Billusa99 Anonymous

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 3/5  Service: 3/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 4/5

We finally got to the new place last Saturday and have to pretty much agree with most of the comments here re: service and staffing. It's a bit hit and miss with the young staff. The charge-out process is still a wait due to the crowd at the front. But, being able to park in 12 seconds and walk 40 feet to the front door makes up for it, in spades!

That being said, it's light years ahead of the old place in ambience and space. Food is still first rate. The Golden Chicken and the mezza plate, which we always split, are still spot on. Great hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, dolmas and crisped chicken to die for.

And now that the Hollywood/Santa Monica and Lakewood crowd are right next door, the people watching is a complete hoot!

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

WhitneyTM Anonymous

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 3/5  Value: 4/5  Overall: 4/5

I ate at the new Ali Baba last night. Food was the same great stuff I've been enjoying for years. I like the new space and especially liked not having to navigate the ridiculous parking at the old one. That said, there are some improvements that need to be made so that the place runs more smoothly. For some reason, they decided to put what appears to be the only two waiter computer stations AT the hostess desk. So there is a constant mob at the front door of patrons entering and staff people trying to enter/close out checks. In addition, there is no separate spot for the to-go people to stand or handle their business, so they're in and out of Grand Central by the front door as well. This made for a chaotic experience trying to get in and out of the place, and it didn't help that a man who was obviously not a host/ess was responsible for writing down all the names plus directing all this traffic.

That said, once we got a table it was great. They were busy so we waited a bit long for appetizers, but our (yes, high-school) server was sweet and tried hard so we forgot about it. Amidst the craziness the food was what we ordered and tasted great, so that's the most important thing.

Maybe not everyone cares about the design of the flow of people through a space like this as much as I do. Nevertheless, some things need to be fixed to better this experience and here they are: - move the waiter computer stations to the back - move the to-go operation to the bar - get some actual designated clipboard-wielding host/ess folk smiling and greeting and assisting (the old Ali Baba didn't have this either, but they didn't need it; this place needs it desperately).

Maybe I'm just remembering the cozy and relatively effortless experience (save the parking) at the old spot too fondly. But here's hoping you can take Ali Baba out of lower Greenville without taking lower Greenville out of Ali Baba.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )