Sam's Sports Bar & Grill

Carolyn B.

Joined 11 months ago

Sam's has the BEST spinach artichoke dip. it's fabulous!

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mrnashone

Joined 2 years ago

Great Food Specials & Trivia. I love this place - just a great college bar! Love the food, inexpensive & good, I like the Wings! Trivia is a hoot! Catch the names of the Trivia Teams and you will laugh your behind off!

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I Love Nashville Blog

Joined 2 years ago

Sam's - Quintessential Nashville Sports Bar. It is only fitting to start my coverage of Nashville’s most memorable places with the one I’ve spent more time in than my own home: Sam’s Sports Grill in Hillsboro Village. If you’re looking for a thrifty, casual happy hour or the perfect spot to watch the game, Sam’s is your place.

My love affair with Sam’s began when visiting my Vandy friends in college, and its solid, dependable, delicious food is what has kept me coming back. Sam’s menu features exactly the kind of food you’d expect from a sports bar – wings, pizza, sandwiches and salads – but the thing that makes this place special is that it does these things extremely well. For example, when I told my friend Carson Popkin, 28, that I was writing this post she just said “Wiiiiiings…” and stared off hungrily into the distance before coming to and saying, “They’re phenomenal.”

But wings are not the only thing Sam’s is doing right. The Cajun Pepperoni Pizza is a salty, crispy pie with just the right spicy kick, and the Campfire Chili with cheese and onions is simply one of the best bowls of chili I have ever had. And I’ve had some chili. When soup and chili cheese dogs make up 80% of your diet, you become an expert fast. In short, the food is straight-forward, fresh and very well-executed. Whether you need to grab a club and fries for lunch or cure your hangover with a Blue Moon and a burger, Sam’s will do you right.

And that is in no small part due to the atmosphere. Sam’s is a quintessential sports bar with happy hour from 3-7 every weekday except Tuesday (when it’s two-for-one!) and at least 20 TVs broadcasting games at all times. (It is a smoking establishment, so take that into consideration before you pull up a stool.) On any given Saturday there are 100+ sports fans screaming their guts out for their teams, and the wait staff generally does an good job keeping pace with the thirsty legions. It’s even better when the weather is nice and they roll up the garage doors on the front side. Breeze + good people watching is the ultimate relaxation-maker.

Sam’s also has a lively game of trivia on Wednesdays and even livelier karaoke night on Fridays. In short, Sam’s is my Cheers (and ironically, Sam was the guy who ran Cheers – coincidence? I think not). I’d suggest that you make it yours too… Except overcrowding would make my standard Saturday table even harder to come by, and we clearly can’t have that. But what the hey, go visit them anyway. In no time at all, it’ll be the place where everybody knows your name.

Sam’s also has a second location in Hendersonville, so you suburbanites don’t have to miss out on the fun.

Doesn't Recommend

engineer123

Joined 3 years ago

If your looking for good service... Not here. Been in Nashville for some time... once in awhile I get dragged to this place. Service is well how should I say this... horrible. I don't know if the management beats their waitresses of what. But this is probably the worst bar I've ever been to. It took us 2+ hours to get 2 drinks and the waitresses treated us like we just killed their dog. And I'm pretty sure there was heavy drug traffic going... Just felt uncomfortable.... I will say that if you go to the bar the bartenders are great. All I'm saying is I wouldn't go there unless the Mrs. makes me... Looking for a comfortable place... not here

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Nashvillian

Joined 4 years ago

What a great spot in Nashville!. The quintessential sports bar of Nashville. Just voted Best Sports Bar for 9 years in a row! Hot girls serving cold drinks while your choice of every game is on at least 8 TVs is a winning combination for anybody right? They've also been voted Best Pizza, Burger, Happy Hour and whatever else, the place rocks. Oh, and you can smoke if you so choose to. Keep up the good work! 5 stars.

Doesn't Recommend

MisterEX

Joined 4 years ago

There's better places to go.. I used to go here every weekend to get my college football and pro football fix, but the crowds and smoke were getting too much for me. Plus, the setup of the place makes it hard to see several games at once (as I like to keep an eye on several throughout the day).

I actually found that The Closing Bell on Demonbreun St. has provided me with a much better atmosphere, better game watching and most of all - BETTER DRINKS!

Doesn't Recommend

beta245

Joined 4 years ago

mislead. I just spent the day at Sam's like I do most of my Saturdays. As a USC fan, we asked right away what games were going to have sound, and of course noticed all of the signage indicating that USC vc OSU was being shown on the big screen. Fast forward to 6:00p.m., when Vandy kids started coming in to watch their game (pre-loisted as being shown on the patio). All of a sudden....we have no access to the BIGGEST GAME OF THE Day so far, and the management at Sam's switched the game to Vandy on the big screen. Sam said that he was sorry and offered a round of shots.......thanks but no thanks. I recommend Corner Pub or Crow's Nest as places that will stick to their word.

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BeerLover

Joined 4 years ago

Great Bar, needs to trim some fat. I frequent this bar - I'm there with my buddies at least once or twice a week. Most of the staff is fantastic (some of the best looking girls around too), a few not so much. A few of the waitresses are always hung over and slow, most of the rest of them are always on top of things. The blonde bartender (Tish) always tries to overcharge us, putting extra drinks on our tab that we didn't order....and on busy nights she sometimes doesn't give us back our change, even though we tip really good. We call that getting "Tished." The night time manager is very unfriendly and is always hammered. One time I even walked up on her in the parking lot and saw her drinking in her car. This bar would be unmatched by any other in the Nashville area if they's just get rid of a few people.

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niceandhonestcritic

Joined 4 years ago

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE!. This place is so fun! But even better, they have awesome food! Their chicken is great! You can't get a better house salad anywhere! Their ribs are excellent! Drink specials can't be beat. The only down side is maybe never wanting to leave! The wait staff is really excellent too, and while it's pretty obvious that some guys only go to check out the short shorts, a lot of the staff is really informative and honest about the menu selections. Great Place - we frequent here for lunch!!!! (A couple times a week!)

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chps

Joined 4 years ago

Great Sports Bar!. I spent some time in Nashville recently and when I asked around for a good sports bar, everyone said the same thing. Go to Sam's in the Village. I ended up spending a lot of time there, as it turns out. The place is big, all the games were always on, and the food was really good. The attractive and friendly staff didn't hurt either! I am moving to Nashville later next month and when I do and someone asks me where a good sports bar is, I'm gonna send them to Sams! Oh, and did I mention that the wings there are the best that I've ever had?