Fusillli’s Cucina

Tried this restaurant today. We were 4 adults, 2 teens, 2 preteens and a 5yr. old. for lunch after a gym meet. Found Fusilli’s on Unilocal & it was better than we expected. I called ahead and we were treated to a large square table in a separate room. The menu was large with many selections especially in pastas and seafood. Everyone found something to tempt his/​her palate and each meal was delicious. Writer had chicken piccata and probably the dish, with plenty of capers, spinach and mushrooms, was the best I’ve had (even being of Italian heritage); calamari was tender and the coating light; tomato sauce was delicious, a well flavored marinara, and not a heavy dark sauce; chicken parmesan was delicious; fried haddock was fresh and lightly coated. Fries were fresh and delicious. Portions are more than ample and prices were great! Wait staff was attentive and extremely pleasant. Restaurant is very attractive and nicely furnished. (To top it off, the bathrooms were pristine.) We would definitely recommend Fusilli’s and will certainly return.

Ate there today and didn’t expect anything great. But. The food was AWESOME! I got AN ORGANIC FREE RANGE roasted CHICKEN. Fantastic. Wife got arugalla salad pizza. Also awesome. service great. And prices were really really good.

First trip to Fusilli’s Cucina today was overall successful. I had gone a few times when it was Sam’s Bistro, which I thought had been decent.
Anyway, I arrived with two others in my party and we were seated once a waitress spotted us. There were a few other tables taken. It was lunch on a Thursday. I like the variety of menu items. They have great bread when you sit down. I ordered the Italian wedding soup and turkey club. The soup was good, especially with the bread. My club sandwich was great too, but I wasn’t a big fan of the fries. They weren’t very hot and I thought they were lacking flavor. On the other hand, another person loved them.
Also ordered at the table: lobster bisque, grilled chicken sandwich, garden salad, coffee. Everything was enjoyed. Nice servers who checked in enough.
The décor appears the same as it was when it was Sam’s. I’ll definitely be back to try other items from the menu!

The food was good and reasonably priced, but beware of the drink prices. $ 15 for and Apple Martini!

Had the autumn harvest ravioli and the fig and goat chesse pizza. Both were amazing! Combined with a nice décor, gentle music and moderately busy noon time crowd, had quite a good experience.

I enjoyed the new menu… However I think I enjoyed Sam’s Bistro a lil better as I usually have a seafood entrée. I had Chicken Piccata and I really enjoyed the meal … Lots of pasta that was good despite I’m not a big pasta eater. That salad and bread were great as well as the prices… Lower than Sams menu
Our server was Kristy… Very fast, friendly and helpful!
My mom accompanied me but she is ridiculous and asks how much everything costs and is siooooo picky –so of course she mentioned that the dish had too much pasta and that her chicken was tough! Ahhh the elders should stay home and eat their usual staple comfort food… So it does not make it a very enjoyable experience … The only thing that
I did NOT like we’re the Ugly PLASTIC red and white
Checkered table cloths… Not necessary
I lived in Italy and I can’t remember seeing them… It took away from the very nice décor and ambiance this place had prior … They could have used some creativity and did something different … It made the room less attractive… Ok I’ll get off that issue. I made my point
Great prices, Food and service … A must repeat!

Fusilli Cucina was absolutely fantastic! Great wine, beer and cocktail selection. The food menu is spectacular and really speaks to everyone. We had the chicken parmigiana, which included a fresh, well cooked chicken breast lightly breaded topped with provolone. The pasta was cooked perfectly! We sat at the bar with Liz and Leslie, who were extremely friendly and very knowledgable about the menu. They really showed enthusiasm and lead us in all the right directions! A must try, for sure.
Enjoy!

Great prices — we’ve had take out three times already! Fabulous pizza! I especially loved the homemade gnocchi and fusilli — cooked perfectly each time.
I never buy pasta at restaurants — I prefer my own meat sauce to anything found elsewhere. I was happily surprised when I tried their Bolognese and it blew us all away! I even ordered sides of it to go this week when I was too sick to make my own sauce.
Lovely staff, great food — so loving the changes!

Average food, less than average sized portions for an adult –I ordered the Autumn Harvest Ravioli and got 8 demilunes. Kid’s menu stating choices of Spaghetti or Ziti when in actuality it was homemade fusilli. Which was great. But too aldente for most kids. Kids pasta was $ 7.99 for just pasta-​no side, drink or dessert included. Chocolate milk came in a pint glass with no lid and was $ 2.99 (and double the size put what my son could or would drink). Kiddo’s pasta came incorrectly with red sauce instead of butter, but waitstaff quickly and courteously replaced it. Our first visit, and although food was ok, I wouldn’t rush to go back. Service was fair-​good. 2 ½ stars.

Recently changed from Sam’s Bistro. The prices are definitely much more reasonable. The atmosphere is upscale. much nicer then most local places.
The food was above average. Caesar salad was well dressed and fresh. Chicken parm sandwich was very good, crispy chicken and bread. Tortellini Alfredo was fresh but way too much garlic.
Our server was pretty slow but others seemed quick and attentive, so I can’t fault them for that. We were in no rush so I’m sure in time our server will be just fine.
We will be back to try more dishes and I recommend you come here for some fairly priced Italian food with a great atmosphere.

Hardly any difference from Sam’s bistro. Just a different name and slightly different menu. Food was all right and service was good.

This restaurant was formerly SAMs Bistro and a couple of weeks ago was transformed into Fusilli’s Cucina with a great new menu. We went on a Saturday night the first week it was open. The food was great great but service was slow. It took 90 minutes to get our food.
I really was struck by the menu. I love Italian foods but I don’t like a lot of breaded, stuffed foods. Fusilli’s Cucina has many unique items on the appetizer and dinner menu suitable for a diabetic or just someone who doesn’t like too many carbs.
So, we went back last weekend with 2 other couples. We had a reservation and were seated promptly. The staff were properly attentive and knowledgable about the menu. Crispy bread with very good dipping oil, was brought out promptly Appetizers of very good shrimp cocktail, 5 jumbo shrimp with some good horseradish along side the cocktail sauce, savory and juicy chicken wings that could have been crispier, and a decent antipasto plate.
Our waitress recommended the Sea Bass Special, a good sized portion of fish with lobster, asparagus, and I think hollandaise sauce. It was a winner! We also ordered Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Saltimbocca, and Mediterranean Chicken. All very good. The sauces with the chicken dishes were good, but a bit thin, as if the fresh pasta wasn’t well drained. The entrees came with a good salad.
We will certainly come here again.

The martinis were great! There was a long list to choose from. The pizza was delicious too and the service at the bar was excellent. We will definitely be coming back!

Dined at Sam’s this evening for my Birthday dinner, have been there a few times on the bar side with friends for apps and drinks and always enjoyed the food and service.
Today was different because I was dining with my 2 young daughters and my parents just before 6pm.
The service was excellent, hostess was kind, our server very patient with the kids, understood the simple suggestions from me against more bread or chocolate milk so the kids wouldn’t ruin their meal.
My folks were late coming from central MA and there was no pressure to rush us. Calamari was awesome, perfectly breaded and fried, oysters on the half were local (from the Cape) a bit sweet and not too briny, the food quality was all there.
Menu options are American Bistro ranging from restaurant quality comfort food to higher end steak and seafood specials. My 6 & 7 year old girls devoured chicken wings with sides of mashed potatoes. They were in heaven.
My father had a very tasty entrée, bone in pork chop with vinegar peppers, sausage and potatoes. The pork chop is a static menu item. My mother opted for mahi-​mahi with 2 jumbo shrimp which was high quality but the dish was confused… Wasabi mashed potato, pico de gallo and cilantro crème. Mashed potato combined with pico and lime juice doesn’t go well together and wasabi did not belong on the plate, especially when it turns the potatoes green. Fish was cooked perfect and portion was abundant but it didn’t flow.
I ordered a blue cheese crusted club sirloin with fried leeks and truffle butter over mushroom risotto with grilled asparagus. I thought the cut was a club NY sirloin (aka strip loin). It was actually a top sirloin baseball cut. Thank the good chef in the kitchen it was cooked perfectly rare and was tender and delicious, it cut like a filet and probably saved me $ 10. The risotto was dry, missing the creaminess of a risotto finished with cream and butter and there was no truffle scent at all on the plate.
Dessert was good and we weren’t rushed out by our server at the end of the meal when the restaraunt was filling up. A good dining experience for the price, I will definitely go back. Would be 5 stars except for a few imperfections on 2 specials.
I read some other reviews about a manager walking around the dining room in a chef coat and I saw him but he never spoke. If «Sam» is shy my advice is that he should engage with the customers, it will help the Bistro.

Decent food, yet lousy service. The outside of this place is much nicer than the inside. It’s nothing special. Standard and plain restaurant.

Very disappointing! My roommate and I came to Sam’s Bistro tonight after reading all of the excellent reviews on Unilocal.And I am so disappointed in the restaurant.
I ordered a cup of the tomato basil soup and a Capri salad and my entrée of steak tips. The soup came out lukewarm at best, and was spilled all over the edges of the bowl. A sloppy, sloppy job. Not a great first impression. When I ordered my salad I asked for the dressing on the side. My salad came completely overdressed with a completely different dressing on the side! The mixed greens looked limp and soggy, the tomatoes and mozzarella looked as if they were thrown on in a hurry. The mozzarella clearly was not fresh with a creamy texture but Rather dry and tasteless. As if it had spent endless days in the fridge. I was hopeful for my steak tips which I asked for double the veggies and no potato. Well the poor experience continued. My request for the tips was to be cooked medium; they were well past that and very dry. My sides included a veggie and potatoes. Clearly not what I ordered.
Overall I am very very disappointed. I was so excited to come here based on all the great things I had heard and read. I will not be back.

We stopped for a quick lunch on our way home from one of the mud races in Amesbury. I am joking when I say quick. We waited over an hour before our sandwiches were brought to us. Our waitress was new and never put our order in.
The sandwiches were delicious and our waitress felt terrible about the mistake, but Sam’s will forever be the butt or our jokes when we are looking for a place for lunch.
My husband got the Reuben and he swears he would wait an hour for another one!

Wishing I could give 2.5 or 2.75 stars. Our first visit in quite some time was last night (a Friday) and nothing was downright bad, but it wasn’t good either. The «meh» on the 2-​star rating describes the experience accurately.
We arrived about 6pm with a hankerin’ for prime rib, which is not as easy to come by it used to be. We try to eat healthy so were looking forward to this splurge. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the dining room was it has a slightly damp or mildewy odor, as if a dehumidifer is needed. However the room was clean and all empty tables (which were the majority upon arrival) were set up neatly. We were seated and began reviewing the menu.
Our waitress arrived quickly. She was young and seemed nervous, bordering on frightened, and clearly inexperienced although she was trying. She announced one special, a ribeye steak entrée. We inquired about prime rib which she said was available, then we ordered a glass of wine and a soda which were delivered promptly.
A few minutes later we ordered an appetizer of grilled shrimp with garlic bread and two prime rib dinners, medium rare. We were offered a choice of garden or Caesar salad, no other options. So far, so good. Less than five minutes later our salads were delivered. I noted to the hubby that the shrimp should’ve come first, and in his ever easy-​going style he just shrugged.
Romaine lettuce was fresh and crisp, there was a reasonable amount of cheese and fewer croutons than I would like, but I tend to be a croûton maniac. That’s all the good parts of the salad although as stated earlier, it wasn’t actually bad. It was served in a practically frozen bowl, and the lettuce had clearly just come out of the fridge, plus there was so little dressing they might not have bothered at all. We agreed that the overall sensation of this salad was ‘cold.’ Meh.
Midway through the salads the shrimp appeared. It definitely did not look or taste grilled, it was probably sauteed. Having said that, for me it was the highlight of the meal. A plate was presented with 2 mid-​sized pieces of garlic bread and a lemon wedge next to a ramekin containing 4 mid-​sized shrimp, a few halved cherry tomatoes and some basil leaves. The shrimp were nicely cooked to firmness and served hot in a tasty scampi-​style sauce. The tomatoes and basil had been added last minute so they held their form but were also hot and slathered in the garlic sauce. We both enjoyed this dish.
Too bad the timing was all off, especially when the waitress had only one other table. We certainly would have preferred to have the appetizer first, then a little respite, then the salad. Instead we set our salads aside half eaten, polished off the shrimp and went back to our salads. Meh.
One bite back into salad and the entrees arrive, literally no more than 20 minutes after our order. The prime ribs were decent sized and appeared to be well marbled but not too fatty. They were both cooked as ordered, with a bit of a brown sauce drizzled over and a small cup containing more sauce on the side. Baked potatoes were properly prepared (but really, how can they screw up a baked potato? If they can, I don’t want to know!) and the vegetable of the day, ‘ratatouille,’ which was a medley of sauteed zuchinni, yellow squash and tomatoes. Everything was hot but sadly, that’s about the best we could say for the entrees. So sad, we really want to like this place. MEH.
Cutting into my rib revealed more fat than had appeared, which is not that surprising with this cut of beef. In retrospect I think if I’d flipped the whole slab over on my plate, the other side would’ve shown mostly fat. I don’t mind cutting off the fat as long as there is still plenty of beef left (after all you’re paying for the beef!) but this cut was very difficult to cut through. I ended up sawing off large chunks of fat and beef to set aside since I couldn’t cut through to separate the two. Too much waste; thankful it was only $ 20. MEH!
The baked potato came with 2 pats of foil-​wrapped butter. We would’ve liked sour cream and perhaps horseradish for the ribs, but our waitress had seemingly disappeared. She eventually came by to check on us when we were past halfway through the ribs, and we asked for horseradish sauce. She said «she’d ask the kitchen if they can do that» and came back a few minutes later with a small dish of straight horseradish. We were OK with that and it had a nice kick that helped clear my sinuses and made the beef a bit more enjoyable — for what little was left.
Meanwhile a group of 3 ladies were seated behind the hubby. Their bubbly waitress recited SIX specials, including soup, apps, entrée and veggie options. MEH MEH MEH!
I’ve run out of character space (thanks Unilocal) but tried to make this point: Sam’s Bistro place has great potential but needs to work out a lot of issues. Hope they do.

Mom-​and-​Dad date night here was very enjoyable. Filet cooked to perfection, other meats prepared masterfully. A bit too light on the meat, a bit too heavy on veggies. Delicious blueberry cobbler. Nice wood-​paneled ambience. Our waitress rushed us a little, even though we told her we planned to take our time, and there were many tables available.
The manager or owner was walking around. If he really had nothing to do, he should have walked among tables and briefly connected with his customers, and encouraged the waitstaff.
I would have loved to stay there for hours with drinks and dessert, and I plan to come back.

Great location. Great drinks (pricey, but good). Pizza was awesome. Chewy dough. Great toppings. Dogfish IPA on tap.
Update: user changes review to 3 stars from 4.
Tip: the prosciutto on their pizza is really serrano. The blue cheese on their pizza is actually gorgonzola.