I celebrated my birthday here this past Friday. I made reservations and requested an area that I could view the band but not be too close. The restaurant got it right! Our seats were perfect. The food and drinks were good, our server Micheal was on point and the band was great! All of my party had a great time and said they would come back! I was even given a birthday tribute where the band allowed me to come on stage and it made me feel extremely special! And they had valet! 10/10.

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary here and it was phenomenal!! Emmett and Saterra were wonderful. The hostess made sure we had a great table and she lit candles and everything!! The food was great! The dessert was amazing! My husband said that was the best Old Fashion he’s ever had! The live jazz band made the evening even better! We’re definitely coming back!

My husband & I visited on our anniversary and we loved it. The food was very good. The staff made us feel at home...very friendly. They seemed to really love their jobs. Emmitt personally wished us a Happy Anniversary! Live music provided by Mandi Powell and she has very a beautiful voice. If you're in Houston, you have to stop by! Valet parking is available

Went to Valentine's Day & it was amazing! The food, the music & the jazz band was amazing! The ambiance was so romantic. I definitely will be returning!

Will go back for the ambiance, great customer service and live music nightly. I think they are getting back to what people come to expect from Sambuca. When you go share a true review so they can make improvements. It's a nice establishment in Downtown Houston. The food just needs a little more love. Glows: They have remodeled the place on the inside and it is very nice and comfortable!. Customer service was awesome from the door to the table. The service was fast. Atmosphere is fun and upbeat. They have live music nightly. The drinks and wine selection are on point. You can expect a grown-up pour. Emmitt came to our table and spoke with us to ensure we were having a great time. Hector and Sashay were great as well!! Grows: The food came out fast, but it wasn't super hot. Everything was warm in temperature. We ordered 3 sides for $19. We chose green beans, potato croquettes and Mac n cheese. They have great green beans but the Mac n cheese is not what you would expect. It was penne pasta with bacon pieces and some cheese I guess. It was not the best. I was expecting typical Mac with a twist but this dish gave me pasta salad vibes. My dish had to be remade because I wanted my salmon cooked medium and it came out well done. They made it perfectly the 2nd time. My husband's dish was good, but he mentioned it lacked the flavor of what you expect from etoufee. We paid $190 for our meal and we didn't really enjoy it enough for that price. Once things get better we will definitely go back. We don't mind paying for a meal as long as the taste and quality matches the dollar! Note: Valet is the best option when coming to this restaurant. Don't bother parking and walking. Smart to business casual is acceptable attire. They have a section upstairs that fits up to 40 people you can reserve that overlook the stage where the live band performs.

Freezing cold beers, Great Jazz ensemble! really enjoyed it .. the ambience is more of a private concert. Multiple clean & spacious bathrooms. Will come back for Thursday latin night.

I celebrated my birthday here but I should have looked at the menu before offering to pay for everyone's meal. There was only 8 of us and Sambuca charges a 20% tip on parties of 6 or more. I ended up paying $800. With that said, the food was amazing, the band Mambo Jazz Kings were awesome, and everyone had a good time.

For this being my first time here, I enjoyed it. The food was good and so was the mocktail. We went on a Saturday night for the live music. If you haven't been, I'll save you the surprise that we had, they add a $5 cover charge to your bill. I was not happy about that. It would have been nice to know that up front.

I went here for the first time for my birthday, I ordered the shrimp and crab dip. My food was good and everyone else in my party like their food as well, the band was great, the drinks were really good but the service was horrible. It took our waiter maybe 20+ minutes just to come to the table, 30+ minutes to take our order, 20+ minutes to bring our drinks and another 30+ to get the food. We only saw the waiter twice the entire time, the waiter working with the table across from ours assisted us way more (the tip should have went to him).

The food here was not good AT ALL!!!! I couldn’t wait to get home and brush my teeth to get the taste out of my mouth. Chicken was cheap. Mashed potatoes were buttery which doesn’t go with a Marsala dish. I paid for my food but will not be back.

Service was terrible. Atmosphere, music was too loud. Food was good. Ordered an expensive bottle of wine with 2 appetizers and an entree. Had to ask about the wine. They did not have it available so we chose another. It was not presented to taste before filling our glasses as the entree arrived. Not a good experience

We came here for a drink and the live music. No one told us that there was a cover charge. Later we were charged $7 each with our drinks that were also very expensive. As we left, we looked for evidence of the cover charge and finally found a very small sign among a lot of others stating the charge. There is no way that anyone would have noticed this sign.

Enjoyed a nice dinner -shrimp linguine was creamy and had just enough shrimp. The server was super nice - the music choice was top 40s singer had a great voice but it is hard to have a conversation because it is quite loud

Came here for an anniversary date, first time here as well. The live music was great energy! They played all kinds of different music genres and it seemed it was a great environment for that, they have a dance floor for those who are feeling the music. Wished we had a better view since we were celebrating an anniversary and had made a reservation. I ordered their alfredo pasta and added grilled chicken and it was delicious 😋, their shrimp and crab dip also came out hot and was also delicious.

COVER CHARGE!? Food was great. Music was great. Only 1 complaint. We called and set up reservations and we walked in and got served and everything was great. Then the bill came and there was $14 for a cover charge! A cover charge!? I asked the waiter about it and he said yes on nights where there is music there is a cover and that it’s posted when you walk in. On our way out I looked and looked. I saw no sign saying cover charge. Nor did the person on the phone say anything about a cover, nor did the host that seated us, nor did the waiter until the bill came. Sambuca either tell people about this ahead of time, or drop this policy.

The managers were dressed in jeans and flannel shirts and nothing to indicate that they worked there and when they randomly came to our table we didn't know if they were customers or employees. People dress up to go out and they should dress more appropriate for the venue.

The band was great. The Dopplegangers I believe. The food was good... pretty standard nothing to make me run back at high speed. The servers were very polite and worked as efficiently as possible and did a great job on recommendations. The would recommend the agave Margerita .... it was strong but didn't lose flavor.

Great place, live music. The service was #1 too. Food; Salmon was very nice. The meatballs were 💯 rubbish. One of the three was inedible...very tough and dry... The other two were tough. The bread and sauce were fantastic

We enjoy the live music here on weekends. Small dance floor. No cover charge but need to valet park which was $17 on last trip. Drinks are expensive and the bar menu is very limited. Dress to impress. Nice place for a date.

I had dinner at Sambuca in Houston before a show at the neighboring Emerald Theatre. We were very impressed with the food, atmosphere, and service. I ordered the pork chop and prosciutto Mac and cheese, asparagus, and broccoli. The pork chop was cooked perfectly, juicy and flavorful. The Mac and cheese was also delicious, with a rich and creamy sauce. The asparagus and broccoli were cooked perfectly, with a slight crunch. My wife ordered the snapper with truffle risotto. The snapper was flaky and moist, and the truffle risotto was rich and flavorful. We were both very impressed with our meals. The food was delicious, and the presentation was excellent. The atmosphere at Sambuca is also very nice. The restaurant is elegant and sophisticated, but not stuffy. It's the perfect place for a special occasion dinner or a romantic evening out. The service at Sambuca was also excellent. Our server, Michael, was attentive and knowledgeable, and he made sure that we had everything we needed. We returned to Sambuca after the show for dessert. We ordered the tiramisu and the chocolate lava cake. The tiramisu was light and airy, with a rich coffee flavor. The chocolate lava cake was warm and gooey, with a delicious chocolate center. Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience at Sambuca. The food, atmosphere, and service were all excellent. We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a delicious and memorable dining experience in Houston.

The food was great the service from the bartender was even better. Plus the music was awesome. Veal was incredibly tender, bordelaise could have used a pinch of salt. 10 out of 10 though, I'll be back there soon.

The manager Emmett went over and beyond to make sure everyone was well taken care of. Rachel & Enrique are masters at making fine drinks & the magic that Rob creates in the kitchen is mind blowing 🤯 10 out of 10. I live nearby so can easily pop in and fell in love so much I invited my family who were visiting in from out of town and they too were so impressed & had a blast with the live band.

I went here on a Friday evening with my boyfriend for date night and the service was horrible. We made reservations and got seated upon arrival. Took at least 10 minutes for someone to even come to the table and greet us. Ordered drinks from the bar and waited 30 minutes for those. It was a frozen margarita! Which is straight from the machine! The waiter didn’t fully stop when he was talking to us he was walking away talking to us which is very unprofessional. Come on we are paying $50 for our meals! Each! The food was ok. Maybe it was too busy and not enough staff but it’s a Friday night that should have been thought about when making the schedules. Total of our bill was $165 . My boyfriend and I felt it wasn’t worth it. When you go out to eat you expect to be catered to and we were not given that! Probably won’t ever go back.