Wow, far exceeded already high expectations. Sam's Kitchen is excellent, as good as anything in the N. End without the pretension. We came here for the first time after recommendation from friends and had a wonderful meal. We started with the mussels, and moved to the cioppino and chicken marsala. Cannot say enough. Wonderful flavors, warm and friendly ambiance, and great service by Sam's son. Highly recommended - will be back! read more

Amazing food! Everything is fresh to serve and homemade. This is a hidden gem for sure.

WOW! I am currently in the area for a soccer tournament and this place was awesome. I just got back a month ago from Italy, and this is exactly what you would get there. Going in to the place the outside had me scared a little bit, but don't be fooled. This place is so good. I am from Rochester NY, hey Sam's Kitchen do you want to relocate to Rochester, NY? You would automatically be the best Italian restaurant in the 3rd biggest city in New York State. If I am ever back in this area I will definitely be back here. read more

Went back for a second visit after my first visit 7 idays ago it was better ( 5 vs 4) stars! I got the veal marsala and cleaned the plate again! Mouthwatering good. This time our party got the lobster ravioli which came in the best tasting sauce we've ever had. Wow was it tasty!!! Everything on the menu is outstanding, As I mentioned in my previous review, call ahead if you want to eat here. Doesnt matter which day, They routinely turn away people every night. Saturday evenings the chef mentioned they turned away at least 50 customers! There are only 10-12 tables and the average time spent here is 60-90 minutes. Tip: order the mussels app with spicy red sauce. Also I would say not to order any parmesan dish (as this you can get anywhere) but dive into the daily specials or other dishes. Again get a dessert or two, nice end to the dinner. Oh yea, BYOB wine and beer only. Plan on $25 per person on each dinner. read more

This is my new favorite place. Great homemade Italian pasta. Service is great and the prices are reasonable for what you get. BYOB of course is a huge plus. Make a reservation because it is always busy read more

Always an enjoyable night out at Sam's. Food is extremely high quality and well prepared. Love the fact that to use the restroom you have to traverse through the kitchen. So old school. Also nice chatting with Sam if he's not too busy. They are now making all their own desserts too. Excellence on all fronts. Make a reservation any night of the week you won't be sorry. read more

Absolutely amazing date night. Food was outstanding. Frutti di mare . Staff was very attentive. BYOB was an extra bonus. Can't believe this restaurant is so close to me and I'm just discovering it now. Will definitely be coming back ASAP read more

The staff are so kind and food is absolutely delicious! They told us that the pasta is made fresh daily and you can most definitely tell! I highly suggest the Arancini appetizer and Eggplant Parmesan. read more

Amazing Italian food! Small family owned restaurant! I can't wait to go back! Highly recommend!

If you're ever in Woburn, MA and looking for a place to eat, Sam's Kitchen should not be missed. Went with a rather large group and service was prompt for a tiny restaurant. But the food is superb! I had the chicken piccata and highly recommend that. Very lemony and creamy at the same time. BYOB. read more

I originally tried Sam's kitchen after a neighbor had eaten at the restaurant. I brought a friend with me and we absolutely loved the restaurant . The food was excellent, portion sizes were perfect and it's BYOB which makes the cost of the meal of the meal reasonable. I have been there now 3 times and have purchased give certificates to give his gifts so others can try the restaurant . It's definitely at MUST GO. If I had to give a downside it's seats 35 people only and has a tendency to get quite loud, but for the short time you are there it's manageable. I plan to return. Nancy read more

Really outstanding, don't forget to bring wine, and a nice wine because the food is good, and make a reservation.

Chicken piccatta is very tasty as is the homemade pasta. The meatballs are very good and so was the scampi. The mozzarella sticks have just the right amount of breading. Great new spot for take out! Also I had a hard copy of menu but its not on yelp so samskitchenwoburn.com read more

The Lobster Ravioli is simply splendid and the Chicken Saltimbocca... speechless to describe it, delicious! Not to mention the service, very warm place, excellent! We strongly recommend 100%!!! read more

I went to Sams Kitchen for the first time with some of my friends. It was wonderful. The help was so courteous and the food was absolutely delicious. I would strongly recommend SAMs kitchen to everyone. Everyone got something different and everyone raved about how good the food they got was so good. read more

I almost gave it 4 stars because I was disappointed there wasn't a bigger portion. The lobster ravioli was Amazing- and the 2 scallops on top were the best I've ever eaten. My only complaint was that there weren't more raviolis (forget about leftovers)! I have to give Sam's 5 stars, as the food was delicious, and let's face- it is probably a serving size that a normal human should eat. Also- you have to try the chocolate cake- so so good. Trust me. You have to have it. read more

They moved to a new, larger location close to Woburn Center. I have never been to the old restaurant but friends had highly recommended it to us. I went on a Friday evening and it was mostly empty with only 3 couples dining in and no one dining outside. I had the Veal Piccata ($24) and my wife had the Seafood Special ($32) served with gnocchi. The Veal Piccata was average with a bit too much lemon, although the pasta was very good. I thought the portion was small. The Seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly but the sauce was a bit salty. The gnocchi was excellent but again the portion was small. I never ate at the old location but I thought it was expensive and a bit overrated. Perhaps I went on a bad night or didn't order the right dishes. Sorry but I won't be returning anytime soon. read more

BYOB! We had a delicious dinner while sipping our favorite wine. Staff was friendly and helpful. The restaurant is small so I would make a reservation. read more

We had the pleasure of dining at Sam's last night. We found this GEM on Yelp, and it was amazing. We didn't make reservation, but were seated anyway( I would make them next time) in a small dining room by the lovely hostess/waitress. It's BYOB place which is my kind of place! We ordered, I had Chicken Masala and my husband had Chicken Parmigiana. Oh, the Masala was delicious, home made pasta, perfectly cooked, lots of mushrooms, chicken you can cut with a fork, in a delightful Masala sauce. Hands down the best I have ever had, so much that my husband finished it! His parmigiana was so good it disappeared in seconds... I only have 2 regrets #1 that I didn't take a photo of the Masala #2 that I live to far away to make this a weekly occasion! Go eat enjoy !!! read more

Made arrangements to be here for my birthday looking so forward to it. Unfortunately it was a big let-down had the lobster raviolis two of them were broken and placed so the tear in the raviolis were on the bottom and could not be seen. They were watery inside and the sauce was less than Pleasant. the only redeeming part was my wife had the scallops and pasta and her dish was okay overall it was a big letdown for me for a special occasion. Would not go back here. read more

We were attracted by the excellent reviews and finally got a chance to try Sam's kitchen to celebrate my husband's birthday. However, perhaps we had bad luck or what so ever, the dishes we ordered were not that good. The garden salad tasted extremely sour - the amount of vinegar or lemon juice was beyond what we could handle. As a result, we weren't able to finish it. The taste of lobster ravioli was okay but the portion was tiny - with 4 raviolis and two small scallops, definitely not enough to fill an adult. The only thing good was the bolognese. We shared one cannoli for dessert and it was so so. BTW, they had nothing special for birthdays and according to the menu, $15 will be charged for bringing your own cake. Probably not worthwhile to give the place a second try. read more

I contacted Sam, only two days in advance, for a private luncheon after the burial of my aunt. I called once (call after 4:00) to describe what I wanted and got a proposal within several hours. It was exactly what I wanted and the result was a truly joyous and very delicious celebration of the life of my aunt. Not only was the food worthy of all the excellent reviews on Yelp, the hospitality of Sam and his family made it feel like we were celebrating in the home of very gracious friends. Our guests especially enjoyed the Arancini and Lobster Ravioli with Scallops. We were a party of twenty including many foodies from 13 to 91. read more

My boyfriend and I dined here tonight for Valentine's Day and everything was exceptional. It's BYOB beer or wine, so we chose to bring a red wine to pair with our meals. They sat us right away as we had a reservation, and quickly came with water & bread. We ordered the caprese salad to start and received it within 10 minutes of ordering. They did not have any Alfredo on the menu and I was craving a fruti di mare pasta with Alfredo so they made me an Alfredo sauce upon request. My boyfriend had the Osso Bucco and devoured it. We couldn't have asked for better service. We received our food within the perfect amount of time, enjoyed our bottle of wine and enjoyed the quiet, quaint ambiance. Desert was exceptional as well. Hands down the BEST cannoli I have had aside from Mike's Pastry, but it was only $3.99, you can't beat that. I would agree with other reviews in saying it's a taste of the North End outside the city. We already made reservations for our anniversary in a few weeks. Go and enjoy, but don't forget your wine (BYOB)!!!! read more

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I found this place while passing through the Boston area on a work trip. Fantastic service and food. It's a small place so call ahead for larger groups of people. I'm going to save this one in my favorites. read more

Went with a friend who drives by it and read the reviews so wanted to try it. Reviews were terrific. Sadly we were both disappointed. The prices bear no relationship to the quality of the food or the ambiance. Decor is tired. Food was mediocre. Neither of us would return. read more

Great food and service! The atmosphere is a bit underwhelming, but the food was delicious and fresh. They custom-made a veggie risotto that was amazing!! read more

I'm always a little skeptical trying out new places especially ones that get mostly 5 star rave reviews, but decided to give this tiny neighborhood joint a try. The prices are high for the North End, never mind Woburn. A calamari app will set you back $17. The portions they serve here would be considered half portions anywhere else. They do provide garlic bread on the house, which was nice. My husband ordered the shrimp scampi and he liked it, could've had more of it though. My little neck clams were all bad, smelled bad, tasted rotten. Our server Cleese (?) was kind and apologetic and quickly set me up with Chicken Piccata, which I'd never normally order in an Italian restaurant or anywhere else, but it seemed the safest choice. It was fine but again, tiny, and I'm a very light eater. By then, my husband had finished off his dish and sat there watching me tuck into mine. They offered to comp us a dessert for the bad clams. My family is in the restaurant business and it's a no brainer that in cases like these, you'd comp the main. But whatever, we'll just put it down to experience, one we never want to experience again. One more thing, this place is NOT quiet. UPDATE in response to restaurant owner's attempt to discredit and attack a customer's honest review. 1. First of all, you are correct in that we did not order the calamari. It was mentioned as an example of the price of a starter. Is $17 not the price of the calamari? 2. I can't comment on any other clams you may have served that night but I am definitely qualified to comment on the clams you served to me and they were rancid. I was embarrassed, on behalf of the establishment, as a paying customer, to send back a dish where not one or two but ALL the clams were bad. I can only assume the chef and owner would not knowingly send out rotten clams to a first-time diner so I can only imagine how a chef who boasts about himself in his own bio as a "prodigy in the kitchen", would be at least equally embarrassed for cooking and sending out rotten clams without a clue. It's probably fair to say, based on your unreasonable reactions to my review that you would not, without any argument or protestations, have allowed your server to apologize profusely and offer to fix me something else quickly if there was indeed nothing wrong with your clams, as you claimed. 3. Yes we did "wipe clean" our plates, as you so inelegantly put it, if only because the portions are essentially half portions that you would find in other places. Half portions at full portion prices, and then some. 4. Sure, there are tons of places anywhere that does BYOB. How is that relevant? 5. I'm glad we agree on one thing at least: your restaurant is loud. You might want to change the "quiet" designation on your Yelp listing. My review was more than fair and gave credit where credit was due. However, if you can't stand the heat of criticism when criticism is due, then maybe you should get out of the kitchen. Especially if you claim to be a "prodigy" in your own bio. Or, do what anyone in the business should and would usually do and take reviews constructively, and not resort to argumentative, defensive, and baffling replies and denials. Lastly, what exactly are you insinuating when you said, "But being relative to a restaurant owner, we think we know what is going on here". I don't appreciate insinuations so please explain: what exactly do you "think" is going on here exactly? I don't know about you but I was writing a fair and honest review based on my dining experience at your restaurant on May 25, 2018. In fact, after finishing my food, we just wanted to pay our check and leave but your server rushed over and requested us to choose a dessert on the house to make up for the inedible clams, so we obliged. I had a less than pleasant dining experience at your establishment and came on Yelp to write an honest and fair review, and if you are trying to insinuate in any way that there is any ulterior motives, I do not appreciate it, and you are wrong. Your baffling reactions to a simple and honest foot critique is unbecoming, to say the least. read more

Hands down one of the best Italian restaurants that I've ever eaten in Boston, beat all of the establishments in north end and I've eaten at many places in North End, but this place takes the cake, especially with their tiramisu read more

Food was great. BYOB wine or beer. The waitress was new (I think) and was a little slow, but didn't hurt the experience.

Wow. This place is something special. We may never go to the North End again with this in our backyard. The pasta is so fresh, seasonings perfect and the service was awesome, too. We will be back often. Remember to BYOB - this food is made for wine. read more

Yes. The small comfortable restaurant is as good as it gets. Expertly prepared Italian dishes that rival anything we have eaten in Italy. Some recent meals included mixed seafood in homemade red sauce and home made pasta, lobster ravioli, and veal parmigiana. All fantastic. We had an appetizer of the classic dish "rice balls" filled with mozzarella and in a tomatoe sauce. They were light, not the least greasy, and very flavorful. My daughter asked for gnocchi alfredo,which is not on the menu, and the chef whipped it up with a few asparagus on top and she loved it. And a nice touch is that the bread they serve is a delicate garlic bread. The staff is delightful and the setting relaxed. This is our new go to Italian Restaurant. This restaurant is clearly a labor of love. read more

All the flavor of the North End close to home ! Finally tried this small neighborhood place last night and was very pleased ! We both live in Winchester close by and have been meaning to get in there to try it out.... It's owned and run by a husband/wife team, and the Mrs. waited on us while hubs was in the kitchen cooking. She was a sweetheart. It's been open about a year and a half she told us. We asked more about the place, and she shared that worked for many years in the North End learning his craft, and it appears he did so very well. We started with the Rice Balls, which seemed a tad pricey at about $14, but there were four which were the size of large meatballs, with the mozzarella oozing out as soon as I cut in. (My girl has a robust seafood allergy, to the point she can't eat anything fried in the same place as ocean stuffs, and they were happy to accommodate this in preparing the rice balls in a separate pan) I got the veal parm, which was slated for penne pasta, which I asked to change to linguine with no problem. All their pastas and sauces are made fresh daily on site. It came with just the right amount of pasta, and the veal cutlet was perfect! My girl got chicken piccata and substituted in place of pasta steamed veggies (not a problem) which they served in the piccata sauce under the chicken. She was also very happy with her dish (As was I, since I sniped a couple of bites of hers) Best part ? BYOB which easily saves $40 or more per meal. Tiramisu for dessert (of course) which was fine, although a larger hunk of it that I normally see, so it was great for sharing All thumbs up, and we will definitely be back. Lastly, she said they get pretty busy Thursday - Saturday (Open Mon-Sat) Cheers! read more

This was my first visit to Sam's Kitchen and it won't be my last. The food was fantastic- I had the veal piccata over ricotta gnocchi - it was simple and delicious. Denise and Suani were my hosts and couldn't have been more welcoming and cheerful. I'll be back! read more

Incredible flavours in every apetizer, meal and dessert. Very kindness service! Like eat at home! You must try it! You will love everything!

Pretty terrific, actually. Had the lobster ravioli. Love the BYOB concept as well. We paired dinner with a wonderful $16 bottle of Italian red wine. read more

Atmosphere is very homey, casual and warm. The food is great. I've had other dishes before, but this last time, I had the squid ink pasta with shrimp and scallops, and it was fantastic! read more

Reluctant to default our dinner choice to the sports bar at the Crowne where we were staying, I decided to try something different. We found Sam's a short drive down Main and parked at the rear of the restaurant. Inside was a small restaurant with a great vibe. Thanks to Yelpers for bringing this great local restaurant to our attention. The food was great. My son had his first Porterhouse and he loved it. My wife was also very satisfied with her chicken masala. I had the lobster ravioli and it was a hit. We realized it was a family affair at the end since Sam's son and daughter were the wait staff and his wife was also in and out of the kitchen. Seems they have been in business about a year. I think they are off to a great start. Congratulations, Sam. The food had great aroma and was thoughtfully presented. The cappuccino was marvelous - I could go back for just the cappuccino. Highly recommended. read more

I created a Yelp account just so I could put a review of Sam's up here. My buddy and I were both in the area for business and were hungry for some Italian food. A quick search found Sam's and it's great Yelp reviews so we headed over. Sam's is a little place (In fact, we drove right by it and had to turn around). But as so often happens, Sam's is one of those little places with big, big taste. I had the chicken parmesan and my buddy had the shrimp scampi. Both were simply excellent. We also got the tiramisu for dessert, which was also delicious. The restaurant itself if warm, cozy and clean. The people there were friendly and attentive, and the price was very reasonable (especially given the quality of the food). If you're planning on going (and you should), the restaurant is BYOB. I'll remember that for next time... read more

Overpriced. Nothing special either. About 8 tables so be prepared to feel squished! Practically felt the people next to me breathing on me

The lobster ravioli is great. At first it didn't look filling but home made pasta should be eaten still warm and slow too really taste each bite. Lobster is not my favorite seafood but this dish is friendly to even those who like a little seafood but love authentic Italian food. Right down the street from my apartment and maybe even worth walking to because side street parking is provided but there's only 7 or so spots. BYOB is another plus, however it's a very small restaurant the dinning area is no bigger than my livingroom/ kitchen gallery in a 1 bedroom apartment. If you're not full after the ravioli then budget yourself to get dessert even cappuccino. Enjoy read more