Open The Sesame

would not recommend, though i will grant one star for graciously seating a table of 11 without reservations during prime friday night dinner rush time. we initially tried to go to their partner-​restaurant, sticky rice, where i’ve had quite good dining experiences. sticky rice was full and called up to this sub-​par restaurant to have them set us up a table, promising us it was the same food, and also bring your own booze. we found out only AFTER opening 12 bottles of beer that there was a corkage fee at this establishment (not at the one we wanted to go to) and the staff refused to take the fee off when i asked them to. we waited too long to order, and then probably about 45 minutes for our food. my «tofu» pad thai had TWO tiny pieces of tofu and was greasy. two people at my side of the table complained of stomach cramps after finishing their meals. needless to say i will not let sticky rice talk me into coming here anytime soon.

Arrived 9pm on a thursday night. There were only 5 or 6 other people in the restaurant. The service was a little shy but the young guy helped us out with everything we asked.
I order the thai dumplings and the panang curry. I thought both were really tasty. Portion sizes were small to medium so you will need at least one appetizer to warm up. My girlfriend ordered a soup which was coconut and chicken that was delicious. Her green curry was just average so that was the only downfall.
Bill came out to about $ 50 with 4 beers between us.

Sad to say, but I was surprised to see all the stars other Unilocalers gave this place. A friend and I wandered in here before a show on the LES last night but were kind of disappointed. The décor was cute, but food left little to be desired. We were excited to hear they were offering lunch box specials until 7 PM, but I guess you get what you pay for. I had the panang chicken, which wasn’t bad but the pad Thai had a weird icky flavor. You really can’t mess up pad thai… well…I thought. My friend ordered some kind of stir fried veggies and was given something totally different and despite the restaurant being empty it was kinda slow. I wanted to like this place… but it was just kinda bleh.

Food was very average, at best. Service was friendly but slow even though the place was only half full. And I do regret not knowing about the BYOB here.
Too many other good Thai places in the city to go here.

I ordered takeout to try this place, so this review pertains to delivery food, not restaurant service or ambiance.
2 or 3 for the Food
I ordered their «signature dish» spicy basil noodles with beef. It was very mediocre. The spring rills were pretty good.
1 for delivery service
The delivery guy could not break a 20 — he had zero change. Pretty unprofessional.
I’ll probably give it one more shot, since good thai is for some uncanny reason hard to find in the LES. Anybody have a favorite — shoot it at me. I seem to keep haing to back to the East Village for the good stuff. Or Williamsburg.
I have to agree with a previous reviewer, that there’s definitely a Hispanic take coming from the kitchen as well. I love most latino food, too, so that would not bother me if it enhanced the food. It didn’t on their first delivery.

I was walking along the houston on the lower east side on day and… like any new yorker sauntering… I found a gem… A thai eatery to be exact. So forth, my recollection of «OPEN THE SESAME». At first, you might have just missed the discreet store front. but the handmade sign board that reads THAI SANGRIA BAR shouts from afar and it also hints that the establishment is all about homemade. Boy… I was glad!
The little joint boast a delightful array of eclectic trinkets that greets customer and a stainless bar with wine bottles festoon the wall behind. At first glance, one is also treated to a myriad of colours from the walls in turquoise, gold leafed and trompe toile! There was a decadent rich embellished glass chandelier that hovered in the room. The cacophony of the beatnik elements again is evident in the usage of printed batik table cloth. The clash of prints and colors provide a serendipity of surprises that harmonize the individual elements.
I had the Pad See Hew. It was delectable of sauté envelopes of broad rice noodles with shitake mushrooms and sweet black sauce that is cooked to perfection. A little burnt also render the noodles even more sumptuous. It also include a choice of chicken and smidgen of vegetable. An egg also binds the dish together… HIGHLY RECOMMEND for its ambience and highly palatable food! 2 thumbs up!

i love the décor, small cute little place.
i love their house fried rice, padthai noodle, basil noodle

Fun décor, good service, yummy food. Good for a light dinner. The thousand year egg appetizer was especially yummy, masaman curry was delicious and nice and thick just how I like it (although the meat wasn’t super tender), and the tod mun shrimp cake came with seriously delicious sauce.

I found my hips swaying to Latin beats as I walked into this cute and lively little restaurant. I have to disagree with Stella Y; I don’t think the décor is tacky at all. For me, it’s vibrant and festive. Minimalist Asian restaurants are a dime a dozen, and this place has spunk.
Chris and Joao were the two guys who hooked me up with a reservation and made sure that everything was perfect. The music, the company, the service… They told me they have undergone some management changes recently.
Everything we ordered was yummy. The veg dumplings, the green curry with chicken, the veg rainbow curry, the satay… I didn’t care for the beef massaman curry, however, as the beef was a bit tough. It’s all very reasonably priced, though, and good for sharing.
It’s the perfect place to grab a bite to eat before a night out on the LES. You can actually talk to the people at your table without having to yell, and you will leave with a stomach full enough to drink on but not so full you need to be taken out on a stretcher.

i live right next door to this place so i’ve been several times. it’s undergone a lot of interior-​design changes in the past year or so, and i think the previous owner recently passed managment over to his sister, but i could be wrong. the place is tiny and the new design is a bit tacky (colorful and inconsistent throughout) — a definite stray away from the usual sleek and/​or interior of most thai restaurants. not a place to take your date if your aim is to impress.
not sure what’s on the menu now, but for appetizers, their fried pork dumplings are flavorful and meaty on the inside, but i prefer less fried dumpling skin on my dumplings. their pad thai and pad see ew are lackluster. i would opt for their other dishes. i’ve had both their cubed steak and sizzling strip steak and in general, they definitely over-​cook their meat. i’d ask for it rare to get it medium (seriously!). the sauce that comes with both dishes is generic but flavorful and perhaps a bit too salty. they tend to just sauté a bunch of julienned vegetables and throw it next to over-​cooked meat on a sizzling hot plate, which will only further cook the meat as you eat it. so again, if you prefer your meat not fully cooked, then ask for it 1 – 2 degrees below what you typically like. they used to have a grilled rib dish which was pretty good, but it’s no longer on the menu. but that’s fine because they now have a new thai-​style ground pork dish with fried basil and a fried egg atop purple rice that’s delicious. it’s packed with intense flavor. i’ve never had this particular dish at a thai restaurant but it’s very reminiscent of good home-​cooking and i really enjoyed it!
their asian-​style sandwiches are a good value as well. they aren’t as delicious at the vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, but the bread they use for the baguette is noteworthy – very crispy and light. the amount of food (meat) you get for the price is definitely worth it and the sweet and savory flavors come together really well in the sandwich.

I was surprised to find this little place in the space formerly occupied by the late night spot Bauhaus where I had DJed many times in the past. It’s a typically small LES space, with about 20 tables in a rectangular space that’s fairly narrow from North to South. It extends away from the street and has its tables set against the long sides of the rectangle, back towards the kitchen which sits at the back of the restaurant. It’s dimly lit, quiet & comforting; the owner’s interesting paintings hang on the walls. The service was welcoming enough, though perhaps not attentive enough.
The appetizers were the culinary highlight — we tried some sliced steak, mini spare ribs, cilantro garlic grilled squid, and the fried pork dumplings. The ribs were bite sized and garlicky, though some had very little meat, and others were more like a bite of meat. The squid was nicely grilled and tasty, though not inventive. The dumplings were huge and satisfying, and the steak was good.
I had the seafood suki yaki as my main, and it was not good. It’s soup base was a chili broth that was not very spicy nor flavorful in any way. The seafood was generally lacking (there were a few scallops, rings of squid, and shrimp), but mainly these flavorless lumps that looked like hard boiled egg yolk halves, but were something else that had no taste. The glass noddles base was fine, but since the broth had no discernible flavor, there wasn’t a whole lot of point to eating them. I left half the noodles in the bowl. Two of my companions tried the bahn mi — it was edible but not special. The beef salad didn’t elicit strong reactions, nor did they very average noodle dishes (one was their version of pad see ew) — those had not been screwed up and weren’t overly greasy, but the flavors had no real pop and I’d hardly consider them a reason to return. They also don’t have alcohol, and did allow us to bring in beer, which was nice.
On the whole, I’d say this place is wholly average. I would’ve given 3 stars if I weren’t so disappointed in my suki yaki (which the menu proclaimed as «delicousssssssss»). So many places in NYC have tried and failed to get this Thai street food thing right — who’s actually going to do it?

My friend and I tripped over this place on a Friday night when out on the LES (that means Lower East Side, the kids tell me). From the outside, it is certainly small and unassuming, and without her prodding, I might not have ventured in.
Once inside, I was greeted with a very small dining room with nice touches. Scents from the kitchen fill the dining room, while a lively buzz of conversation rises over the suitably trendy music. Empty wine bottles serve as water pitchers for each table, while original paintings hang on the walls. From what I can tell, the entire operation is run by two people (with the possible exception of a dishwasher). The kitchen is clearly visible from most of the seats, which to me is always a treat.
I am not sure what the status is now, but when we went, it was BYOB, which I think is always fun. We were not prepared with our own B, and instead I had a lemongrass juice, which I am quite pleased that I tried. In fact, I was thinking even if I went again and brought my own b, I would consider if that was a good mixer.
The food was so spicy and authentic, and daring in some ways. While I enjoy the Pad Thais and Curries that are standard at the local Thai take-​out places, it is sometimes nice to try things that are totally different.
It was some months ago that we went, so I don’t remember precisely what we had, and I cannot find the menu online. However, I was impressed by the originality and flavor of the several dishes that we tried I also hear they have great sandwiches, a bargain at under 6 bucks. I’ll be sure to update this entry the next time I visit, since the food section of this review is rather lacking.
Until then, I just wanted it to be known that I strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for an intimate, casual dining experience with dynamite food and great prices in a great neighborhood.

Cozy and unpretentious. The food here is great. Their menu is extensive. They have a lot of Thai dishes most other Thai places in the city don’t have. I had the pork ball cilantro sandwich. It was quite tasty. Sandwiches are 5 bucks while entrée dishes started around 9 dollars. The service was excellent and quick. The waitresses were friendly and attentive. I’m definitely coming back here to try everything else on the menu. Highly recommended.

unassuming and unpretentious… the vibe at this «street food» styled eatery is welcoming and delightful. I really liked the décor and especially loved the high bench table near the entrance.
This place is still waiting for their liquor license so.BYOB. We had no problems when we brought our own wine and proceeded to get happy… in fact the table next to us were constantly eyeing our drinks… such jealousy!
Anyhoo.food was quite good. Overall a great experience. I will definitely come back and check out the sandwiches… Cilantro garlic porkballs sandwich… yum!