Sam’s Boat

Great food, friendly service. I ordered the flounder with the creamy jalapeño sauce, sautéed zucchini and sweet potato fries… it was great! I dug the sporty atmosphere and the massive patio, however, our group had to scream over the background noise (tv and music) in order to communicate. Loud place, but everything else was great.

The Caesar salad with blackened shrimp is soooooo good!
My friend had their shrimp brochette and it was pretty legit as well. Customer service was good.
Overall would be a repeat customer

5 of us came for the crawfish. It was GREAT. Perfect spice.
one of my folks isn’t about that crawfish life, so he ordered a sampler plate. We got the crawfish first, but his sampler wasn’t with it. We waited, and waited and waited. It took 25 min to get the plate. (yes, we counted). It was piping hot when it finally came, so that’s nice. We asked our waitress, or attempted to ask, if the sample plate order had gotten lost, but she placed the plate on the table and bolted. It was clear she didn’t want to be there (no smile, not even a fake «how are y’all today!») but I don’t like being at my job sometimes either, so I guess no biggie. We rarely saw her, which I actually don’t mind, but we did need her a few times. I read other reviews about how bad some experiences were, and thankfully ours wasn’t to those levels.
The ladies restroom was also clean, FYI.

Sam’s Boat, is just there.
There’s nothing really special about this place. The food is mediocre. Nothing special, the food is a hit or miss. Sometimes it’s fairly good, sometimes it’s manageable to digest. But it’s never something that leaves you thinking I have to have this more often. It’s just food.
The service is also a hit or miss. Sometimes you get someone who cares if you need anything and sometimes you’ll be waiting for your check to come crawling towards you.
The place seems to be a constant semi-​dirty feel. Not the Austin «Keep Austin Weird» vibe dirty. Just a perhaps today we will give it a real clean since it’s been 3 months kind of place. So the food is manageable, but for being near the Domain and around so many other fine establishments that offer either, outstanding food, service, or even atmosphere or even all 3. This is probably the last place to go.
The one thing that I like is there is NEVER a wait regardless of time and day… could be a bad and good thing. I remember on Mother’s Day lunch, there was ZERO wait time.

My son and his gf went to Sam’s Boat early to snag a table for 4 for the UFC fight. They paid the $ 5 cover charge and ordered a $ 10 burger. They were asked to leave before my husband and I could get there because they weren’t spending $ 10 per hour. When I got there, the managers said they were losing money on the table and that it was a business decision then asked me to leave. It’s disappointing that although the cover was paid, more money was required. If they increased the cover or stated that there were monetary conditions in addition to the cover I could understand their position. I’m very disappointed in the way we were treated and don’t feel welcome.

This place is very good, but the wait staff is even better. Nice patio that’s great for dogs.

OK, so the hostess told me when I walked in that this was «pretty good seafood — for Texas». I found it to be pretty mediocre. I had two meals here because it is close to the Hampton and I dont do fast food like the Burger King next door.
The Shark Bites basket was big enough, but bland at best. The blackened Mahi was bland as well. The beer selection is limited, but I come from «way out east» where we seem to have a more varied taste.
On the upside, the service was exemplary. Kaitlyn at the bar was warm an inviting, as though I had been coming there for years. If only for her influence, I may well return on my next trip to Austin.

The manager came out later and was upset about the fact that we had spoken our mind (we reviewed before we left, but gave the other side of the restaurant a chance) treated us very poorly. We’ll give it another chance, it was a Friday night and I know people get flustered on Fridays. Perhaps we’ll come on a weekday.

The place is more sports bar than restaurant the food mostly fried was mediocre. Best thing about the place the beer was COLD

Oh yummy! Just had some of the best seasoned crawfish ive had in Texas (wonderful appetizer). Also had the quesadilla which was fresh and delicious! I wish I took a picture of my gulf coast ponchartrain before I tasted it, because it disappeared quickly and was amazing! Layers of flavor and a whole ton of sides that can be chosen from. Decent drink specials, with great bar staff. I think her name is Randy. I will definitely be back!

I finished a CRAZY hard spin class at Pure Austin and this was one of the closest places. I needed some CALORIES.
We showed up around 8pm and the place was busy but not packed. We got seated right away and the server was very nice. It’s hard to judge because I was hangry type hungry, but it might have been on the slow side, but I’d give them the benefit of the doubt.
I had kinda intended on staying on the non-​fried side, but the mixed plate of catfish, crab balls, and shrimp called my name. I did get a salad. Some battles you win, some you lose.
The salad kinda felt like it took forever to get there (again, not sure if real or perceived), but soon after, this giant plate of fried love showed up. Everything was awesome. The shrimp were giant and perfectly fried. I think I now have a crush on crab balls. The fried fish wasn’t necessarily my thing, but my husband loved it, as he did the hush puppies.
I actually took home a little less than half the plate, even out of my mind with hunger previously. My husband and I agreed we’d split that plate in the future (and maybe another smaller, less fried plate).
Definitely looking forward to coming back and camping out on their patio on a gorgeous day.

I was in town and passed this place. It looked happening so I stopped in. Bellied up to the bar. Very friendly/​attractive waitresses. Lits of outdoor seating for smokers. Plenty if TVs to catch your favorite game.
I had oysters and a few cocktails. Great daily specials which made my bill very inexpensive.
Great place to meet friends. More of a dude’s place. Will be back next time in the area.

Holy shit! Yeah Sam’s boat seems to be the place for craw fish this year! My boy dusty and I just polished off 5 pounds of the most scrumptious, succulent, big mud bugs I’ve had the pleasure of lighting my mouth on fire better than. … well you know what! I’m sitting here fat and happy loving life on their huge outdoor patio! Kat and Baylea are freaking amazing! The whole scene right now is the best bang for the buck if you’re looking for mudbugs! I’ll be back before the season ends bet yo ass! Thank you Kat and Baylea!
I would have hit 4.5 for the stuffed jalapeños being frozen but they were extremely decent! 5 goes to the service and quality of craw fish. …cooked perfectly and just the right amount of heat!

We are all in the same boat on this one.
What a great place. Carly was the best waitress we have ever had!
I only take off one star because there is very little parking near the boat.
It took us a long time to park!
The food was worth it.
The crawfish can be super spicy! They are a great deal right now.
Believe it or not their hamburgers are AMAZING! Thanks, Carly, for the great recommendations!
The french fries were nice. I liked how busy the patio was and the overall atmosphere is great.
I also liked looking around to see that everyone had ordered very different things.
We look forward to boating again soon!
Anchors away!

Can’t go wrong w/​crawfish when they’re in season! This is the only place in the Austin area where I’ve found the crawfish w/​spice. My lips were burning, but they tasted amazing that I couldn’t stop eating. Finished the three pounds of crawfish, and the corn, sausages and potatoes were so flavorful too! My mother-​in-​law had the red fish w/​lemon butter sauce and it was so good! Sat outside on the patio for lunch and the sun was shining, but they had umbrellas if you didn’t want the sun in your face. Will definitely come again!

I’m from Louisiana and this place is as close as you’re going to get to being in ol Louisiana. I like spicy and this place gives you exactly what you want! The salmon is cooked perfectly too.

You know… I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
I read some of the other reviews on this place — which seemed to be hit or miss; and I’m in the positive camp on this one. Here’s why…
1) First off… finding and getting a place that isn’t shut down by ~11pm in the N. Burbs of Austin can be a tricky affair. This place is. Avoid the bars at the nearby malls if you can, save your $, & come here.
2) Friendly service — we sat at the bar.
3) The food — was decent, but made better by the fact that it was quite cheap.
4) The drinks were really good. So kudos to the bartender.
Definitely worth checking out for what it is.

Update (6÷26÷15) — I came back in the other night, and everything was GREAT! Therefore, raising rating from ONE STAR to a TWO STAR. Congratulations! Next time I visit, I may give you the third star so long as there isn’t any more of the following…
I have been a patron of Sam’s Boat ever since they opened their doors at this location. Over the years, I have experienced numerous ups and downs at Sam’s Boat, everything from excellent to dismal service, the food (even though I had a wad of hair in a crab ball a few years ago, I still love them), and the cleanliness of the place (more often than not, the bathrooms are trashed). Still, Sam’s Boat remains one of my favorite places to go because I really do love the food there (most of the time) as well as the patio where dogs are allowed.
However, Sam’s Boat has recently fallen into the pits of despair over the past few months. Consistently, I have walked into the restrooms which has reeked of sewer smells along with overflowing and busted toilets. Fine — I’ll just stay out of their restroom. Nevertheless, when this is coupled with consistently poor table service where it takes 15+ minutes to even get a waitress to take our drink order after being seated, this cannot be overlooked.
Yesterday my wife and I went in and were seated by the hostess outside on the patio. The table we were seated at was filthy, as were all of the tables outside I noticed. We’re used to it. My wife went to the restroom and quickly came back to the table — none of the toilets were working and they were all stopped up and overflowing — a obvious common occurrence, it seems, but not usually so bad she couldn’t use the restroom. This time, she couldn’t even use the women’s restroom because of the overflowing, stopped-​up commodes.
But the biggest problem was around the 10 minute mark when — once again — no waitress had appeared to take our drink order. The place was much less than busy, after all. What could possibly be preventing a waitress from coming out to see what we needed to drink?
After 15 minutes, fed up with the repeated utter lack of service, I get up, go in, and ask the hostess if I can speak to the manager. She glances over at the bar then says she’s not sure if the manager is still onsite…
«Let me get this straight,» I say. «The entire restaurant is currently operating without a manager?» I asked sternly.
The hostess — now realizing there’s a major issue with me — responds with a, «Just a second…» and starts walking toward the bar. I follow right behind her. She walks up to a man sitting there watching television and taps him on the shoulder. Turns out, he’s the manager (and the hostess was obviously informed to tell people he was off).
Regardless, I explain the entire situation to him; that I have been a regular there for years, ups and downs, still love the food, but hate seeing the place turn into the grubby, service-​absent dive it’s become, etc.

He states that he’s heard about my mentioned service problems before, and then says that, «I guess I’m going to have to chew out these waitresses again… hopefully then they’ll get their butts in gear.»
Wait a minute… chew out the waitresses to get their butts in gear? That’s how restaurant management works? I’ve never managed restaurant, but I’m fairly certain that bawling out the staff to «get their butts in gear» as you set the example by idiotically sitting at the bar «off duty» while your restaurant crumbles down around you is not the best method of management. Standing there listening to this manager and assessing the situation, it suddenly dawns on me. Every problem in this place is due to the manager’s obvious inability to properly run a restaurant.
This manager ultimately offered me free drinks in attempt to remedy the problems, but we left before they were served. Why? Because free drinks will not permanently fix Sam’s Boat’s current state of affairs.
Honestly, I don’t want Sam’s Boat go out of business, but I fear that’s where things are headed. Like I mentioned before, there have been some lows with this place over the years, but nothing that compares to the magnitude of problems I have witnessed during the past several visits which I have now determined boil down simply to dismal management.
Hopefully this review will help change things for the better at Sam’s Boat. Until that happens, Sam’s Boat will have to suffer with this one star Unilocal review from me — the currently crowned « Unilocal Duke» of Sam’s Boat. Until things change, I doubt I’ll be returning to Sam’s Boat anytime soon.

My wife and I have been twice and there’s not much to rave about. The food we’ve tried for the most part is dull and flavorless minus the boneless chicken app. They were pretty tasty! I’m sure they have a few other items that are also good but I can’t see myself wanting to experiment much more with their menu. I’ll go back for the oysters but probably not much else. On the bight side the service was much better the second time.

Sam’s Boat is a win to me. If you’re looking for a bar that hasn’t changed from the vibe of a Hooters without the cheesy waitresses or a bar that is kinda stuck in the design of the late 90s, this is your place.
The seafood is good here. It’s not blow you away good, but it’s «I feel like having crawfish down the street» good. I have never had a bad experience here and I really enjoy coming and hanging out for a bit.
Sam’s Boat is… Sam’s Boat. If you’ve been in Austin a long time, you know of it or have been to it. The 3 stars is exactly what it should get. It’s A-OK…just like the phrase that comes up when you rate it.
Nothing special… just decent food and drinks.