open sesame

terrible service. my wife went here with her friends for a large group dinner. the waitress was rude and constantly telling them a count down of how long they had left before they "had to leave" she wasn't courteous at all. the waitress legitimately seemed to hate her job. in the end we won't return. the food is sub par, the service is terrible. avoid this place. no one should be subjected to this kind of experience. thanks for ruining the birthday party!!!!

amazing atmosphere. awesome food with tons of variety! really authentic experience

it took over 10 minutes for us to receive our drinks we waited 45 minutes for the waitress to take our food order. the waitress was very rude and did not care how long we had to wait. worst service ever. if you want to wait almost a hour for your waitress to take your order and even care this is where you want to go. horrible.

we went with a good sized group, (20 people) for dinner.  considering there were staggered arrivals, some more than an hour late, i thought the server did rather well.  we had a private room booked.  it was nice, as the curtains hanging above seemed to help absorb the noise so we could actually hear the conversation. we didn’t mind paying the 15% mandatory gratuity. onto the food. i had a taste of hubby’s malaysian blazin’ noodles.  it was a bit spicy with interesting flavors.  i made my own stir fry.  the veggies at the bar were fresh and the portions filling.  i’ve always passed this place by when we are in the area, next time i think i will return.

slow service but not to bad. seafood under cooked and very fishy tasting. duck for valentines special was incredibly fatty. won't go back here.

nice place , love the atmosphere. i just making a reservation and avoiding most of the menu stuff. especially the green salad eww. but the make your own stir fry is delicious. western asain place that has a nice concept and taste as long as you dont order off the menu. they also have a separate dessert menu with a delicious creme bruele

great place. i have visited open sesame with my son and husband several times. it is a nice-looking restaurant - a little on the upscale side, but not intimidating. we have never been disappointed with the food or the service. if you don't have a reservation, be prepared to stand in the doorway and on the stairs for a while, waiting for a table. there's a good vibe and energy here.

it was really good, and i loved the ambiance of open sesame! i loved that a lot of their customers at least try to use chopsticks as they put it on the table with the normal eating utensils! i had fun here, and i’m sure i’ll return one day – but probably after i try the entire group of restaurants as they’re so well known in the city!

great as usual!. open sesame is one of my go-to hot spots, when i am craving delicious, fresh stir-fry. the customization, reasonably large portions, price and variety never fail to disappoint, and our father's day dinner was a total success, even though my dad is notoriously picky! dad had the salmon, and it was absolutely perfect. the only thing more he could have hoped for was more rice (but he's a big consumer of rice, so don't go by him).

open sesame offers child-size portions and prices (off-menu - just ask) that easily fed our mini but hearty eaters, and my husband, mom and i all had adult portions of the custom stir-fry buffet. the veggies were crisp and fresh, the chicken, shrimp and bbq pork were all cooked just right, and the desserts (chai cheesecake, and mini callebaut springrolls) were perfection. a great meal, and a very reasonable tab!

favorite. go here all the time, i always do the trip around the asian market, they dont give a lot of meat considering you pay like four dollars extra buuuuuttt its still great! and i still go back, great services! also ginger creme burle super yum to

i've learned it's best to stick with the do it yourself option. anything off the menu is not so good. the wasabi salmon is just drenched in horseradish sauce, the butter chicken tastes off, and i'm not convinced the shrimp was fresh. overall edible, but i can make the same at home.

ahhhhhhh! run the other way!. thai seafood bouillabaisse was white sauce thickened with cornstarch. you can tell they used instant broth. the seafood tasted like dirt, literally, not kidding. kung pao noodle tasted of noodles and bbq sauce with peanuts. salt and pepper shrimp bland. satay beef was tough and the sweet sauce was not complimentary to it. mu shu was okay. over all, tasted like food court food with restaurant prices.

love it!. i have been many times and i have never had an issue with the food. i have always got the build your own and have always left full. i put in what i wanted and it always tastes great, since well i picked everything in it. i will be back for sure!

ohmygoditssobad.. how this place still gets business is beyond me. good thing calgary's a big city, or this place would have run out of customers years ago. i'm sure the noodles they serve we're prepped some time in the early 2000's, and their yearly spice & seasoning budget must be 0$.

if you like this place for some crazy reason, then i also recommend hospital food and/or airline food. you'll be in heaven.


-----16 feb, 2011-----

food was terrible/service was great!. i took my valentines date to open sesame with the hope of finding some great asian cusine. my hopes were crushed.

the positive - the hostess was well groomed and very friendly and took our drink orders due to our sever being busy. we never actualy ended up meeting our sever, and the hostess ened up serving our table the entire night. that might have been a godsend, as she gave us wonderful service! thank-you madison! (do yourself a favour and take your talents to higher end restaurant where you dont have to apologize for the bad food). they also had a nice import beer list with many brands that i had never tried. the decor was also warm and friendly (althought the lights did seem a bit on the dim side). try the peanut-butter blondie for desert if you do end up going...but watch out for the rediculously hot dish that it's served in! i burned myself several times on the handles that seem to swivle with ease when lightly bumped.

the negative - the food. i had the sesame bowl with beef, and my date had the kung-pow chicken. my dish was most certianly the blandest food i have ever been served in an asian restaurant! it was populated by a few pieces of beef, and a whole bunch of overdone, tasteless noodles.(madison brought me a small bowl of hot sauce to try and flavour it up, bless her heart, but it was useless). the kung-pow chicken wasnt a whole lot better. the only "pow" you got was when you accidentaly bit into a whole dried chilli.
i had the misfortune of having to sit in one of those hard, wooden chairs that i seem to remember from grade school. after about an hour, my butt was hurting prety bad.


all in all, the staff was great, the decor was nice and the food was god aweful. i knew wasnt the only one to mention the bland food when our server asked,
"do you want me to pack that up for you, or not a chance?".
good on you madison, as least you can call a spade a spade!

magnificent: i was brought here for a birthday meal and it was the highlight of my week! the food is awesome, atmosphere unparalleled, and service is amazing!!! prices are very reasonable, and choices are nearly endless with the "create your own bowl" selections! this is my new #1 calgary destination to dine, hands down!!! thanks open sesame!!! don't change a thing!!!