Sesame Dinette
Cafe · Long Beach
1750 Pacific Ave Unit B, Long Beach, CA 90813
Highlights
Modern Vietnamese cafe serving pho, banh mi & unique fusion dishes
Modern Vietnamese cafe serving pho, banh mi & unique fusion dishes
"LongBeachize’s Brian Addison reports that the Long Beach Vietnamese restaurant is up for sale; mother-and-daughter owners Judy Mai Nguyen and Linda Sivrican are seeking a buyer so 76-year-old Nguyen can retire." - Mona Holmes
"Sesame Dinette, a tiny cafe just off PCH with a big menu of Vietnamese dishes, is where we head for pho in Long Beach. The white-walled space looks like a chic coffee shop that doubles as an art gallery, and there are several wooden picnic tables inside where you can eat bowls of chicken, beef, or oxtail pho with a gingerade tonic or housemade shrub. There's even a vegetarian "duck" noodle soup if you're keeping it meatless. And though it might not technically be pho without rice noodles, the best pho-adjacent item here might be the pho brisket dip, a beef sandwich on barbari flatbread that comes with a sidecar of concentrated broth on the side for dunking." - nikko duren, brant cox, garrett snyder, sylvio martins
"When you bite into the sesame bánh mì at Sesame Dinette, the crispy, roti-like flatbread it’s served on begins to shed crumbs like a tabby cat in springtime. This one is unconventional as far as bánh mì go: it's stuffed with either pork or chicken cold cuts and some fresh cilantro and daikon, balanced with bright yellow dijon mustard and some added crunch from chopped cucumber and bell peppers. We especially love how refreshing the toppings are, combined with that perfectly toasted and unique bun. Grab one from this cozy Long Beach cafe on your next lunch break, and be sure to browse their mini-mart for Asian home goods and pantry staples." - nikko duren, arden shore, sylvio martins, brant cox
"Without very much fanfare, Sesame Dinette serves some of Long Beach’s most polished Vietnamese food with some fusion touches in a lonely strip mall. While the beef pho would impress any noodle fan, the pho French dip banh mi served on Persian bread is a dish worth remembering." - Eater Staff
"Run by mother-and-daughter duo Judy Mai Nguyen and Linda Sivrican, who also partnered on the since-closed superette Sesame LA in Chinatown, Sesame Dinette offers big bowls of long-simmering soups like pho, wonton noodle soup, and a vegetarian “duck” noodle soup with braised tofu skin; crisp, herb-packed salads; and picnic-perfect sandwiches like dặc biệt banh mi and its pho French dip, the latter of which is served with a side of heavily fragrant pho broth. The minimalist-chic blondwood interior make dining in a welcome respite." - Mona Holmes, Brian Addison
