portions were huge (enough for two-maybe 3). The server failed to warn us. We each got this huge plate of fried fish and it lacked flavor.
Lastly got the chocolate cake and red velvet cake slice – both are huge slices that are extra sweet but lacked something. It was like eating pure sugar.
Overall the restaurant has decent options but it's way over the top with servings and it lacks flavor.
I had never been to City Island. Never had dinner there, obviously, and I was very skeptical when I looked at the online menu. I raised my eyebrows more than once as everything seemed on the high side with a couple of items in the, "Absurd Range." I've been to plenty of Seafood Restaurants in Manhattan where the, "Seafood Platter," consisted of a few shrimp, one or two scallops, maybe a crab cake and a sad filet of mystery fish (Usually an insipid piece of aquarium fish [Tilapia] ) – 30$ -35$, sometimes more. Not kidding nor exaggerating. This was the norm at the now defunct Crappy, I mean City, Crab. Good riddance. There are a host of other jip joints in Manhattan peddling minuscule potions of seafood at extreme prices. I've been to more than one and I loathe them like the plague.
Sammy's is a completely different experience. The space is absolutely charming and brings back memories of the many restaurants I frequented growing up down the shore. Every table gets a complimentary loaf of yummy bread, corn bread and a plate of Giardiniera (Pepperoncini = olives, pickled radishes, peppers, cauliflower, carrots)
The menu is large but the offerings are not disparate. The have a great drink menu and good selection of beers. The only caveat is only two are on tap and one is a hard cider.
Appetizers were out quickly but not too quickly. An enormous bucket of steamers and a huge plate of calamari.
My fears about prices and portion sizes were unfounded. Family sized portions are the norm here. You will not get a plate that is more porcelain than seafood, nor pay a 150$ prix fixe for a three course meal shit show that consists of three plates with small pieces of bait. This is a place to seriously mange on seafood and, as we will see, you get more than enough.
Back to the appetizers: the steamers were excellent. Sweet, not sandy after the salt water swirl, the drawn butter was not overpowering. Two of us had a hard time finishing the bucket. Unfortunately, the calamari was on the uneven side. Large breaded rings that lacked flavor. Calamari was tender but should have been crisper. The batter was very bland. The uniform size of the rings and the lack of tentacles and snouts pointed to its originating from a bag. One would not expect this at a place full of fresh seafood. Significant knock.
Before each meal you get a soup or a salad. The salad at the table was quite large and looked good. The New England and Manhattan Clam Chowders looked the same and the Manhattan was quite good. Not salty, nice clam ratio, good size (Pre-meal cup – not a bowl)
Entrees were on point. There were two broiled seafood platers at the table. Both looked excellent and were not lacking in substance or flavor. I only tasted a scallop from one but it was excellent and brought me back to the aforementioned Jersey Shore. Across from me were a pile of King Crab legs. They looked excellent and were a mountainous portion, probably two full clusters. In front of me was the New England Clam Bake. More steamers, I have a minor obsession with Ipswich Clams, a good sized lobster, potatoes, corn, a true New England Clam Bake. Minor caveat: should be red bliss potatoes and not a huge baked one of the Idaho variety. Very minor and, perhaps, just a personal preference.
With the entrees there were sides of linguine with garlic and olive oil, Spanish rice, corn on the cob, baked potato and French fries.
There was plenty to take home. They give you a ton of food here. They don't skimp on the size of appetizers, entrees or sides. It's not an obscene amount of food, it's a lot. You'll have enough for another meal if you take your leftovers; shame on you if you don't.
Dessert, coffee or tea were included. The have a full dessert menu à la carte. The dessert provided was soft serve vanilla ice cream. After that meal I didn't have much room for dessert but everything on the dessert menu looked good. I opted for a cappuccino and it was a legitimate cappuccino! Glass and everything!
It was an outstanding foray into our first City Island dining experience. Highly recommend Sammy's Fish Box for quality of food, service, value and atmosphere. I would give 4.5 stars if I could but the ho-hum Calamari cannot be overlooked.
Had a decent time eating here on Easter Sunday. House was packed but we beat the rush (definitely make a reservation).
We ordered a feast for 2, the ultimate seafood one, and we were overwhelmed. the food was abundant and the noodles were pretty good but my issue was with the shellfish. The shellfish wasn't cleaned so every now and then we'd get a disturbing crunch because of gritty sand and dirt. Some shells would be broken in the noodles so that same crunch would happen when eating the pasta.
That being said, apart from a lack of cleaning, the seafood was cooked well. I enjoyed the scallops, snow crab, and lobster. Hopefully they clean the mussels and clams next time.