Sambuca in Hartlepool

Lovely fresh food served speedy. Friendly staff. The music was a little on the loud side but the atmosphere was nice. Lovely redecoration of the restaurant too.

Amazing food service and atmosphere xxx

Great food but feel like it needs to focus on it's unconscious biased/ diversity skills and attention to detail. For context. I was staying in the area for work so ventured out for my evening meal with my colleague. We were seated straight away but immediately I was asked what costume I was wearing, if it were Halloween etc. (My outfit consisted of a dress with a oriental print with black cats on it because I think life is too short not to express yourself) also despite telling them this is who I am it just made it feel extra awkward. Then a minute later we were asked for drinks when we had literally sat down. Anyway ignorance aside the menu was vast and the 3 course menu was amazing value. I opted for the sea bass for main and garlic mushrooms for starter. The starter was nicely presented with a good portion. After taking everything away they delivered the main and asked if we needed anything, in mid-conversation I stated no but realised a few moments later we had no cutlery. A kind waitress rectified that. Anyway, the sea bass was well cooked with crispy skin and what I paid would normally get you one fillet and not two. For dessert I chose ice cream expected it to be a small scoop but nope it was served as a sundae. Overall the setting was quite loud with music and people and the service felt uncomfortable. The food however was very generous of size and tasted great.

Went on a Friday night and was like being in a 90s Ibiza nightclub, music was too loud and young people shouting. They also added a £6 drink on the bill that wasn’t ordered so be careful of that. No apology either. It’s a shame cos the food is lovely.

Omg what a place. Food portions were huge. Great staff, great atmosphere, great food. Been here 12 months. Wish I had discovered this place earlier. Defo coming back. Thank you.

Lovely food as always, great service and atmosphere

Fabulous Service, Food Quality Excellence, great atmosphere, Birthday wishes complete, no complaints thank you to all staff,

Very quick service, both order and food. Food was delicious, I loved the Thai Fishcake.

Sooo good! We come once a year when we are in Hartlepool and I always wonder if the locals really know how lucky they are. I think they do though as the place is always buzzing. The food is top notch and very reasonably priced. We had seafood risotto (husband) and seafood pasta (me). Mine was absolutely packed with top quality mussels, king prawns, clams and scallops in a beautiful sauce. Then we shared the hot chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream - thank goodness we shared because there was loads and again totally delicious. To top it all they brought us free Baileys on ice as I was typing this review! I’ve found heaven and it’s called SAMBUCA.

Absolutely excellent venue, food and service was perfect. The evening set menu was spot on, price incredibly reasonable. Will definitely visit again

Amazing service and spot on food. We shared the fish platter with a portion of fries and for the money, you cannot knock it. I’d 100% go back if I was in the area.

Good service, delicious food, cozy and super fast.

Belly pork was not crispy but chewy. Lasagne was tomato sauce. Motzerella and 1 sheet of pasta. Bit disappointed to be honest, was looking forward to it

Was very busy great atmosphere top lighting and decor lovely pleasant staff.i came in at 3pm for sunday lunch 2 courses for 11.95 !!! Wow BUT THEYD SOLD OUT.i ordered lasagne and tomato garlic bread.the bread had a strange taste and the lasagne was so top heavy with stringy cheese I could barely get into it.only 5/10 I'm afraid guys but I'll be back for sunday lunch soon to give yourselves a chance to redeem.fiver a pint for fosters!!!???ouch!!!

Both me and my hubby were looking forward to going here.welcoming staff food wasnt so good.my husband ordered lasagna which came to him burnt .and i ordered parmo.eating parmo after two fork fulls came across a t shaped bone it put me off straight away.after nearly choking on it decided to send it back.aftrr showing member of staff she took it away didnt have anything else.What upset me the most she told me lies saying it was overcooked bread crums.you could blatantly see it was a bone why try to make out it wasnt .not impressed i dont like liars.

Great meal with family. Food was very good and huge portions. Only downfall was being seated next to the kitchen / serving counter which was a bit noisy.

Love this place! It was our first visit as our daughter has just moved here for uni, and we took her out for a meal. We were seated straight away, the service and food was outstanding! We will definitely be back for many more visits!

Particularly warm welcome, excellent food and service, good fun atmosphere and the cost was very reasonable

Food was lovely as always and staff are very friendly. But there was a large party in, and it was very very noisy along with the very loud music it was unbearable to sit in there. people were walking in for a table and walking out again because of the noise. They lost a lot of customers because of this . I think this party should have been upstairs to make as much noise as they liked but it disturbed all the other customers I mentioned it when I paid and was told there was nothing they can do about it Yes you can there's a upstairs, put noisy party's up there instead of in the middle of the restaurant disturbing people while they eat.

Stopped in the off chance they would have a table, they did. Staff were friendly and helpful, the food - we have starter and main, was amazing. Good size portions, cooked to perfection and so tasty. Thank you made our night

Great food but too noisy for easy conversation. Seems to have lost its Italian vibe too, and no side dish vegetables on the menu any more, nor a specials board.

We got the lunch time special which was great value. Lots of potato skins, pizzas were fresh with lots of topping and the seafood pasta was tasty. We were also served very quickly and the bill was only £64 for 6 people including drinks.

Very good food, and very affordable.

Great food along with the chef's and brilliant staff. Atmosphere so good 👍👍👍👍

Great place to eat at a great price. Had the three course lunch for £8.95. Potato skins with garlic sauce, pizza, then ice cream. Very big portions and can’t fault it for the money. Took my nephew who was initiated into his first ever parmo 😂 which he thoroughly enjoyed. All three of us ate at lunchtime for £38 including drinks which is so good.

Visited for the first time tonight, and will definitely be returning. Had the steak 3 course meal which is really good value specially given the portion sizes, all dishes were beautifully presented and it was probably the best steak I have had in a really long time, the filet was so tender and just melted in your mouth. I would say to book a table as it is super busy in the evening and the only downside for me was that the music is quite loud so it is hard sometimes to have a conversation if you are in a big group but besides that great food and friendly staff.

Food was lovely. The chef really impressed my chicken was best iv had. Wish all chefs could cook this well. Definitely recommend

Service good. Starter of garlic mushrooms was delicious, Steak was a little overcooked to what requested but still tasty. Accompanying sides and sauces all very good. Main point loss: The king prawns ordered with steak.....which on first glance looked delicious however all 4 prawns had their black 'waste line' left in so didn't eat and was a little bit off putting.

Decent restaurant, food came quick but lacked flavour, very nice staff and great ambience. Would come back

Hubby and i visited for Sunday lunch and it was delicious I had the lamb roast dinner and he had the roast chicken (which is just a chicken breast and not a whole chicken as my husband thought!) Food was piping hot and delicious. Didn't get a picture of our mains just our desserts which were just as nice. Will definitely be back again!

We tried ringing all afternoon to book a table but no answer. We ended up having to call in to book a table. We found it quite expensive for what we had. £44 for a parmo, pasta carbonara, and two drinks. The Carbonara was made with chopped processed ham, not pancetta lardons, which we found unusual for a restaurant. The waiter asked my partner if she wanted parmeasan cheese, then never came back.

Amazing food lovely friendly staff great atmosphere really recommend it.

Food is always lovely. Reasonably priced.

Food is awful music way too loud it's dirty and not enjoyable for anyone

Lovely place, and I enjoyed the food, staff were lovely, very friendly and professional. Would definitely visit again. Recommended.

Staff were very helpful and friendly. The food was lovely highly recommend xx

Very delicious food. There was a rich menu choice for everyone. Seafood was prepared wonderfully. Young and friendly employees added meaning to the day.

Good Food, Good Service, Sensible Prices

Really nice restaurant with a really relaxing atmosphere I've been here a few times and have never had any problems the food and service is first class and the staff are very polite and helpful

Amazing service lovely food and fairly priced

Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. Great cocktails too.

Visited for lunch with family. We arrived shortly after opening time so it was fairly quiet initially but did get busier very quickly. Service was fast and friendly and the food was tasty and reasonably priced. The only downside here is the music - the volume is way too loud and is like Ibiza dance tunes. Not very appropriate for an Italian restaurant.

Lovely staff and tasty food at reasonable prices.

All good 😋 bill a little salty. But it was worth it

I've just come back from a meal here. Sambuca's has been re-decorated since I last visited. And it was absolutely heaving. I was sure there would be a 30 to 60 min wait time, but no. Our drinks order was taken within 2 minutes of being seated , and delivered to our table within 2 minutes, and our food order taken 5 minutes later, with the food coming out within about 10 minutes. The staff are really friendly and supremely organised. Everyone was working really hard to make sure we had a good experience. What an amazing meal, the food was fantastic. Despite it being so busy, we didn't feel rushed to complete our meal for the table to be available for the next customers.I can't wait to come again when my budget allows. Thank you.

A lucky accidental find. Superb food with gorgeous flavours. Excellent helpful staff. Only sorry we are only passing through and might not get another chance to come here for sometime.

First time since the new layout enjoyed our meal and staff sre the best.

Fab 👌 beautiful food, great atmosphere and the staff are exceptional. The main waiter who served us was hilarious, he was very friendly, and a credit to sambuca.

Lovely food, lovely atmosphere. Food is amazing and great value for money and large portions

The rest of the staff were great- servers were polite and helpful- and the food was fine, but one server made a lot of us uncomfortable by acting extremely familiar with us, even going so far as to touch one of our faces and hair on multiple occasions. The person in question has OCD, and was clearly not comfortable the first time, and the second time became concerning- I feel servers should know not to invade customer's personal space like this and should understand that they should keep their hands to themselves, even discounting the OCD thing. It was just an uncomfortable experience and ruined any potential atmosphere for us as the table grew wary of him coming over again. It reminded me also that one of the previous times we went, it was one of the partie's birthday and the staff encouraged a roudy atmosphere and shots, as well as prompting the person to get up on a chair, when this clearly made her uncomfortable as well and she said no a few times. Overall, most of the staff are great, but there seems to always be one exception that should be more professional and respectful of people's boundaries.

Food was excellent, service was great, midweek so really quiet downstairs, party upstairs but couldn't fault anything

Great staff & lively clientele. Food is excellent for Hartlepool but do bring your own defibrillator if you’re not used to the profane levels of refined carbs typical of the local Teeside cuisine.

Fabulous Valentines 💝 evening Stunning venue With my Beautiful wife The quality of the food was very good And the revamp is so much better. Jordan was a perfect host Can easily recommend this restaurant 👌 Well worth the visit

Was there last year for my mother's birthday and again this year for mother's day. I always pay them a visit when I am on holiday from Cyprus.

£29.95 fillet steak , no mushrooms, onion rings, tomatoes, steak and sauce only! Chicken dish, no veg available, 3 x 2 course kids meals, no dessert offered. Plates cleared when still eating, and three near misses knocking drinks over

Amazing food great staff very helpful and welcoming.

1st time in Sambuca's... Absolutely beautiful meal Steak done exactly as I wanted it, Partners meal was excellent, as were the meals our 2 guests had. Serving staff were impeccable.. Will be going back

Walked out ..that's a first. Staff asked us what we wanted to drink..I said a drink menu would help. Ordered drink had to say again what we wanted lady served us was rushing. Had to correct dink order.. Then received drink order, and she rushed off. Wrong order. Caught their attention and told them..that order was wrong..no apology..then wine that was wrong whisked away by another staff member, most probably to whoever it was for??. It wasn't massively busy, and had only told staff member what I we wanted to drink a minute beforehand.. We walked out because of the rush that staff member was in, thinking if they can't get a simple drink order right, we didn't fancy getting a meal order wrong.. Manager come over to ask if everything was okay I replied no ..and we walked out. ...we have had some great meals in here in the past ..but the attitude of server and rushed service was not good..thankfully the wine that was not ours had not been touched by us and god know who ended up with it, as it disappeared faster then a magian pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

We always loved the food .. fast service nice fast treat before home to chill…except …the music omg I can’t hear myself talk! This was my third and last visit..we go to a restaurants to eat and chat not shout! Maybe I’m too old to get it? This is both windmill and church street Hartlepool

We have been surprised by the quick organising table for us. Friday evening and no booking is required reservation. I only visited Harpool for pleasure. Very good and professional service. Thank you again for making my time excellent.

You really can't beat Sambuca for service, quality and value..our favourite place

Visited today with friends, great atmosphere and fantastic staff. The food and drinks were brilliant, will be back again 😘

Been a while since I visited but really disappointed after yesterday’s visit. Quality of food has declined as well as the service.

Visited with my teenage daughter and we had a really good time. The staff were very friendly, the music had us bopping in our seats (it was a tad loud though) and the food was amazing. We were only in Hartlepool for the day so this isn't our local Sambucas which is a shame. Overall it was a great experience.

Absolutly loved the food we brought our family for my partners birthday. He couldnt get enough of the burger and the chicken kiev was outstanding. Kids loved their meals now this is the place they want to go instead of our usual place

COULD NOT OF HAD A BETTER TIME ANYWHERE ELSE!! Food was amazing, the staff were amazing and the service was outstanding!! Can’t wait to come back. PS the Parmo was amazing !!

Food wasn't great, prawns had a funny taste, staff nice, first time I've been and people had been telling me how cheap it was. I didn't find it cheap, £19 for a chicken and prawn dish with chips, maybe because it was a Sunday, will try again in the future

Best restaurant in Hartlepool the food was 10 out of 10 great service very friendly staff Good price will definitely back

I was really looking forward this restaurant opening back up following a refurb but have ti say I was disappointed. It did not have the same Italian feel of the previous. Awful loud dance music. Food was ok

Cant believe ive never reviewed this fabulous place before as i have been a number of times now. Yesterday me and my girlfriend took our disabled friend as he had sadly just lost his brother , we had a fabulous 3 course meal for £8.95 , my girlfriend is crazy mad for the Minestrone soup - she never ever shuts up about it , i prefer the potato skins as this place seems the only place that does them to ultimate perfection , i myself am not a massive pasta fan so i usually play it safe and get a pizza but yesterday i noticed they had the only pasta dish i like on Tagliatelli Carbonara which was excellent plenty of bacon - very filling , and then we all had a coffee to finish. I must praise all the staff for their hard work and always making sure that we were enjoying the food - rare nowadays usually food is dumped at the table with no manners - here its completely different i know its a business but they seem to be more bothered about customer satisfaction than profit - 5 STARS ALL THE WAY - FABULOUS. Thanks to the 2 Young Ladies who looked after us and the Gentleman - who i think is the Manager for making our lunchtime meal a special event , and of course hats off to the Chefs who made the meal.

Visited Sambuca for the first time since the recent refurbishment and have to say was very disappointed the layout of the place was terrible, the music was deafening and the service was poor, the staff have no idea of table etiquette, I still had my last mouthful of food and they where taking the plates off the table, very rude, the food was ok but no specials menu anymore so a bit limited but overall the general atmosphere that Sambuca used to have has completely gone and been replaced with a noisy badly organised cafe, I won’t be back !,

We visited this restaurant with friends last night, this used to be the best restaurant in Hartlepool. We have visited this restaurant so many times, but it has turned into more like a wacky warehouse with pop music playing so loud you can not speak or even hear the waiting staff. The atmosphere was always one of the best things, the staff were amazing, now they are terrible, seem unhappy and just not trained as they were. The food was good as always but we will not be returning. To sum up, If you want a cheap pizza with the kids and a change from the wacky warehouse this is by probably the place but if you want a nice meal with friends and bottle of wine with lovely staff and a great atmosphere ( as it used to be) don’t come here it’s ruined!!

Excellent service ,food was delicious

SAMBUCA CHURCH STREET HARTLEPOOL Loved this place months ago. This is not an Italian restaurant. It’s a Disco/American Diner. I recognized 1 member of staff from previous restaurant. Music is played from 1 speaker which is directly above the kitchen so it’s very loud. Prices are expensive. No vegetables options. Only chips and salad. The name is the same but the experience is not. Service good. Food average. Ambiance average. Judge for yourselves. Difficult to explain. Sat next to service kitchen with a bin situated underneath. I’ve never seen this before (pics included). Bowl of mozzarella cheese sat on table amongst cleaning agents (pics included). Wine menu is the most misleading that I’ve ever seen (pic included).

Food was great as was the service Music was over the top loud and ruined the vibe and ability to talk to your dinner mates. Lighting was also too bright. They need to work out are they a restaurant or a club. I wouldn't go back on the account of the music being way too loud (and often cr@p song choices)

What a beautiful restaurant. The owner was so lovely, warm & welcoming. He had time to speak with all his customers. His staff were all very professional, polite, courteous & well dressed too.

Bloody great scran, decent price. Bit rowdy in the atmosphere for my typical liking, I prefer dimmer and subtler, had the likes of Ed Sheeran remixes blaring in here but that's just preference and not time ruining. Will for sure be back ✨

We have eaten at this restaurant a few times, and have always had a good experience. We ate her again this evening, and as usual service was very friendly and prompt. The restaurant has just been recently refurbished and looks very modern. I ordered a ribeye steak in a peppercorn sauce. The steak was cooked perfectly, and was so tender that it literally melted in my mouth. It was one of the tastiest and tender ribeyes that I have eaten In a long time! My husband had the chicken risotto which he throughly enjoyed. We throughly enjoyed our meals and would not hesitate to return and recommend.

Excellent restaurant, food and service were top notch. Food wss fresh and hot and service attentive and polite Recommend the surf and turf served in a sizzling skillet

Faultless dining experience, food,staff,prices,money thanks

We booked for a party of 11 , food was delicious and all served together . The staff were excellent. Nothing was too much trouble for them . We had a lovely night for my granddaughter s 21st birthday. Everyone sang happy birthday & she got a free shot . Definately will be returning.

Excellent Parmo , Great Service can not fault it

Popular place with lots of celebration, at least both time I was there. Good food and great staff..

Great food. The only complaint i have is the parmo was to big. Wish you could do a smaller one. It was delicious though i couldn't eat it all

Me and my better half love this place..the food is great and the staff are brilliant!!!

Service was excellent and the food was ok. Nicely renovated inside, definitely worth a visit for a nicely priced pizza/pasta.

Food was cold, had to send it back to reheat, new tables were nightmare as move constantly!

Great time in the refurbished Sambuca's great atmosphere and definitely the best food

Staff are friendly really good food and the place is unreal

Good food with a great atmosphere and lovely staff

The food was decent but the prices they charge doesn't justify what you get. Found the service to be relatively lack luster also. Most likely won't be visiting again.

I love the food here. Service is exceptionally quick. Usually, you can grab a table without booking in advance. Very reasonable prices, too. Update - special shout out to Vicky tonight, who was absolutely brilliant in a difficult situation. She went above and beyond to ensure that my daughter and I were looked after. We have visited this restaurant for many years and never experienced any issues, we absolutely love the food here and the service we recieved was exceptional. (Extra pics added of food & updated restaurant decor).

Great food and lovely staff. We will definitely be visiting again.

Lonely food and great that they do a happy hour until 9pm.

Away for work and was recommended that Sambuca is an institution in the north east - and I can see why !! Loved my parmo.

Family birthday and food was beautiful best steak I've had in years!!! Staff extremely friendly nothing was too much for them.

Great place. Mixed meat sizzler it the best.

It's always busy and they serve delicious steaks

A nice little Italian restaurant just a short walk from the Marina. The service was good and the potato skins were delicious. The rest of the food was fairly average however. The restaurant was busy but still had a nice ambiance about it. The waitstaff were very efficient and friendly. Overall a very pleasant experience.

Lovely place to eat out for a celebration 🍾 staff make a fuss of every birthday, engagement, etc. Reasonably priced and friendly staff. Can be quite noisy at times but would still recommend.