open sesame

we went here based on the good reviews, looking for a place that had veggie options. we were so disappointed and couldn't believe the relatively high rating! one of us took the stirfryoption, one of us got a buddha bowl and one of us got the butter chicken. the buddha bowl came with no mushrooms (unlike as described) and crunchy burned noodles. the chicken in the butter sauce was almost black - not burned, just mottled grey meat? the spring rolls were nicely seasoned but cost $4 each and were not worth the price. we ordered naan with the stirfrybut it was more like a dense, soggy pita. none of us enjoyed our meals, and we left hungry. a limited menu with poor quality dishes.

went there last evening with 4 friends. excellent and attentive service from our server. appies were great. three of us had the stirfryand loved them. two ordered off the menu and were happy with choices. waaay too full to try one of the interesting desserts offered. will be back to try something else!

open sesame was a place i have wanted to try for a while and i was finally able to try it. the food was okay. some of the dishes we tried were absolutely delicious and others lacked flavour. the service was excellent...our server explained how the pick your own stirfryworks and the selection of vegetables and sauces for your stirfrywas good. the lighting was dark but overall the atmosphere wasn’t too bad. i’d probably come back again if i was in the area, just to try some other dishes, but it’s not one of those places i would drive across the city just to go to.

i was intrigued to try open sesame after seeing the high ratings on zomato. when we arrived we had a reservation, but we still had to wait for a really long time to be seated, even though the restaurant was not very busy. that aside, service was, on the whole, very friendly and efficient. the restaurant is nicely decorated and feels fairly inviting for such a large space. we started off with an order of imperial spring rolls ($8). the exterior was nicely crisp, but i found the filling to be too mushy and was not a huge fan of the mango dipping sauce. the fact that you can make your own stirfryis an interesting dimension to the restaurant, but we all decided to try dishes already on the menu. i ordered the vietnamese combo ($15), and my friends selected the pad thai ($16.5) and the buddha bowl ($13.5 with added chicken and shrimp for a total of $18). our food arrived quickly, and portions were decently generous. the vietnamese combo had charbroiled chicken and pork, both of which had a nice flavour but contained way too much gristle for my liking. the vermicelli noodles were a little limp and the dish had a very sad selection of vegetables. the same dish at any good vietnamese restaurant would be about half the price, twice the size, and infinitely better. unfortunately, the pad thai was absolutely horrible. you can get better at a mall food court. the sauce was strangely dark tasting and unlike any pad thai sauce i've had, as if it was almost entirely soy sauce. the rice noodles were extremely thin and limp, there were very few toppings, and the bean sprouts were bitter and soggy (as they were on the vietnamese dish as well). i didn't try any of the buddha bowl, but my friend was also very disappointed with his meal. the next time you're in the mood for asian food? i'd say skip open sesame and head to a good vietnamese or chinese or thai restaurant where they can do these cuisines justice.

oh open sesame...we have such a love hate relationship. i love the food and atmosphere but i hate how easy it is to screw up what should be a good meal. i always take a "trip to the asian market" , meaning you put together your own stirfrydish including your veggies, mixings and sauce. i usually come away very satisfied but there have definitely been a couple times i did not get the sauce right. (tip: put more in than you think you need) they have some of my all time favourite desserts here as well.

had a lovely girls night for my first time at open sesame. we were definitely glad to have made reservations because it was super busy, even for a wednesday night! it has a lovely authentic atmosphere and is famous for their "do-it-yourself" stirfrybar. i was not much in the mood to choose my own food, so i opted for the vietnamese combo vermicelli noodle bowl, which was really tasty. a few ladies had the stirfrybowls, and some had appetizers, which all looked delicious. they also are great for gluten free options! for dessert the ladies had the crème brûlée, banana wontons, and the black & white brownie. all looked amazing! will definitely be back, and may even try out the stirfrynext time so i can add more veggies to my meal.

been to a couple of these still restaurants where you build your stirfryfrom selection of noodles, vegetables, & meats then have it stir fried for you. its a cool concept but i find the meat is usually very dry after cooked. i would order of menu if i went back.

we have always frequented open sesame as a go-to date night or family outing restaurant, but the last few times we've been have been disappointing.

the most recent time we had to wait 20 minutes for our reservation to be ready. i get that tables take time to be turned over, but seriously, getting a table at 7:25 when we have a 2 person reservation for 7 is more than just turning a table around.

we usually do the make your own stirfrynow, because the kitchen dishes have been hit or miss, and this last time was embarrassing. my boyfriend enjoys very spicy food and i like more sweet flavours in my stir fry. my boyfriend used a combination of the spiciest sauces they offered and added chilies and chile oil - not even a hint of heat came out with his cooked dish. mine was sadly just as lacklustre, having minimal flavour despite adding multiple sauces and many 'fresh' ingredients.

in past years, the make your own stirfrywas hard to navigate wrong, as the sauces were flavourful and the ingredients were fresh and tasty. something's gone downhill.

we also were amazed that one alcoholic drink, 4 tiny crab wontons, a mushroom appetizer, and two stirfrydishes brought our bill to almost $80. the mushroom appy was marketed as being a mix of mushrooms, but we found only 4 slices of shiitake amongst a bowl of sautéed button mushrooms. definitely not worth $8 like what showed up on the bill.

all in all, i'll have to hear some amazing things before we go back. we've given it too many chances and feel it's just not worth the value they've put on it. i can make stirfryat home.

good option, it's always fun to make your stirfryand the portions are good. they usually have less of the protein you order, even though it's an add on, which isn't great. i always have left overs for the next day but usually not much of the protein remains, unfortunately. service in general is pretty good. appetizers are usually decent. i had the lettuce wraps and samosas last time. the samosas are good but you only get three, which is kind of an odd number i think. i wouldn't order the lettuce wraps again, whatever they do to the filling is not very appetizing. overall, i think it's exciting the first couple of times to go and make your choices but it goes down hill after the novelty wears off.

my goodness it's magical.
you walk in and your world already feels transformed i might have a slight bias with this place being a family go to for gatherings and birthdays, but non the less it's a great place. use it for nice dinners or formal-ish gatherings, special occasions is basically what it is great for. now back to the magic. customer service always great! you have a nice area everywhere you go the ambience is formed and in you're in another world. the menu is oriental and boy are the items great, but what really sets this place apart from any chinese is the creativity they give you, the guest. you ever wanted to make your own stirfryand just have a professional cook it with more finesse that you'll probably never have. well guess what? you can! choose a protein or multiple and go up grab your vegetable toppings and sauce and just have at it you can stack the bowl with food as high as you can. once finished the process and torment what will taste best bring it over to the chefs and watch the final inception of your dish being cooked in front of your eyes. once you finished your dish make sure to have dessert or ho back again a second time either or will work 😁. i recommend the banana wonton as a first! so stop reading this and go have some fun with your meal for once.

p.s.
if you want a mind-melting, tongue-tingler, world-warping sauce get the imperial spring rolls, it's not much but the mango sauce that's served with them, you just can't put a price on. enjoy!

just average - the atmosphere at open sesame is great - cozy, comfortable and great for couples or groups. the service was also exceptional - attentive without being too much so. i especially liked that our server didn't put the pressure on to leave when we finished our meal (and were busy chatting and catching up!) unfortunately the food was only just adequate. we started w/ the calamari which was heavily, heavily battered. like many, i ordered the stir fry. there were lots of vegetable choices, but many of them were on their last legs and looked like they had been sitting out for many hours. perhaps we happened to arrive at the veggie bar right before a switch over? the stirfryitself was tasty when all was said and done (although i added too much sauce!) i liked how many choices there were for starch and proteins. we ordered 2 desserts for sharing. i'm not sure how the banana wontons were supposed to be, but they were barely warm and seriously chewy. i wouldn't order them again. i would consider going again, but would stick to the stir fry!

first time there and we enjoyed it. service was slow. we saw our stirfrysitting there for about 5 min before she picked them up. found the protien portions to be small. really need to load up your bowl with veggies they do cook down a lot. we will go back i think the worst part of it all was finding parking !

very disappointed. we have gone to open sesame several times and up until this last visit have been pretty satisfied. on this last visit, i ordered the build your own stirfrywith shrimp and could not believe all i got was 5 shrimp. i complained to the waitress and she said that was a full portion (cooked that comes to 1 1/2 ounces, most portions for an adult would be 4-5 ounces). her comment was i could pay and get another portion added. my friend ordered the same dish with chicken and she only got 5 pieces of chicken. i think it's time to rethink our "go to" dinner place.

we love this beautifully decorated asian inspired spot on macleod trail. the menu is huge and offers something for everyone. craving thai indian, chinese? open sesame has got you covered!
with the option to order off the regular menu or visit their
super fresh “asian market” stirfrybar

servers are always very attentive and pleasant. i've only ever eaten the stirfrythere and it's always good. usually come here when my family is in town.