Sam's By The Sea is owned by three brothers, Mark, Wyatt and Alan Payne. The trio moved to Okinawa from their original home in Hawaii when their father Ray's employer, Coca-Cola, relocated the family there.
The restaurant has a large, full-color King Kamehameha statue out front. The dining room has a long canoe hanging over the diners' heads. The ceiling is painted an unfortunate white, but the walls are covered with elaborate Papua New Guinea-style carvings. The restaurant serves steak and seafood.
There are seven restaurants in the Sam's chain in Okinawa; all are nautical, and four (including this one) have strong tiki/Polynesian elements. The other three tiki locations are Sam's By The Sea in Awase
The Tiki atmosphere is amazing, but the food is subpar. The middle aged wait staff seems overwhelmed and a bit uncomfortable in their ridiculous and skimpy sailor outfits... I felt bad for our waitress. They serve a curry soup, as part of the dinner, that sits out uncovered in a cauldron in the middle of the restaurant that tastes like weak curry gravy. I ordered the Live! Maine Lobster(Half) Crustacean Sauce & Sirloin Steak, the steak was OK, but the lobster was minimal and the "crustacean sauce" is just gooey American cheese sauce.
Like I said, the decor is very tiki and has the feel of stepping back in time when tiki was king. I would go back, I just know now to skip the soup and order something without cheese. ;)
The Tiki atmosphere is amazing, but the food is subpar. The middle aged wait staff seems overwhelmed and a bit uncomfortable in their ridiculous and skimpy sailor outfits... I felt bad for our waitress. They serve a curry soup, as part of the dinner, that sits out uncovered in a cauldron in the middle of the restaurant that tastes like weak curry gravy. I ordered the Live! Maine Lobster(Half) Crustacean Sauce & Sirloin Steak, the steak was OK, but the lobster was minimal and the "crustacean sauce" is just gooey American cheese sauce.
Like I said, the decor is very tiki and has the feel of stepping back in time when tiki was king. I would go back, I just know now to skip the soup and order something without cheese. ;)
BPtiki
The Tiki atmosphere is amazing, but the food is subpar. The middle aged wait staff seems overwhelmed and a bit uncomfortable in their ridiculous and skimpy sailor outfits... I felt bad for our waitress. They serve a curry soup, as part of the dinner, that sits out uncovered in a cauldron in the middle of the restaurant that tastes like weak curry gravy. I ordered the Live! Maine Lobster(Half) Crustacean Sauce & Sirloin Steak, the steak was OK, but the lobster was minimal and the "crustacean sauce" is just gooey American cheese sauce.
Like I said, the decor is very tiki and has the feel of stepping back in time when tiki was king. I would go back, I just know now to skip the soup and order something without cheese. ;)