(562) 621-1698

5215 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA 90803 33.7603 -118.1348

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Neighborhood: Belmont Shore

Years in business

Established in 2003

Last updated 6.20.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Outdoor Dining, Hidden Find, People Watching, Lunch Spot, Cheap Eats

General Info:

Open 7 Days

Cuisine:

Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Chinese

ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. Great restaurant, wonderful decor, friendly knowleagble server and the best Lebanese food I have recently eaten.
  2. good music, atmosphere and happy looking people.
  3. The decor was beautiful and unique.
  4. the atmosphere is great.
  5. Good food nice atmosphere
  6. The staff are friendly and the decor was ethic and colorful.
  7. best restaurant in the world, great decor, great customer service, friendly manager
  8. The food is wonderful, atmosphere is great and the manager is eye candy!
food quality
93.75% positive
  1. The only good food was the rice.
  2. This place has delicious container.
  3. Too bad because I heard the food is good.
  4. Lebanese food is delicious.
  5. Amazing Lebanese food for such a small place
  6. The food is wonderful, atmosphere is great and the manager is eye candy!
  7. It will be the best food u have ever tasted in ur entire life.
  8. ordered the chicken tawook which was really delicious, the garlic sauce is outstanding and the baba ganoush is without doubt the best I have ever tasted!
  9. This food is very exotic and full of rich flavor.
  10. love their food.
  11. Enjoyed the food
  12. used to be a big fan of Open Sesame, but haven't been lately because the service and food has steadily declined.
  13. Dinners have always been excellent, in terms of food quality.
  14. If you like mediterrain food this is the place to go.
  15. Prices are good, for the kind of food.
  16. the food is great everytime.
  17. Great restaurant, wonderful decor, friendly knowleagble server and the best Lebanese food I have recently eaten.
  18. Great food, great setting
  19. Nevertheless, the chicken is flavorful, the rice is fabulous, and dont even get me started on the hummus.
  20. good food, meat could have been juicier, and portions could be larger esp.
  21. The food is fantastic, authentic, delicious and very, very affordable.
  22. Nice place delicious food and the people are really friendly.
  23. Good food nice atmosphere
  24. The service is not up to par, but since the food is so amazing, this place keeps me coming back for more.
  25. Good service, food is YUMMY!
  26. My best friend had the chicken shawarma and she STILL raves about it being the best anywhere!
  27. If you never had or just love middle eastern cuisine, this is the place to go.
  28. The food was great!
  29. The food just hasn't been as a good, and lately the service has been terrible.
  30. The food was great.
  31. Great food
  32. Open Sesame has great food, it's that simple.
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. 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.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. 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.
  2. best restaurant in the world, great decor, great customer service, friendly manager
  3. There was a really nice vibe about the place.
  4. This place is the best place I have ever been too, so much flavor and it makes you want to eat more and more.
service
61.66999816894531% positive
  1. Plus the manager walks around like he's a big shot which shows that he's really an a--hole.
  2. 2nd St is very dog friendly, but not Open Sesame, even outdoors on the patio.
  3. 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.
  4. So my very diplomatic friend went to talk to the hostess, who was not very helpful or sympathetic.
  5. good music, atmosphere and happy looking people.
  6. Great restaurant, wonderful decor, friendly knowleagble server and the best Lebanese food I have recently eaten.
  7. 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.
  8. customer service is excellent.
  9. best restaurant in the world, great decor, great customer service, friendly manager
  10. The food is wonderful, atmosphere is great and the manager is eye candy!
  11. The food just hasn't been as a good, and lately the service has been terrible.
  12. The staff are friendly and the decor was ethic and colorful.
  13. 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.
  14. The only drawback is the crowded seating and the slow service.
  15. The service is not up to par, but since the food is so amazing, this place keeps me coming back for more.
  16. Good service, food is YUMMY!
  17. Our server was very professional and friendly.
  18. Nice place delicious food and the people are really friendly.
  19. used to be a big fan of Open Sesame, but haven't been lately because the service and food has steadily declined.
  20. Service was kind of slow, our waitress took forever to give us our check even though it wasn't that busy.
value
60.0% positive
  1. But if you know what to get-- you will surely get full without paying for full price.
  2. The place comes off as classy, even expensive.
  3. The food is fantastic, authentic, delicious and very, very affordable.
  4. Food was good and cheap.
  5. good food, meat could have been juicier, and portions could be larger esp.
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. Service was kind of slow, our waitress took forever to give us our check even though it wasn't that busy.
  2. The only drawback is the crowded seating and the slow service.
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/02/11

Horrible Service

by sparkletoday

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."

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/04/10

Great food

by CSMobileUser2

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

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/20/09

Lebanese food is delicious.

by Jarge 2

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
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/02/09

YUM

Contributor

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."

1 Star Rating: Poor

01/02/09

OVER-RATED, OVER-HYPED

by rnrmurse

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.

  • Pros: none
  • Cons: where should I start?

The Details on Open Sesame

Place Categories:

  • great nice place delicious food
  • great place
  • favorite greek restaurant
  • friendly knowleagble server
  • beautiful decor
  • very dog friendly 2nd st
  • nice people
  • great good service
  • of slow service
  • not recommend restaurant
  • much more flavorful chicken tawook plate
  • magnificent experience
  • great customer service
  • full price
  • not sympathetic hostess
  • delicious lebanese food
  • fabulous rice
  • big shot
  • fantastic shawarma
  • great setting
  • really like long beach
  • highly recommended very
  • nice atmosphere
  • great flavor
  • favorite plae
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