Ali Baba Family Restaurant — Restaurant in El Cajon

We went out for the day to a Gem and Mineral club show and realized we needed to find a place to eat. We found this restaurant by looking to go to one across the street. We saw it was a sit down family style place, so we moved our car and went there. I worked in the restaurant business for many years when I was young, so you could say I have a lot of experience. What was obvious first off is how incredibly well the entire staff and chef worked together. So mellow. Everyone knew what to do and when to do it. We were at the table by the kitchen and register. It didn't matter, it was lovely energy. Our waitress had a wonderful attitude towards us even though we had challenging diet specifications and spoke only English. Then the food came, it was perfect. Everything was cooked perfectly. I don't have any other words for it. Then we found out we got to have the most beautiful flat bread we have ever seen with our dinner. I had seen customers take extra home with them so I asked about the bread. It was sooooo delicious! We saw the meal prices were a good value. We ordered the Kobba Musilia, the Kabob plate and were given 4 skewers with a special order of 2 beef and 2 chicken. The rice was cooked to perfection. We are both very good cooks and we love middle Eastern food in general. We have plenty of prior experience. Great Vibe,...

Tuesday night around 10pm, we were having a boys night out and decided to go to Alibaba for their desserts - Kunafa, Baklava, and tea. I called in ahead of time and got confirmation if we were good to come. We, 8 guys get there, before I sit, I informed the lady serving us that we had called a few mins back and that we were there for desserts. There was not one customer in the restaurant then. We were ready to order 3 orders of kunafa, 3 orders of baklava, 8 teas, and bunch of water bottle which would total up to around $60. In the middle of giving the order, the owner walks up and tells us - "You guys know this is a restaurant right? We serve food and if you are only going to order desserts, we cannot serve you". Wow, just wow. We just got up and left.

Dear owner, most of the guys who came there, have come to your place multiple times over the years with their individual families and given you a lot of business. Maybe you didnt recognise us in our traditional gear but this is not way to treat your customers. Rest assured this will be the last time any of us will be coming there. Just unfortunate that such a place is going...

Horrible experience!!! I would have given a Negative star rating if there was an option. The Owner is really RUDE! He has no respect for his customers! I would NOT RECOMMEND going to this restaurant.

We went to the restaurant at 10:00 pm on a Tuesday evening. Before going we had called them check if they had deserts (Baklavas and Kunafas) and also informed them that we are coming ONLY for deserts and Tea.

The restaurant was absolutely empty, NOT a single customer. The waitress was taking order for the desserts and tea (worth $60-$70) and in the meantime the owner walks to our table and says that "You cannot JUST order desserts, This is NOT a sweet shop...You need to order food and ONLY THEN we will serve you the desserts and the tea" We just got up and left.

This was an insult! This is ridiculous! I have never come across such a horrible experience at a restaurant in my life time. This is not how your treat your customers. We will NEVER go to this restaurant again. This is the reason why a restaurant just opposite to Ali Baba was fully packed at that time whereas NOT A SINGLE TABLE WAS OCCUPIED...