Samba Shangri-la the Fort Honest Review

I’ve never tried Samba before because Peruvian cuisine has never really been at the top of the list for my family to try. But choosing between Raging Bull and Samba, there was no question we would go with Samba – my grandparents aren’t huge beef eaters…

First off, let me say, Samba’s ambiance is beautiful. I chose outdoor seating and was a bit worried it would be hot and we’d be subjected to mosquitoes. No such problem. It was breezy, no mosquito in sight, and the chairs were very comfortable.

Food-wise, I started us off with the following appetizers: Ceviche Limeno (₱595) and Empanadas de Lomo (₱480). They were both VERY good. If you can only choose one though, I’d go with the empanasa. The pastry is wonderful, so flaky and still warm to the bite. The beef filling itself was also tasty and very tender. Love this one.

For grilled foods, we got Anticucho de Pulpo (₱400), Camarones en Chimichurri (₱400), and Choncholi de Pollo (₱350). In English, I got the octopus, prawn, and chicken skewers these were just alright. Will skip this for future orders.

For the mains, I got the Arroz con Mariscos (₱980). Really excellent seafood rice with calamari, octopus, shrimps and scallops. This was very tasty – a hit with my family.

Then we had the Lomo Saltado (₱850). These US prime beef tenderloin were quite tender, but I can’t seem to remember it beyond that.

Lastly, we had the Canilla de Cordero (₱1250). This was really really good. 6 hours slow cooked lamb shank – wow, so amazingly tender and flavorful. Highly recommend this one.

Overall, food was alright. The Empanada, Lamb Shank and Seafood Rice were the clear stars of the show. Ambiance also an A+. But service was horrendous. The food came out very very slowly. Imagine, 30mins interval between appetizers and mains. It was also quite difficult to flag down a server, which is my biggest pet peeve in a restaurant. Meh, this restaurant did not leave a very favorable impression.