News and Reviews

Marin Living magazine A Day Out at Half Moon Bay 
Marin Living Magazine
talks about Half Moon Bay as a coastal paradise, with "the best clam chowder outside New England, to charming mom-and-pop shops and family-friendly sandy beaches…” and we are honored to be featured

The Mercury News Sam's featured in "Half Moon Bay day trip: 3 great spots to eat"

San Francisco Chronicle 10 scenic waterfront restaurants open in the Bay Area right now

2022 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice award

Sam’s is proud to be a 2022 winner of the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award, in addition to being a five-year Hall of Fame winner

2020 OpenTable Diners Choice award winner

OpenTable Diners' Choice Award Winner 2020, loved for "Outdoor Dining" and "Scenic View" in the San Francisco Peninsula area based on recent, verified OpenTable diner reviews.

Check, Please! Bay Area Kids

Check, Please! Bay Area Kids Review Sam’s Chowder House

Eater San Francisco

Sam’s featured in “Five Things to Know About Eating Inside the New Chase Center”

Sam’s Chowder House announces two concessions now open in San Francisco’s newly built Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors. We’ll be serving some of our specialties, including our dressed Lobster Roll, New England Clam Chowder, and Popcorn Shrimp, and introducing our latest dish…Crab Fries.

KRON4

Sam’s food concessions in the new Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors

Food & Wine

Sam's named in Food & Wine: "100 Most Scenic Restaurants in America" 

OpenTable

100 Most Scenic Restaurants in America, 2019

100 Best Al Fresco Restaurants in America, 2018 & 2019

Sam’s is thrilled to be included in OpenTable’s TOP 100 list of the best restaurants in America for outdoor dining, and TOP 100 most scenic restaurants in America, based on over 12 million verified OpenTable diner reviews which reflect food, service, and ambiance, for over 30,000 restaurants in all 50 states.

This is My Happiness

Sam’s featured in “How To Spend A Weekend In Half Moon Bay”

San Mateo County: As Fresh As It Gets award

Sam’s Chowder House awarded with San Mateo County: As Fresh As it Gets award at the Platinum level for 2018-2019

Red Tricycle

Red Tricycle names Sam’s Chowder House famous Clam Chowder in The Bay Area’s Best Spots for Tasty Soup

logo The Mercury News

Mercury News readers choose both Sam’s New England and Manhattan style clam chowders as the “Best Bay Area Clam Chowder”

The Six Fifty

Sam’s featured in “The Six Fifty’s Guide to Getting Your Oyster Fix on the SF Peninsula”

logo The Mercury News

Sam’s featured in “Dungeness Crab 2017: Where to Buy, Eat in the Bay Area” by The Mercury News

2019 Half Moon Bay Review Readers Choice award winner

Voted “#1 Seafood Restaurant” by Half Moon Bay locals
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 & 2014 Half Moon Bay Review, Annual Readers Choice Awards

San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau

Sam’s Chowder House named in “8 Must-Try Restaurants for Outdoor Dining” in the San Francisco Bay Area

PureWow

Sam’s featured in “The 9 Best Lobster Rolls in the Bay Area” by PureWow

logo Marin Magazine

Marin Magazine includes Sam’s in “Food-Focused Road Trips” well worth the drive

Zagat

Zagat lists Sam’s among “8 Lobster Rolls to Seek Out in the Bay Area”

badgeOpenTableDinersChoiceAward2018

Sam's Chowder House selected as an OpenTable Diners' Choice Award Winner 2018, loved for "Great For Lunch", "Outdoor Dining", "Scenic View" and "Seafood" in  the San Francisco Peninsula area based on recent, verified OpenTable diner reviews.

San Francisco Bay Area A-List

Voted 2017 "Best Seafood in the Bay Area" by the San Francisco Bay Area A-List
More than 16,800 voters for over 3,400 nominees and 121 winners in the 2017 contest. Also won Best Seafood in 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012.

Thrillist San Francisco

SF’s Thrillist names Sam’s in “The Peninsula’s 31 BEST RESTAURANTS”

Food Network

Food Network lists Sam's Chowder House among "Best Cioppino Outside of San Francisco"

Only In Your State

Sam’s is #2 Restaurant You Have To Visit In Northern California Before You Die

7x7

7x7 San Francisco reports: Drop Anchor at These Must-Stop Seafood Shacks Between San Francisco and L.A.

San Jose Mercury News

A hard sell: How a bait shop, a chowder house and the surf helped to save Angel Pagan's sanity

FYI Network's Food Porn host Michael Chernow

Sam’s featured on Michael Chernow’s FOOD PORN

San Jose Mercury News

A great pumpkin getaway to Half Moon Bay includes a trip to Sam's Chowder House for lobster rolls and Pacific Ocean views

San Jose Mercury News

5 fab ways to play in Half Moon Bay features a stop at Sam's Chowder House, the reigning champ of seafood

ACES Golf Lifestyle magazine ACES Golf Lifestyle magazine raves about Sam’s Chowder House in their coastal golf edition

Inside Scoop SF

Michael Bauer's favorite Bay Area restaurants for Oysters

TasteTV 2014 Tasteable California Restaurant Award

Sam’s Chowder House voted “BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT” by TasteTV’s viewer’s choice 2014 TASTEABLE CALIFORNIA Restaurant Awards

Travel + Leisure

Sam’s Chowder House wins Travel + Leisure 2014 SMITTY® Award for “Best Overall Use of Social Media by a Restaurant, Food Truck or Market”

Edible Silicon Valley

Edible Silicon Valley features Paul Shenkman as a Passionate Hospitality Entrepreneur

logoTheDailyMeal

The Daily Meal names Sam’s in America’s 20 Best Lobster Rolls Outside Maine

Relish Magazine

Sam's Chowder House featured in 10 Green Restaurants That Care About Our Earth

Thrillist San Francisco

SF’s Thrillist names Sam’s Lobster Clambake in “25 things you need to do, see, or eat before Summer”

Smart Meetings Magazine

Sam's Chowder House featured in Smart Meetings Magazine, Northern California Must List

Road Trips for Couples

"One bite of anything served at Sam's and you'll be sold, hook, line and sinker."

Inside Scoop SF

Sam’s named in “FIVE PLACES TO DINE” by Michael Bauer, SF Chronicle executive food and wine editor

SFGate

On the Town: where to go, what to do

OpenTable Blog

From Mom with Love: Executive Chef Lewis Rossman of Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay, California, Shares the Recipe for Grandma's Meatballs

The Price is Right

Sam's Chowder House selected to be prize option on "The Price is Right" with Drew Carey

San Francisco BayList

"Best Waterfront Dining in the Bay Area" and "Best Seafood in the Bay Area"
2011, 2010 and 2009 Best of the BayList

HalfMoonBayPatch

"Sam's Chowder House Named One of the 'Top 100 Kid-Friendly Restaurants' in America"

Clout & About

Sun, Sea and Sam's Chowder House - Clout & About
Sam's Chowder House gets written about mostly for their killer lobster roll which is actually pretty darn good, and if you haven't had it yet, ...

AAA VIA Magazine

VIA Magazine recommends Sam's Chowder House on your road trip down California's Highway 1

HelloSanFrancisco.com

Sam's Chowder House: Claw Your Way to Half Moon Bay for These Lobster Rolls

Sunset Magazine

Sunset Magazine's Top 100 cultural trends shaping the West
"Soft-serve grows up"

Real Weddings Magazine

Real Weddings "Mini-Moon" recommends "Don't Miss: Sam's Chowder House"
"Sam’s Chowder House is a complete dining experience. Not only is the food delicious, but the views are spectacular, the service is outstanding and the live music (on Friday and Saturday nights) creates a fun, upbeat atmosphere."

Sante

PAUL SHENKMAN NAMED NATIONAL "RESTAURATEUR OF THE YEAR" BY THE PRESTIGIOUS SANTÉ MAGAZINE AWARDS COMMITTEE Local Bay Area restaurateur earns top Grand Award, following in the footsteps of last recipient, master chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck

Santa Cruz Good Times

"Sam's Chowder House brings New England-style seafood to Half Moon Bay
Perched on a cliff just south of Pillar Point Harbor, eco-friendly Sam's Chowder House offers sensational views and a respect for seafood that allows its flavors to shine."
Karen Petersen, Santa Cruz Good Times

up! magazine

"Delicious seafood dishes in a casual, authentic setting
AN EAST COAST-style seafood house on the West Coast? Don't think of it as a cheap throwback, or even an oxymoron; if anything, this charming and expansive family joint is a brilliant evolution of tried-and-true maritime dining."
Eric Rumble, up! magazine

CNN Money

Sam’s Chowder House voted Top 50 “Best Kid-Friendly Dining” by OpenTable Diners out of 2.5 million reviews for more than 9,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Sams ChowderMobile

SAM’S CHOWDER HOUSE ANNOUNCES FIRST MOBILE GOURMET SEAFOOD TRUCK IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: SAM’S CHOWDERMOBILE
Providing a fresh solution in challenging economic times, Sam’s ChowderMobile brings award-winning, affordable seafood directly to customers, for lunch and dinner, corporate and private group “on-sites”, beach clambakes, and major events.

Sexy Dishes - A Guide to Who's Hot in the Kitchen - San Francisco, book from TasteTV

New TasteTV book “Sexy Dishes”
Sam’s Executive Chef/Partner Lewis Rossman featured in new TasteTV book “Sexy Dishes” – a guide to “Who’s Hot in the Kitchen”, profiling culinary artists and their favorite “sexy” recipes. See the news clip on NBC…

San Francisco Chronicle

"KILLER APP: Fried calamari was tender and plentiful, but the must-have is Sam's New England clam chowder ... thick with clams, smoky bacon and potatoes, served with oyster crackers."
Bar Bites, S.F. Chronicle

MSNBC Today Show

Sam's Famous Lobster Roll Named in Top Five
"BEST SANDWICHES IN AMERICA"
NBC's The Today Show

San Francisco Magazine

"BEST OUTDOOR DINING"
Top Three Outdoor Dining Spots in Bay Area
"...your little slice of New England-lobster rolls, shrimp salads, and creamy clam chowder-served with West Coast sustainable sensibility and gorgeous views of the Pacific."
San Francisco Magazine READERS POLL

San Francisco Chronicle

"BEAUTIFUL VIEWS...FRIENDLY SERVICE...GREAT SEAFOOD"
"Entering Sam's feels like a vacation, and that's before the oysters, clams, and Crab Louie Salad arrive...Cioppino and Chowder are excellent."
Michael Bauer, S.F. Chronicle

The Mercury News

3 stars
"EXPERTLY GRILLED FISH...
exemplary crab cakes...perfectly grilled King salmon....impeccably fresh tuna..."
"Sam's formula is simple..."
Aleta Watson, San Jose Mercury News REVIEW

Sante

Culinary Hospitality Restaurant Award
The prestigious Sante awards recognize excellence in restaurant food, wine, spirits, and service hospitality. The Santé Awards program is the only peer-judged restaurant and hospitality competition in North America. Judges are restaurant owners, chefs, spirits professionals and sommeliers from around the nation.   
Sante, The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals (2008)

Santa Cruz Sentinel

"GREAT OCEAN VIEWS, FINE SEAFOOD DISHES, AND REAL KEY LIME PIE..."
"The large, thick halibut steak, flanked by brilliant asparagus spears and killer potato-leek au gratin, was perfect."
Ann Parker, Santa Cruz Sentinel