Reviews & Ratings for Trattoria Sambuca

01/14/11

Great Party Space!!

by ktz

Was looking to have a 30th birthday party for my sister and a friend told me about Sambuca's private party room. Such a great find! 28 of my sister's nearest and dearest gathered for a great evening at Sambuca. The service was very friendly and attentive. The fried calamari and chicken parm were the table favorites and one gluten free friend had an entire menu of choices, including an awesome brownie! And you MUST try the El diablo cocktail...you can't just have one! We can't wait for the next excuse to have a party there!

08/18/08

Horrible food and service

by dipisascorsone

My Sicilian family had been coming here for a number of years because of the great food and friendly service. That all has changed for the worse! We waited at out table as others were seated and served their appetizers and entrees first. The when we complained about the service, the watress said that our entree took longer than others, funny since the table next to us ordered the same appetizers! When the food finally arrived it was inedible, the Chicken Sorrentino was like shoe leather and my daughters said that Sbarro's Baked Ziti tasted better.

I was saddened that this once great restaurant had fallen in its face so severely. As we walked away and passed by several other places, the experience made us wish we tried another place...

• Pros: looks good from the outside
• Cons: all the ambience in the world can't mask bad food and service

09/26/07

Geniune, great place.....makes you feel good!

by mangabene

Sambuca has everything I think is important in a restaurant. The staff makes me feel special, like they know me, and they are friendly and professional. The food is great, it tastes fresh and Home-Made. The service is very efficient. They have small tables and big tables, I once walked in without a reservation and within five minutes they had a table for me and 11 co-workers!!!

The wine list is fairly priced and very approachable. It is a place I like bringing friends and family to...I am lucky to have this special place in my neighborhood.

Editorial Review by Marcella Veneziale

by Contributor

This family-style Italian restaurant serves classic dishes like mozzarella in carozza and eggplant rollatini, as well as a large pasta selection.

04/10/07

private party rip-off

by jrseygirl

I planned a private party for about 24 people. They charge $35 a person for the food and that includes some entrees, appetizers, dessert and coffee/tea. We had 8 people at 3 tables and we got one of each entree and appetizer for the entire table. Not only were some of the entrees not enough food for everyone to have at the table, but the total cost of one of each item per table does not come close to $35 per person! If you are paying a per person cost, I would expect to get unlimited amount of food until everyone is satisifed. Not only that, but we paid extra for a shrimp dish (seafood dishes cost an extra $2 per person) and the whole entree had about 12-15 small shrimp, so when the plate got passed around, it was empty after 4 people got it. Yet, we didn't get anymore.

The food here is very good, I will give them that, but I would never throw another party here again unless I made a reservation for 24 people and just ordered off the menu.

11/17/06

great all around

by smileymar

Good food, good service. We started ordering and the waiter stopped us, to let us know we were ordering too much! They have big servings, and we would have had way too much for four people, I'm glad he saved us some money and the food was yummy.

• Pros: big and little tables
• Cons: usual, can't get seated until everyone it there

10/06/06

Gluten-Free Menu! Awesome Italian

by gbarry

Ate there 10/5/05 and we totally enjoyed ourselves. My wife is a celiac and they have a wonderful gluten-free menu available which is mostly their regular dishes custom made to be gluten-free.

Great service, unbelievable food. Sauces were impeccable for each dish.

Wines are a bit pricey but really good.

Our mouths were watering the next day for the leftovers. You know a place is good when you take home leftovers and actually eat them!

Family-sized portions are priced well.

We had 3 chicken dishes and each was delicious. Chicken Paillard, Scarpariello and Tuscan.

Waiter was very attentive and his suggestions were perfect - never looking to fatten the bill, just picking the right things.

Enjoy!

01/20/06

My sew favorite restaurant

by audreyluvsfood

I have been to Sambuca 4 times in the past few weeks....I go with my family, I also like to sneak over with a friend, enjoy dinner & a bottle of wine. I had a great holiday party in their private room...I was able to set up the menu in advance, the arranging was easy, and everyone was very professional & organized. My whole gang loved it, and theyr'e a tough crowd!

The atmosphere is comfortable, not noisy.

The service is special, I feel like they truly care, and that is rare in NYC. Everyone is friendly and knowledgable.

My friend goes all the time because of their Gluten Free Special Menu.... He says it is the best Gluten Free.

I am happy to take the time to write about Sambuca, because I am in business, and I can truly appreciate the great job they do. Definetly check it out.

• Pros: spacious, warm atmosphere, great comfort food
• Cons: Saturday at 8 is busy, I always forget to go

11/17/05

I love this place

by icydog

We went here with a promotional gift certificate which the owner didn't allow.

The waitress was very helpful in our decision making. Everything came out just the way we wanted it. They were able to give us four courses, delivered at the correct time, and always delicious. My favorites were the eggplant rollitini appetizer and the chicken parmigiana. For dessert we had delicious coffee with tiramasu, hot apple crumb cake with four kinds of wonderful gelato.

I personally cannot wait to go back for more eggplant but the most fun was round tables. We were a crowd of old friends and the round table allowed us all to hear each other and to comment on each one's life. It was a wonderful night.

I would give this restaurant 5* for food, friendly atmosphere and a very filling experience...When we left none of us wanted to waddle down to our cars..

• Pros: great food, wonderful prices, wonderful service
• Cons: not much atmospere, won't allow gift cert

08/07/05

Has Gone Downhill

by croberts225

I was a patron for fifteen years and finally decided that there are far better places on the Upper West Side. While the food is good, the service has become atrocious. And the management behaves as though it does not care about an unhappy patron. If you want to be ignored and if you want to struggle to get the attention of the busboy (because the waiter or waitress is nowhere to be found) then patronize Sambuca. If you expect reasonable service and a minimal level of attention, then avoid Sambuca. Perhaps there has been a management change or just a diminishing level of interest in the place. It's horrible now.

• Cons: Bad service