Sam’s By-The-Sea: Steak and seafood restaurant in Naha

Our first meal when we landed in Okinawa during our Japan Honeymoon was at Sam’s By-The-Sea, a steak and seafood restaurant.

It’s actually kind of funny because my husband wanted to surprise me by making some reservations (sometimes it is hard to make a reservation in Japan without a Japanese phone number), so he made a reservation at the Naha/Oroku Bypass location since it was close to the airport. However, when we arrived, he was disappointed as it wasn’t “by the sea” like the name says, but actually by a parking lot 💀. Apparently, the other locations have a better ocean view but not this one.

We dined here as an early dinner and here was our experience.

Sam’s By-The-Sea
3 Chome-25-5 Gushi, Naha, Okinawa 901-0146, Japan

The vibe

The interior of Sam’s By-The-Sea surprised me. It looked like something out of Spongebob Square Pants 🤩!

It had a fun nordic/sailor vibe with boat decor everywhere and it also reminded me of Duke’s Waikiki, a restaurant in Honolulu after we got engaged in Hawaii. There was also a big cauldron in the middle of the dining room where a big pot of curry soup was brewing.

Their menu had a lot of photos and had English translations and descriptions also, making it easier for us to order.

Food and drinks review

Prices have been converted from yen to CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.

Paradise punch for two ($14)

We shared this cocktail punch for two because it looked fun. It was a mix of Brandy, light rum, pineapple and lemon juice. Overall, mostly tasted like juice and was not strong but fun to drink together.

Salad + curry soup (complimentary)

With our main entrees, it comes with a small salad (+ dressing of your choice), a bowl of that curry soup and some free bread.

I liked the curry soup but didn’t like the bread. The pink one was especially weird as it had a hint of strawberry taste 🥴. The salad wasn’t anything special, but I recommend choosing the Japanese vinaigrette (server says it is the most popular).

Lobster (half) & sirloin steak ($48)

For my main, I ordered the half lobster and sirloin steak. For the lobster, you can choose how you want it cooked – baked with crustacean sauce, oven baked or thermidor. I chose crustacean sauce even though I don’t really know what it was.

It arrived on a skillet and it was a pretty big portion for Japanese standard. The lobster smelled really good and the sauce tasted creamy and kind of sweet. It paired quite well with the lobster and it was easy to eat.

The veggies were a little bland and the steak was just average.

King crab legs & sirloin steak ($68)

My husband has requested for the blur on his mouth.

He loves king crab so we ordered it even though it was pricey. The restaurant actually made a mistake and delivered a different steak so we had to wait extra long for his dish to arrive, but when it did arrive, he was quite happy with the amount of meat in the crab legs!

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

We had a pricey dinner at Sam’s By-The-Sea. I say it is pricey but the reality is we would spend this on a dinner in Vancouver and not blink twice, especially for steak and seafood.

Dining at Sam’s By-The-Sea was a fun experience. From the interior and the vibe to the colourful drinks and skillets of food. I am usually not a big fan of steak so this one didn’t taste extraordinary to me, but I found the seafood to be quite good here (both the lobster and king crab legs). And for king crab, it was actually a reasonable portion for the price.

I think this spot would be a good choice if you are a family or have kids! And of course, I would recommend a different location to get a better ocean view.

Sincerely, Loewe