On our recent trip to Denver, our first meal was at Sam's No 3. Â Our group decided to eat here for dinner since it was close by to the places we wanted to see. Â
We were welcomed and greeted at the door once we entered, then waited shortly as our table was being set up. Diner feel, with plenty of TVs to watch sports or news. Â
The menu can be overwhelming with plenty of choices. Â For starters we got both chili cheese fries. Â One with Sam's No 3 red chili and the one with Kickin' pork green chili. Â Both very saucy, but I liked the kickin pork green chili one more. Â It had a stronger flavor and big chucks of pork. Â
As the table was too large we didn't share our meals. Â We all had our individual meals. Â I went with the Meatloaf melt since our waiter suggested it. Â It came with bbq, ranch, mayo and cheddar on sourdough. Â Waited for our food to come out, and they had beer specials so we started with a round of blue moon. Â
Our meals came out shortly, Â every plate seemed full and packed. Â Large portions good to share. Â First few bites of the meatloaf melt was yummy. Â Then after awhile I grew out of it. Â It was good at first but then the meatloaf got a little dry towards the center even with so much sauce. Â Still had good flavor though. Â
Prices were cheap for such huge portion plates. Â Waiter was awesome, checking on us multiple times and refilling our drinks as well.
After some deliberation, we decided to hit this place up for a few reasons ... 1. It came highly recommended by my brother in law 2. After I looked it up I saw that Sam's had been featured on Triple D.
In short we were sadly disappointed with everything we ordered. Â Not that it was bad ... it just wasn't that good. I've had better green chili from a coffee shop. In short, this place just doesn't live up 2 it's hype or prices.
The downtown location was close to work and the Aurora location is close to home...this is trouble. Good food and my usual brunch spot on the weekends, especially during Bronco season. Service is awesome and the drinks are stout. Excited for the Cherry Creek location to open, since it's by my new office. Definitely a sign...Breakfast is delicious at any time of day, especially here.
Review Source:It seems that many reviewers heavily tilt their rating based on the aesthetics and feel of Sam's No 3, and not the food. After my first visit I am torn about exactly how to quantify this restaurant. I'll break it down to feel, and food.
Feel. The place is quaint, cute, and fun in appearance. It is very clean, and I saw random employees randomly wiping random surfaces so often that it was noticeable. My server was very friendly, and attentive, so I really can't find any fault in this category.
On the other hand, there was absolutely NOTHING special about the food. I ordered a french dip w/ fries and it was extremely dry and very sloppily assembled (the meat was in a giant ball in the middle of the sandwich, making it almost impossible to handle let alone dip). It was so dry that some portions had a halfway to jerky appearance. The fries were standard frozen affairs. On the upside the prices were reasonable, right in the sweet spot of cheap diner fare.
Now, this review is based on a single visit so there is some hope that a next visit will deliver a completely different experience. The number of other reviews commenting on the difference between the -place- and the -food-, however, tells me I probably had a fairly authentic experience.
I'd recommend Sam's No. 3 to anyone wanting completely average food in a clean, fun environment. Don't go expecting more, like I was, and you won't be disappointed.
Headline: Living off a reputation it can't maintain.
So, guilty pleasure. Â I'm handing my car in at the dealer today, and it's lunch time. Â Yelp to the rescue - Sams #3 is close by, it's been featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives, it has four stars and it's open for lunch. Â What more could one ask? Â Decent food, perhaps?
I was not enthused by the lunch menu, so I ordered breakfast, which seems to be what this place is known for. Â Let's start with drinks though. Â They have a full espresso menu, so you can get your favorite latte instead of coffee or soda, which is definitely my choice. Â Someone in there knows how to make a proper drink, because the latte was perfect. Â If only Starbucks was this perfect.
I ordered the greek omeletter. Â Supposedly this comes with gyro meat, feta, tomato and tsatziki sauce on the side, plus your choice of sides - I opted for the biscuits and gravy. Â The omeletter itself was ok - a little dry, requiring liberal amounts of the tzatziki sauce (which was creamy, but no cucumber flavor, so miss there), but it was definitely missing the gyro meat. Â I saw one measly crumb of the stuff in the whole omelette. Â The feta, however, was over-powering. Â The biscuits were a disaster (although they did take money off for that). Â The gravy was nice enough, but I would have preferred a little more sausage flavor.
Let's just say that, given the hype, I was really expecting more from this place. Â It's ok, given the service was excellent, the the food was lacking all over the place. Â I think I'll just order the latte next time.
A solid 3 stars across the board. Service : Friendly, but not above and beyond. Food was satisfactory. I had the chicken burger with guacamole and jack. Im really craving the guac right now. This sandwhich was sparse on the guac and what ever peppers they put in it was too much and over powering. I wanted more of a avacado taste. They sell their own sauces and I sampled the serano garlic sauce and that was good.
I will come back probably for breakfast their menu looks really good. If anything I will go to try the dessert flautes (apple or cheesecake)
Oh boy, I know I am inviting trouble by giving Sam's #3 only 3 stars but I think A-OK is about my enthusiasm level for Sam's. Â Admittedly I have only dined here for breakfast, never dinner or lunch. Â Each time I enjoyed the Havana skillet but I thought the prices were a little steep and the potato ratio too high. The potatoes were heavy home-fry style and I felt a little "over-potatoed"! Â The green chili was fine, not really extraordinary. Â But, I liked it. Â Maybe my expectations are too high for this acclaimed establishment...it is possible. Â I need to try lunch and vary my orders to try some of Sam's No. 3's other famous items! The Cinnamon rolls did look mighty good.
Review Source:Carpet was kind of grundgy. I think I set my expectations too high. I was hoping for a life altering breakfast (like the one I had at an American style diner in Stokenchurch) but sam fell short. Service was attentive but the breakfast was fairly typical. The pancakes were nice and fluffy though. I worked mid shift that day so I didn't try the coffee.
Review Source:Sam's #3 in Aurora gives away a free beer during Broncos games every time the orange & blue scores a touchdown! Â With Payton and company having a hot hand this year this ain't a bad place to go for the Broncos game.
The decor is 70's diner meets Denny's but the servers are fun and they have a number of HDTVs so you can easily watch the game. Â The food is tasty and during the game all the apps are half price.
The Sam's concept started downtown as a Coney Dog joint so as you would expect the hot dogs are outstanding. Â I also got a giant plate of wings for half price and they were great too.
Sam's is much more than just a breakfast spot and I would be willing to bet all the food is really good.  Check out the complete menu at <a href="/redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fviewer%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fsamsno3.com%2Fsamsmenu.pdf&s=4d4c38bb013ef3d601945b55b5a29707f7ce68a667a754cef6a5527d42806a4e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://docs.google.com/…</a>
I came to Sams for breakfast during my recent trip to Denver (the breakfast burritos came highly recommended by my Dad, who also had them when he was visiting). My sister and I had to wait for a few minutes before we were seated, but it wasn't too bad. Â We ordered the corn beef hash burrito and the pumpkin pancakes (on special) to share.
The burrito was huge! Â I couldn't even finish my half of it. Â The green pork chili was also delicious with big chunks of pork that melt in your mouth. Â I could definitely see why my dad was raving and will go back for the obligatory breakfast burrito when I am in the area again.
Even after reading the glowing reviews, I had a feeling that this would be not much more than a solid breakfast restaurant.
We visited on a Sat. morning, so I already knew that there'd be a wait. Â Fortunately, it was only 15min. Â We ordered and the food came out within 15min if that. Â Quite impressive for such a busy restaurant. Â I knew the servings were going to be large from the reviews, so my husband ordered the chile relleno with the mini blueberry pancakes I wanted, and I ordered the pecan cinnamonster and the fried cheese curds (for breakfast)! Â The cheese curds were probably the best part of the meal. Â The pancakes didn't have the wow factor for me, but were fun to eat with the sauce dripping off the cinnamon bun. Â The bun itself was a little dry and nothing to write home about. Â The chile rellenos were fine and aside from the pancakes, also came with two eggs.
With so many restaurants in the area to try, I don't think I'd be returning. Â However, good breakfast food if you're in the vicinity.
OK I guess this was on that fancy DDD tv show. After trying to many of the places he says are awesome, I think one of those D's usually stands for disappointing, but not in this case. I have been to the Sam's downtown and it was damn good and this one is no different. How could you not want to put a pecan cinna-monster in your mouth hole? simply divine. ooooey gooey cinnnamon bunnyness covered with toasty pecans ... yes sir, can i have another.
Seriously, the cinnamonster was good but also the vegetarian breakfast burrito was one of the best i have had in forever. Easier to deal with parking out here in Aurora. Downtown one is good if you are at a hotel within walking distance. Equally tremendous food and friendly staff. A few decent beers on tap too.
I love eating at Sam's #3 for breakfast. The food has always been delicious and the service spot on. During my last visit there the waitress suggested that my friend have one of their early bird specials versus what he was ordering because it was basically the same thing but cheaper. Coffee cups never run dry, and neither do the water glasses.
I usually get the Mexican breakfast, which involves their delicious chorizo, eggs, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cheese scrambled together. You also get beans, tortillas, and some of their delicious pork green chili. It's a lot of food - perfect the morning after a late night. I also love their chili rellenos, and their biscuits and gravy are darn good too. Last time in I had their pumpkin pancakes as a side to the rellenos. It was a taste explosion. Frankly, I can't imagine any of their breakfast items being less than stellar. The menu is huge, giving you plenty of options.
This is the second location of Sam's, but you get everything that the original downtown location offers. Plus there's a lot more room at this location. It still has some counter seating, which is first-come, first-serve, making it great for one or two people to come in and out quickly. If you had a late night, want a lazy Sunday breakfast, or have an early morning flight at DIA, stop into Sam's #3 for a tasty start to your day.
Oh, and don't forget to save your receipts! They net you $2 off of a $10 tab the next time in.
I've been going to Sams before it was on triple D and decided to stop in because I haven't been in a long while. Â Great food, great service, but I see they raised the prices based on the reputation. Â It is a standard diner with decent food, but not with prices inflated. Â Service was fantastic, everyone was jumping out of their shoes slinging food everywhere and this place gets crowded. Â But what use to be a reliable, comfortable restaurant, seems like it had a little bit too much sugar before bed time.
Review Source:Dog-gone-it!
I've been here twice since my super scrumptious Blueberry Pancakes and Eek! Methinks not.
I had the fish and chips the second time...sorry, YUCK!
I had a simple breakfast with pancakes as a side. Those were the driest, cardboard tasting pancakes ever. Simply not as good as the Blueberry ones.
I may go back but only for the Blueberry pancakes. I'm thru with wasting my money trying to try other items on the menu.
I was really hoping this place was going to be great. I was disappointed. Our server was nice, but he seemed pretty irritated. All of his niceness seemed fake. He also didn't come over very often, which annoyed me. The food was not great. I got the cheese enchilada plate. The sauce is gross. The beans are good and the rice is ok. We also ordered chips and salsa, which they surprisingly messed up twice. TWICE. ON CHIPS AND SALSA. I can't say that I would be willing to go back.
Review Source:This location of the legendary Denver diner is a riot. Â Last time I went the food runner sat me, got me my drink and then ran my food. Â Each time she had a new and exciting, patronizing name to call me. Â Honey. Â Darling. Â Sweetie. Â Cutie. Â Is it just me or is this habitude totally dependent upon how it's delivered? Â In this case, it was really feeling like an insult from an insecure individual. Â Whatever, sweetcheeks, just get me my real server. Â The actual waitress assigned to me was a joy. Â None of that foolishness, all businesses, prompt and caring about my needs. Â I tipped accordingly, near a third of the check total. Â Â Â Â
The meal I had was the Coney Island hamburger steak. Â It's exactly what it sounds like. Â A plate with a half-pound of ground chuck topped with chili and cheese, hash brown potatoes, Texas toast, and tomato and pickle slices as garnish (but I eat that stuff every time). Â I would describe Sam's as working man food, hearty, stick to your ribs full on meals like your southern aunt used to make. Â Pretend you have a southern aunt if you don't really. Â They even have a breakfast dish called "the Hard Hat", so go with an appetite and a smile and get there early on a weekend morning or you might have to wait.
Not sure that I completely enjoyed this place. But I didn't have a breakfast burrito or omelet or anything fancy. What I did taste from my friends plate was decent...
They have gyros and burritos and American food. Personally that just kind of sold it for me. A place that has a shot gun of food items from all parts of the world kind of suggests that this place isn't particularly good at one thing that makes them stand out.
Service was crap. Got a strawberry milkshake which was pretty uneventful and lame. Two stars simply because I got my food for free, courtesy of my friend.
NORMS will still be my fav diner place. The end.
CALI TILL I DIE!
Yes, I am a fan. Â I was in Denver for work and the boss suggested Sam's. Â We visited the location on Havana. Â We arrived and we were greeted. Â The staff were excellent. Â We were seated as soon as we arrived.
We started with the Chips and salsa and the Mac-n-cheese dip...Loved it. Â Really wanted the cheese curds, but I will save those for another trip.
The menu is awesome, but I selected the steak fajita burrito with kickin' pork green chili. Â Wow, what a huge burrito and great taste. Â Co-worker had the 2 pound combo burrito. Â
We will go again when in town, so many great meals to sample.
I lived in Aurora for almost 10 years and somehow never tried this place. Â I will blame my immature taste buds. Â At that time, I would rather have had the Panda Buffet instead or if it was late, Village Inn.
My daughter and I came here for breakfast because sadly my favorite bagel and coffee place closed down (Why Latta's?!? Â Whyyyyyy?!?) Â
I ordered the chicken souvlaki and eggs with a not so mini side of pancakes. Â Those things were massive. Â Initially, I accidentally received the chorizo. Â I thought at first I couldn't remember what Greek food looked like but it was just a mistake. Â Those that do like chorizo? Â I will say from experience it has a kick to it. Â
We came on Friday morning and it was still pretty busy despite being a work day. Â Shame on me for never having tried them when I had the chance. Â Although, I will not lie. Â Village Inn is delicious at 3 in the morning.
You can get green chile on practically ANYTHING! Â My only wish is that they actually gave you more green chile. Â A lot of the gooey goodness that you see is mostly cheese, which is still good don't get me wrong.
I tried both the skillet and burrito. Â The two lists are almost identical in terms of fillings except one is over potatoes vs. inside a tortilla. Â Portions are big so be prepared to stuff yourself.
The wait on Saturday was a bit long (30 minutes) but it's totally worth the wait. Â It's nothing like the breakfast that you get in CA with organic, grass-fed ingredients being the highlight. Â It's just down to earth, diner style food that is delicious above anything else.
We stumbled upon this place thanks to my trusty friends on Yelp. Â I watch Diners, Drive Ins and Dives a lot and I didn't make the connection that this was the Sam's that was on the show until I got upon the restaurant where they advertise the fact they were on the show. Â Huge place. Â And even on a Thursday morning around 9am the place was packed. Â Extensive menu with some really great breakfast deals. Â I wasn't feeling a breakfast vibe so I went with a cup of the green pork chii and the Greek salad. Â Both were super delicious. Â The greens on the salad were really crisp. Â The chili had a perfect amount of heat. Â The boyfriend ordered a ridiculous amount of food as usual. Â I think he got the Spero and then ordered a side of oatmeal and a few other sides. Â Service was friendly and efficient. Â I can only imagine how packed this place gets on the weekend.
Review Source:Well, after Sam's No. 3 made it to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network, I had to give it a shot! Â I stopped by for breakfast this morning and ended up leaving with one question in mind. Â Just how much did Sam's bribe Food Network to make their food look good?
I had the huevos rancheros, which was listed on the menu as a customer favorite. Â The potatoes were completely under seasoned and under cooked. Â There were a few crispy bites, but the rest of the bites I took were dry and and a little tough. Â The green chili was also under seasoned and the chunks of pork in the chili were very dry and tough. Â The tortillas were stale and the dish was mostly a huge disappointment. Â On the up side, the beans tasted good and my over medium eggs were perfectly cooked.
The service was also horrible. Â After the waitress took my order and brought my food, I didn't see her again for a long time. Â She briefly stopped by to fill my coffee but didn't say a word to me as my silverware sat on my plate and I obviously wasn't eating. Â I was hungry, so I just started picking at it again. Â The waitress came by later to drop my check, again, not even asking if I needed anything or how the food was so I told her I was unhappy and she got the manager. Â I gave him the low down and encouraged me to not tip the waitress as she didn't deserve it. Â The manager was very apologetic and friendly. Â I told him I always like to give a place a second chance and would probably be back someday. Â He said if for any reason I'm not happy to let him know right away.
To Guy Fieri, what in the word were you thinking when you said this was great food?
Overall, over-sized greasy spoon plates at decent prices. They have the typical confused diner menu, serving American, Greek and Mexican fare. The food was nothing special.
The 22 breakfast burritos drew us in. We went ahead and ordered the "Grande" Burrito Supreme breakfast burrito and a Pecan Cinna-Monster roll (only available at this location). The "kickin" pork green chili was mild and underwhelming. The Pecan Cinna-Monster roll was pretty tasty, but it's hard to mess up a cinnamon roll that is covered in butter and pecans! The coffee was meh. You know, that standard diner coffee that they overcharge for. Nothing about this place was memorable.
I'll stick with Breakfast King for the breakfast burrito cravings!
Roomy and very noisy location. My tip is to not sit in the back, where they congregate clusters of boisterious rowdies.
The food was famously over proportioned and sturdy diner fare, but not as good as their downtown location.
I had a huge skillet an egg and cheese and onion and potato mega breakfast.
Recommend,but prefer Breakfast King.
Great breakfast place if you're on this side of town.
I can't comment on any other meals served at Sam's No 3, because I have only been during the breakfast or brunch hours. I will, however, say that they do have a pretty expansive menu that should please almost anyone in your crowd.
I usually end up ordering a breakfast burrito of some sort, as they have quite a few to choose from. *Also - their green chili is made in house and is also pretty tasty! It has huge pieces of pork and is actually pretty flavorful for green chili (not like some places where it is just hot for the sake of being obnoxiously hot). If you want a more traditional breakfast, you can always order a side of green chili if you are looking to spice it up.
Another go-to food that they do a pretty good job at, is their french toast, which is made out of thick slices of Texas Toast. You also can't go wrong with a Pecan Cinna-Monster (as they call it), which is a fresh, ooey, gooey cinnamon roll topped with perfectly sweetened icing and candied pecans - AND! according to their menu, this is the only location that you can get it with pecans!
It's not the fanciest place to go to, but it does offer some variety and a change of scenery outside of the usual breakfast places. Oh! And I guess it's helpful to mention that they do have a bar - just in case you are in the mood for a bloody mary or some other concoction to aid in your enjoyment. I've personally never drank anything here (alcoholic), but I always see someone drinking a bloody mary every time I go in, so they must not be that bad :) Â Enjoy!
Sam's No 3 has, in my opinion, some pretty tasty food.
I love walking in to Sam's on a cold day because the first thing to hit you is the smell of coffee. I love coffee. I also love friendly servers, good blue cheese dressing, and things covered in chili. This is why I love Sam's No 3.
Another cool thing about Sam's is that they don't give kids some lame sheet of paper with a word search and a starfish to color. No, it's a rad paper hat with a groovy van to color.
I think I really had more of a 3.5 star experience here, but I loved my burger so much I am rounding up! Â Plus it is close (ish) Â to my house so I will be back to sample the fare again soon. Â
The hubby and I hit this place up for lunch since he has a new job near by. Â The place is huge. Â You walk in and don't realize at first how far back the dining room goes. Â Oh and the bar is gigantic. Â We were seated at a booth near a window (and an insanely loud group next to us). Â The waitress was great and really on top of our order and checking on us (not so much in reigning in the disruptive group next to us). Â We both ordered burgers and fries. Â
The guac burger I had was so yummy. Â The patty was huge, juicy and had a great grill led flavor. Â The guac was really spicy - which I loved! Â It was a huge burger. I couldn't finish it. Â The fries were OK, nothing special. Â Still what I liked best is I didn't know what I wanted and I could have gotten Mexican, Greek or even breakfast. Â It is a great little diner. Â
And if we have a rowdy group next time we will ask to move :)
Came in here for lunch the other day and had one of the best burgers that I've had in a while. The meat was cooked to perfection, the bacon was crispy, and the pepper jack was flavorful.
The service was pretty good, I don't remember my drink going dry.
My major complaint is the table next to us, which was full of people yelling at their kids to "quit it". They were allowing their 4 year old to just wander around the restaurant yelling and knocking into stuff. And they just kept screaming at him to stop, without bothering to get off their butts and do anything about it.
But the food and the service was good. Think I'll come back and try the breakfast next time!
Mostly good, but the one thing that was bad was REALLY bad. Â They have "gourmet onion rings" on the appetizer menu. Â Given that they were supposed to be "gourmet" and given the high price, it never occurred to me to ask if they were pre-made, frozen crap, but unfortunately, that's what they were. Â If you're okay with a larger version of Burger King onion rings, then go ahead and order them. Â Otherwise, don't let yourself be ripped off.
On the other hand, the Buffalo wings, chile rellenos, Spanish rice and refried beans were all excellent.
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