Open Sesame

05/31/2008 Posted by pmsiilbc

Just look at all of the other ratings... this place is great. If you never had or just love middle eastern cuisine, this is the place to go. If you are new to middle eastern cuisine, then get the chicken tawook plate. If you know what you like, then go for it... you will not be disappointed. They are so popular, they had to open a take out location down the street to move the traffic away from their front door. THEY ARE THAT GOOD!!! Oh, make sure that you get extra "garlic sauce". It is heavenly!!!

Pros: The food... of course!

Cons: There usually is always a short wait... the food is THAT good!

04/25/2008 Posted by cbas87

good food, meat could have been juicier, and portions could be larger esp. for an entree. oh and also, the girl in the white pants is hot

Pros: hot girl

Cons: dry meat

10/31/2007 Posted by kaya2007

I went for the first time last weekend. Go a little early , put your name in a walk around the shops. Good service, food is YUMMY! Even though it was busy all the staff were in sync. I'll be back again!

Pros: Fun, good food, good service

Cons: Loud restaurant and small tables

09/16/2007 Posted by jwhung

The food was great. From the Spicy Hummas to the Shredded Zucchini to the Arayes. I loved it all. Although I thought it was more Greek than Lebanese, I would definitely go back. The restaurant is very small and cramped, and the wait long. But the servers are nice and knowledgable about the menu selections, and you can stroll around the shops until your buzzer goes off to alert you that you'll be seated momentarily.

Pros: Wonderful food, great services

Cons: Small and fairly long wait, especially if you have a more bigger than 3.

05/31/2007 Posted by lbcfoodie

I went to Open Sesame last night (on a Wednesday) and it was about a 20 minute wait...not too bad. We just occupied ourselves with the window shopping on 2nd Street. I had been here once before and my 2nd visit was just as enjoyable. I tried the fried potatoes for the 1st time and they were FANTASTIC! Mixed with garlic, cilantro and lemon....such a great flavor...I could have eaten a whole plate of just those. I got the CHICKEN SHAWARMA PLATE which I didn't enjoy as much to be honest. I would recommend going with the CHICKEN TAWOOK PLATE which was much more flavorful and appetizing. I will continue coming back here again and again!!

Pros: Tasty Lebanese Food, friendly service, FRIED POTATOES!!

Cons: Wait, crowded small space (but still worth coming)

04/06/2007 Posted by afiorante

We were a party of three once again but remembered from our last visit the terrible experience we had, so we told the staff there were 4 of us. They told us the wait would be 45 minutes. So we were expecting about an hour wait. We were apprehensive but decided to wait anyways. We headed up the street to window shop and low and behold, the beeper went off! It had only been 20 minutes! We were pleasantly surprised considering our hunger was like a bear that had been in hibernation too long. We were seated at the center table that could have seated 6. We felt bad so we told the staff that our "fourth" would not be arriving. So we offered to move to another open table. They were thankful and we were happy that we were seated! Finally! The service is not up to par, but since the food is so amazing, this place keeps me coming back for more. What is their secret ingredient? Heroin?! Nevertheless, the chicken is flavorful, the rice is fabulous, and dont even get me started on the hummus. To Die For. Literally. Yum. Delicious. Excellent. What more can I say? One must have a sense of humor, lots of patience, positive attitude, and perhaps even a bit of the Secret ingredients. The Law of Attraction responds to whatever vibration you are sending by giving you more of it, whether its positive or negative. It simply responds to your vibration. So you if you go there with a positive attitude, you will no doubt have a magnificent experience. Cheers!

Pros: Hummus, Chicken, Rice, Garlic sauce, Cucumber sauce, pita bread, appetizers etc....

Cons: Service, the wait

03/28/2007 Posted by hmmmichelle

First of all, I am not from Long Beach. I was visiting SoCal a couple of months ago when the friend I was visiting decided to take me to this restaurant. (She was actually going to take me to another mediterranean restaurant right across the street but they were not open yet even though it was a few minutes past their opening time.) I liked it. Food was good and cheap. I had the kafta plate and I enjoyed it. It was so much though that I could barely finish but I did, since it was delicious. Atmosphere was nice. Service was kind of slow, our waitress took forever to give us our check even though it wasn't that busy. Still I would recommend this place. BTW, I really like Long Beach. It was one of the few places in SoCal where you would actually walk around and not have to take a car.

Pros: Good food and cheap

Cons: Service was slow

03/01/2007 Posted by kcol

I recently had the pleasure of dining as this delightful restaurant on 2nd street and wow what a great evening we had. The food is fantastic, authentic, delicious and very, very affordable. The decor was beautiful and unique. There was a really nice vibe about the place...good music, atmosphere and happy looking people. Our server was very professional and friendly. To the owners of Open Sesame...Bravo...I can't wait to come back to dine at your restaurant!

Pros: Everything from the food to the decor to the staff

Cons: Parking is a little challenging.

12/28/2006 Posted by angelinaf100

Our group of 3 arrived at the restaurant on a weekday night and were told the wait would only be about 20 minutes. We got our "beeper" and headed across the street to the bank. Then popped into a little shop nearby. About 20 minutes had passed and we went to see if we could get seated. There were even more people waiting at this point. We waited, and waited, and waited. At this point we were waiting for 50 minutes. We noticed that a party of 4 that arrived AFTER us were seated BEFORE us. Now were were upset. So my very diplomatic friend went to talk to the hostess, who was not very helpful or sympathetic. So he called for the manager. The manager explained to us that it was easier for them to seat a party of 4 before a party of 3 because they party of 4 would have been waiting longer. He ignored the fact that we arrived much earlier than this party of 4 that were seated. The manager said that he was waiting to seat us at the table of three in the corner but there was a couple sitting there that had just begun their meal. By this time we had wasted one hour and never got seated. We left and went to a fantastic Greek restaurant up the street. When Open Sesame's competition opens up across the street in a few weeks, we will definitely be going there instead of here. Too bad because I heard the food is good. They need to reevaluate how they treat their customers because I am not coming back and I will tell all my friends about my experience with their rude behavior.

Pros: Good food

Cons: Sevice is rude and unapologetic

10/10/2006 Posted by yaya11

first of all henrymillionare you dont know a thing about middle eastern food so dont talk. Cry me a river, stop complaining you obviously you have no taste in food. i am never disappointed with there food. the atmosphere is great. and all you other people that have a problem get some help

Pros: the best of everything