Sesame Inn — Restaurant in Ross Township

I am giving the Sesame Inn, near McKnight, three stars because our waitress was so good. She smiled, was attentive to the condition of our drinks, and took our order coreectly and did not forget anything. She also interacted with our 19 month old daughter when she got a bit cranky and was able to calm her down. The portions are very large as well. Two could share one meal.

The negatives, we were seated at a table and the floor was absolutely filthy. I asked the hostess, who sat us, if it is normal for the floors to be so dirty. She looked at my husband and myself and said, "I don't know, I just seat people." She never got anyone to clean up the mess. All other tables had a beautiful little plant but ours did not. We felt like we were put at a dirty table with no decor because we had a little child. Well guess what, kids grow up fast, and when they grow up they spend money at places they learned to love as kids. Most resturants should welcone kids. One of our sushi dishes (the little dish to put soy sauce) had some pices of dried food stuck to the inside. The hostess looked about 15 yaers old and was wearing a very tight, cut out, inappropiate dress.

Now to the food. While the portions are a very nice size, the flavor and texture was off. We had Miso soup, salmon shushi, and a California and an Eel roll. The soup was okay. I have had better and have had worse. On the salty side. The Sushi is aweful. Not rancid in any way, just not pretty and not tasty. The eel sushi was actually ugly, and I did not enjoy looking at it. The rice was on the dry side. That goes for all of the rice for the entire dinner. I had garlic chicken and tasted no garlic. There was heat but no flavor.

Possitives, I enjoyed the fortune cookies at the end of rhe meal. They have plastic straws (which I like) and bring chopsticks without having to ask for them. Most of the staff seemed nice. We were give attractive, microwave safe, togo boxes for leftovers and brown paper bags to pack it all awat in. We were seated as soon as we walked in. It was 6 pm on a Thursday evening. Still lots of people, but everyone was seated quickly.

Summary, just okay. Good for a quick bite but maybe not to celebrate something, like a birthday, and not for a date night. Maybe worth it id you don't feel like cooking. 4 adults and one todler. The bill was $87, we left a $20 tip. We did not use the restroom so we do not know what...

I admit a little bias with Sesame Inn, it's been a special place for me since moving to Pittsburgh, regardless of where it's located. The original off McKnight Road location was one of the places where my wife and I went to feel like we were a having a "fancy night out" when we were engaged and just skirting by in a one bedroom apartment. When we got married and had our rehearsal dinner, we coaxed my mother (who insisted on paying for the affair and also does not love Asian food of any kind) to have the get together at the original Sesame Inn, and I still remember the time spent with loved ones and the enjoyment that came from the Lazy Susan of many fresh dishes.

So when I saw they had moved to a new locale, I knew I had to eventually give it a try. I got the chance when my wife and I got a rare lunch date alone (young kids are a doozy). The new location is notably smaller and feels very different being in what largely feels like a mall space, but that hasn't stopped Sesame Inn from designing a space that feels notably elevated from other similar dining experiences, with some really pretty choices in decoration and overall design. And the service was very sweet and attentive and gave some human touch to the very carefully articulated dining area.

I got the Shrimp with Eggplant lunch entree, and it was well made and quite delicious. Both a touch spicy and very savory, accented with garlic and spices. I also opted for the hot and sour soup, a favorite soup of mine, and though it was a bit different for that style of soup (less sour and more savory), it was very good. The price for the entree and soup was just $15, which seems very fair for both the quality of food and the restaurant experience itself. I will look forward to coming back again when possible to try a dinner service, and I would recommend the place to anyone looking to get a high-end Asian dining experience at a price that seems like a steal, all...

5 years ago I would've given this place 4 stars, but it has been slowly going downhill which has recently culminated in an absolutely horrendous experience. First I want to give some context, because I used to love it, I hope the owners change what they're doing because as of now I will never go back.

Generally, over time, the quality has gone down and the prices have gone up. This place is 2.5x the price of Sichuan gourmet in Oakland and nowhere close to as good. Their sushi is absurdly overpriced and is not even good, to the point that 16 pieces here are the same price as 24-30 pieces at other sushi restaurants, which have better quality!

In the past I have received food with steel wool in it, we have gotten the wrong items a few times in takeout.

This most recent time was the worst though. I ordered beef lol mein, medium spiciness, and my brother ordered another meal with medium spiciness. His meal was not spicy at all and mine was so spicy that I was coughing, nose running, could barely eat it. I am used to spicy food and have been eating a lot of it lately, this was absurdly and inappropriately spicy.

But, that was not the worst part! My beef lo mein reeked of and tasted like the worst artificial banana flavor you can imagine. About 90% of what I could taste was non-nuanced and overwhelming spice, with the other 10% being a banana laffy taffy flavor. There was no flavor of beef, no flavor of vegetables, no onion or even just soy flavor. The worst part was that it had a comically strong smell of artificial banana, I could barely lift it to my mouth.

It genuinely tasted and smelled like someone had poured cheap banana vape juice into my meal and then used tons of spice in an effort to cover it up. I don't think that's what happened but I am totally puzzled as to how this happened, and that is exactly what it...