Open Sesame
From Long Beach to LA, this Lebanese restaurant impresses with unique dishes and fair pricing
Although Orange County’s Little Arabia district is famously packed with Middle Eastern restaurants – including many unique options – we aren’t shy about also recommending compelling LA County alternatives. Only minutes away from OC by car, Long Beach has two such places: one is the James Beard Foundation-cited Levantine restaurant Ammatoli, and the other is Lebanese and Mediterranean mainstay Open Sesame. Continuously operating since 1999 in the Belmont Shore neighborhood, Open Sesame expanded to Los Angeles (near The Grove) in 2013; both locations are equally well-regarded today.
Even as long-time Ammatoli fans, we were genuinely impressed by our August 2026 experience at Open Sesame’s Long Beach location, though they are very different restaurants despite their overlapping menus – more like second cousins than siblings, each with its own virtues. Where Ammatoli feels upscale and a little formal, Open Sesame has more of a welcoming, personable vibe, not that either place has trouble filling its tables. Even on a random Monday evening, Open Sesame’s sprawling collection of differently decorated rooms and outdoor patio spaces were all packed, with servers and managers taking time to be kind despite remaining constantly busy and in motion. Together, the people and space evoked the vibes of international cafes better than anything we’ve experienced before in Long Beach – and we really appreciated them.
Ordering here is straightforward. Each guest receives two double-sided menu cards, the larger one almost exclusively focused on food: sections span soups ($9), appetizers and salads ($9 to $27), pita sandwiches and paninis ($13 to $18), man’oushe pizzas ($12 to $13), and entrees and main plates ($18 to $37). Notably, a substantial a la carte section allows guests to sample 11 different skewered meat or vegetable items ($7 to $19) without ordering accompanying plates of basmati rice – great options for those hoping to limit their carbs. Open Sesame’s smaller menu card includes six desserts ($9 to $13), a collection of alcoholic drinks ($7 to $14), and four coffees and teas ($5 to $7).
We started off with a glass of Lebanese jalab ($7), a unique refreshment made with rose water, incense-infused grape syrup, and sliced almonds. Filled with ice and served with a spoon, this drink nicely balanced the sweetness of fruit with perfume-quality floral aromas, neutralizing the rose water’s natural bitter flavor while using the incense and nuts to add a little complexity – as well as giving us reasons to keep fishing for almonds in the glass.
Our first appetizer was reputably a must-try: spicy garlic potatoes ($10), a bowl of bright yellow, lightly crispy potato cubes served in a garlic and lemon sauce with a light garnish of chopped cilantro. Despite their “spicy” name, these potatoes were more memorable for their intensely citric lemon flavor and garlicky aftertaste than any chili-related heat, and the flavor only improved as we reached the sauce-filled bottom of the bowl. A similar but lower intensity lemon flavor also brightened the taste of Open Sesame’s grape leaves ($11/5), which were unusually plump, seemingly fresh, and paired with sliced tomatoes and salad greens.
Each of those dishes surpassed our expectations by at least a little. So when we say that we comparatively liked but didn’t love Open Sesame’s baba ghannouj ($12), a lightly paprika-finished but otherwise unremarkable eggplant dip served with a nice stack of thin but tasty pitas, some context is needed. Yes, Ammatoli’s eggplant dip and pitas are better. But it charges almost twice as much for this pairing, the sort of price difference that many people would find hard to justify (until experiencing fresh-from-oven pitas).
Open Sesame’s grilled meat and seafood dishes were a mixed but generally very positive bag. We ordered multiple a la carte items, expecting to get nothing more than a plate or two with several skewers and a pile of meat, but were instead pleasantly surprised to receive individual small plates pairing each protein with different vegetables and a sauce. Lamb kabob ($15/5 pieces) was ordered medium, and included sliced tomatoes, onions, and greens. Chicken tawook ($14/5 pieces) was coupled with a pita, a generous bowl of toum garlic sauce, and pickles – collectively enough to make a sandwich. While each meat was just a little overcooked, the proteins were quality, low-fat cuts, and their accompaniments compensated for any imperfections.
The highlight and lowlight of these plates were the grilled tiger shrimp ($15/5) and beef shawarma ($16), respectively. Open Sesame served the shrimp on a large bed of cooked tomato-onion salsa with a lime slice, and they were juicy even before we squeezed the lime juice and enjoyed them with bites of the cubed veggies. But the shawarma’s included tahini, pickles, and full roasted tomato weren’t enough to overcome the overcooked, nearly dry pieces of meat, which may have been too low-fat for their own good. This was the only savory item we wouldn’t order again at Open Sesame.
Our meal ended on an unexpected note: After explaining to a server that we were deciding between the baklawa crumble ($13) – Lebanese ashta ice cream mixed with pieces of pistachio baklawa – and labne cheesecake ($13), we selected the former but somehow received the latter. Rather than complaining, we embraced the opportunity to sample the vanilla bean and soft labne puck, appealingly drenched in a homemade, chunky fig caramel then topped with a knot of shredded phyllo and ground pistachios. Whether you’ll like this dessert will depend significantly on your feelings about labne; unlike the cream cheese typically used in cheesecakes, its light sourness makes each soft, creamy bite just a little more complex, leveraging the fruit-laden caramel and crispy phyllo to balance out the sweetness and multiply the texture. We appreciated it as a unique take on cheesecake – more of a departure than, say, Chaiwale & Co.’s Indian versions – but didn’t love it.
The reason we didn’t sweat getting the “wrong” dessert was simple: Based on the savory food quality and otherwise solid service, we knew fairly early in our visit that we’d want to return to Open Sesame for another round to sample more of its menu, and continued to feel that way through our very last bite here. Next time, we certainly expect to get the baklawa crumble among other intriguing options, so when that happens, we’ll update this article with more photos and details.
Stats
Price: $$-$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 1999
Addresses
5215 E. 2nd St.
Long Beach, CA 90803
562.621.1698
7458 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.525.1698
Instagram: @dineopensesame