SESAMO comida sin bestias — Restaurant in Barcelona

This is a hard review to write as I myself come from a customer service background and know what it is like to get absolutely RAMMED (and also be understaffed at the same time) BUT - I do think I need to share my experience because unfortunately this incidence of poor customer service has completely overshadowed the food. We arrived close to 9pm on a Sunday night without a resvertation (mistake number 1 - our bad) and after initially being ignored due to the few waiters running around desperately trying to serve their seated guests, we were asked if we had a reservation and upon answering that we didn't we told promptly, with one word to "SIT" at the only table left free.

We waited patiently for about 15 minutes until we received a menu. In this time we saw a gentleman come from the main part of the restaurant to the bar area to try and grab some menus.. the head waiter chased after him. And asked in English -"is there something I can help you with sir!?!" (Agitated) the patron replied "just wanted to make it a bit easier for you guys". The waiter was not impressed and went on to explain "we have been very busy as you can see, we will be with you shortly" - but if our experience was anything to go by, I completely understand why the gentleman had tried to hurry the process along. Being closest to the door for the night this also left us privy to the way in which each set of patrons were greeted and dealt with upon entering. The only patrons that got a slight smile or ounce of care were the ones with bookings, but even then, they were thrown at the bar to wait with not as much as 3 words. Those without a reservation were strongly told "no - no tables" without a pinch of remorse. There was one couple told to wait at the door upon entering and then was not re-approached for 15 minutes. As you can imagine, they eventually left pretty frustrated.

• Here - I should definitely add, that the food was quite awesome, and the pricing for the tasting menu was pretty fantastic - and for a city that loves their meats, yes this restaurant is a little treat but it is such a shame that it is completely overshadowed in this instance* To round off our night we were left with no interaction (not that we received much at all) after finishing our final plates for more than 20 mins. Upon asking for the bill I think it is safe to say, we waiting at least another 20-25 minutes just to pay. In this time, we watched another patron get up - go to the bar as ask to pay - to which he also waited at least 10-15 minutes once asking.

Overall, the food unfortunately could not save the fact that we were made to feel more like hinderances than paying customers. My only advice if you wish to go; Book well in advance Try a week night...

My husband and I made a reservation for this restaurant for 7pm. The restaurant had just opened when we arrived so we were the only ones there. The waiter sat us down in what felt like a hurried manner and proceeded to slam the big chalk board stand (the one from outside) in front of us. He went over the items on the chalk board in a very ‘matter of fact’ way then asked us what we wanted. We went for the 25 euro a piece taster menu which we had heard good things about. Once the waiter left with our order, we almost decided to leave just based on the weird vibes and negative first impression we got from the weird presentation of the menu - why not have proper menus for each table for guests to take their time to look over? The food started coming and for the most part it was good but nothing to rave about. One course was a few boiled potatoes on a plate with a side of hummus and something else but it was hard to believe that this was a ‘chef selection’-good but not quality. We really enjoyed the cold soup, the chick pea curry, and the desert. The green peppers were pretty good but seemed a little simple with how they were cooked and the seasoning and there was a dish with veggies and cheese that we did not enjoy because the cheese was very much like the kind you put on cheap pizza. Overall it was a decent experience but I would recommend other places before this one based on the service and inconsistency of food quality. I suggest the waiter of the restaurant who brings in the big menu board to come up with a nicer strategy for a better first impression. It made our experience awkward and we just cringed as he proceeded to do the same thing to the other customers who trickled in. I hope this review is helpful to both potential customers and the restaurant. I mean not to insult but I do think it’s best...

To give you an idea of Sesamo, if this place offered pizza, the vegan version would be the one without cheese. As the waiter said, "It's a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options." He wasn't wrong: of the several desserts, only one was vegan. I didn't even ask what it was after the disappointing dishes I had already eaten.

I think I've been spoiled in my travels through the world because I can't remember the last time I went to a vegetarian restaurant whose menu was not only predominantly vegan, but where they offered proper substitutes for dairy ie. cheese for vegan cheese. Even non-veg places do this these days. Sesamo seems to treat vegan options like an after-thought. Case in point: the smoked eggplant dish (for vegetarians) came with fermented red pepper, cheese, cilantro etc. The vegan version was literally some very salty miso paste spread on top of roasted eggplant halves. It was a strange and unpleasant combination. The vegan mushroom tart omitted the cream and cheese and was simply fried mushrooms served in a pastry cup topped with a sprinkle of pistachios and served with a bulgar side salad. I would have been embarrassed to serve something half-finished like this.

While the ravioli had a nice flavor, it also felt like an incomplete dish with just black garlic and hazelnuts on top. The only thing that tasted really good of the four we ordered were the mushroom croquettes.

The food feels lazy and although vegetarians seem better catered for with the amount of cheese on the menu, it certainly isn't inspiring food for vegans. It was an expensive and...