I haven't been here in probably 15 years! We're glad to finally make it back. We went on a Sunday night and they were relatively busy, but not too bad. Sadly, the tables are right on top of each other so if the people behind you are inconsiderate.. you may or may not hear their entire conversation. Food wise, I got the Pollo Frances which was ok, I will likely try the Pollo Piccata next time! My husband tried the Pollo Pietro, which was good! He said he would like to try the chicken Parmesan next time. The below review is right. The menu prices do not reflect the prices you are charged. Which, I can see being deceiving, but also as someone who works at a restaurant, I understand. The cost of goods have been so wild, so I get that changes must be made and sometimes menus don't get updated. Overall, a loud environment, but we will go back to try something new! read more

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we have been at the restaurant for an hour and a half and have not been served anything more than bread. They gave our salads to a table that hadn't ordered yet and then told us they had run out of salad. They are understaffed and the service is horrible. I don't know if this is just a bad night or the Norm, but we won't be back. read more

I was excited to finally try this restaurant with my parents as it's been a long-standing staple in the Salisbury downtown area. Luckily, my mom called ahead and snagged us a reservation for 6 people. The dining area is fairly small, and I think they may have struggled to accommodate us if they didn't know we were coming ahead of time.  To begin, we enjoyed sharing an appetizer and a bottle of wine. We ordered the Funghi Imbottiti and a bottle of the Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc. I enjoyed the mushrooms, which came smothered in an alfredo type sauce. Bread service was also provided for the table with an interesting vinaigrette with red onions in it for dipping. I believe this is the same vinaigrette that was served with my salad that came with my entree. The salad itself was nothing special. For my entree, I ordered the Crystal Scallops. The scallops themselves were cooked perfectly. The sauce on top was listed in the menu as an avocado cream sauce, but it just tasted like alfredo sauce to me. Not that I'm mad about it, I just expected a slightly different flavor profile. All the entrees come with a side of vegetable medley and a slice of cantaloupe. I thought the cantaloupe seemed a bit out of place, and the vegetables were sad and bland with no seasoning, seeming like an afterthought.  Overall, we enjoyed our time spent together among good company. The food was decent, but I don't think it's anything I would rush back for. read more

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The BEST Italian food, started with a very generous pour of Merlot and the best bread basket. We had eggplant parmesan and lemon chicken. The portions were generous and came with the salad and pasta. We've been to Italy and this beat the dishes we had there! From service to the sweet limoncello dessert we will make this a new regular spot! read more

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Ok folks. Stop scrolling and looking for a place to eat. THIS is the place. I was blown away by how amazing this place was. Beautiful restaurant with a nice classy look inside. White tablecloths but not so fancy that you need to dress up to come in. The food - I had a stuffed salmon and it was, HANDS DOWN, the best salmon I've ever had in my whole life. Everything was perfect on this plate. The menu is amazing. Ive got to come back and try other items. And I will. Guaranteed. Give this place a chance. You won't be let down. If I could give them 10 stars, I would. I NEEDED this amazing meal today. Thank you for this!! read more

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One of the best restaurants I've been to in this country. Food was fantastic. Staff was wonderful. It was a great experience being away from home in a small town never imagined I'd find a gem like this. read more

We've dined here before and had a great experience, but unfortunately, this visit was a huge letdown. I ordered the filet, and about a quarter of it was completely inedible. To make matters worse, the entire dish was drenched in Au Jus sauce--even the fruit, which was an unpleasant surprise. We also ordered the Pollo Copacabana, which arrived on top of extremely soggy French fries. The oil and juices from the dish soaked everything, including the fruit that was added to the plate. A surprise grape when you're expecting chicken is not ideal, and honestly, we couldn't even eat it because of how unappetizing the fries were. On top of that, we were charged $34 for Cupcake wine, which was not what was listed on the menu. It's disappointing because we know this place can be great, but it felt like an entirely different cook and experience this time. Not sure if we'll be back. read more

My girlfriend and I were the only people in the restaurant other than one other couple and we had to sit through an hour of Mr Santo talking to this other couple about how much he hates Donald Trump, and how great Joe Biden is. Mind you, there's no music playing, no one else in the restaurant so their political conversation is the only thing filling the room. Dude this is supposed to be "white table cloth dining" and you're sitting there loudly talking politics in your own restaurant??? Food was fine, not great not bad. But the owner talking about politics for over an hour spoiled my appetite. No respect, no courtesy, they should be ashamed of themselves. Mr Santo, you're a loser and the fact you only had 2 tables the entire night shows how much of a loser you are. read more

Chef Santos is a master chef and so friendly. I come here every time im in town. He's just the best

Wow has this been a night to remember. Where do I start - I've been a long time customer of Chef Santos and have brought many coworkers there as I've been in town over the last 10 years. Tonight was the worst meal I've ever had at this once good establishment. Start with the French Onion soup or that's what they called it. Very little flavor, had mushrooms in it?? Never had that before and it's not mentioned that way on the menu. Definitely would not have ordered had I known it. Classic French onion soup had yummy melty cheese on it. This pic says 10000 words - sad. Martini was the worst I've ever had and to boot it was almost as much $ as my main course though the menu states 8.95 the same price as a glass of wine. And let's talk prices - don't go by what's on the menu the charges are ALL more than what's on the menu. How can you charge more than what you state on the menu? Chicken piccata was good, not great. Very caper flavored with no lemon taste at all. Veggies are barely cooked so hard. With all of f this said I'm sad to say I will never visit this restaurant again and will share this with all of my local coworkers so they are on guard to the miss information menu. See ya Santos. Soup on menu - $6.95 Spirits on menu - $8.95 Pollo Piccata on menu - $18.95 read more

Chef Santos - French Onion soup - or supposed to be. - Italian Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

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This place seems like a forgotten hole in the wall but the food has been consistently quite good. The service can be super slow...last visit it appeared to us that we had been all but forgotten. Slow drink refills, slow with the check, they disappeared with my fiancé's credit card for 15mins and he almost had to go chase it down. It's only getting 4 stars because the food has been yummy each time. Overall experience I would give 3 stars max. read more

We stumbled onto this place looking for a nice, quiet dinner in Salisbury and I must say, we were pleasantly surprised. A neat, small restaurant tucked a block off the main street, was just perfect food our mood. The service was excellent. We were promptly seated in a comfortable booth, complete with a whIte linen tablecloth and REAL CLOTH NAPKINS. We were quickly served a crispy bread with Parmesan cheese and a nice balsamic dip. Menu was simple. We chose Chicken Marsala and Chicken Alfredo. Our meal included a tossed salad with the choice of several house-made dressings. The salad was fresh and crisp. Included spring greens, tomato, cukes, carrots, croutons. A nice start. Our meals arrived and at the first bite, we knew we would return. The chicken was the most tender I have ever had. Both sauces were delicious. Dinner was served with fresh, angel hair pasta, and mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, squash, and zucchini. Veggies were aaldente. Nice wine list (although we thought $8.95 was a bit steep for a glass). Beer list was ok. They did offer two Italian beers. Domestic beer is $3.95. Specialty beers are $4.95. It was a Monday night, business was light. Several groups having quiet conversation, a light selection of quiet music, made this a really enjoyable evening. We willl return! read more

Quick Highlights - Tim's Updated Review - When they are on, Chef Santos is a 5 star - Excellent Italian food - Veal Bella Boca is damn good - Recommend the Funghi Imbottiti (crab stuffed mushrooms) appetizer - Small wine selection but enough variety for most people - Located in historic downtown Salisbury - Small private parking lot, best bet is to park on the street (free) - I would highly recommend you call to make a reservation verses winging it - Casual attire is fine here but you will see other people in business casual or nicer attire At one time this was not only my favorite restaurant in Salisbury but one of my overall favorites. It had been a long time since I visited Chef Santos. Also the last three visits were subpar (couple of years ago). In the past I could tell if my experience was going to be good or meh based upon the bread. The bread is the first thing they serve you. If it is nicely toasted with lots of butter then you know the rest of the meal would be great. If the bread came out half ass buttered then the rest of your meal was going to be poorly executed. Most of the time the meh experiences coincided with Chef Santos being very busy. It was like the kitchen just didn't know how to deal with the volume of orders and rushed out the food. I can say my last two visits, both in January 2018, were excellent. The bread, appetizer, salads and entrees were executed very well. As I stated in my quick highlights, when the kitchen is on, Chef Santos is a 5 star. No I am not jacking up the star rating to help a small local restaurant. I don't know Chef Santos and I don't live in Salisbury. Chef Santos would be a 5 star restaurant even in a larger city like Winston-Salem or Charlotte. read more

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Had dinner here last night and I'm coming away with the same thoughts as always...the filet with the peppercorn sauce is outstanding! All other pasta dishes I've tried here have been ok but not outstanding. I had the eggplant parm last night and it was good, but not something I would want again. The bread with the dipping sauce is wonderful. The side of veggies are not cooked quite enough for my liking and are pretty bland. We waited over an hour for our food and it wasn't that busy. The wait wouldn't have been so bad if it had not been freezing cold in the dining room. We all brought jackets because we've had the experience before but it was still so cold we could hardly enjoy our food. I normally don't complain about the temperature in restaurants because I've worked in them before and I know how it is, but this was exceptionally cold. Even the guys were freezing. Santos is good and is very popular, but I will wait until the dead of winter to return and will order the filet. read more

Worst experience ever! I was quite hungry Sunday evening 06/03/24 so I landed at Chef Santos as its one of the few restaurants open on Sunday. I havent been in over a year and figured I'd give it another shot. I was seated quickly and given a menu. The waitress rushed off and didnt stop back by for a few minutes ( there was 3 other tables ) I had to waive her down as she kept passing me by. When I got her attention I exclaimed that there was only one appetizer on the menu and she replied "Oh we have Calamari tonight - I said - Yeah - I would like that - and she dashed off without a drink order or anything else..... Within 2 minutes the Calamari arrived delivered by an elderly man - (not sure if it was owner or not) and I exclaimed - havent even ordered a drink yet - he dashed off - let me get your server. Wen he left - I was excited because the Calamari looked amazing - It was amazingly cold...again I waived down the waitress and informed her - she offered to take it back and microwave it!! I'm like - what? I dont think so.. got the elderly man and he said that there was nothing wrong with it - its good... I stick my fingers in to demonstrate how cold - he said it's been sitting under a heat lamp with a fan blowing on it. Wait - what - this is not fresh made - its been sitting - he continued to say it was fine and offered to nuke it - you cant nuke Calamari - it turns to rubber. He refused to make a fresh batch - so I walked out... Shame on Chef Santos - I will never return. read more

o The service was good, the servers were running mostly as it was busy. It was after all the height of the dinner hour. We didn't have long waits, they moved right along. Two of us had limoncello cake for dessert; oh, don't hesitate, don't pass it up! I've baked cakes for 60 years, this was a wonderful, fluffy, creamy, fabulous cake! We opted for a glass of wine rather than a bottle to share, as the bottles were pricey. But, as the waitress told us as we debated, "We do a large pour". It was, and the amount for us was perfect. Yes, we'd all three be very pleased to go there again. Even though we were there past closing, we were told to relax and not rush out. Then, having finished cooking, Chef Santos came out to ask us if we had enough to eat, and how was it? It was very good! read more

Although the service was warm and friendly, this is just another one of those average Italian restaurants that caters to Americans, who know nothing about Italian food. read more

Went for an early dinner with my wife, she and I were the 3rd table to be seated and both of us had different dishes with different descriptions of their sauce but both had the same sauce. The sauce was either a package mix or over reduced and very salty, either way not good. The chicken was tasteless other then the ham and cheese mine was stuffed with. With only one server and 8-9 tables there wasn't enough of him to go around. After watching every table except ours get served bread by kitchen staff, I ask our server for some when our meal arrived and was told he may be too busy to get us any and he didn't. Once our meal hit our table he never stopped back again. When we were done with our meal we never did get our check, I just left money on the table and left never to return. read more

Amazing find! This is 5 star on any level. Amazing staff, amazing Chef. Fresh, crisp and flavors so fully on and beyond the description. Best Italian since I've been to the mother country read more

The person who gives this place or any place a one star review and claims that anyone and everyone who gives it a five star review is: 1 a friend, 2 on drugs or 3 doesn't know good Italian food shouldn't be considered a worthy Yelper and their review should not be considered! I assure you that I'm not on drugs - I have come know knowing w Chef Santos and the staff a bit, but friends is a stretch seeing that I'm from NY. As far as knowing good Italian food - I'm Italian and Sicilian and know great Italian food. However - this place is a fusion between Brazilian and Italian and always offers a menu and specials that are unique and delicious! Reasonably priced, good portion and a friendly environment! I'm also an Elite Gold Yelper and my reviews are always fair and consistent! read more

We enjoy dining here every time we visit Salisbury. My husband usually gets the eggplant Parmesan and I had the Crystal shrimp dish. All was delicious. read more

I decided to surprise my wife for her birthday by going to Goodfellas by Chef Santos. This was my first trip there after years of having my family hype up the restaurant. The business was busy, so we were patient even though the wait staff didn't seem to want anything to do with or for our party. After waiting for almost 2 hours, I lost my cool and demanded an update. We were informed something had happened in the kitchen, they "just forgot to tell us". Our order hadn't even began the process of being prepared. The positive is that I was told about the incident in enough time to get my family to a restaurant that actually wanted our business without having to settle for a fast food drive thru. Birthday festivities saved. For what it's worth, it is nearly impossible to undo a bad first impression. I left there apologetic to my family and furious with the staff. Definitely NOT a "plus ten do recommend" experience. read more

30 years ago when my wife and I were dating our favorite restaurant was Chef Santos in Roanoke Virginia. We were heartbroken a few years later when he left the area. When we found that he was now operating a restaurant in Salisbury we arranged to meet some friends from Charlotte there and made the 2 1/2 hour drive from our home. We were not disappointed. Santos attention to every detail of the meal set before us was still first rate. We began with crab stuffed mushrooms and fried calamari and a very good Riesling. I can't imagine better tasting appetizers. Also we were very happy with a bread, that he makes on premises, seasoned with butter and Parmesan cheese. My entrée was a veal Oscar with fresh crabmeat and a hollandaise that was perfect. My wife ordered a grouper the tasted like it had just come from the ocean that day. For dessert, we of course had his wonderful Tiramisu. It was well worth the drive and we will be back. read more

At least three employees ignored us. After a couple of minutes of watching them walk past us and talking with each other we left, spent $100 next door, and tipped $20! read more

Came in here on a whim. One of the best meals I've ever had. As soon as I was seated the delicious buttery toasted bread and homemade dipping oil was brought out. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio which was a great pour (totally worth the $8.95 per glass) and finally decided on the Pollo Pietro as my main dish. Y'all...... it was SO good! I forgot to take a picture before I dug in... I will absolutely be back! Great food and service! read more

There's something to be said about '80s style Italian restaurants: they need UPDATING! From the decor, to the menu, to the service: this place is stuck in the past! Our salads were at the standard of any mass chain store, the pastas weren't exactly fresh either. Bottom line, it wasn't a disaster but geez guys, you really need to use fresh ingredients, modernize the menu, get someone to design a better dining room (and I really don't want to be looking into your kitchen) and provide much better, consistent service. Don't follow what the mass chains are doing, make it special! That's what we came for! read more

My parents came to town and I wanted to take them to a nice restaurant and ended up going to The sorriest place I've been in a while... I'll start by saying the service was very poor! We had to wait 15 mins at our table before we were acknowledged by our waitress... The Young gentleman from Venezuela who was bussing the tables was the best one there! Our waitress after taking our order didn't come back to our table, we asked for drinks, she never brought them and we ended up asking the young man to grab our drinks and he did. Well.. he did everything for us. Drinks, brought the food out... if it wasn't for his kindness we would've got up and left. When the food came it was absolutely sorry! I had the fettuccine Alfredo and it was completely bland and had ZERO flavor. My parents had lasagna and ravioli and the sauce was way too sweet and uneatable. The best food we had was the free bread. I don't understand how this place gets high ratings... read more

I'm fairly concerned everyone who is giving high reviews for this place are either: A) friends with the owners of the establishment, B) unaware of what good Italian food tastes like, or C) on drugs. This...was a disappointment and a half. My boyfriend lives in Salisbury and I am super skeptical about trying restaurants here because, although reviews may be positive, I have found that I do not like most of the "home-town" establishments here. This was another one added to that list. We walked in and I was already confused. The place smells musty--like your dead grandmother's house. There were crystal glasses on the table..along with vases of *dead* flowers. How romantic... It took about 10 minutes for one of the two waitresses to come take our order. First came out a poorly put together salad. The homemade balsamic vinaigrette wasn't too terrible but it wasn't great. Then, about 15 minutes later, came the bread. I was really excited to finally try this bread that multiple people had talked so highly of on here and Google. Honestly, it tasted like toasted, shitty white bread. I sincerely doubt it was house made. So underwhelming it was sad. After about an hour of waiting, our food finally came out. I ordered the chicken piccata. I thought it would be a safe pick. I was wrong. The food looked and tasted like it came from a cafeteria. Two tiny pieces of chicken. A little pile of boxed, shitty quality pasta. And cold, hard vegetables. For how much, you may ask? $17.95! Absolutely nuts. The pasta was stale..like it had been sitting for a few hours, if not overnight. My boyfriend ordered the lasagna who said it was "okay" but his was TINY for the $15.00 price. This place is sad. I seriously cannot imagine anyone thoroughly enjoying this place. Maybe if you have never left Salisbury, or have eaten any other Italian food in your life, this would be fine. But I am really, really disappointed. I'd give it negative stars if I could. read more

Chef Santos is a downtown Salisbury Italian spot with a South American twist. The menu is moderately priced, a great deal for lunch. The dishes are inventive and tasty...Italian classics with strange additions such as fried plantains! The bread is ridiculously addictive and is served with a seasoned olive oil that you may dream about later. Atmosphere is nice, adult, great for a date. read more

Chef Santos - Italian Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

It has been a couple weeks since my visit but we are still talking about this place. An out of state relative was in the Charlotte area on business and wanted to meet for dinner. From where we live, Salisbury is about the half way point to Charlotte. This relative travels extensively and appreciates a quality restaurant. We certainly didn't want to take her to one of the chain restaurants, so we searched Yelp for a good local place. We were not disappointed!! Chef Santos had an excellent wine list, great appetizers, and a long list of chef's specials. The only negative was trying to make a choice. Everyone's meal was wonderful and the service very friendly and fast. Our out of town relative is already looking forward to her next visit.....and so are we! read more

I ordered the special, which was originally scallops with avocado sauce served over linguini. Unfortunately they were our of scallops and I asked if Chef Santos could make the dish with shrimp - great idea. The shrimp was lightly battered and pan seared. It was served on top of the avocado sauce, linguini on the side and steamed vegetables included spinach and broccoli and sliced raw tomatoes. The trick is to mix the steamed vegetables and the tomatoes with the linguini and avocado sauce as soon as it arrives. The sauce is very fragrant and the dish overall is very light however it entices your taste buds. I posted a picture for reference. Delicious! read more

Chef Santos - Shrimp on avocado sauce - Italian Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

I had my son's rehearsal dinner for about 50 people at Santos. He let us come in early and decorate with our wedding decor to our hearts content. He had several ladies available to help us do anything we needed. The place looked beautiful with candles and twinkling lights all over! The ladies even helped us with 15 floral arrangements and decorating the grooms cake!!The food was served quickly and beautifully!! The salad and bread were amazing and the lasagna just melted in your mouth. All the food was excellent!! We had full bar service and plenty of space. The price for all this was VERY reasonable! His excellent, helpful and wonderful staff became a part of our son's wonderful wedding memories. Our hats are off to Chef Santos! We love you ALL!! The Jarmans read more

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Chef Santos offers a diversified and upscale Menu. Food is prepared to perfection. We had a party of five and the food and service was excellent. We all appreciated the special attention given to us by the Chef and the manager. I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant to any of my friends or family. Finally, thanks to Amber for finding and mailing to me my lost glasses. Definitely service above and beyond expectations. Cannot wait to return and sample more of the menu items. read more

This is my second time here and I already adore this place. First I had the Scallops Au Gratin. It was sinful, I'm sure of it. Sheer unadulterated perfection! Today I tried the spaghetti. Wonderfully made. If you're ever in Salisbury you should definitely stop by. read more

Chef Santos - Scallops Au Gratin - Italian Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

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Little loud but food is worth it. Had a delicious French onion soup followed by the filet mignon. Food was all cooked perfectly and the flavors were spot on. This place is an absolute gem, should be on everyone's to try list. I recommend reservations read more

Ok so after I posted not the best review of this place the waitress came over with a specially prepared dinner, exactly as I had ordered as the chef wanted to be sure I did not leave without tasting the food! To think he went to that extent to make one customer happy, I gave him 5 stars! Not only was the dish fantastic but I also had the opportunity to personally thank him. He and the waitress went above and beyond. I will be back each and every time I come to Salisbury, which is often. Thank you Chef Santos for making me a grateful customer! read more

My meal was wonderful. I ordered the steak au poirve. It was outstanding. The service was excellent. This is a very small, intimate place but worth the drive! read more

I grew up in Newport, RI. I also lived in Miami and in Washington, DC, so I've lived in places where there is good food. Largely, Salisbury is a food desert and there are very few spots that have decent food. I had a meal at Chef Santos last night that was probably the best meal I've had in Salisbury (I've lived here 5 years). It would hold up against any of the restaurants I've been to in major cities. I'm so glad I discovered this little gem. The service was decent but not overwhelming; but to be honest, I don't go out to dinner to make friends with the server. Just bring me my food, be polite and all is well. The food is what matters, and this place is fantastic. I'll definitely be back. read more

After a 4 hour drive I have to thank Yelp again for an amazing place to eat. I love local finds and the food was so fresh. A couple of homemade salad dressings, the freshest salad. The bread with there homemade balsamic was to die for, thought I might have to sneak some out!! Great marinara!! read more

Chef Santos - Italian Near Me - Salisbury, North Carolina

I was one of the four who Bill J mentioned. We're very disappointed. My husband arrived after our other orders were already taken. We later inquired if his order was put in since one would think french onion soup would not take that long. Was told other orders were ahead of his and there was only Chef Santos to prepare them. Server was rather unapologetic, never gave a, "let me go check, etc..." Chef, I would not want to claim that food. Raw onions in that soup is not acceptable. Seafood salad comes out with chicken. Then even though he had already given the salad dressing choice at the time of ordering the waitress had to ask again then go back and get it. Hey, get the waitress some nice pads of paper and have them write down the order. It does not impress us at all! Last year all four of us left very well pleased and looking forward to coming back this year. What a difference a year can make and for Chef Santos, it has not fared well. Really need to retrain the staff to care, ask if everything is going alright, bring correct orders, and when a mistake is made, apologize or comp the item. That salad should have been free! The waitress offered to replace it, but my husband had already waited too long for it as it was. Perhaps they were short staffed on this night, but writing down the orders would help a transition server get it right. Have I mentioned that they need to write down those orders? Personally my food was good, but I was not over impressed as i the past and it is most likely due to the service or lack there of. As for next year, ummm will there be another year. Probably not for us. We're already talking about other options. read more