Famous Sam’s Restaurant & Bar

To Famous SAMs on Silverbell and Grant:
Yeah so I stopped by your restaurant today… VERY disappointed. I sat at the bar. I noticed that there was a combo basket for onion rings, fried zucchini & mushrooms. I asked about getting just onion rings and was rudely told that if I wanted just zucchini and mushrooms that I would have to place two full orders and I could eat what I wanted. I just ordered the combo. I was never offered a drink after my initial water (which was never refilled), food quality was never checked. After I ordered the combo, the bartender came back and took the menu without asking if I was done with it (I had planned to order the Buffalo chicken sandwich). There were not many people at the bar at when I was there (1230 – 1:15); 2 guys at one end and 3 people waiting for a Togo order. The bartender was more interested in chatting with the people waiting for the Togo order than paying attention to anyone else.
From where I sat I could see directly into the kitchen and I saw an order for the only table in the restaurant (5 top + infant) sit under the hot lamp for 10+ minutes before it was picked up and delivered by the food server. It had to be cold/​dried out by the time it reached the table.
The Bartender was more interested in watching TruTV on the TV at the end of the bar and discussing hairstyles with his Togo friends. I really don’t expect much from a place like Famous Sams, but this experience really fell short of any sort of reasonable expectations.
This is what my expectations basically were:
Greet me when I sit down
When I order a water while «I think about what else I would like to drink», ask me later what I want to drink.
Make some sort of attempt to accommodate an easy off menu request; don’t make a flippant comment that show you just don’t give a care.
If I place an appetizer order, ask if I would like anything else before taking the menu.
Check on food quality at some point
If your friends are at the bar (Togo order people), refrain from talking about dildos and hairstyles (especially if you are a guy).
Don’t sit on the back bar with your feet near the sink.
Try to make it not totally obvious that you are more interested in watching TruTV than doing your job.
Don’t give me the tab as you are clearing the plate; ask if the customer would like anything else.
It will be a long time before I return to this Famous Sam’s location
***NOTE*** each Famous Sam is individually owned and managed so this review should be a reflection on this location only.

RAIDER NATION FOR LIFE ~~ RN4L
This location of Famous Sam’s is the Die Hard Raiders Booster Club Tucson Chapter’s home base and because of that simple fact, I get a tug in my heart, a tear in my eye… awww hell, I get all verklempt. Raider Nation, baby!!!
So yeah, I’m going with 4 stars because the owners basically hand this place over to Raiders fans on game day and their staff works EXTRA hard trying to keep the sea of silver and black happy and for the most part they truly do keep all the patrons happy.
As for the food — it’s fair, probably above fair. The wings are average — the «hot» isn’t really hot at all. Chicken strips are fantastic — meaty, moist and BIG! Steak fingers are just okay. The Jalapeño Bottle Caps are pretty good if you like spicy. Most places seem to use very mild jalapenos for a lot of their dishes like nachos so I was expecting to be bored with the bottle caps. WRONG. They’re spicy little battered and fried sliced jalapenos. Delicious! And I’ve always been a fan of Famous Sam’s pastrami sandwiches. It’s been years since I had one and they’re still as tasty as I remember them. Mmm, mmm, good.
I must say that Famous Sam’s fails in the French fry department. Despite numerous attempts, every time we order fries or they are included as part of our meal, they come to the table limp and undercooked. Recently we ordered fries with nacho cheese sauce and the fries were literally uncooked in the middle. Had to send them back after explaining the raw potato product and our server brought us a new plate. Excited to finally get the fries and dip them, L & I each took a bite and the look of disappointment appeared on our faces. They were just as bad as the first helping. We explained to our server that the fries were inedible but we did not wish to send them back again. She checked on us a few more times throughout the game for beer and water and even mentioned the uneaten fries and how she knew they were unacceptable. But when our bill came, guess what was still on there? That’s right — the fries. A quick talk with the manager fixed remedied the situation and all was right with the world again.
How could it not be? After all, the RAIDERS WON!!!

i am not reviewing this store but i use to work at the bullhead city az. location (closed down 2000) an we had great food great people. best job i ever had to the day. im sure this one is the
diff. could it be lol?

I don’t know about all these negative reviews. I’ve been here several times and had nothing short of a great time. I was here a couple of Sunday’s ago for a football game with a friend and I had amazing service.
I only had the chili cheese fries, and they were awesome! Our server, I think her name is Sandra, was nice and sweet and she recommended many things for us to try, it was awesome. My only issue is that it does get a bit loud when there is a major game on, or when they blast the music. Though, the food is great and so is the atmosphere.
I will definitely be back here.

I live close to this Sams, and it has good cold beer, and the waitresses are attentive. The food is awful. I ordered nachos once and it was cold chips, cold cheese with some jalapeños, I’ve had the pastrami, mostly fat and gristle, hamburger barely etable. This site has no sense of pride about good food. Only order drinks.

We have tried this Famous Sam’s on numerous occasions and it seems every time
we go in it gets a little worse. This last week end we went again just to find bad
service again. I actually had to chase down our waiter to get my credit card back.
Even then he challenged me on the fact that I gave it to him. He did eventually find
it under items at the register, with no apology. I think what ticked me off the most
was the fact that it was Veterans Day and I was there with active duty as well as
retired veterans and they wouldn’t give us a military discount. Sorry, I will never go there again

Notwithstanding that this place is a sports bar and one does not expect great (or good?) food at such locations I stand disappointed at my lunch yesterday. Normally I visit the Famous Sams on the eastside (now Franks) and typically only order fries, which I am addicted to, and draft beer. I ordered the Hot Pastrami which is indicated as the house speciality on the menu. Oh boy, what a disappointment. I did not recognize the pastrami. It was «hot» to the point of cremation — a common occurrence at many Tucson establishments. Are all line cooks blind or don’t they give a damn on what they turn out? I got none of the pleasure of the pastrami. The fries, as an addict would typically say, were OK. The waitress was pleasant. Doubtful I will return.

2 weeks ago I was about to write a review about how much of a rat-​hole this place is… And then I came here last week and actually had a pleasant time. I had wings & beer… and it was pretty good. The waitress was really friendly and fast!
I will definitely return and not be so quick to judge based on looks alone.

Ok so far! Not too crowded for Superbowl Sunday ! It never did get crowded, but the TV’s were awesome. Service and food were great. Try the Nachos. French fries are home made! Chicken wings were great too.
I will be back.

Rating F–
Or negative 5 stars out of 5
Everyone has to eat sooner or later, so we might as well talk about it. Agree or disagree, your replies are valued.
I want to be clear that when it comes to any kind of food (bar or fine dining), all I ask is that you take a little pride. The best hot dog I ever had came out of tiny little county store in the middle of no where North Carolina. It cost 50 cents and even though the store was leaning to the left from being so old and the parking lot made of dirt, the inside was clean and you could tell that the owners did the best they could with what they had to work with. I don’t have a problem eating food at the fair, or even observing the 3 second rule in my own kitchen. And I have eaten in the streets of third world countries. Streets I might add that I recall as cleaner than Famous Sam’s food service area.
We dropped in on the local Tucson bar and tavern chain, Famous Sams. Our goal was a beer and some chicken strips. The location is approximately at the corner of Grant and Silverbell. I always post the website and thus the location of the restaurants I review. I am doing so this time not so you can go find the place, but so you can make sure you avoid it, at all costs.
The food was bar food and mediocre at best. We ordered the chicken fingers. I do want to say to the brain trust responsible for this place being open, if you are going to water down your ranch dressing that much, why not just serve us skim milk? As ranch dressings go, it was disgusting.
So here is my experience and opinion:
This place gives dive bar food a bad name.
It was probably the nastiest place I have eaten a meal, ever. This includes the three times in my life I have gotten food poisoning. I will point out that the one positive to this dining experience is that I did not get food poisoning.
What the hell? If you are going to open your doors to the public, could you show just a little pride?
What ever you do, don’t look behind the bar or into the kitchen.
By the way; to the kitchen dude cooking. Your a cook and part of the fraternity man. Just because the owner of your bar doesn’t give a rats ass, doesn’t mean you can’t take a little personal pride in the food your prepare and the overall cleanliness of the place.
And finally, what in the hell is up with the state of Arizona allowing places like this to operate. Is there no entity in charge of inspecting and protecting us from idiots with deep fryers?
If your into the kind of Russian Roulette that is worse than a bullet to the head (slow death) and you love grime on the floors, grime on the walls, grime on everything, by all means, belly up!
F for Effort
F for Ambiance
b for Service
C For the food taste
C For the presentation
F— for not somehow screwing it up
My final note about the staff: nice, the beer was cold, the food came out of that nasty kitchen to the nasty service area very quickly. I observed the bar tender measuring her shots and charging everyone for what they ordered. In short, the staff deserves our respect. I think you know how I feel about the owner.