(562) 621-1698

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

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Neighborhood: Belmont Shore

Reviews & Ratings for Open Sesame

4.5 Star Rating: Recommended

31 reviews

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5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/02/09

YUM

by CSMobileUser

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?
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/31/08

Great Lebanese Food!!!

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!
4 Star Rating: Recommended

04/25/08

not bad, not great

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
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/31/07

Good food nice atmosphere

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
4 Star Rating: Recommended

09/16/07

Amazing Lebanese food for such a small place

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.
4 Star Rating: Recommended

05/31/07

Thumbs up for Fried Potatoes and Chicken Tawook Plate

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)
4 Star Rating: Recommended

04/06/07

Fantabulous Food~

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
4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/28/07

Enjoyed the food

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
3 Star Rating: Average

03/01/07

Delicious...!

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.

Showing 1-10 of 24 reviews

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