Sesame Korean Grill

The previous weekend… the line and wait were too long (it is a small place)…so we went next door to a buffet… not a big mistake, but always eat too much. So, last Fri. night, we went early and got seated right away. I had the spicy pork (and it was) and my partner had the bibimbap… and we both were extremely pleased. The waiter was funny and attentive. We will be back.

Food was so amazing. We arrived on a busy Saturday night without reservations and were seated after 20 minute wait. I got the spicy chicken and it was so good– large portions and we ate it all! BF got the Kambi– was good but not as good as the spicy chicken. They have a few select beers and some wine on the menu. Service was very good. There was a wait between ordering and receiving the food, but it was packed so we didn’t mind. Oh and the tea was really good– never had a tea like that before… tasted like warm corn tortillas! Will be back.

Coming from San Francisco, I am a huge critic of Santa Cruz food, especially Asian but this place was actually amazing. I went on Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend and there was about 15 minute wait (they don’t take reservations) which I though was pretty good. The menu wasn’t overwhelming and though it was pricey, it tasted well worth it. I got the bibimbap with chicken and all the ingredients tasted really fresh and flavorful. My boyfriend got the pork grilled plate and looking back I wish I got a more adventurous meat, but I wanted to be cautious since this is Santa Cruz after all and I’ve had horrible experiences with meat here. Next time I will definitely be getting the bibimbap with pork. They also had a great beer/​wine selection that wasn’t too overpriced. I am taking off one star because even though the waiter was generally on top of it, he forgot to get my boyfriend his coffee he ordered and took awhile to fill up our water glasses. I think they’re not used to being super busy so they were a bit overwhelmed the night I was there.

DISCLAIMER: If you grew up in the Bay Area and grew up with Bay Area-​style Korean food, I would HIGHLY recommend you drop any notions of what Korean food should taste like before you walk in the door.
You ready? Okay.
Just another disclaimer, I’m from the Bay Area and I eat Bay Area-​style Korean food all the time. But I walked into this place without any expectations and walked away VERY happy and VERY VERY full.
My husband and I came here on a whim on a Thursday night, and when we got there it wasn’t SUPER packed. A few tables were filled, a few were empty still, but it wasn’t slammed or anything. We were seated promptly and our server, Tony, gave us plenty of time to decide what we wanted to eat.
Between getting seated and having our orders taken, it was probably like a 10 minute wait. MAYBE 15 if you’re being super picky, but it is nowhere as long as what some other reviewers have said about the wait time.
Between ordering and getting our food was probably another 10 – 15 minutes, which in my book isn’t bad either.
We ordered:
JapChae (with pork): My husband LOVED this. Lots of veggies of different variety, lots of pork, and lots of noodles. He had plenty to eat (and I had a few bites as well) and he STILL has enough for lunch at work the next day.
Grilled Plate (with beef bugolgi): Fresh, tender beef with plenty of onions on the bottom. Hot yummy rice and delicious salad. What else can I ask for?
Service was great and Tony (as well as one of his co-​workers; the African American guy) were fantastic and took care of us without us having to ask twice. Tea cups were filled to the brim all the time, and emptied plates were taken away quickly.
Décor inside was cool too, lots of wood and very smooth looking (and not the cheap kind of wood either, it looks super fancy). Lots of space between the seats so if you need to bring in a wheelchair or a stroller or something it’s totally friendly for that.
It only got deducted 1 star because the sides they give us could’ve been a little bit more, but hey the sides were yummy so I’m not going to complain too much :)
All in all, we would DEFINITELY go back again, especially to try some of their appetizers.

I was blown away with the food here! The sizzling bowls of goodness are really good! I have not had better glass noodles! You will not leave hungry or disappointed.

The food was good and the service was excellent! The portions were pretty large and we brought home leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The price was a little high for my tastes, though.
I’ve seen quite a few reviews commenting on the time between ordering and the food coming out. We did not experience this — our food came out pretty quickly after we ordered. That also seemed to be the case for other tables near us.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this place. Santa Cruz is not known for its good Asian food but this place delivers. The menu is very simple which is probably a good thing, making Korean cuisine more accessible to a city devoid of much Asian variety. I had a dolsot bibimbap and pork belly appetiser. The bottom of the bibimbap was a nice golden brown crispy and the ratio of veg to rice was balanced. Portions were very large. Side dishes were ok. There were only 4 including some meh kimchi. Prices were a bit steep in my opinion but I suppose could be justified by portion size and that it’s dinner time. It took a bit of time between ordering and the food arriving but it wasn’t too bad. Overall good experience.

This was simply excellent food and service. My wife had the bibimbap and said she was in food heaven. I had the Japchae and really liked mine as well. The kimchi was intense! We will definitely be back here again to get our korean fix.

Being half Korean I love Korean food and have been dying for a Korean spot in town. My favorite dishes would have to be the Jopchae which is full of delicious vegies and a choice to add meat. I also love the spicy tofu soup! AMAZING! Always recommend my friends to check it out! Great selection of beers as well.

This is one of the finest Korean restaurants north of LA. Being a Korean foodie with a mother who was truly an amazing cook, God bless her soul. I was very impressed. The owner runs a meticulous quality control with food and service. Her bowls come out as a work of art and the food is as good as presentation. The servers are very friendly, engaging and adds to a fun atmosphere. The Bibimbap is out of this world. This is a place I would take my mom.

Food was excellent, for the most part, but service was so lackadaisical that it’s bringing down my rating. I like what they’ve done here, transitioning from a large, open Greek diner to a more warm, intimate space. I highly recommend the bibimbap with tofu as well as the spicy tofu soup (with mushrooms, in our case). The banchan (side dishes) were fine, though we found a couple of them lacking in flavor. I thought the room temperature was fine during our early evening meal, though I noticed a giant fan on one end of the restaurant. The food aromas are intoxicating. Prices are reasonable and portions pretty generous. I’d come back for the main dishes, and hopefully the service issues (entrees coming out five or ten minutes apart; server ignoring us for much of the meal) will be ironed out.

bulgogi bibimbap was delicious in the stone bowl!!! ask for luigi if you want excellent service and compelling small talk that will surprise and delight your every expectation.
wait was a bit longer than i expected though… not fun

Great Korean «HotPot» dinners with your choice of meat or tofu. Your dinner stays hot the whole way through! Great flavors and not too spicy.

Very disappointing experience. The boyfriend and I went to visit & his family decided to bring us here for dinner. 1. His mom tried calling the restaurant to make reservations & they not pick up, she was led to an answering machine of some sort. Upon arriving to the restaurant, we were told they don’t make same day reservations but you also don’t answer your phone, so…? Also, upon checking in on Unilocal,I realize they were a «hot & new» restaurant… Okay, sure I’ll let that slide. Technicalities aren’t put into place yet, sure no problem.
We were seated about 30 – 40 minutes later, 1 star for the location being in downtown Santa Cruz. The wait doesn’t seem as long when you can entertain yourself downtown on a busy Saturday evening.
Now for the fun part, the food. Such a disappointing experience for me as I’ve never had authentic korean food & this would’ve been my first. I was extremely excited to try the original bibimbap, boy was it not good. The rest of the food came out along with their tiny side dishes I believe was called banchan. We were served 4 different sides. Fish cakes, some pickled radish/​daikon, a smokey shredded root dish and some kimchi that was not good. I really don’t mean to be ungrateful, but it was just not good. I’ve had better store bought kimchi. –_​–
The bibimbap dish was cold. I completely understand the veges are cold but I mean the rice was cold and the bulgolgi beef was cold and no FLAVOR whatsoever. The bfs mom even stated that she has had more flavorful bulgolgi elsewhere. I literally had to douse the bibimbap with the sauce that the waitress brought over. The dish would’ve been quite inedible without it.
I mean I didn’t want to be that ungrateful prick who complains about a nice dinner out with the boyfriends family so I’ll save the rant for Unilocaling. It was just all around terrible. Maybe we just didn’t order the right things off the menu, but how can you seriously mess up bibimbap??? I mean isn’t that the most basic korean dish?
So disappointing.

Went late on a Friday night. Overall fiancé & I won’t be coming back but it’s not horrible. Clean, modern rustic décor.
Service was not great from the start. Tip: when a client walks in train your staff to greet, & say «will be right with you.» «Has anyone helped you.» So many people at the front & no one acknowledged us for a good 5minutes while we looked lost trying to lock eyes with someone to get them to acknowledge us. This set the tone for the rest of our visit & the service that will be given. We ordered our drinks/​food same time because we were scared we would have to wait again to lock eyes with someone to get our orders. Got waited by different ppl, couldn’t give recommendations, later they weren’t sure what we ordered, etc.
Food: flavors were not bad, but weren’t great. Nothing I would crave enough from here to come back. We got two apps, & two entrees, with no real winners.

We came here (2 couples and 2 one-​year olds), when our friend mentioned seeing this place open some time ago. We love Korean food and have yet to find a place in Santa Cruz, so why not!
After reading all the reviews) good and bad), we came here with an open mind and empty stomach (as quoted from the Iron Chef shows) on a Sunday evening at 6pm with a reservation.
Food was great! This is coming from 4 Canadians having lived in Santa Cruz for at minimum a couple of years, but have sampled different foods all over the world, including Korea!
Suggestion, definitely need to go in with the mentality of «Eastern style of dining»…family style! Share and try as many different things as your stomach and wallet will permit and you should enjoy your dinner!
Of all the items we shared amongst 4 adults and 2 toddlers, we were not particularly fond of the pork belly bites or the seafood pajeon… the flavour of the pork belly bites were hit and miss, some pieces were flavourful and some were bland… the seafood «pancakes» were not light nor was it particularly tasty… we would may probably won’t order those again next time.
I don’t think the «opening night» reviews were accurate as some of the patrons didn’t seem to allow any room for errors, which is unfortunate. Food was good, service was good, price was slightly higher than other Korean restaurants we have been to, however, this place is a treat in Santa Cruz, so price is a factor, then perhaps you may want to have Korean cuisine over the hill. As for the «heat», there was an industrial fan placed by an open side door, which allowed air and breeze thru the establishment.
Warning, although this is NOT a Korean bbq joint (like those where you grill your own food), because of the open kitchen, you may come out smelling like you’ve been to a Korean bbq restaurant… which means, your dog may want to «attack» you… lol
If you enjoy food and are adventurous when it comes to dining, a must visit!

I don’t know if the one-​star reviews are from people who know nothing about Korean food, or if the restaurant has just really pulled it together in the last week, because I just had a fabulous experience at Sesame.
We tried the seafood pancake, kalbi beef, and bulgogi, and it was all solid, especially the kalbi (flavorful, tender, good-​sized portion, etc.) What really elevated the meal, though, was the banchan. The kimchi, pickled daikon, bean sprouts (loved the sesame oil on this, btw) were all flavorful and fresh, and the eggplant was a highlight of the meal – very crave-​worthy. I’m looking forward to trying the kimchi jjigae and mandu next time. And maybe the kalbi again. And the pancake … I’m going to get fat …
Anyway, finally some good Korean food in Santa Cruz. I can’t wait to try everything else on the menu!

Man it is hot as eff in here. We sat down around 5:30 and I looked at the thermostat mounted on the wall and it said current temperature 85 degrees. It was hotter inside than outside. It’s a casualty of an open kitchen restaurant I guess…
The food was good. Plate of Chop Chae $ 10 (expensive you say! This is Korean food, get real it’s always expensive) but a huge plate, with fresh veggies mixed in, easily shared by two people or eaten as an entrée.
I had Soon Dubu aka hot tofu soup. It was the normal price (around $ 10) and normal portion for a Korean restaurant in SJ or SF. A good amount of beef, mushrooms, onions and tofu, boiling hot and served with rice and an egg to add while the soup is hot. It tasted decent, but the spice level is obviously catered to American/​Caucasian tastes. If you want it more authentic you have to ask for extra spicy! (I can’t believe they said some customers ask for no spice at all… Why in the heck are you eating Soon Dubu if you don’t want it spicy???).
My fiancé had the Bibimbap, and he thought it was good. He’s a harsh critic when it comes to food so that’s kind of impressive in my opinion. He just wishes there was more meat (but he always likes a lot of meat, with extra meat, and more meat on the side lol).
The sides were excellent (you know, those free ones you get at, duh, Korean restaurants). Usually Korean restaurant sides are so so, just an assortment of random pickles veggies you get from a Korean supermarket, but these seemed super fresh, and dare I say possibly made in the restaurant? Idk they were better than what most Tofu houses in the city serve anyway.
Also deal alert! If you like unsweetened ice tea they give you three glasses worth in a single carafe for $ 3. Score. And hot tea is free, which is awesome because for some reason Asian restaurants in Santa Cruz charge for hot tea (whyyyyyy? Give me my free tea you jerks). Also ice water.
It’s sad that they don’t have lunch hours yet, but the wait staff was super friendly, and accommodating. It would be great if the menu was a bit bigger, but it makes sense to keep it simple when I’m sure their biggest suppliers are over the hill as there is unfortunately no major asian market in Santa Cruz. I would love to see some Zazang noodles (aka black been sauce covered noodles with minced onions and beef) on the menu because it would be relatively easy for them to make, as they have some of the ingredients already.
Anyway I’m glad there is a Korean restaurant in town. I would eat here again.

Sesame is a great addition to all the downtown eats!
Authentic Korean food and great prices too! Super tasty! I LOVED the seafood pancakes and the soft tofu soup! I got the soup with mushrooms and the layers of flavors are soooooo goood!!!
Can’t wait to go back again and again!!!

One star is more than what is deserved for this restaurant.
As an avid fan of trying out new restaurants, this one in particular has taken the cake in horrible service and management during a grand opening, let me repeat… GRAND OPENING.
Ok.
So let me tell you all how our experience went before I get flustered all over again and ramble on abt how irritating this restaurant is.
Arrived at the restaurant and was seated. No waiter for abt 15 mins. My dear Mother, bless her soul, had to ask for someone to bring us menus (when they seated their guests, they gave them menus, we got skipped for WHATEVER reason).
Once the waiter came to take our drink order we decided to order our drinks and meals at once not wanting to wait again for the waiter to grace us with her presence in her own time. So, as we were ordering the waiter seemed rushed and in a hurry. As I do not eat Korean food often nor am I familiar with what is what I had questions… And as a paying customer, I asked my questions regardless of the hurry my waiter was in.
Drinks came abt 10 mins after ordering.
Food started to come out about 20 mins after ordering, However food came out at different times. My nephew got his food. Ten mins later, Mom got hers, ten mins later still waiting for those little banchan things (which it is my understanding that those come to the table BEFORE you entrée) and finally lastly my sister and I recieved our food (nephew is done with his food by this time).
From observing the rest of the restaurant, it was a hit and miss on if patrons were happy or not. The table behind me was clearly happy however a bit intoxicated lol the table to the side of me was a couple clearly bored hating life in the restaurant.
Staff wore their concerns and stress on their face.
And then!!! The manager comes to our table offering to refill the banchan thing and asks if everything was going well. Mom expressed her concerns but acknowledged the fact that it was a new restaurant. Manager justifies saying so and so called in sick, that she is the MANAGER and SHOULDN’T be on the floor serving, but she was and that she has a 3 year old child at home and things are crazy for her right now.
I do NOT appreciate a manager who thinks it necessary to try and justify why things are running horribly nor do I respect a manager who feels she is above staff and is NOT supposed to be serving. Managers are too lead by example/​delegate/​and compensate where needed. If you are the owner/​manager… And you think your above all else… Good luck to you and your establishment.
And being that you want to bring your home life into the situation let me just finish by saying… NEVER is it ok to blame lack of attention to YOUR estblishment on your child. NEVER is it ok to blame a bad work flow on your staff.
What you pop out at home is your business. Who you hire is your choosing.
Yes your a new restaurant BUT if you’re NOT ready for business… Best to wait till you are.
So overall:
Prices too high for portion size
Food was alright
Staff needs help
Manager needs help, at work and home
Not worth a penny.
Worth driving to San Jose for better prices, service, food and portions.