Nick and Sam's Restaurant Review

My wife and I had been anxious to try this highly touted Dallas area steakhouse for some time.  The restaurant has won numerous critic's choice awards and was highly praised by several Dallas area publications.  Some friends invited us to dinner and they too wanted to try this place, so we got a sitter and met them at Nick and Sam's.  We had reservations for 8:30, but were not seated until 9:00.  Not a big deal, because it was crowded and we had to wait for a table to become available.  When you enter the restaurant, one of the first things you notice is the noise.  In addition to the vibrant bar scene, the music is playing so loud that you have a hard time hearing others in your party speak.

When we were finally seated, I drooled at all the options on the menu.  I started with a Ceasar salad and my wife started with a half dozen oysters.  She claimed the oysters were great, but my salad was pretty basic and wasn't any better than one I could make at home with dressing from a bottle.  Neither of us were terribly hungry, so we both ordered 10 ounce filet mignons.  They had a large selection of sides that sounded appetizing, but since we couldn't order the entire menu, we settled for the creamed corn, lobster mac n cheese, and potatoes au gratin.  The steak had a lot of flavor, but mine was over-cooked.  I ordered it medium rare, but what I received was closer to medium well.  The creamed corn was a little too runny for my taste, but the lobster mac n cheese and the potatoes au gratin were absolutely fabulous.  Without a doubt, those two sides were the best part of the meal.

 I would rate this steakhouse a 2 on a scale of 5 when compared to other up-scale steakhouses such as Bob's Steak and Chophouse, Del Frisco's, Pappas Brother's, III Forks, Capital Grille, Rick's Chophouse, etc.  Despite the impressive lobster mac n cheese and the potatoes au gratin, I was very disappointed in this restaurant.  The steaks were pretty average for a high end steakhouse, the noise level didn't allow for normal conversation with our party, and the service was poor to fair.
Nick and Sam's
http://www.nick-sams.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2