Ali Baba House of Kabob

My husband and I went here for a night out and we were pleasantly surprised with how great it was. I went in with no expectations and left very satisified with our experience. more

I have been going to Ali baba for maybe 12 years or so and I have always enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. I went in today(7/28/10) for lunch with my husband and 2 kids.We had to wait maybe 10 mins just to get to order a drink from the server then when I went to grab a plate I had to put the first 2 aside because there was old food stuck to them. Some of the buffet items I put on my plate smelled sour and tasted unedible. I was very dissapointed! Then when we were finished we went to pay and I was shocked by how much it cost. For 2 adults and 1 child(age 4) we paid almost $40.00! This is crazy especially for the quality of the food on the buffet! I will never ever eat there again and I will be sure to tell all of my friends and family to not eat there as well. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS FOOD! Cons: over priced, food tasted old and bad service more

We really were impressed with the buffet it even had Baklava for desert on the buffet...I thoroughly enjoyed the entire dinner. The buffet had really exotic dishes that tasted wonderful, fresh, hot and I have to say Ali Baba MMM MMM MMM! This is NOT Indian food but someone told me to try it for INDIAN food. It is PERSIAN and Middle Eastern and better than any Indian food I have ever had, lots of vegetarian dishes as well, but NOT Indian food. Just wonder why I did not try it sooner, it is going to be our favorite! Pros: Interesting foods and LOTS of it Cons: too far for me to go to daily! more

Lovely place with great TASTING food, not spicy TASTY! Buffet lets you try new things and even my kids loved it. They have belly dancers on weekend nights but we were there Saturday for the lunch buffet and could not be more pleased. Something different and delicious! Pros: VARIETY! Delicious buffet! Cons: What is not to like? more

My sister and her boyfriend wanted to take me to dinner for my birthday. We decided on Ali Baba! I have been there before but they had not. It is by FAR the best Middle Eastern Food we have had in a restaurant. The buffet has so many choices it is fun to try new things and the buffet changes so you get to try many Persian dishes. All of the Shish Kabobs were delicious and freshly grilled, the Chicken breast is a real treat! I rather enjoyed all the different side dishes to accompany my kabobs, the mixed rice with raisins, orange zest was WONDERFUL. Ali Baba makes you not want to settle for a NON Middle Eastern Buffet again! Variety, quality food and a good time was had by all. HIGHLY RECOMMEND for a party as the dancers will give the birthday person a special dance if you ask! Ali Baba gets 10*s in my book! Pros: All you care to eat Buffet of really delicious foods! Cons: None! Food is worth a drive! more

Original atmospher ,great service and the best buffet in town.Food is made fresh.Broad choices,food is delicious!!!!!! Pros: best Middle Eastern more

The night started as a craving for middle eastern food... So we decided to go to Ali Baba a middle eastern restaurant in Longwood, FL. As we entered the service was pleasurable from the first moment we sat down... the food was fresh, and delicious. And the belly dancing was so fabulous... We enjoyed our night at Ali Baba and would recommend for other couples and families as well. Ali Baba we will see you soon!!! Thanks ;^))) Pros: Fresh food and beautiful dancers!!! Cons: The night ended too soon.... more

My family enjoys finding authentic Persian foods, they are rare in the South. This place has terrific stews like my mother made so I always take a quart of each home when we visit. This food is very labor intensive to prepare so I appreciate that they have such a grand buffet of my favorites. The Koubideh Kabob is the best I have ever had and I lived in NY, Boston, and CA where there are lots of Persian choices. Ali Baba is the best I have found in my travels. We eat there several times a month and I bring my relatives for family birthday parties when they have belly dancing. Can not say enough about how good the food is, think I will go for dinner tonight. Pros: Great Selection of foods Cons: NONE! more

I ate lunch at Ali Baba today 11-11-09 and I can say it is the BEST PERSIAN FOOD around. I have been there no less than 100 times and never have had any sort of problem as I am seeing listed here recently. The place is FANTASTIC for food and atmosphere. Loud, yes on dancing nights. There are various types of dancers from time to time but hey, what is not to love about that? The food is really good. Never can I complain. The service is completely friendly and honest from what I have seen and I am a regular because not even my mother can cook like they do at Ali Baba. This place has been here since the early 1990's. Can not remain in business that long without good food. Even my kids like this food! Pros: Best Persian food 11-11-2009 Cons: Crowded and loud when dancers are on, but that is FUN for some! more

We entered at 7:30 I asked about the pricing, they were very friendly and said that the buffet was $16.99 my husband ordered the buffet and I ordered off the menu. At no time were we told about entertainment, near the end of our meal a lady came out dancing, great we thought this was different, the waiter came over and tried speaking to us over the loud music, saying something about after 8pm the buffet being $24.99 ok we said, thinking he was informing us for future visits. We than asked for our bill and the waiter said, ""oh, we want you to stay and enjoy our show, we have more great dancers coming out"". Well we were done and had the clock ticking with the babysitter, So we get the bill and WOW he charged us $24.99 for my husband's buffet and then another $10 for me to watch the show without eating the buffet!I should add I also had a $25 g/c I could see if they told us upfront that if you are in the restaurant at any time after 8pm you will be charged $24.99 for the buffet and if you choose to eat ala carte you will be charged $10 to see some half dressed lady dance around, we would have gone out for a steak/lobster dinner!!! I talked to the manager at the front and he said that in order to take off the charges, he would not accept my gift certifate, I almost flipped, eventually he called out a number of $22.75 I have no idea how he got to that amount, but it was better than the $57 he was trying to get out of me. I wouldn't have been so angry if I hadn't asked all the info up front and presented my gift certificate immediatly upon entering the restaurant, you would think they would list the charges in their menu. We now know why people were shoving food down their throats at 7:59pm they knew their bill would change in one minute, silly us, ordered coffee!!! I wonder how much money they make off us people not knowing what they are in for when the clock stricks 8!!! Pros: Food was good Cons: The food changed price midway through the meal more

Due to CitySearch's character limit, I will just be listing the main bullet points of why one should stay away from this restaurant/ den of thieves: Pros: ??? Cons: Everything. more

We saw a coupon in the paper for $19.95 instead of $26.95 for the dinner buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. The coupon encouraged us to try Ali Baba for the first time, so we made reservations for Valentine's Day on Saturday night. When we got there, we were told we might have to sit at a table with another couple because they were so busy. Fortunately, we avoided that scenario and got our own table. It was nice to experience new foods, however, we didn't get to enjoy the food much when the entertainment began. The 1st show was good - a traditional looking belly dancer. But we felt a little awkward when she kept asking us to clap to her dancing while we were eating. The 2nd show was a white lady who was wearing a short denim skirt, sparkly bra, cowboy hat, and cowboy boots. She was dancing to Shania Twain and then got off the stage and started giving private dances to the dinner tables to the song ""Cotton Eyed Joe."" It was awkward because we felt like we were at a toned-down strip club with all this provocative dancing. After the 2nd show, the DJ began demanding audience interaction. He wanted us to come up on stage and dance. Then he demanded everyone at the restaurant get in the ""train"" line and dance around the tables. I'm not saying this is bad, it's just far from what we expected. We were hoping for a romantic Valentine's dinner with authentic belly dancing entertainment - not a toned-down strip show with a bar mitzvah DJ trying to get us to put down our forks and join the dancers on stage. The last straw was when the manager did not want to honor our coupons, which was what actually brought us into this restaurant! He said Valentine's Day is a special night so the coupons don't apply. But how were we supposed to know that? The coupon said ""Friday and Saturday Nights"" with no exclusions. And yes, they charge a 18% fee for ""service,"" which didn't make sense because we served ourselves at the buffet. We will never go back. Pros: Authentic food Cons: Awkward ambience and entertainment and poor business practices. more

I took my family with 3 kids under age of 10 for lunch this weekend and we all loved it.. Authentic food much like my mother in law made, she is Persian. All dishes I tried were terrific. No problem anywhere, we enjoyed everything we ate and the service was friendly and told us of the belly dancers on the weekends nights but sort of loud for kids, they warned us. Can not go wrong at Ali Baba, ...the food is so good I actually crave it! I did buy a cookbook and ingredients at the grocery section and am going to try to make SHIRIN Polo as that rice dish is to die for! My kids love it too. They eat a variety off the buffet with no fussing. My 7 yr old swears by the Koubideh Kabob, may have to try to make that one also. We had not been to Ali Baba in a while and find it to be just as good as ever, it is our favorite for Persian and Middle Eastern Foods. We are from Los Angeles area and miss the Persian places but Ali Baba has filled that void! Pros: Best food, variety, tastes homemade! Cons: Enjoyed the entire experience! more

I took my girlfriend there for a Friday night dinner. Had seen that prices change when the show starts; so we got there early. While the food was good, and show was terrific, the bill left me livid. They had charged me the post-show rate, even though we were done eating before the show ever started. But, more importantly, was the $20 tip that was AUTOMATICALLY assessed FOR A BUFFET! The waiter came over three times in total; once to bring the wine, once to fill water, and once with tea. 25% of the bill for that. I must be in the wrong business! Pros: Great food, great show Cons: SHADY business practices more

Terrific atmosphere, very festive on a Friday Night., LOVED the Belly Dancers, Great Food so fresh, tasty and such a VARIETY that everyone in my group was very happy! Just had a wonderful time. Sure beats any other Middle Eastern Restaurant I have ever been to...5***** All the way! Pros: GREAT FOOD! CHOICE, QUALITY All 5* Cons: Crowded on weekends for the dancers, gets loud! more

Charged 26.95 (which we were not informed of an entertainment fee $15 and 12.95 buffet) just for walking through door, they charge for buffet on assumption alone, did not eat anything and was charged for buffet even though waitress knew I did not eat the buffet and put in on the bill anyway and did not correct this until questioned about why the charge appeared. I find them very deceptive in there billing methods and believe a bill should reflect what was actually eaten! The $15 charge for entertainment is excessive by my standards as the dancing was extremely scripted and uninspiring, not to mention well below average. I saw 5 dancers total the first was ""overly"" rehearsed and the second and third did no belly dancing and most of the dance was spinning and little else. I find being charged $35 for bread and water extremely excessive and think our prison system would have fed me better than what I paid for here. The fourth and fifth dancers did a salsa type routine which was both not befitting of this atmosphere but also boring and showed they show up for the performance and little else. I can find no reason to return to this establishment and be taken in by ""ali baba and his forty thieves"" which is the only summation of the visit that a person could conclude. You get little value in entertainment and the food was good (as reported by my company)although not great but outweighed by the overall experience and being overcharged for all but the drinks, which was very reasonable even though I did not drink as the designated driver of the evening. I think that for the nearly $100 bill a couple of two was handed for this was outrageous (which again one of which did not eat or drink), as a better atmosphere could be had at nearly any place on I drive for the same money or less. I would never return here and would discourage others as well, the cons surely outweigh the pros here. I would suggest watching your wallet here should you choose to go. Pros: fun with group of people Cons: rip off artists.scammers not afraid to charge for things not recieved more

It's a buffet...and yet the food is really good. Mostly Persian, with some Lebanese dishes. Big, often crowded, especially when they're having a show. Quite a drive if you're not in Longwood, but well worth it. So tasty you'll stuff yourself; be warned. Pros: Exceptional food for a buffet Cons: Can be crowded and noisy more

I was told to go to Ali Baba to check out the great food and Mosaic artwork. This food will make you crave it until your next visit as it is that good! I had them cater a party. People were amazed at the quality and variety of the foods. Bring out of town guests. They will always remember their trip to Ali Baba. The waiters and dancers are attentive and have been there for years. The buffet is large with lots of different foods. Great Kabobs! Great place for a quick but delicious business lunch too. I recommend it to everyone I know. Many of my friends are now regulars for dinner. Give it a try you will not be disappointed! Ali Baba is 5**** all the way! May need reservations on weekends as it is crowded! Pros: Inexpensive, GREAT FOOD, Unique experience! Cons: May eat too much?, Addictive food!, Jealous of dancers! more

An excellent choice of foods, all of which are good. This is by far the best buffet experience available in Florida. The staff are curtious and friendly, the food is the best and always fresh, and the entertainment is first class too. My favourite lunchtime meeting place, everyone I take there becomes a regular. more