open sesame

won't be returning. the last few times dining there i have found the quality diminished and i completely agree, the restaurant is way too dark.

today, a group of us planned on dinner there at 4:00, because it was central. we didn't call for reservations, but we did check the website, hours were listed as 11-10. the doors were locked when we arrived, and on calling we were advised that they didn't open until 5:00.

big communication fail.

wow. great experience! the service was wonderful. the food was good. i really liked the option to make your own dish.

i love open sesame! though my husband has ordered off the menu a few times and has never been happy, but i love love love the make your own mongolian style food!

not the best. decor looks like ikea took a stab at the asian fusion theme, forced and fake and you never really buy into it. wait staff could care less about you. food was ok but not memorable. better off trying your luck elsewhere.

average. was here just recently with a group of friends so there was 4 of us. we made reservations as we heard that walking and getting a table is a pain staking process especially for more then 2 people.

to start the decor was alright, i'm not a huge fan of the building it resides in, that goes with the other 3 restaurants, so don't go by my assessment on that, i just don't like dark setting atmospheres. plus it was quite loud and hard to have a decent conversation in the place.

we started off with the crispy chili chicken, which wasn't too bad, not enough for 4 people and the pot sticker combo, which i felt kind of ripped off.

as for the actual meal, three of us took the "one trip asian market which started roughly at $8.95. one ordered the shrimp, one ordered the chicken and i ordered the steak. this roughly added $3.50-4 to the total of your meal.

making the round through the "market" would have been fine if people knew what clockwise was and understood basic human function skills. i'm digressing, the veggies, nuts and sauces were plenty, and fresh on our trip, you fill your bowl the max of what you want, and for that price, make sure you fill it high!!!! otherwise you will leave hungry, unsatisfied and ripped off.

when it came back to the table in a timely manner it was good, i can't complain,.but it was nothing to go on about or even continue to write. the other person ordered the butter chicken, which from my taste wasn't bad, although it took almost 30 mins to get to the table. like others have posted, if you order a main from the menu they drop the ball on service and getting it to you. stick with the market.

service was poor, lacking on beverages constantly, and didn't even see the server until we tracked her down for the bill.

over all, average. i won't be back for a long long time, if you want to try it out, go for it. but there's other places that are worth your money.

good and cheap. the food here is good tasting for the most part, i have been a few times but more recently went for a birthday dinner with family. 3 of us did the make your own stirfry, and 3 ordered off the menu. those of us that had the stirfry were mostly happy, although a little overwhelmed with all the sauces - not wanting it to taste weird. they turned out nicely though. 2/3 people who ordered off the menu werent very happy. one ordered ginger beef and one ordered kung pao chicken, and they were basically the same thing - which is hard to believe. they looked exactly the same and even tasted similar. the other ordered the himachi steak and was quite pleased. i would go here again, either for the himachi or the make your own stirfry. how can you go wrong when the most expensive item on the menu is 20$?

great service, food is great, would be nice if there was a tiny bit more light. try the ginger chicken and salmon.

average. in town on holiday and seen a review in a magazine which looked promising however the food was good but didn't live up to the hype. good atmosphere. only one service issue upon arrival we were told that the table we were being given was booked in 90 minutes, yet there were many empty one around what was wrong with those tables?

tasty. i've never been disapointed when i've come here, although the service does tend to be on the slow side (as mentioned).

i always do the build-your-own stir fry. can't go wrong, choosing your own ingredients!

mediocrity at its finest. get the hibatchi steak if anything, but i've just given this place too many chances to come back.

disappointment, overall.. location? great, but sometimes parking is a challenge.

variety? fabulous. especially if your group cannot agree on indian, chinese, japanese, korean, vietnamese or other asian cuisine. there is something for almost everyone.

decor/ambience? also fabulous, but be careful with the multi leveled flooring in the dim light.

food? fair to good.

service? infuriatingly slow and unavailable. it took forever to get someone (anyone?) to take our orders. half our table was served their main course...then we waited for another 20-25 minutes for the last person at our table (of 10) to be finally served. a weak apology with no remedy was offered. it was a major struggle just to get the basics - drinks, cutlery, etc. i could go on a rant here, but i'm sure you get the picture.

the strategy: if you really want to try open sesame...i'd suggest you attend in smaller groups (perhaps our group of 10 was too much for them) and i'd stick to the mongolian style - assemble your own dinner and sauce route. ordering kitchen prepared menu items seemed to be where the wheels really fell off for us.