Open Sesame

The service was terrible! It was a slow Saturday night because of the weather. My girls and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go to open sesame to avoid the long wait. This place dose not do reservations! I got there early to put my name in for a table and was given attitude by the hostess when I asked how long of a wait to expect. She looked me up and down, flipped her hair and said, ""As I am sure you are aware, we are fairly popular, so always expect 35 min wait. It may take YOU 45."" I should have left at that statement. I waited next door at the silly shoe store next door they usher you into to shop while you wait. twenty min later my friends arrive and still no buzz. The buzzers have about a 2 block range so we walked over to the Irish pub at the corner. At the 45min point I walked back to the hostess, who surprise was too busy to talk to me. As I noticed people leaving from a meal who arrived after I concern struck my face. The other hostess noticed my obvious look of frustration and rushed over. Before she got to me I was able to look at the list. There had been six groups of two, a group of four and a group of six and a group of seven after my name who have already been seated. I pointed this out the the hostess, this one was polite and agreed there must have been an issue, ( she did say so quietly as she looked nervously at the other hostess across the restaurant.) I then asked her to test the buzzer. Of course it was working fine. She said to give her five min to clear a table and she would take care of us. After I gathered my group of four we waited ten min. I returned to the hostess stand where the first hostess had returned, who was admiring he tacky nose ring in a compact mirror... I asked If our table was ready. She said ""sorry, there are still a few ahead of you."" That was the last straw. I asked for my ID back and returned the buzzer. I pointed out the amount that had been let in after me and she responded, ""those were clumps of tables for two."" Apparently putting two small tables for two that are already next to each other is too much work. My friend then said, ""What about that table for six you have crossed out half a page down from our name? The hostess responded, ""That is the big table inside, it is for groups of six not four."" more

I love open sesame. the food is great everytime.little pricy and the original restaurant is small. but overall my favorite place on second street more

Nice place delicious food and the people are really friendly. Prices are good, for the kind of food. If you have not been there you are missing big. Pros: best food Cons: wait more

The only word that i can think of for this amazing. It will be the best food u have ever tasted in ur entire life. Service is great. My only complaint is that the place itself is somewhat limited on space. Other than that go eat there now."" more

This place was recommended to me a few years ago by some friends that said it was a great place to eat on 2nd St. Since it's a 5 min walk from my home, I decided to see what the hype was all about. I left there disappointed. I gave it a try a few months later and the same. It is the most mediocre place in Belmont Shore. When it's busy there, everyone blocks the sidewalk and you have to almost shove people out of the way to get by. Plus the manager walks around like he's a big shot which shows that he's really an a--hole. And to top it off, they opened up another one down the street where the Steakorama used to be (R.I.P.). Great. Two restaurants that serve the same boring and over-rated garbage. Cons: where should I start? more

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! more

We love their food. The wait is a bit long at times depending on the hour of your visit but their food is... more

We love their food. The wait is a bit long at times depending on the hour of your visit but their food is always good. We had the filet mignon an... more

good food, meat could have been juicier, and portions could be larger esp. for an entree. Pros: hot girl Cons: dry meat more

I loved the crispy potatoes that were tossed with garlic and cilantro. Wonderful flavor and a crunchy... more

I loved the crispy potatoes that were tossed with garlic and cilantro. Wonderful flavor and a crunchy outside texture. more

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 more

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. more

Spicy hummus and falafal pita.. thats all you need.. extra tahini sauce.. serious.. its fabulous. more

Spicy hummus and falafal pita.. thats all you need.. extra tahini sauce.. serious.. its fabulous. more

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. Pros: Tasty Lebanese Food, friendly service, FRIED POTATOES!! Cons: Wait, crowded small space (but still worth coming) more

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 more

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. Pros: Good food and cheap Cons: Service was slow more

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. more

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. Pros: Good food Cons: Sevice is rude and unapologetic more