Samba Room

The lady at the front of the restaurant was very rude. Be aware of the $ 10 cover per person, even if you are going to dinner. The cover starts at 10pm. They are strict about it. We showed up at 10:02pm for dinner and still had to pay. FYI: this was a friday with a live band. We walked out and had dinner elsewhere but came back for dancing. The dancing and music was good. The drinks were pricey.

Despite reading some not so great reviews, I still hoped for a good experience at the Samba Room. Unfortunately Samba Room was a big disappointment. The menu items look good and the restaurant/​bar has great ambiance, there is also a nice patio area overlooking a small lake. We sat at the bar and had great service. We followed the bartender’s suggestions and ordered a selection of appetizers — some truffle tator tots, wild mushroom ragout crustini, and mussels & chorizo. Everything was really bland, crustini were blah, truffle tator tots were mush, and the mussels were overpowered by chorizo, no other flavor in the dish. We don’t mind paying for good food, but the prices at Samba Room don’t correlate with the product that’s coming out of that kitchen.
We actually didn’t even end up ordering dinner. Just finished our apps and drinks and drove over to Anatolia for some fresh tasty Turkish food.

I had high hopes for The Samba Room. Sadly, I was disappointed. There wasn’t really a single reason for my low review, it was just a combination of several «meh» components.
The décor is trendy, and they have a really cool patio area overlooking a lake — the restaurant was nearly empty on a Friday night at 7pm (flag!), but we weren’t seated in this great patio area. Why? It was still completely empty when we left.
The service was genuinely friendly. Our server made some recommendations, which sounded good. We ordered, and the server returned return from the kitchen with an apology that they were out of one of the recommended dishes. My second choice — they were out of that, too. Ah, so sorry.
We ordered from the «Tapas» part of the menu. Mussels & Chorizo, Chicken Lollipops, Lamb Meatballs, and Stuffed Sweet Peppers. The presentation was meticulous, but the taste failed to impress. The Mussels didn’t taste very fresh, chicken was just meh, meatballs were just ok (the tzatziki was watery). The stuffed peppers were actually pretty good, but couldn’t quite make up for the other food. The table next to us sent at least one item back because it was cold.
Positive notes: The Guava BBQ sauce that came with the chicken was good, as was the pickled celery. And, again, the stuffed peppers with pork and goat cheese was pretty delish.
To be terribly cliché: the décor, presentation, and aesthetics are writing checks that the food just can’t cash. We went here on a deal that basically took care of half the bill, but it was STILL not anywhere near worth what we paid.
With the Dr. Phillips address, I’m not sure how this place has stayed in business.
(Oh, and the table was wobbly. Pet peeve!)

Went here for a «customer appreciation» event as part of a conference. We were a bit late (arrived after our table had received appetizers). Menus were thrown at us and we were told «you need to order quickly.» Um, ok. Anyway, they did end up bringing out appetizers for us. We sampled: ried pot-​stockers (veggie and pork) and tempura shrimp. Tempura was the highlight. It was a 3-​course menu and I had Caesar salad, paella, and espresso tres leches. Servable, but not memorable (rice in the paella was a bit hard and the dish needed more salt).
The lakeside setting is probably this place’s biggest draw. I wouldn’t come back based on the food (or service), but maybe cocktails/​appetizers on the patio.

1. Red Sangria was weak. like drinking fruit punch
2. Samba Room Paella was ok, expected it to be better since it was their specialty
3. Pork Ribs were ok
3. View of the lake is very nice
4. Service was very good

I cant mention the food because I went here to dance. I know you can eat and drink here but my intention was just to dance. It is very expensive so I dont see myself ever eating here. It’s the kind of place where you go on a date and dress up.
On the weekends, this place gets loud and you can hear the music from the street. There is not much to do in Dr Phillips besides eat and spend money. It’s located in the busy part of Dr Phillips with the award-​winning restaurants like Roy’s and Seasons 52 so if you are worried about getting stuck here, you can always walk and/​or drive to something else rather quickly.
Friday is Latin Night and they have a good sized room that’s purpose is for dancing. It has a bar inside of it too. If you are a lady, there is no cover. If you are a man, it is 10 dollars. They have a free dance lesson at the beginning of the night and then everyone takes over the dance floor. Everyone dancing was Latin (besides me!) and it was exciting. It was dark and crowded with everyone dressed up and dancing as if they were true professionals. The women wore flashy dresses and high heels and no one stopped moving. The double doors with billowy gauze curtains were opened wide so that you could see Little Sand Lake as you danced. It was very romantic with the wind blowing around me and the men and women dancing so fast and with such passion.
Fun night! Go here to step outside the box and do some Samba!
I only give it three stars because I cant comment on the food or drinks as all I did was dance in one part of the restaurant. I had one drink which my partner bought and it was very expensive, strong and not my style.

Meh.
I’m a bit surprised that I didn’t enjoy this more than I did. I generally enjoy E-​Brands other restaurants. I enjoy the style and flavor of foods that are offered… but this restaurant really just kinda falls into a generic pit.
For the apps we had the Empanda Sampler (pork and corn) which tasted like microwave egg rolls and the Arepa. The Arepa was the stand out of the entire meal with a delicious cheese sauce and shredded beef.
About this time the bread came out (with chimichuri dip) — because we were there «when they started serving bread». Huh? We came at 4:30 when the opened at 4. it was now about 5. Do they not serve bread for the first hour? I wish our server had just been honest and said that it was cooking.
Entrée was the Crispy Chicken which was generic and tasted like it could have been the «chicken» entrée at any bistro anywhere in the country. Where were the latin flavors!?! The deserts are also generic «shot glass» deserts that you see everywhere now.
I think the focus here is really on the dancing and the music and not the food. The high prices do not get you a quality level that is worthy of them. It’s not a horrible restaurant… just kind of «meh».

Good food. Good service. Perhaps too pricey for what you are getting.
Very good Argentenian steak. The Dulce de leche ice cream desert was was very good, but you could probably find some at the store.

They accomodated my gluten free boyfriend with a very nice calamari appetizer. The rum drinks were wonderful and they offer flights of wine. The service is outstanding. I would go back just for that. Coco mojito too sweet, but the caphriani was delicious. We sat in the front patio area, comfortable, not a lot of people on a Saturday; the place was empty, it was about 6pm, too early for party people. Perfect for a quiet afternoon cocktail.

So anticipating the lovely Cuban flavors of this dinner from the moment we booked a reservation. Sadly, not a high level of delivery on that. The stripmall location was a tad odd, the vibe inside was ok, but not much more interesting. The empanada apps were good, the calamari as well, the satays were ok. Based on the chicken dish at a Cuban restaurant I have frequented in Los Angeles, I was excited to have that here. As we were ordering, somehow they ran out of chicken. I opted for the pork, which was ok. Meat was tender and sauce had some promise, but it didn’t deliver the punch of flavors I was hoping for. Surprisingly, no plantains with our entrees. (how can that be?!) Oh, but the vodka mojito was alright! (Now reading that this is also a club, perhaps the focus is not so much on the food…)

Samba Room is a unique restaurant along Sandlake Road on the ever popular restaurant row. I was here with a gigantic party of about 25. The waitstaff was actually very capable of attending to our needs and separating checks but still I wasn’t that impressed with this place because of the ridiculous prices. I saw some of the meals of my table mates and they didn’t look like $ 30 dishes. The bar here is long but not really the type to hang out at, its super bright and more so feels like a place to wait for your table and then get out. Their mojitos are scrumptious though as is the sangria, that’s the most positive remark I will make about Samba Room. This main attraction at this restaurant though is the actual samba room, the separate room they have apart from the dining area for a 30 minute samba lesson and then open floor dancing. The lesson was informative and the teacher was lively but as soon as the free dancing started this room became too dark and incredibly hot. I couldn’t stand it for more than 10 minutes. All in all my Samba Room experience could have been better but if you enjoy dancing to the rhythmic beats of South America I would try it out yourself.

OK, last review of Orlando. This was… mediocre. It was a small intimate party so that might have made the difference. The place was not very lively. It was a bit in the middle of nowhere or at least I did not see too many businesses around.
I originally went with the intention to stay for 2 hours and move on to the next social event for the night. But I managed an hour (enjoying the people I was talking to) and then left when offered a chance to go someplace else.
It was not the company kept… but the atmosphere we were kept in.

Let me preface this by saying I am an Asian American who has absolutely no rythym and cannot carry a beat with her body to save her life. However, despite this handicap, I do enjoy going dancing from time to time as long as it’s not a dirty, sweaty nightclub or bar, which is hard to find. Thankfully, we have the Samba room which is far from your average dance club with a latin theme to spice things up. PLUS, this is not a dance club, but also a full service restaurant that serves Cuban and Latin inspired gourmet dishes.
The dance portion of this establishment is not huge, but not small either with just enough room to dance the night away. If you haven’t guessed already, a majority of music played is latin featuring most of the popular dance styles like samba and the ramba. There are actually people who konw how to dance on the floor doing their things and its quite impressive. I’d go just to watch if it were closer to where I lived.
The restaurant is connected to the dance room and is very elegantly designed with dim lighting, table clothes, candles and electic arwork and décor throughout. The calamari is wonderful and their mojitos and probably the best I’ve ever had to be honest… and strong, which is always a good thing. Since this is considered fine dining to a degree, the servers are impeccable, doing their very best to stay on top of everything. This is a good place to for a birthday meal or a fancy date!

Apparently this place is a restaurant and then a dance club. I haven’t eaten there, although I would like to soon.
The space was open and great for dancing, with fabulous music, but a 10 $ cover? Hello — this is Orlando…
I don’t pay covers in New York, and I’m sure as he-​double hockey sticks not going to pay one here!

Excellent!
We just went the other evening for a friends Birthday. We called really late in the day, and were worried we wouldn’t be able to get a seat on a Saturday night at 8pm– but they were extremely accommodating for our large group. We arrived early so that we could have a cocktail before being seated. The Raspberry mojito I had was excellent, and my friends and husband really enjoyed theirs as well.
Once we sat our server was very informative on all the specials that evening. She suggested a bottle of wine and said «It’s such a great bottle– if you don’t like it– I will buy it». We all really enjoyed it– so much we ordered a second. We all wanted to try different appetizers– from the calamari to the ceviche, to the twisted version of the Cuban— they made the Cuban into a fried little spring roll which was delicious. I also had their avocado, corn and crab soup which was amazing. My husband had their fried steak which he really enjoyed as well. The Birthday girl was even surprised by a tray of about 5 different desserts– all of which by the way were packed with a lot of flavor and absolutely delicious! I would absolutely go back!