Sesame Garden — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

My cousin, his girlfriend, and their 6 month old baby visited unexpectedly last week. Yesterday was our last day with them so my mom decided that a trip to Mt. Washington for pictures and dinner was in order. She lives in Erie so could not be physically present but wanted to ensure that our party of 10 (plus the baby) would be paid for and that we had a great meal. She recommended this place and managed to call ahead of our arrival to arrange for our seating/payment/service.

When we arrived, Martin (our truly fantastic server) had already set up a very long table for our large party. In fact, his service during our entire visit was wonderful - the drinks never made it to the bottom because he kept refilling them, we didn't even have to ask for take-home boxes and bags, and he was very personable with my 7 y/o son (who was showing off some "magic" tricks to him 😅). Best of all, Martin took a lovely family photo of all of us posed underneath the sculpted trellis and it's probably going to wind up being one of the most treasured pictures from the trip.

In addition to the fantastic service, the food was great! My General Tso's chicken was very well spiced and had lots of sauce, the wonton soup was absolutely killer, and there wasn't a single person at the table who wasn't happy with what was on their plate. It was affordable, too, especially considering how much you got for a portion.

Would DEFINITELY recommended this place to anyone looking for a nice, affordable, and very tasty Chinese restaurant in which to sit down and eat. And if you're looking for a nice send-off and somewhere you can make some memories over a good meal, this is a perfect place to do so.

Thanks so much, Martin! You made the last day with our cousin really special and we are most grateful for all that you did to...

I wish I could share the raw food I paid 50$ for!! I understand I came close to closing up time but I am not from the area and they told me it was okay to still place a order. When I placed my order , it came out it 10-15 minutes. My intentions was to check the food before I left which I did and everything seemed to be okay by looking at the food on the outside. However when I made it to my hotel, everything was raw and I was not able to return it because they were closed. Eventually morning came and I told the front desk workers my problem they made me seem as if I was wrong because “I checked my food”. I tried to explain to them just like they didn’t know they gave me everything raw, I didn’t know either until I actually sat down to eat it. It was covered in a lot of sauce !! I did trash it because I thought it wasn’t a big deal but when morning came I realized that was a lot of free money I gave for nothing. When I brought most of the food back I explained that most of it was all over the trash and I couldn’t get it, I tried to show pictures as well. They brushed it off as if it was still our fault and only gave me back 25$ plus I had to drive 20minutes back there to prove I was not lien. I would not recommend them. And the lady that suggested it to me that night I found out about this place said “there not that good” I just wanted Chinese food. I should’ve went...

Pros: They were really quick with putting together the food, and it was really good! I liked the wanton soup, especially because the broth was really flavorful. The dumplings were nicely fried but not overcooked. I had Kung Pao chicken on fried rice and it was perfectly spiced, and excellently cooked. Also, I got was the right temperature.

Cons: They did not give out lunch special menus at first, despite the fact that the day we went was plainly listed as a lunch special day in the window of the restaurant. The waiter balked a bit before they gave us the menus, but to their credit they were also quick to give us the menu.

While my food was flavorful, it didn't have any spiciness that was listed on the menu for the Kung Pao. Also, one of my family members who ate with me only ordered a wanton soup, and hers ended up being cold. Last small issue was that another guest I ate with ordered fried rice and got steamed. But this is barely an issue since they offered to immediately replace it, so they seem to be good at owning up to mistakes.

Conclusion: It's a lovely location, and good food, but some issues with service need to be ironed out...