Sam Snead’s Tavern

Fish and chips wasn’t bad. Just okay. Nice view of the golf course if seated outside.

My dad comes here often and wanted to try the prime rib for 2 people special they have on fridays. Of course, he needed someone to go with him, and I obliged, rather unwillingly after reading their not-​so-​stellar reviews on Unilocal.For $ 15 each, you get a choice of soup or salad, prime rib with baked potato and chocolate or vanilla ice cream for dessert. Not a bad deal at all.
My dad called to make reservations (I guess he thought it would be packed) and the girl who answered the phone insisted that they would absolutely not be full, but took his reservation anyway. It is a little unsettling when the people who work there don’t have much faith in their place of employment.
When we got there, the hostess was really friendly and we were seated right away. The girl on the phone was right, the place was only about 15% full. Dinner went pretty smoothly, it seemed like everyone who came in to eat got the prime rib special. When asked what kind of soup they had, the waiter showed us the half eaten bowl of minestrone that was just taken off the table next to us. I was stunned that he did that, and I opted for the salad immediately after. If the guy at that table didnt like it, I wasn’t going to take my chances. There is a choice of caesar or mixed salad. The mixed salad, was your typical romaine mix with black olives and a couple tomatoes. They make their own dressings, and I would definitely recommend their grapefruit vinigrette.
Someone recently pointed out to me that women usually take a bite of potatoes (or whatever starch is served) before taking a bite of meat, whereas men always go for the meat first. SO TRUE! I tried the potatoes first, thinking that the little mash thing that they put back into the potato skin was actually pretty good. The outer part of the potato was the absolute worst though. It may have ruined the entire meal if I hadn’t doused it in my au ju. The meat was good. I mean is prime rib ever bad? The chocolate ice cream was good too, but was forced on us by the waiter who kept telling all the tables around us that they were“basically out” of vanilla. lol

While the menu looked very appetizing, we never had a chance to try any of the items. My sister and the waiter got into an argument and the waiter, Billy, said he would provide crappy service. After that, there was no point staying to discover just how crappy the service would be.

HORRIBLE service, waited 30 minutes for a drink refill after the fact that the waiter took our cup away, waited about 40 minutes to receive our COLD food, waiter BARELY checked on us, we left there STARVING because there portions were so small & not tasteful, & it looked like a tacky banquet hall with white walls & ancient looking carpet. I will NEVER eat there again. Not to mention, my husband & I went on Valentines Day hoping for a great dinner & it was anything but. I couldn’t get out of their fast enough.

I’ve been here once for lunch for my co-​workers’ last day of work. I had the Grilled Mahi Sandwich, which wasn’t Mahi Mahi on that day since they were out, it was Ono. The sandwich was okay, nothing to rave about. My other co-​worker had the Cobb Salad that was recommended by a lot of Unilocalers. The Cobb Salad looked really good and it was a really big portion, probably enough for two people to share.
Despite the other reviews, we lucked out on the service as the service was great! The location is very convenient, especially for those who work and/​or live near the airport or in Salt Lake. The restaurant itself was pretty nice overlooking the golf course. There’s ample amount of parking.
I recommend trying this place out if you’re in the area and don’t want to eat at the typical Ruby Tuesdays or Panda Express that’s down the road from here. I definitely need to go back to try other entrees.

We enjoy going to Sam Snead’s for the nice atmosphere and good food. Our favorites are the fish and chips and pot roast. My only complaint would be the service. The employees are very friendly and helpful, it just seems to take a long time to get things like refills and the check once you’re done.

Ahhh, dude, this place pretty much sucks. I’m just gonna keep it simple and make a list:
1) We came for lunch, were seated on the lanai and immediately, both my husband and I felt like shorties (fyi, we are 5’9″ and 6’2″). They have these, like, LOUNGE chairs or something for eating in… and they appeared new, so they likely won’t be replaced anytime soon. Seriously, I don’t usually pick on stuff like chairs, but these were ridiculous. It was funny, though, to look around and see people all looking like they had horrible posture and bent over all weird because they chairs want you to relax and recline and not, well… EAT.
(honestly, I can’t believe I’m complaining about chairs, but these were lame).
2) The iced tea was yucky. And there was no Splenda. For a no-​sugar/​low-​carb girl like myself, no good. So I used the blue stuff (is this the 80s? Please.), and the tea tasted worse. And we had to ask for lemon to try and make it better. That took awhile to get, but helped. Sadly, we were on our way to a meeting with our lawyer and couldn’t just have shots and or wine to make everything better.
3) Service was mediocre at best. And I’m not that picky, honestly. Our waitress brought our bill early, which was totally fine, and said «Take your time, I see you’re [my husband] in uniform and you probably have to get back to work,»…then, we noticed that an extra drink and sandwich were on our bill… but this woman was no where to be found for about, oh, 15 minutes. Luckily we WEREN’T in a hurry, that was just a small annoyance. When she finally resurfaced and we told her about it, there wasn’t really an apology, just an excuse. Whatever, but irritating after everything else being sub-​par.
4) Food was not very good. I had some sort of salad that was trying to be gourmet but was really like a salad in a bag. Fine, but certainly not impressive. My husband had a burger that was alright, and fries that tasted like old, dirty oil and were not hot… and neither of us gets french fries that often, so that was a bummer. If you’re gonna eat ‘em, they need to be effin good.
That is pretty much all I have to say about that.
If you are in this general vicinity, go to Aiea Bowl for a 100 000 times better meal. Or McDonald’s. For real.

I have never made this recommendation before but I sincerely believe this restaurant needs a new chef. I had the appetizer spinach dip, a salad of wilted vegetables, and then I cancelled the rest of my order. Our server was very kind and I made sure that he understood I appreciated his service despite the quality of food I was served. Will not be returning.

Since my workplace is right up the hill from Sam Snead’s, this is one of our choices if we’re deliberating on what to eat for lunch.
Both times that I’ve been here is because of lunch. First time, we drove there. The second time, we designated one of our co-​workers (who drives a Vanpool) to pick up our order.
No complaints when it comes to the food or service.
Pupus: Spinach /​Cheese dip. I wish they would also add avocado to this appetizer! I haven’t tried any other appetizer because this is my favorite besides mushrooms.
Sandwiches: If you haven’t figured it out by now, my favorite sandwich is a cheeseburger. Size is pretty good and they cook it to your specifications.
One of my co-​workers ordered the Cobb salad and it is HUGE.
If you decide to come here for lunch, the view is the golf course since the restaurant is located on the second level. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and relaxing considering there is a «gentleman golfing setting» to the ambiance.
I definitely recommend this place if you’re deciding where to go to lunch if you are around the Pearl Harbor /​Salt Lake area of Oahu otherwise there is McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell or Panda Express across the street ;)

Today my friend and I had lunch here. Our server was Michael. I can’t say that I was highly impressed with the service that we received. We came for a late lunch, and it wasn’t that busy. If we were there during the peak time for lunch, I would understand the lack of promptness by our server. This was not the case. I am not sure if he was just having an «off» day, but whatever it was, reflected in his service. This was our first time here– and first impressions always leaves a lasting one.
First my friend ordered a Coke and got a Diet Coke instead. I had a regular tea– but when he brought the arrangement of sugar… there was ONLY Sweet n’ Low and Equal. I would have liked to ask him for regular sugar, but he seemed too preoccupied. So I just drank my tea. My friend had already finished her drink and Michael made eye contact with us, saw her drink was in need of a refill, but did not come back. He didn’t even check on us once we received our food or ask if everything was ok. It was as if we were of inconvenience to him. Finally, my friend just asked for a refill.
Finally our check came and at this point, he sure did circle back with us quickly!
Just when I thought things could not get worse… the chairs (on the outside patio area) SNAGGED a hole into my brand-​new cardigan! After looking at the chair, half of the arm on the left side of the chair was unraveled. Which is why it snagged my cardigan. I was deeply upset by this, and when I told Michael that he may want to change out the chairs or do something to prevent this from happening to someone else, he just casually said «Yeah, sorry». Thank goodness for my cardigan, even though I am still upset about it, but that could have been my skin that got snagged by it, or worse, there could have been a child sitting at that chair!
Before leaving, I even told the hostess about the chair, in case Michael did not relay the message to anyone, and she didn’t seem surprise at all. She just said «Yeah, those chairs unravel” — well, if you KNOW this is a problem, perhaps you should remedy it.
People tend to write when they receive exceptional service or horrible service, in my case, this was far exceptional. Which is perhaps why, all of your reviews online and on Unilocal,received no more than three stars… which is way more generous than what I am giving.

Met up with Kent’s aunties aka my good friends yesterday. I somehow got confused on where we were going… thought we were supposed to be going to Waipio Outback… which was the original plan but then we ended up going to Sam Snead’s. I have only been to the golf course but not really Sam Snead’s so when I saw the reviews, I really didn’t have high hopes for this place.
We got here about fifteen minutes late because of my mistake. Oh well. My friend’s kid already had his grilled cheese sandwich and fries… and my friends got a buffalo wings appetizer. We quickly ordered so we wouldn’t delay everyone else. Good thing my friends had their cocktails :).
Anyway, our waiter was great… he quickly refilled our waters and our food came out quickly. The kids menu was a coloring page which was cute. But honestly that’s where my love for this place ended… the food was not all that great… quite possibly two stars but our waiter made up for it. It was chewy… I got chicken fried steak. Nothing compared to the other one we got awhile ago. The country gravy had no taste even with the bacon it had in it. My husband got the chicken plate… it was better than mine but still nothing spectacular. Their house dressing was probably the best thing but you can’t have a good restaurant based on that alone.
Food was probably 1.5 stars but service was more like 4 or 5 since he wasn’t trying to rush us out even though we were there past the closing time. Oh cheap kids menu!

Sam Snead’s Tavern is another place we go fairly regularly. We don’t go frequently. Maybe we don’t even go often, but we do go once every few months.
We’re never thrilled, nor are we disappointed. It’s a place to get a solid meal with decent service. The view is nice. The atmosphere is very relaxing. And the prices are reasonable.
Eating out at Sam Snead’s Tavern is so low impact, it is almost like eating at home, but without having to cook or do dishes.

I used to live here in Hawaii in 2007 – 2008, but that was before I discovered Unilocal.IMHO, Unilocal should offer two different rating systems in Hawaii: one for rating in comparison to other restaurants on the island and one for rating in comparison to restaurants back on the mainland. The average service here in Hawaii is substandard compared to most service on the mainland, so I would expect lower ratings here.
Rating Sam Snead’s against the rest of the places I have reviewed, I have to give it 3 stars. However, I feel a little guilty doing that, because it’s one of my favorite places on Oahu and if I was only rating it versus other restaurants in Hawaii it would certainly get 4 stars from me.
The service is a little slow and somewhat inattentive, but friendly, polite, and professional.
Almost every time I come here, I get the Cobb Salad with the grapefruit vinaigrette dressing. I LOVE their grapefruit vinaigrette dressing. I could drink the stuff by the gallon.
Other times when I have already been here once in the past week and feel like getting something different, then I’ll have ribs or a burger or a steak. I have not had a bad meal here. They make pretty good Plantation Iced Tea, too.
Price-​wise, you can find anything from $ 10 for a really good burger and fries to like $ 29 for filet mignon.
When we lived here, my wife and I liked to come here for date nights, anniversary dinners and the like. It’s really nice to get a table out on the balcony and watch the sunset. We had several work/​office luncheons here, too. Now, when I return to Oahu on business trips, you can wager money that I’ll have at least one dinner at Sam Snead’s while I’m on the island.

This place was awful. The service was ssssssllllllooooowwwww. All of the food came out at different times so some got their plate and waited about 15 min for the others to get their meal. Thought it was going to be good but what more can you expect from a golf course. It looked nice but that was about it. I will never go here again!
This place was a waste of my time and money. I should have know when I looked it up in Unilocal and it came up under «dive bars» NEVER AGAIN

Ate here twice. Once for my baby shower and another for a work gathering. Both times I was impressed with the food. My last visit I ordered the onion soup, salmon salad, and tasted the fish and chips. All choices were excellent. The fish was covered in beer batter and the fish itself was so tender. The onion soup had a layering of swiss cheese and was so hearty I decided not to finish it so I would have room for the salad. The salad was large enough to feed two people. Muy sabroso. Two thumbs up.
Service is spotty and could be improved upon. The waitress was attentive when we had her in front of us but her visits were few and far between. We also had little visitors (birds) in the restaurant. Is that okay? Not in my book.

Hands down my favorite dish here is the Cobb salad. I also love the Reuben sandwich with sauerkraut and swiss.
Parking can be a challenge depending on when you go but its a nice restaurant to relax and enjoy the day in a breezy, open setting with good food. Nice view from the patio /​lanai.
I’ve had to set up lunch and dinners for work socials on different occasions and the staff is very willing to accommodate whether the party was large or small.

My Government Customers took me here as a token of appreciation for the work I’ve done for their office, the two years I worked with them.
It was, after all, the nicest place that was closest to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-​Hickam and that we could dine and make it back to the office to finish our work…
The ambiance was that of a golf club house, after all, it looks over the Navy Marine Corps Golf Course… there were a lot of memorabilia on the wall and televisions with, you guessed it, golf and sports on display.
The food was surprisingly not bad… had a meatloaf that was soft and flavorful… I wish it was a bit hotter… it may have been cut and sat waiting to be picked up, as my colleagues’ foods were being prepared. I appreciated the fact that it was served with REAL mashed potatoes, skin-​in, and seasoned nicely. I have to say I was satisfied with my meal… no complaints, yet nothing to write home to mother about.
The prices are reasonable, I was under the impression that it was going to be a little more expensive being at a Golf Course clubhouse, but the prices were in line with that of a typical default diner (e.g.: Zippy’s, Denny’s, etc.)
The service was very attentive and our waitress was very nice, ensured that our waters were topped off and that we were doing well.
Overall… if you’re in the area, Sam Sneads’ is a place you may want to consider checking out. — Did I mention there’s a bar too? :)

Company luncheon with a client company.
Had their Par Burger — mushroom & swiss burger. Comes with fries! Burger was good (but then again I was hungry and craving sandwich so take this advice worth a…) The fries were cooked well, crispy and not oily! (~$ 9)
One of the bosses had the Mahi Mahi sandwich with cole slaw. The fish cut was thick, but smallish size. Cole slaw looked KFC style. He finished his sandwich but barely touched the slaw.
Other boss had the club sandwich (comes with fries). He also cleared his plate.
Client ordered the onion soup and a BLT sandwich (came w/​fries). She said the onion soup is usually good, but was terrible that day. SUPER salty. She ate half her BLT and took the rest home.
A little on the pricey side for me (spoiled by In-​n-​out le sigh). But decent! Would eat here again.

My family hosted a graduation dinner celebration here for 15 on a Friday night.
AMBIANCE – The dining room overlooks the golf course and was a nice backdrop at dusk. There are also tables on a wrap-​around lanai and in the corner was an actual bar. Music wafted to the general dining room from the bar but there was a lot of background noise that made it difficult to hear.
FOOD – For an appetizer we got the spinach dip with tortilla chips. The dip was slightly cheesy and was ok but the chips were thick and slightly stale. The server also brought fresh baked foccacia was which was the best thing I had all night.
Everyone ordered from the menu & I got the fruit, nut, and chicken salad with honey mustard dressing. I thought it was ok but wasn’t terribly impressed. Diced tomatoes ended up being the ‘fruit’, a few sliced almonds were buried in the lettuce, and the shaved chicken was barely visible within the ¼ lb of cheddar/​colbly in the center of the salad dish. Probably better labeled the ‘cheese-​tomato-​chicken’ salad. It was a large portion and better shared. One of my cousins ordered the mahi mahi with couscous. She said the fish was good but didn’t touch the couscous. I tried a bite and couldn’t taste anything except butter.
SERVICE – We had a single server who also covered at least half of the tables, so the service was sub-​standard. For example, we ordered 2 bottles of wine, which were delivered, un-​corked and without a sufficient # of glasses. The bottle opener arrived 5 mins later, the additional glasses arrived 10 mins after the bottle opener. Perhaps they had someone call in last minute but for first time customers, it left a poor impression.

Visit: 4÷8÷09 — Had the Fish & Chips, Par Burger and French Onion soup.
Fish & Chips are really good here. Beer battered and served with cole slaw.
Par Burger is their name for a mushroom burger. Since the invention of MCD, I have not eaten a better burger. All I can say is wow. I normally save half a burger for breakfast, I had to eat it all.
French Onion soup was terrible. Don’t try it. You will cry if you do. It’s like drinking onion flavored water from a spoon. Not much taste and bland.
Service was good at start. As usual, they did not fill up our waters. Worst part was that the waters they gave us was full of ice and in small glasses. I thought they were saving water with these tactics.
I will come back again with my waiter uniform so I can serve my own water.