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    Sam's Cafe

    4.1 (234 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese, American
    Closed 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Sam's Cafe Photos

    SAM'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Sam's Cafe

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    Corned beef...
    Lydia T.

    Good for a quick breakfast. Servers were nice. Service: 9/10 Food: 5/10 Their corned beef was very salty, i would not order it again. My husband said their iced tea didnt taste good too.

    Tanya T.

    Love the nostalgic feel and friendly, efficient service. I also love the rice option. The food was decent with veggies and I added my own seasoning and salt. I did not however enjoy the biscuits and gravy. I did not enjoy the serving plate used to serve my salad nor was I too fond of the price. I wont be coming back anytime soon but so happy to see the community flock to it in droves to support and enjoy.

    David L.

    Sam's Cafe has been a fixture at the North end of the Miracle Mile (Pacific Ave) for as long as I remember. If we are in town, we make it our Sunday morning go to for an early breakfast. There are a lot of regulars who come weekly as well. The decor is pretty simple, there are three booths, counter seating and six to seven tables down the side. The owners/staff are friendly and will stop to talk, if they are not running their backsides off serving folks. The food is your simple breakfast fare (I've not been here for lunch), I usually order a omelette and my wife gets the veggie scramble. Comes with potatoes, hashed browns or country style and toast. Coffee, water, iced tea, hot tea and orange juice are some of the standard drinks offered. One day I have to take a picture. Meals for two run in the $35-$45 including tip. Can be a little noisy when full.

    Menu
    VJ M.

    This cafe has outdoor seating. Family owned and operated by the owner. As soon as you walk in they seat you right away. The food comes out right away. This is the best place to get a waffle it's delicious.

    Store front
    Jonnita W.

    This was a great choice to have breakfast this morning. We were able to sit outside and have the scenery amongst us. All of the ladies working here were great! Our food was tasty and cooked to our requests. You can tell the food is good here based on the customers that showed up. Some seem to be regulars Located in the east of Stockton on Miracle Mile

    Pam K.

    What a friendly, little cafe. The owners are so sweet and old but full of energy. I ordered a simple plate of corned beef hash with rice and eggs over easy and that came with biscuits and gravy. This place is super mom n pop, I loved it. It's pretty small inside so it probably gets very busy. They even had a sign up saying to come in twos when it's busy.

    Menu December 2022
    Kyle B.

    I thought this "Sam's Cafe" was similar to the one in Ceres CA which is a staple of my hometown but unfortunately it was not. Portion sizes were very small but the food was decent. The Asian American boasted restaurant feels extremely plain and the service feels "forced" versus "welcoming"

    So good

    Sam's coffee was incredible! Very friendly people, good food, fine service. Of course there are people who would bring fault in Buddha, or anybody...but it was a real good meal.

    Wendy B.

    Sam's has been around for quite some time, and is not as American a cuisine as the name implies. More like Chinese-American. Mr. B grew up in South Stockton, and this little dive of a place was where he wanted to go and drum up some sweet memories from better than 50 years ago. I no longer recall the name of where he is from, but the chef is the real deal; he comes from a region of China known for their really good cuisine. We decided it would be breakfast on a Sunday. Surprisingly, it was not busy, but the majority of dishes flying out of the kitchen were typical American fare. We needed good, old fashioned, 1960's vintage, Cantonese food for breakfast, so we asked if we could order off the dinner menu. Of course, she said. So there it was...Black Bean Spare Ribs and a plate of Chinese fried chicken. And one salad, consisting of iceberg lettuce and some tomato chunks (lousy salad dressing choices). Oh yes, and a serving of rice for the Filipino guy. Not your typical breakfast, and not your typical Chinese meal. But it suited us quite well, and both entrees were great. The black bean spareribs tasted as good as the day he remembered so long ago. Delicious. The chicken, not greasy and still moist, with just a touch of a Chinese-flavored marinade, reminded us this was not a KFC wannabe. Better. The leftovers the next day were still sensational. This tiny cafe consists of 3 booths, 6 tables. There is seating for 5 at the counter and 3 small tables outside on the Pacific Ave. sidewalk. We were happy with our two dishes and will mark that down as a place to revisit and reminisce.

    Special skillet w/ sourdough and a side of sausage!
    Leif H.

    This is the true meaning of "hidden gem". This is probably one of the best cafe's in town. I love that it's family run, portions are huge and the food comes fast. Absolutely love this place, and the family that runs it. They also have live music in the weekends and outdoor dining, and their patio is perfect because your protected from the morning sun.

    Half order of chicken fried steak breakfast. Yes! It's huge and yes it's a half order

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    1 month ago

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    7 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Great service very friendly family that owns this place. Food was amazing.! The place was tiny, but perfect! Definitely recommend this place

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    2 years ago

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    9 months ago

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    8 months ago

    Food is delicious and service is awesome. Ambiance is homey and Sam takes every opportunity to come greet and talk his patrons.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    great place. cozy little establishment and May is the sweetest and loves to interact with the customers. Recommend and will return again.

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Friendly, great customer service and good food. You can tell they have regular customers. We will definitely be back.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food,service, and location. I'd recommend this place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They close at 4.

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    Garlic Brothers Restaurant - Garlic Fries

    Garlic Brothers Restaurant

    3.3(869 reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$
    Delivery during COVID-19
    Established in 1995

    Came here to celebrate my SIL bday. We were a group of 12. We were seated pretty fast but we got…read morethere as they were opening. Service was amazing. Our server was friendly and attentive the whole time. Never had to call him over for anything. We were constantly checked on and he made sure we had everything we needed. Wish I got his name but was hard with all the chaos. Service was also prompt. Didn't have to wait long for our food considering the amount of people we had. I ordered the Margherita pizza and side salad. The pizza was yummy. Starting with the crust which is just how I like mine. Crisp edges but also bread like. Had the right amount of marinara and enough toppings to not make it soggy with a generous amount of mozzarella. It came out nice and hot and so full of flavor. I really enjoyed it. The portion was a lot for me but no complaints here because I had some leftover to bring home to enjoy the following day too. They let me bring in a cake that I made (didn't charge extra) which they kept in their fridge until we were ready for it. When they brought it out they added a sparkler on it and a group of them came to sing along with us. Overall a wonderful experience. Not only would I recommend this place but would also return.

    Garlic Brothers is always a solid go-to spot in Stockton, especially if you're craving good food…read morewith a view. Everything we had was good overall, and the vibe by the water just makes the whole experience even better. Staying down the street doesn't make it better, I used to come once a week! I ordered the steak, which had great flavor, but it came out a little more cooked than I would've liked but still enjoyable. One thing I always come back for is their half pizza, half salad lunch combo. It never disappoints and is honestly very filling! And the oysters? Hands down my favorite here. So flavorful--I could easily finish three plates by myself lol. Today I behaved and only had two... but no promises for next time even my friend that came last said "damn Amanda!" Overall, great food, great atmosphere, and definitely a spot I'll keep coming back to!

    Photos
    Garlic Brothers Restaurant - Kitchen where the magic is done

    Kitchen where the magic is done

    Garlic Brothers Restaurant - Dinner Salad

    Dinner Salad

    Garlic Brothers Restaurant - Beautiful sunset

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    Beautiful sunset

    Waterloo CA - The Waterloo Special

    Waterloo CA

    4.1(659 reviews)
    7.5 mi
    $$

    I've been going to Waterloo Rib for years. Today, my sister took me because I did her taxes and…read moreshe's getting a nice tax refund. Up front, I wanted to express why I'm giving this review a 5-star rating. It was entirely because of the Manager Betsy and of course the flavor of these ribs we had. I don't want to put this restaurant down or nit-pick the issues both my sister and I had. I wouldn't think that would be right of me and to the restaurant. Let's just say, we had issues and Betsy, God bless her, she took care of business and made everything right and even went beyond what we expected. Personal service is foremost what's important at any eating establishment, along with the quality of the food. The ribs and pesto pasta was to die for, and that's why I keep coming back. The three serves that were there attending to us, need better training. The food is always great and I will go back.

    Dined with friends. It had been 14 years since we've been here as we had moved a distance away. We…read morewere anxiously awaiting to be seated. First off, don't ever take someone else's buzzer! What a mistake! A person who didn't wanna wait any longer gave us their buzzer. After we got seated, we handed our buzzer in. To my husband, surprise, the hostess was extremely, extremely rude and replied to him. We don't do that here!!!! Our waitress was extremely pleasant and professional! We ordered the chicken and rib combo, the ribs were just ok but the chicken was dry. For the price overall, we expected much more. I can't say that it left a good lasting impression on us. Our waitress gave us a couple of extra ribs in our to go containers. That was very kind of her. Unfortunately, we won't be dining here again.

    Photos
    Waterloo CA - Honoring local veterans

    Honoring local veterans

    Waterloo CA - Minestrone

    Minestrone

    Waterloo CA - Calm Chowder delicious!

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    Calm Chowder delicious!

    Fork It - Coconut cream pie

    Fork It

    4.9(132 reviews)
    4.5 mi
    $$

    1st time stopping in and OMG!!!! The service was great!…read moreWhen you walk in the door the smell of the Tri tip makes your mouth water! I had 'The Real Deal' ( Tri tip, grilled onions and cheese of choice), the garlic fries with Parmesan cheese and two desserts lol! The 'Brown Sugar Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake' and the 'Key Lime pie'! Once a month, they have pastrami sandwiches! Everything was delicious, will definitely be back to try more of the menu.

    This place has hands down the BEST tri tip sandwich I've ever tried. Truly a hole in the wall and…read morethey know how to throw down some sandwiches. I'm glad I checked out this place because the name and picture threw me off but they did not disappoint. Came in around 1:30pm on a Monday, we were the last ones to get to order a sandwich cause then they're sold out! Highly recommend you give this place a try if you're in the area. - Santa Maria: mushrooms and onions with tri tip This sandwich is so juicy, flavorful, and melt in your mouth. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS! - Ike's classic: tri tip with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. They forgot the "Fork It" sauce so it was a little bland and dry. I'll have to come back to try this again to give my final verdict. - French fries: nothing outstanding but for $4 you can't go wrong if you need some fries with your sandwich. I want to come back to try the jalapeno poppers and their banana cream pie. Which I heard that they're sold out immediately and this place gets crazy busy when they post on instagram that the banana pies are in stock.

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    Fork It
    Fork It - Coconut cream pie

    Coconut cream pie

    Fork It - 2337 Portola Ave

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    2337 Portola Ave

    Sam's Cafe - chinese - Updated May 2026

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