I love their sweet and sour pork!!! Th sweet n sour flavour i just perfect n th amount of veggie is just right. The best part is they have enough pineapples!!! Bbq pork and duck!! AMAZING!!! Crispy skin the fat n meat proportions yummy!! Veggie n are over cooked and it has a good portion
Katherine Lam
Always come here when my family and I feel like eating Chinese BBQ meat. A chinese restaurant with long history. BBQ food is delicious with good portion. Just one little drawback is that this restaurant is very packed. Especially during peak hours, it is very hard to get a server to take order. Overall is great, will come back often.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Chris C.
I was out with my aunt and uncle, assisting them with an errand and grabbing some lunch. We went to Sam Woo BBQ, a place I haven't been to in a very long time. Of course, we had a BBQ platter, consisting of BBQ Duck, Roast Pork, and Soya Chicken. We also had Cantonese Chow Mein, and Sticky Rice. It was all pretty good! Their food has always been decent, well above average, but their service has been hit or miss. You never know how it's going to be. This time it was pretty good. We finished the BBQ meats and I took home the balance of chow mein and rice to enjoy later.
Tinghui Mu
The food is very heavy and salty. If possible, try to ask to sit inside instead of sitting by the door, as it is very cold. The mandatory tip is disgusting. After the meal, the bill after tax was 102, so I gave an extra tip of 110. Then the front desk insists that 10% must be tipped, so if you require guests to tip 10%, post it on the door, "Don't come if you don't tip 10%." You sit there and no one cares about you and you have to contact the waiter yourself, so go ahead and try the mandatory tipping here. I don’t know if the police will be called if they are not allowed to leave due to mandatory tipping. ?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Doris
I've been eating from Sam Woo since I was a little girl when they were at the Alton Towers plaza. My dad would buy bbq pork from them for take out (fond memories =D) and ever since then, their bbq pork has always stood out from everyone else's in my heart.This Sam Woo at Bamburgh has been around throughout my childhood as well and they also make their bbq pork the same way till this day. I kid you not, I've eaten bbq items at a lot of places now (i.e. many bbq places in Scarborough, Markham, Downtown, etc. and even in Taiwan as well as the Chinatowns in Montreal, New York City, and London, England) and Sam Woo is still first place when it comes to bbq pork. It is especially delicious if you request for half half (半肥瘦) meaning half fatty half lean so you would get a more marbled piece of bbq pork. Their bbq pork is tender, succulent, and has a tinge of honey and ginger flavour to it that nobody else has managed to rival till this day. A close second when it comes to delicious bbq pork is Hong Fatt BBQ in downtown Chinatown (on Dundas in between Spadina and University) as they have also mastered the art of making their bbq pork have a tinge of honey and ginger flavour to it.Aside from Sam Woo's scrumptious bbq pork, a lot of their other dishes are also irresistibly delicious that I highly recommend. Their steamed chicken with vegetables (菜膽上湯雞) is one of the best that I've had (Chef 88 Oriental Cuisine being one of their only rivals) as they manage to make the chicken tender and juicy and the vegetables nice and crispy (爽). Their black cod steamed in black bean sauce will make you ask for more as the flavour just explodes in your mouth! It even inspired me to learn to make that sauce and to cook black cod using that method =D. Another memorable dish is their delicious steamed grouper tail dish. You've seriously gotta try it out! When it comes to their crispy chicken dish, rest assured that the shrimp crackers that accompany it will be nice and crispy as opposed to sad and soggy. Their fried noodles dishes are also amongst the best as they have good "wok hei" (breath of the wok or 鑊氣). Their stir fried rice noodles with beef (干炒牛河 and 時菜牛河) have a smoky flavour to them as they have good "wok hei" and the saucy one that includes vegetables (second one) also have vegetables that are crispy (爽) and cooked just right.Although the number of yummy dishes they churn out are endless, I've gotta talk about some of their other aspects too lol. They recently stopped making dessert (糖水) for some reason but they give out slices of fruits instead. As such, don't expect to get any red bean dessert, tofu pudding, mung bean dessert, etc. to wrap up your meal. Prior to Covid-19, they used to have a deal on their steamed Tilapia but the deal is gone now. As for the atmosphere, their restaurant has looked the same since the 90's, but if you are anything like me, you might prefer it to stay this way as it's nostalgic. In regards to the service, it's the type of service you would expect in a typical Chinese restaurant (fast and to the point, little to no pleasantries, etc.) so some people might perceive it as a lack of warmth. However, if you've grown up eating at Chinese restaurants of that generation, you won't find it to be anything alarming as you know that that's just how it is.TL;DR - I highly recommend this gem that's been around for decades as they have the best bbq pork and an endless list of other delicious dishes that will leave you asking for more. Don't expect Western style customer service and fancy elaborate decor though and you will not be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Cameron Bailey
Sam Woo is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Toronto. It’s been around for decades and it’s still packed for dinner. I go with my family at least a couple of times each month for classics like their soft-shell crab, BBQ pork, snow pea greens, and Peking duck on special occasions. The staff are welcoming and complete pros.Vegetarian options: Snow pea leaves with garlic is great
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stir Fry Snow Pea Shoots, Peking Duck, Deep Fried Bean Curd, BBQ
Mark M.
Got a craving to eat more Roasted Pork Belly after eating the entire Piglet at Christmas Eve. So I decided 9to give Sam Woo BBQ a try again. Haven't been there for many years. It was one of our favorite restaurants before but then we had a few bad experiences and stopped going there. Anyway, since it way on my way home, so I decided to give it a try. Ordered 1 lb takeout of the Roasted Pork Belly. The sign says 12 dollars a lb., but when I pay, the guy that cut the stuff up says it's $14 per lb. because it has a bone inside. $12 per lb., if no bone inside the meat. Sounds illogical to me, but for $2 a lb extra, I'm not going to waste my time to argue. So the Pork Belly costs me $15.68 instead of the $12 in my original budget. My wife loves to eat BBQ Duck. At $40 a duck, what the heck, Happy wife, Happy Life. So total bill comes to $55.68 plus tax. Total damage, $62.92 for a BBQ Duck燒鴨 and a pound+ of Roadted Pig Belly 燒肉。 Took it home and can't wait till supper time and eat a few pieces to try. Both the Duck and Pork are pretty good but a bit too Salty. Definitely have to eat it with a bowl of rice and some stir fried vegetables. Would I go again? Probably, unless I find another better place.
孟飞
A very bad experience. Because I was in a hurry, I ordered fried rice and fried noodles. I wanted to leave after eating, so I settled the bill in advance. However, the waiter said that there must be a tip, even if it is a sit-down lunch, even if it is only one yuan. , and even called many people to make noise around me. If I don’t pay, I won’t have any fun. It’s like robbery. Shouldn’t tipping be voluntary? Why is it enforced? Finally, I was forced to pack up and leave. A group of low-quality people who rob and beg for food
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Fantasy Guru
If I could give this restaurant zero stars I absolutely would. Picked up some take out on the way home after heading to a barber shop in the area. HUGE HUGE MISTAKE. Grabbed two dishes because I wanted my GF to get a break from cooking tonight. Dropped about $40 on two dishes but never going to come back again. In addition, going to tell all my friends to avoid that place too. Portion size was minimal. Taste was so so. My dish - the brisket was actually mainly FAT. I’m Chinese & I know what brisket should taste like. My gf got the chicken & black bean sauce. The container was like barely half full. Nothing to write home about.After the pandemic I thought it was good to support local businesses. But lesson learned tonight. I was in a rush & made a huge mistake. No doubt, after a few bites, I began to get a weird headache. No doubt the dreaded msg. I blame myself initially but I want to avoid anyone else from making this huge mistake. AVOID SAM WOO BBG PLEASE. (There is a McDonald’s in the same plaza. Truth be told, I know for a fact, a burger & fries from there, would have been a better decision in comparison to this Chinese restaurant.)
Food: 1
JesRoyal Lew
Not what it used to be in terms of quality n price. Good
Recommended dishes: Stir Fry Snow Pea Shoots, Hot & Sour Soup, Peking Duck, Sweet & Sour Pork, Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Veg, Mixed Seafood on Steamed Egg White, Chicken Wings, Roasted, Deep Fried Bean Curd, Chicken Fried Noodle, Chinese BBQ, Duck, BBQ
Crack C
I would not come back again. It's a shame that they would still serve melon for dessert on Christmas Eve in 2023 knowing that there are contaminated melon in the market. The waitress states that they cannot guarantee that you won't get sick from eating the melon. Also the fish stew that they were once famous for are not even as good as before. The dish is charged the same price and the food was just half the size as it used to be. The service was just lousy.
Nikki Andrea
Tried this place out with my cousin and we had a feast! The food came out so speedy and tasted amazing. The portions were also huge for a great price.The best part of this place is their Chinese BBQ- roasted pork, bbq pork, duck, soy chicken… everything was delicious! Might be my newest spot for Chinese bbq! Definitely worth it!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Peking Duck, Pan Sheared Pork Dumplings, Young Chow Fried Rice, Chinese BBQ, BBQ
Siew Ling Chow
I love this place!! The food at this place is incomparable. My relatives and I who live in the west end drive to Scarborough for special occasions because we can't get this kind of food in our area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adrian C
A good place for Cantonese food and yellow chicken. I like the take out options! Get the tomato and beef it tastes like ketchup and beef.You know this place is good when the service is slow and the table cloth is disposable and plastic.The meal for 4 can feed an army.
I love their sweet and sour pork!!! Th sweet n sour flavour i just perfect n th amount of veggie is just right. The best part is they have enough pineapples!!! Bbq pork and duck!! AMAZING!!! Crispy skin the fat n meat proportions yummy!! Veggie n are over cooked and it has a good portion
Always come here when my family and I feel like eating Chinese BBQ meat. A chinese restaurant with long history. BBQ food is delicious with good portion. Just one little drawback is that this restaurant is very packed. Especially during peak hours, it is very hard to get a server to take order. Overall is great, will come back often.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
I was out with my aunt and uncle, assisting them with an errand and grabbing some lunch. We went to Sam Woo BBQ, a place I haven't been to in a very long time. Of course, we had a BBQ platter, consisting of BBQ Duck, Roast Pork, and Soya Chicken. We also had Cantonese Chow Mein, and Sticky Rice. It was all pretty good! Their food has always been decent, well above average, but their service has been hit or miss. You never know how it's going to be. This time it was pretty good. We finished the BBQ meats and I took home the balance of chow mein and rice to enjoy later.
The food is very heavy and salty. If possible, try to ask to sit inside instead of sitting by the door, as it is very cold. The mandatory tip is disgusting. After the meal, the bill after tax was 102, so I gave an extra tip of 110. Then the front desk insists that 10% must be tipped, so if you require guests to tip 10%, post it on the door, "Don't come if you don't tip 10%." You sit there and no one cares about you and you have to contact the waiter yourself, so go ahead and try the mandatory tipping here. I don’t know if the police will be called if they are not allowed to leave due to mandatory tipping. ?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
I've been eating from Sam Woo since I was a little girl when they were at the Alton Towers plaza. My dad would buy bbq pork from them for take out (fond memories =D) and ever since then, their bbq pork has always stood out from everyone else's in my heart.This Sam Woo at Bamburgh has been around throughout my childhood as well and they also make their bbq pork the same way till this day. I kid you not, I've eaten bbq items at a lot of places now (i.e. many bbq places in Scarborough, Markham, Downtown, etc. and even in Taiwan as well as the Chinatowns in Montreal, New York City, and London, England) and Sam Woo is still first place when it comes to bbq pork. It is especially delicious if you request for half half (半肥瘦) meaning half fatty half lean so you would get a more marbled piece of bbq pork. Their bbq pork is tender, succulent, and has a tinge of honey and ginger flavour to it that nobody else has managed to rival till this day. A close second when it comes to delicious bbq pork is Hong Fatt BBQ in downtown Chinatown (on Dundas in between Spadina and University) as they have also mastered the art of making their bbq pork have a tinge of honey and ginger flavour to it.Aside from Sam Woo's scrumptious bbq pork, a lot of their other dishes are also irresistibly delicious that I highly recommend. Their steamed chicken with vegetables (菜膽上湯雞) is one of the best that I've had (Chef 88 Oriental Cuisine being one of their only rivals) as they manage to make the chicken tender and juicy and the vegetables nice and crispy (爽). Their black cod steamed in black bean sauce will make you ask for more as the flavour just explodes in your mouth! It even inspired me to learn to make that sauce and to cook black cod using that method =D. Another memorable dish is their delicious steamed grouper tail dish. You've seriously gotta try it out! When it comes to their crispy chicken dish, rest assured that the shrimp crackers that accompany it will be nice and crispy as opposed to sad and soggy. Their fried noodles dishes are also amongst the best as they have good "wok hei" (breath of the wok or 鑊氣). Their stir fried rice noodles with beef (干炒牛河 and 時菜牛河) have a smoky flavour to them as they have good "wok hei" and the saucy one that includes vegetables (second one) also have vegetables that are crispy (爽) and cooked just right.Although the number of yummy dishes they churn out are endless, I've gotta talk about some of their other aspects too lol. They recently stopped making dessert (糖水) for some reason but they give out slices of fruits instead. As such, don't expect to get any red bean dessert, tofu pudding, mung bean dessert, etc. to wrap up your meal. Prior to Covid-19, they used to have a deal on their steamed Tilapia but the deal is gone now. As for the atmosphere, their restaurant has looked the same since the 90's, but if you are anything like me, you might prefer it to stay this way as it's nostalgic. In regards to the service, it's the type of service you would expect in a typical Chinese restaurant (fast and to the point, little to no pleasantries, etc.) so some people might perceive it as a lack of warmth. However, if you've grown up eating at Chinese restaurants of that generation, you won't find it to be anything alarming as you know that that's just how it is.TL;DR - I highly recommend this gem that's been around for decades as they have the best bbq pork and an endless list of other delicious dishes that will leave you asking for more. Don't expect Western style customer service and fancy elaborate decor though and you will not be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Sam Woo is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Toronto. It’s been around for decades and it’s still packed for dinner. I go with my family at least a couple of times each month for classics like their soft-shell crab, BBQ pork, snow pea greens, and Peking duck on special occasions. The staff are welcoming and complete pros.Vegetarian options: Snow pea leaves with garlic is great
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stir Fry Snow Pea Shoots, Peking Duck, Deep Fried Bean Curd, BBQ
Got a craving to eat more Roasted Pork Belly after eating the entire Piglet at Christmas Eve. So I decided 9to give Sam Woo BBQ a try again. Haven't been there for many years. It was one of our favorite restaurants before but then we had a few bad experiences and stopped going there. Anyway, since it way on my way home, so I decided to give it a try. Ordered 1 lb takeout of the Roasted Pork Belly. The sign says 12 dollars a lb., but when I pay, the guy that cut the stuff up says it's $14 per lb. because it has a bone inside. $12 per lb., if no bone inside the meat. Sounds illogical to me, but for $2 a lb extra, I'm not going to waste my time to argue. So the Pork Belly costs me $15.68 instead of the $12 in my original budget. My wife loves to eat BBQ Duck. At $40 a duck, what the heck, Happy wife, Happy Life. So total bill comes to $55.68 plus tax. Total damage, $62.92 for a BBQ Duck燒鴨 and a pound+ of Roadted Pig Belly 燒肉。 Took it home and can't wait till supper time and eat a few pieces to try. Both the Duck and Pork are pretty good but a bit too Salty. Definitely have to eat it with a bowl of rice and some stir fried vegetables. Would I go again? Probably, unless I find another better place.
A very bad experience. Because I was in a hurry, I ordered fried rice and fried noodles. I wanted to leave after eating, so I settled the bill in advance. However, the waiter said that there must be a tip, even if it is a sit-down lunch, even if it is only one yuan. , and even called many people to make noise around me. If I don’t pay, I won’t have any fun. It’s like robbery. Shouldn’t tipping be voluntary? Why is it enforced? Finally, I was forced to pack up and leave. A group of low-quality people who rob and beg for food
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If I could give this restaurant zero stars I absolutely would. Picked up some take out on the way home after heading to a barber shop in the area. HUGE HUGE MISTAKE. Grabbed two dishes because I wanted my GF to get a break from cooking tonight. Dropped about $40 on two dishes but never going to come back again. In addition, going to tell all my friends to avoid that place too. Portion size was minimal. Taste was so so. My dish - the brisket was actually mainly FAT. I’m Chinese & I know what brisket should taste like. My gf got the chicken & black bean sauce. The container was like barely half full. Nothing to write home about.After the pandemic I thought it was good to support local businesses. But lesson learned tonight. I was in a rush & made a huge mistake. No doubt, after a few bites, I began to get a weird headache. No doubt the dreaded msg. I blame myself initially but I want to avoid anyone else from making this huge mistake. AVOID SAM WOO BBG PLEASE. (There is a McDonald’s in the same plaza. Truth be told, I know for a fact, a burger & fries from there, would have been a better decision in comparison to this Chinese restaurant.)
Food: 1
Not what it used to be in terms of quality n price. Good
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
It’s okay…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stir Fry Snow Pea Shoots, Hot & Sour Soup, Peking Duck, Sweet & Sour Pork, Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Veg, Mixed Seafood on Steamed Egg White, Chicken Wings, Roasted, Deep Fried Bean Curd, Chicken Fried Noodle, Chinese BBQ, Duck, BBQ
I would not come back again. It's a shame that they would still serve melon for dessert on Christmas Eve in 2023 knowing that there are contaminated melon in the market. The waitress states that they cannot guarantee that you won't get sick from eating the melon. Also the fish stew that they were once famous for are not even as good as before. The dish is charged the same price and the food was just half the size as it used to be. The service was just lousy.
Tried this place out with my cousin and we had a feast! The food came out so speedy and tasted amazing. The portions were also huge for a great price.The best part of this place is their Chinese BBQ- roasted pork, bbq pork, duck, soy chicken… everything was delicious! Might be my newest spot for Chinese bbq! Definitely worth it!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Peking Duck, Pan Sheared Pork Dumplings, Young Chow Fried Rice, Chinese BBQ, BBQ
I love this place!! The food at this place is incomparable. My relatives and I who live in the west end drive to Scarborough for special occasions because we can't get this kind of food in our area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
A good place for Cantonese food and yellow chicken. I like the take out options! Get the tomato and beef it tastes like ketchup and beef.You know this place is good when the service is slow and the table cloth is disposable and plastic.The meal for 4 can feed an army.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4