Sam’s Southern Eatery

This place has great food! It may look a little rain b down but the food the produce is amazing and as close as I’ve come in a long time to getting an authentic oyster po boy. I will definitely be back and I recommend for everyone to give them a try because it’s so worth it.

Sam’s gets 5 stars just for having great fried catfish at an unbeatable price. We ordered by phone since other Unilocalers said orders take awhile. I ordered the 4 piece, but got 5 big pieces! It was only around $ 8. The cole slaw was LJS basically, fries were ok. Two of the tiniest hush puppies known to man, and one tiny cup of tartar sauce. Good thing my niece gave me her tartar and cocktail sauce and have some at home. Some lemons on the side would’ve been nice. No napkins or silverware. The first Friday of Lent I now realize might have been the busiest day of the year for us to go… the place was packed! But, like I said, I care about the catfish. I know non-​Wacoans think the neighborhood is shady, but no one lives around there! It’s all businesses in that area and no one walks. So it’s pretty safe there. 18^th Street & Waco Drive are high traffic streets & very visible. Even though the sides and incidentals were mediocre, it’s a catfish lover’s dream. I tasted one of my niece’s fried shrimp it was nice and meaty with a great coating, nice deep brown color. Next time I’ll pay extra for tartar sauce if I have to. From SB I-​35 take the 17^th street exit & go right onto 17^th St.,(If NB, take exit and go left at 2^nd light), follow the Cotton Palace signs (it’s a one way) and just go straight. You’ll pass lights at Dutton, Clay, go over the bridge, then Franklin, Austin, Washington, Columbus. There’s a small street just past Columbus called Barnard. Turn left on that so you can avoid the Waco Drive lights and maybe a u-​turn. Go one block, and after you go through the stop sign, Sam’s is there on the right. To get back to I-​35 just make a right onto 18^th St, also a one-​way. Go straight and you’ll be back on 35 in 5 or 6 minutes. Basically Waco Drive is parallel to I-​35 and 17^th/​18^th streets are the streets that connect them together. It’s a very easy side trip. I’ll definitely go back.

Went today for some fried fish and I wasn’t disappointed. The fried fish was perfect and the sides were «good». They were not great, I had the Mac and cheese and fried okra. The Mac and cheese was bland and the fried okra was gummy but the fish made up for it. The reason I rank it higher even with the slightly bad sides is because of the price. The price can’t be beat. I got 5 huge pieces of fish with two sides for only 8 $, that would have been a 13 $-15 $ meal any where else. Cheap good food is what they have going on, I am going to recommend it to all my friends. It’s a go to for me now if I’m looking for seafood.
Note: they have really really good tarter sauce, it’s the best I have had in a long time.

Ordered the 6 piece shrimp meal with red beans & rice and mac & cheese. The shrimp was large and fried perfectly. It was very tasty and would recommend. The mac & cheese was a little thick/​dry. Would have preferred for it to be a slightly less thick. The beans in the red beans & rice were good, not too spicy, but the rice was a little undercooked. I would assume this is not the norm. Staff was friendly. Neighborhood questionable, but I didn’t feel unsafe. Would try it again.

Good place with large portions. The catfish and oysters were fried perfectly, the fries were hot, the slaw was good, and the service was fast.

Excellent fried shrimp. BIG ol shrimp. Nothing fancy, but a quality meal. Had the red beans and rice as a side. Very good as well. Will definitely be back, want to try the fish.

Not fancy, but the food is plentiful and tasty. Go for the red beans and rice rather than the nothing spectacular fries. Friendly, quick service — lots of folks there taking carryout on Saturday, but plenty of tables for us sit-​down visitors. Yes, I’ll go back for their crispy fried fish or their perfectly fried shrimp — both available grilled, but I decided to be decadent and go for the fried version. Yum, yum. Great local eatery — worthy of repeat visits.

This place is in the ghetto and it is a little scary, don’t let the falling down house that looks like it is a crackheads paradise across the street deter you either… or the sassy cashier that can roll her eyes like no other. But she warms up to you eventually, especially when you leave her a tip.
You order at the counter and then they send you your food, condiments are strictly rationed and if you want more tartar sauce then you gotta pay for it homie! Anyways we got a bunch of fried stuff — giant fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, fried oysters, fried fish, fried hush puppies, french fries, mac and cheese, cole slaw, fried okra and red beans and rice. I think my poor stomach revolted after all of that grease because I felt quite ill the next day.
It is a great value for the price and the seafood seemed clean (not sure about the oil they fry it in). Portions are gigantic, we boxed it up and had some for brunch the next day. Loved the shrimp though and their hush puppies. Could leave their mac and cheese though it wasn’t the best. Overall it was good but not sure if I would go out of my way again to return, they do a lot of take out orders though and seem to be very busy… they deserve to be supported and checked out at least once.
People in Waco need to Unilocal more!

The food was so good and the portions were huge! Nice and friendly people. The appearance of the place isn’t up to par but once you take a bite into the food you’ll feel like you’re in food paradise!

Good fatten food! Service good. Place little out of the way. Good place to go to if you are in a large group.

At first, I was a little worried. The place isn’t the cleanest. High chair strap was broken and the lady who took our order answered the phone twice in the middle of us ordering so one of our orders wasn’t taken and we had to get back in line after she brought us our food. Other than that, food was good and we left satisfied! The place could use a lot of upgrades and cleaning! Next time we’re getting it «to go» for sure!

My family had a visit in Waco, Texas during this weekend, and we tried to find a place to eat. We decided to go this place after reading others reviews on Unilocal.This restaurant doesn’t look like a food chain restaurant, and it is more likely as the family owned style. We ordered the meal #32 (3 shrimps + 3 fishes + 2sides), and #33 (3 oysters + 3 fishes + 2 sides), and the food is AMAZING! It is much over than what we expected. The fried jumbo shrimp tasted SO GOOD, and they fried the shrimp after customers put the order. So, be carful to have your first bite because the shrimp is so hot and fresh. We loved the fried oysters too and they tasted so creamy that we definitely will order it again on our next visit. Fried fish is quite good too, and the breading is nice. Totally we got four sides, and each of them are pretty good too. We visited this place around 3 pm on Saturday, and half of the seats were still full. As everybody on Unilocal said, this place had awesome food although their restaurant appearance is not fancy and quite old. If you love seafood, you should try it when visiting Waco, Texas.

Let me start by saying the portion size was incredible.
The largest wings I have ever seen served. I ordered the grilled

Sam’s is a one-​stop-​shop for southern-​fried goodness. The menu includes po’ boys & burgers, salads, seafood, chicken, and sides. So there’s evidence of Louisiana but also much more, with the emphasis on more. The portions are generous. They have salads and a grilled option on at least some of the seafood, but that’s clearly not the reason to come. I enjoyed my fried fish and shrimp with green beans and fries. The atmosphere is divey. The building is a converted KFC and a very antique one at that. The air is of course grease-​laden. But that doesn’t keep the locals away. They had a sizable crowd for a Friday lunch that led to relatively long wait times and a run on their fish.

We were driving through from Ft. Worth on our way to Temple. I did a restaurant search for our map area and Sam’s was one of the choices. After reading the reviews we decided to try this place out.
I agree with others that you CANNOT judge this place by the appearance! It is an old fast food building that has seen better days. They have done a good job painting the outside to hide the age of the building. Inside the age shows. They have done what they can to make it their own place! There are only a few tables so they probably wouldn’t be able to accommodate a big crowd.
The menu was easy to read and easy to understand. It was broken down into sections so there was no confusion.
My only complaint was that I had wanted to try the oysters but they were out. They were also out of Mac n cheese and almost all drinks in the fountain. (They must have been out of CO2 because all soda was what they didn’t have.) However, the cashier informed us of the items they were out of BEFORE we had our heart settled on them or even attempted to order them. As for the soda, they did offer canned soda as a replacement.
The wait was about normal for what we ordered. Both of us ordered the number 34 (3 stuffed shrimp, 3 fried shrimp, and 3 fish with 2 sides. We both ended up ordering the red beans and rice and okra also.) We shared a drink. Our total was about $ 44. That sounds like a lot, but considering the portion size, it is a deal! Everything was hot and fresh when it came to us. Someone else had mentioned that all of the proteins were battered differently and we found that to be true also. The batter complimented each different protein! The red beans and rice had just the right amount of spice and were wonderful! We could have made a meal on just those! We had enough food leftover that we will both have at least one more meal out of it!
The bathrooms were also clean and decently stocked.
The woman who brought our food out was very sweet and attentive. She seemed very friendly and helpful. The cashier could use a little customer service training. Several times she left her register to go into the back and customers needed something but she wasn’t there. Once she came out of the back and was texting on her cell phone. That is a no no in my book. By no means was she rude! She was very friendly, but just needed a little more customer service skills.
If you cannot handle the «hole in the wall» or «dive» restaurants, Sam’s is not the place for you. If you are expecting a fine dining establishment, Sam’s is not for you. However, if you want good fried food with a Cajun/​creole style spice, then Sam’s is for you!
We both left so full that we are ready to take a nap! All in all, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Sam’s! I know that we will go back when we have the chance!

Wow this place was fantastic.
It’s not the prettiest place but dang these guys know how to fry.
I got the shrimp basket with Mac n cheese and a side of red beans and rice, for about $ 10 I got about 6 large shrimp and two tasty crispy hush puppies. The food isn’t gourmet but it’s tasty and well done. My husband got a combo basket for about $ 13 that had fish, shrimp, chicken strips and two sides and hush puppies. We honestly weren’t expecting the huge servings they provided. One thing that impressed me was that each protein as battered differently. Sides were good and solid. I’m not a fan of red beans and rice so my son gobbled it up and according to him and my husband they were really really good.
This is seriously a spot for my family to consider next time were in the area and hungry as an alternate to the basic chain restaurants along the highway.

I am obsessed with the food here! The stuffed shrimp are to die for and the prices aren’t bad for the amount of yummy food you get with each meal. I’m also a huge fan of the gumbo and red beans & rice.
It isn’t the nicest place to dine-​in as it’s in a «not-​so-​great» part of town. It also doesn’t look too inviting on the inside but still looks clean so I trust where my food was cooked. It’s GREAT for take-​out though and would be perfect if they had a drive-​thru.
Also, you may want to call your order in if you don’t want to awkwardly stand in people’s way for 20 minutes while you’re waiting on your order.
I eat here almost weekly and I’m so glad Waco finally got a place to get Cajun seafood that’s actually good & isn’t overpriced and hot or miss like Buzzard Billy’s always seems.

Fantastic food, the beans and rice was outstanding, the fried fish and shrimp delicious, when visiting Waco again we will definitely be eating here again, also the ladies working the register were very friendly, I think the only negative was I think the AC was out but it still didn’t stop us from eat here!!!