Samar

Service slow. Dishes unremarkable. One dish, the mussels in cream sauce, was gross. Won’t be back.

We enojoyed oour evening at Samar. Everything was lovely and the waiter we had was helpful and attentive! We picked 5 items each to share. It was enough for us both and we lvoed all our tapas. Shared a Baklava and a Turkish COffee…
Here is what we ordered:
Bocaditos, Sautéed Mushrooms, Seafood Fideo, Crispy Brussel Sprouts, Tiger Prawns «Bombay Style»

Excellent service! The food was unusually unique and delightful. The menu is split into Mediterranean dishes Indian dishes and dishes from Spain, which was quite overwhelming at first but our waiter pointed us in the right direction with some great recommendations. Shrimp from Spain in the cast-​iron skillet was unreal and I wish I had all the bread in the world to sop up the sauce. The chicken tikka masala from India had a magnificent flavor. I went for a birthday party and they put the 5 of us in their private dining room. It’s highly recommended for group dining as we split dishes and the bill including drinks was $ 50 each, which I thought was very reasonable, considering we were full and satisfied. I will definitely be going back.

Surprisingly tasty and enjoyable meal here at Samar’s.
We ended up going with what I’ll call the tasting menu or chef’s choice which was a gangload of appetizers for a gangload of people. All of which were tasty. Pretty impressive, considering the wide variety of locales.
Very friendly staff.

The food was good, but not great; I certainly wouldn’t go running back to Samar. I know it was a Monday night, but there were definitely some improvements which should be noted. Had it not been ½ price small plates night, I would have probably given it two stars. But, the fact that I tasted so much (and drank) for only $ 24 did boost up the score by a star (or so) for me.
The garlic and rosemary Naan had a pleasant, well balanced rosemary essence found in the green oil drizzled on top. But, not even a hint of garlic to be found in this bread. I’m not sure what Indian reference and inspiration Stephan Pyles had. But, every garlic Naan I’ve ever experienced (around the globe) was never stingy on the garlic. I couldn’t even TASTE the garlic in Samar’s garlic Naan bread. And, that charred texture (where it is slightly burned from the oven) was completely lacking. The taste overall was disappointing. The same verdict for the chicken butter masala. It was good, but missing any depth of flavor. The Crispy Brussel Sprouts were tasty, but unlike all the other dishes, they were overly seasoned (almost too salty to be edible– and I LOVE salt). I also tasted my neighbors Blistered Green Spanish Chiles … again somewhat tasty, but no essence of the hickory sea salt.
Then, the drinks. My «stag mule» was too sweet. And, the wine (my favorite part) … meh. Not so much. I’ll give it this: it was an interesting enough list that you don’t find anywhere else. But, very disappointing in its breadth. There were only three (3) red wines by the glass on the entire menu. And, they were missing the one (1) and only Pinot Noir listed. REALLY? If you can only manage to have three red wines, at least keep the pittance you have IN STOCK. If I’m going to be back to frequent a restaurant, you’d better have a decent red wine list. And, when you’re whites double the amount of reds (and the reds you have you can’t even keep in stock), I say: Why bother. I’d go elsewhere.
Overall, I’d say the chef needs to learn the art of seasoning (or the art of simply TASTING the dishes). That would have made a huge difference for me.

I actually really enjoyed my meai at Samar! We did the tasting menu for 4 people ($ 100 total), which included 3 – 4 dishes per cuisine (Spanish, Mediterranean, Indian). The duck was the best dish bar far, followed by the falafel, orzo, and mushrooms with blue cheese. I didn’t really enjoy the indian dishes — the sauces were not quite right, so if I go back I won’t be ordering from that menu (the chicken masala was cheesy tasting wtf?!). The desserts were also super tasty, and tiny, but at $ 4 each you shouldn’t expect a giant serving. I really enjoyed the rice pudding but the apple empanada and ice cream were delicious as well. Our waiter was professional, attentive, and helpful in suggesting an extremely tasty and also cheap bottle of sauvignon blanc (Hall) for under $ 40 — an item that is on their by the glass menu that you can also purchase by the bottle. All in all, two bottles of wine, a few G&Ts and three add on desserts later, $ 60 per person including tip. Not bad Samar, not bad.
The restaurant itself can be a little bit difficult to find, as the dining room occupies the street level space of a tall building on Ross just west of Pearl. There is a valet (who was a very nice professional gentleman), or you can park in any metered spot on the street (of which there are a bunch just west of Pearl on Ross). The meters downtown are free M-​F from 4pm-​9am and Sa-​Su from 6pm-​7am. You’re welcome.
Next time, I need to try the scallops, the garlic naan (can’t possibly be bad), and more of the spanish and mediterranean dishes.
Oh, and don’t worry about a dress code. If they do have one they do not enforce it strictly. I saw a guy inside in light wash jeans and a bright red t-​shirt. If you have the money to spend $ 7 – 9 a plate on small tapas (and thus at least $ 40pp on dinner), you probably have the wardrobe to dress appropriately to eat inside.

This review is only for their Indian inspired menu. Went in a few weeks ago for their Maharajah’s feast event and oh boy, was it good or what. The Menu, the preparation, the taste, the service, the ambiance… everything was just perfect. This was by far one of the absolute best meal I have had in DFW.
Tried both the regular menu as well as the vegetarian menu, and every dish was equally delicious. All meat preparations were extremely succulent. The biryani, purple Yams, parantha, pakoras etc. etc. every dish was thoroughly enjoyed. Then the dessert (Malpuva) was served and it just freaking blew my mind and i was left craving for more and more. If he ever plans to put the dessert a part of his regular menu, I would visit Samar every week just to devour the dessert :-)
This place got a great vibe to it, and during summer patio seating is available.

I love the lunch menu in this place. Nice atmosphere, reasonably priced and good service. One of the best options in the Arts District. The mix of Indian and Spanish cuisines is really what sets this place apart.
Make a reservation if you are planning to have lunch on Friday and don’t want to sit at the bar. Can get really busy.

Extremely foofoo, pretentious, and over-​rated. This celebrity chef is using his name to get over on customers with insulting, over-​priced food.
And when my wife didn’t like her ‘house’ wine, which was totally vinegary because they left it open for way too long, the waiter acted like we didn’t know what we were talking about. They brought out a taster of the second wine so that she wouldn’t ‘waste’ that one as well.
If you are supposed to be a fine dining establishment, don’t keep your wine out so long that it tastes like vinegar. Don’t make us feel like we are being a burden on you when you do not understand wine.
Oh yeah, the margarita was good…

FANTASTICALLY UNUSUAL
Food: The menu is divided into tapas from three regions — mediterranean, indian and spanish, and every region is like experiencing a different restaurant. The portions are small and the prices are not, but the dishes are creative and unique enough to justify the cost. Rare ingredients make this place a foodies dream– even more common items are paired with unexpected additions!
— Mediterranean: Stuffed squash blossom and Pork Tenderloin. The weird blossom thing is actually better
— Spanish: Poached Corvina and Foie Gras Crème Brulee. Even as a huge foie gras fan i thought it was a great idea that didnt meet it’s mark. The Corvina, however, is light and buttery like sea bass and was a ¹⁰⁄₁₀
— Indian: Tiger Prawns and Sea Scallops– both were perfectly cooked. The crispy okra served with the prawns is addictive
— Dessert: Unforgettable saffron coconut rice pudding and Semolina Croquetas
— Drinks: Awesome specialty cocktails
Atmosphere: «hip» and urban with a sleek and modern décor. Would be good for drinks after work or late night dinner at the bar. However– the noise level is above average.
Server: Attentive and helpful but reserved and polite.
Parking: Valet or underground garage. We tried the economic underground option but didn’t think it was worth the hassle of getting our ticket validated.

Right in the heart of downtown, this restaurant is heavily decorated by beautiful draping and soft lighting in this Indian/​Mediterranean restaurant.
Our favorite for the night, the foie gras brulee and 2^nd would be the lobster fritters with coconut rice. The foie gras brulee was to die for! Definitely FOOD PORN 101. When the brulee hits your palate you get this really rich and intense flavor of the foie gras, then the silky texture coats your mouth and lingers forever, and finally finished with some crispness from the bacon, and fresh sweetness from the peaches. This is a definite must try!
The lobster fritter with the coconut rice was pretty special. This has a Thai influence mixed with an Indian touch. The coconut rice is the Thai and the pickled mangoes was the Indian. There was just something very comforting to the rice, maybe it was the creaminess or possibly the indian spices that you got with every mouthful. The lobster fritters were very light and crispy, kind of like a tempura batter. The lobster was very fresh and succulent. The coconut rice with the sweet and sour mangoes was actually a very perfect combination. This just didn’t seem like a starter course though, but it was delicious!
Then came our 2^nd courses. From the menu was the fried potatoes, chorizo and over easy egg, but what made it extra special was the tiny piece of foie gras that came on the side! When we got our plate of food, the server instructed us to mix all the ingredients together so that the potatoes are coated with the richness of the egg yoke, savory saltiness from the chorizo, and the goodness of the foie gras. A very simple potato and egg dish with a surprise and a kick.
The optional course from the restaurant week menu, crispy fried poached egg with mushroom salad. This is what I imagine a fried poached egg to be! The egg was light and crispy on the outside… soft, running, and oozing with yoke on the inside. This was done well! The salad was light and earthy, very refreshing. We would have preferred the cheese shredded on the salad, we get the presentation factor but it didn’t incorporate in the dish well enough.
Our entrees… Tiger Prawn Bombay style with crispy okra and spiced pear chutney. This is just how you would imagine it. Fresh shrimp, we didn’t really get the Bombay style but the shrimp was good. We thought the crispy okra did not live up to its name. Maybe because it wasn’t crispy. The texture was kind of like stale old chips… they need another preparation method if you ask us, maybe even a double visit to the deep fryer. The pear chutney on the other hand was delicious and went really well with the shrimp.
Our 2^nd entrée came from the restaurant week menu, Greek style meatballs with pearl couscous. This was actually better than we thought. The meatballs were very tender, moist, and flavorful. The couscous had kind of a pesto touch to it, it was very delicious and the portion was actually a lot bigger than we had first imagined.
Last but not least, sear bay scallops with olive oil poached potatoes and crispy artichokes. This was very clean and had some pretty fantastic cooking techniques. We loved the crispy artichokes, and they were crispy… we were just wondering why they know how to make this crispy but not the okra. The olive oil poached potatoes was YUM! The potatoes literally melted in your mouth and was coated with a sweet olive oil flavor. They used small fingerling potatoes, purple and yellow. The scallops were small but tender and sweet. All in all a great dish, very much like a warm salad.
Our dessert was an Indian style funnel cake with cardamom ice cream. We’ve had this wonderful texture from the described funnel cake before at a traditional Indian wedding. The funnel cake is sweet and the peaches at the bottom cut the richness of the dessert.
This meal was overall a great experience. We had a great time, date night! We got to try things off the regular menu also and found the prices are fairly reasonable for a nice restaurant like this one. We also got live, relaxing entertainment, this made us forget we were in downtown Dallas. We would rate this place ⁸⁄₁₀ for its atmosphere, creativity, taste, and price.

I love tapas. I like the idea of ordering a bunch of little plates and getting a taste of everything.
It is kind of easy to miss because its within an office building on the first floor. They have vallet but I was able to find street parking (meters but free after 6 or 7). I don’t know if it would be that easy on a weekend to find free parking.
The place is cute and would be nice for a date, but I came with a group of 7 friends on a week night. We were sat in this little private area which seemed romantic if you were trying to get cozy with a date.
First off, Samar is an interesting place because it offers food from India, Middle East and Spain. There are many small plates options so my group ordered the chef’s sampler menu which was $ 120 I believe. Some things were tasty and some were just whatever. I did feel like that many of the items tasted Indian but maybe the flavors were just blending together since we tried so many.
My favorite was the Tiger Prawns. Is iterrible that no other items were memorable?! They were good but nothing I would be super excited to go back for.
I got a white Sangria which was good– pretty standard, nothing special. Oh and we finished our meal with chocolate samosas (yum!), baklava (so good) and the apple empanada. Obviously, the sweets were more memorable. Overall, glad we tried this place but probably won’t be back.

While checking out the exhibits at the Dallas Museum of Art, we decided to check this place out. It seemed like a great idea from the website and the appearance of the restaurant, but that seemed to be the end of the greatness. We were somewhat late for lunch (close to 1:30), and the place was not crowded, yet the service was painfully slow. We sat for so long before the waiter came to offer us even water that we considered just leaving. I ordered an iced tea (which was divine, and probably the best thing about the experience), and the waiter forgot it, remembering only when he brought out another table’s drinks. I heard him tell another guy to get me an iced tea. The first course of food came before the tea. This was a bad sign.
As for the food, it left a lot to be desired. We started with a course of three dipping spreads and a «double» order of naan. The labne (yogurt) was excellent, the hummus was acceptable, and the moutabal (baba ganoush) was disgusting. We opted for two tapas dishes instead of entrees, and they were just simply average. We had the butter chicken and a dish of chorizo and potatoes. For a restaurant that specializes in cuisine known for its spice, all of the food was surprisingly bland. The butter chicken was alright, but it would barely be called a 1 at an Indian restaurant. The chorizo was bland and was served in little bits that resembled bacon bits.
I did mention the iced tea was good, though, right? Because it was awesome.
All in all, the food and service were both worthy of 2 stars only. It wasn’t the worst ever, but I would not find myself back at Samar.

Samar is a nice tapas place, worthy of taking a date to impress without breaking the bank, or for having a fancy girls night out — you can have a drink and some tapas there, and then it’s just a few blocks to the Dallas Symphony or the Dallas Opera!
I’d say you’ve got yourself a pretty classy night out: D
I went with two other girls and we split the following dishes:
1. Tiger Prawns «Bombay Style» with Crispy Okra and Spiced Pear Chutney — i’ve never had okra like that before, interesting/​good! ($ 11)
2. Mussels Marinated Escabeche, with Pears, Sherry and Serrano Chili-​Infused Cream Broth ($ 9) — this was of kindof a soupy consistency, but it came in a cup, and you’re supposed to drink it, but use a spoon to get out the mussels? Maybe… It was pretty creamy (which i liked, but my two friends said this was their least favorite from what we ordered).
3. Chickpea Masala with Roasted Root Vegetables and Minted Ricotta ($ 8) — this was REALLY good! Unanimous favorite amongst the three of us.
4. Duck Confit Tagine with Medjool Dates, Figs and Tri-​Color Couscous ($ 9)
I also had their house margarita, which was a little more tart, less sweet, than most places (the waiter said it was one of their more popular drinks).
The waiter was friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere was really great! I think it’s a three dollar sign place if you want to actually leave feeling full — I felt like the amount of food I got for the price I paid wasn’t much… but we went for the atmosphere.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this place, because I wanted to like it more. I’ll never really understand the lack of restaurants in the Downtown Dallas area. A colleague and I tried this place out as we were starving after a journey from Austin to Dallas.
The atmosphere was great. We sat outside on a particularly crisp night – a water fountain/​torch provided some ambiance. Our server was extremely informed and maybe a little over zealous about the quality and distinction of the food… «a culinary adventure from Spain and ending India.» Yeah. He really said that with a straight face. I almost lost it. Maybe I was just starving.
And I shouldn’t have asked for recommendations, because 20 minutes later he was still talking. Okay, so I guess I was starving.
The food was deceiving and a culinary adventure through… oh wait… I just mentioned that. Tapas… essentially, which apparently is «the thing» to do right now. I’ve seen it done well. This wasn’t one of those instances.
I had what they call a «large plate»: Tandoori Lobster ($ 24), which is a Tandoori-​Roasted Maine Lobster Tail and Chickpea Tempura Claws with Ginger-​Coconut-​Chili Rice and Tamarind. I really felt like they overcooked the fried portion of this dish and then it tasted like they overly seasoned the rice. (I’m a frequenter of Indian food and am not shy about a little spice and this was well… not seasoned well. And honesty I was hungry 30 minutes later.
For dessert, I tried the Dark Chocolate and Spiced Pecan Baklava ($ 4) which was drier than Texas in 2011 (our worse drought). And one thing I won’t tolerate… whipped cream on baklava and if it couldn’t get worse it was limp whip with absolutely no peaks. Stale Cool Whip – my nemesis.
This place has a great location, great atmosphere, informed servers (who just didn’t meet my hunger expectations that evening, but might some other). And since they are the only restaurant open in the downtown area they would have a good thing going… or maybe they already do being the restaurant only that’s open.
The server sold food like his life depended on… next time though he should really tell the cooks what expectations he placed on their shoulders. Or maybe he should talk it down… just a little.
Next time I’m starving and staying downtown… I’ll keep it in mind to head for a McDonald’s before I check in.

Samar slipped a star this supper.
The dishes are, oh, so small and precious. I get that they are small plates, but they seem really, really small. (I wonder how they compare to, say Café Iberico in Chicago, where I have never given portion size a thought.) And the prices are dear. They reflect excellent, top-​flight décor and service that seems almost disproportionate to the food, which is ordinary, to my taste. The gf was miffed with this opinion, but I just came back from dining in Montréal, which was far more creative, ambitious, and revelatory. I also wonder if the ambitions of Samar are tamped down to appeal to unadventurous Dallas diners.
The menu was unchanged from my previous visit. The gf and m shared spanish chiles ($ 7!!!), spinach and goat cheese naan with mango chutney, lamb curry, duck tagine, fatoush, butter chicken, turkish coffees, and ginger croquets for dessert; $ 60 with tip, no alcohol. The butter chicken is made with boring chunks of white meat chicken; it lacked an earthiness. The gf loves it, but she’s not fond of dark meat chicken. The star for me was the fatoush, which was effectively a salad with tahini at the bottom.
The gf will have to push me to go back, or I’ll pick it as a safe choice with
diners I know won’t dig on Smoke or Bolsa or The Cedars Social.
I still have to give props where they are due — service and décor. They are five-​star all the way.
How to win back a star? Some or all of revise the menu, slightly increase the portions, or decrease the prices slightly.

Samar masterfully blends traditional tapas and creative adaptations. I have really enjoyed my experiences here and could live the rest of my life eating their Pimientos Padrones and drinking their Cabellero Manhattans.
Despite my blinding love for this restaurant, I see inconsistencies in the final products quite often and while I struggle to put my blinders on to these figurative flies in the tapas, I must deduct a star for these variances.
Also, I’m going to caution you to avoid the temptation of the Tres Vasos. Despite the numerous alluring ingredients packed into these small glasses, they come off as excessively rich, uninspiring to the palette and difficult to enjoy.
Everything else on the menu ranks from good to «**** me thats ******* rough tongue love just the way I like it»
I will be back again and again.

My husband and I checked out Samar last night with some friends. I am very glad we got there early (5:30), so we could get a table. The place is small and was very busy… even right before the holidays! The ambiance is nice and the outdoor space is great for those temperate evenings.
Now, on to the food… the Spanish and Middle Eastern food was very good, but the Indian food stole the show! The butter chicken, samosas and rosemary garlic naan were amazing!
Service was pretty good… Stephan Pyles was there and went around to all of the tables to greet everyone!

Expecatations high, execution as expected!
Samar was on the docket for Saturday, 11÷28…
Since Samar doesn’t take reservations, we thought it best to arrive at a relatively early time to procure a wait-​less or short wait dinner time. We were quickly escorted to our tables in the main dining area, and were immediately greeted by Alex, our phenomenal server for the evening.
Originally, we had assumed that Samar was a fusion type joint, but as it turns out, three different cuisine menus grace this place. Spanish, Indian and what I believe to be Eastern Mediterranean (sp) were what awaited us.
We were off to the races… clearly, the tapas portion sized dishes were carefully designed and plated… case in point: the tres vasos, a collaboration of three wonderfully unique tapas, all layered with multiple ingreidients. The one that stood prominent with me was the foie gras flan (foie gras and flan, together? Heaven on Earth say you?)…oh my.
Several additional treats included the lamb ‘pizza’ which more aptly resembled a lamb quesadilla in appearance (wonderful), a zesty chicken kabob, curried I believe… if I would have written this review on Saturday night after we were done, it would be completely comprehensive (is that redundant?) but hey, I really couldn’t find fault or anything to comparatively critique. A wonderful experience.
A note about our server, Alex… Stephen Pyles was making the rounds during our dinner; we snagged him for a good 5 minutes, and I made sure to recognize the exemplary service provided to us by Alex, who, at clearly a very young age, has mastered the nuances of social interaction more so than most folks twice his age. Using him as the model to hire future customer-​facing employees would be a wise thing to do!
All in all, a wonderful experience that was topped off with a relatively modest tab.

Yes, Yes, and OMG YES.
It’s amazing that we spent almost a week in Vegas and ate at numerous celebrity chef restaurants and so few compared to this gem right in our backyard!
After dining at SP’s namesake restaurant across the street for RW I had a feeling that I was saving my special 200^th review for Samar’s opening. Although I missed the Grand Opening party and the public opening was delayed, I got there as quick as I could.
And thank goodness! You can tell this place is still getting it’s act together and it’s not that crowded yet, but we had a superb experience. The setup is tapas style — but not just typical Spanish tapas, they’ve got selections from middle eastern and indian cuisine as well (about 8 – 10 choices for each cuisine, plus desserts).
Our waitress was clearly still learning the menu and cocktails, but I’m sure that will get worked out. Everyone from the busboys to the servers to the guy bringing us our food to the managers to Stephan Pyles himself came by to check on us, and it was obvious that they all knew quite a bit about the menu and were committed to excellent service. One of the managers, George, talked extensively with us throughout the evening and was really awesome.
Unfortunately the cocktails had no descriptions and it would have taken awhile for her to explain them all so we went for the first two that sounded good: the pomegranate Samartini and the blueberry-​mojito Susianne (?) The ‘tini was nice and smooth but the blueberry mojito was WAY too limey, and I didn’t taste the blueberry. Just OK. We got a margarita after that, and it had an interesting twist… pear, maybe? Anyway, I loved it.
The lowlights were that mojito, the almond gazpacho (although the liquid reconstituted grapes were fun), and the grilled prawn with crispy okra (just not enough to share with one big prawn and the okra was too salty for me).
Very good dishes were the the tandoori halibut (although I didn’t care for the eggplant purée), the sundried tomato naan and tamarind chipotle chutney, and the desserts we tried (chocolate samosa and apricot pudding).
One of my favorites was the Persian fried chicken with fenugreek mashed potatoes (really like three fried chicken nuggets, but REALLY tasty), and Dr. S really liked the quail stuffed with rice and various nuts and berries.
However, the standout of the evening, and dare I say one of the top 5 best things I’VE EVER EATEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE??? Srsly, listen to this: foie-​gras brulee topped with sherry marinated figs and crispy serrano ham. Need a change of panties? It was THE perfect mixture of tastes and textures. My mouth is watering again just thinking about it.
And the best part? This place is incredibly reasonably priced (especially compared to his other restaurant) – each item is like $ 5 – 10. We were out of there for about a hundred bucks. (And we ordered more than what I mentioned.) Oh, and George comped us our desserts too as a welcome gift! Hellz yes!
I think I subliminally wanted so badly to come back that I forgot to get my credit card upon leaving, so I ended up back to retrieve it about an hour later and it was like a reunion of old friends. I can totally see us being regulars here.
UYE soon, please???
Random other info: valet is $ 5, hookah is available on the patio, and they will be offering lunch soon!!!