Sesame Inn Carefree

Staff was unaware of the difference between lo mein and chow mein… staff was very rude when I said the food was very salty. When I called the owner all she said was we are busy and that’s how we do it and if I didn’t like I shouldn’t come back… I won’t be back.

Great meal. Wonderful «off the menu» Egg Drop Soup. Quite a wide variety on the menu. Everyone in our party was very pleased. Good service. A nice neighborhood feel.

My husband and I stopped for take-​out. The first thing I notice is all the debris on the entry carpet. The menu is set up so each dish (like orange chicken or sweet and sour pork) is served as a «meal» which specifically means they come with just rice. $ 40.00 later we walked out with 3 choices and enough rice to feed the all my neighbors, oh yes and 3 fortune cookies. And unfortunately the food did not not taste good. It wasn’t fresh (the Veges were transparent and limp) and the food was flavorless. Also, I felt like I was painfully dragging answers to my menu questions out of the employee.

I do not take writing poor reviews lightly, but this was an absolute disaster. Ordered takeout. Sesame Chicken and Thai Chicken Curry. You would think with a place called SESAME Inn the Sesame Chicken would be delicious. It was inedible. It was a DRY (NO SAUCE– and I mean NONE) breast of chicken sliced into strips with about 10 sesame seeds on it. We live about 35 mins round trip… I call the restaurant and try to explain. Put on hold for OVER 6 minutes finally hang up call back. No apologies. NOTHING. Have to drive ALL the way back to get something else. Again. No apology or any type of compensation. Any goodwill gesture would have been appreciate as I have eaten Sesame Chicken at dozens of restaurants and never has it looked like Dry Sawdust chicken fingers. This was a complete fail. We will not be back.

The food we tried was VERY GOOD and VERY ABOVE AVERAGE and I am sure to return. This restaurant has five star potential.
I liked that they serve you complimentary hot tea with your meal.
The menu is somewhat assorted Asian and offers many Chinese Favorites, some not so common Chinese, some Thai and a few other Asian dishes. The pricing does run on the high side and portions that we had were small but the food we tried was VERY GOOD and was close to authentic style and this is a rare find!
I had the Spicy Chicken and Cucumber Salad. The moist tender white meat chicken was poached to perfection and the cucumbers were carefully deseeded and trimmed. They were in a tasty not too spicy gingery, garlicky sauce. This was a delicious refreshing light meal. It reminded me of a Chinese/​Hawaiian dish I tried called Cold Ginger Chicken that this dish was very similar to.
My husband had the Szechuan Spicy Beef. The beef was very tender and had been twice cooked. This dish had some heat but wasn’t as spicy as Szechuan. The sauce was close to authentic style and lacked sweetness and the thick texture that your used too in Americanized Chinese Food. This dish was very good.
I was expecting just ok but was pleasantly surprised to find a very good restaurant that serves up very good Asian Food.
This place might be a gem!

The best thing about this place is a cozy atmosphere and friendly staff. The worst thing is the food. I tried this restaurant for a takeout dinner for my family, so I ordered several of the dishes and I sat in the restaurant while they were being prepared. We usually get takeout at Jade Palace, and I was hoping to find Chinese food at a more reasonable price and preferably less greasy. This place is just as expensive if not more so. The food I brought home was terrible. All of it was bland, beige, and soupy, some vegetables probably came out of a can, and all of the vegetables were over cooked to mushiness. The whole family was very disappointed.

We were staying at the Boulders and in the mood for Chinese food. I checked it out on Unilocal and the Sesame Inn came up. We actually walked over from the Boulders and were seated right away. We started with potstickers and then I moved on to an egg roll and chicken with string beans — it was absolutely delicious. I am actually craving this dish as I write this review. Next time we stay at the Boulders, we’ll definitely be back!

The appetizers were good. Dinner was not even close to good. far from good. Shockingly bad may be another way to put it. The shock was the heavy contrast between the appetizers and the actual food. I honestly don’t know how they managed it.

Awful food and even worse food. Over priced garbage. The server was rude. Don’t waist your time going there

This place is AWFUL. I’m sorry, there’s just no nice way of saying it.
I picked up my food and while waiting for it, there was a man complaining about his meal and asking for his money back. This should have thwarted me but I ended up paying 30 dollars for this crappy food.
We order the sweet and sour chicken. The sauce has a strange flavor, unlike the traditional red sauce, this was orange and bland. Almost like jello. We also ordered the egg drop soup, which was very thick and had an odd taste to it, seemed old. And also ordered the crab puffs which were bland, room temp, and just tasteless.
Way too expensive, I paid 30 bucks for food we ended up just throwing away.
Do not recommend for those who love a good Chinese spot.

We live about 5 miles away and whenever I get the cravings for Ma Po Tofu, that’s where we go. Their fried rice is very flavorful and satisfying all on its own (the entrée, not part of lunch menu). I think their special dishes like cucumber soup, Ma Po Tofu are what sets them apart from other places. I’ve had their lunch specials and sure, I wasn’t impressed and I would give them less stars had they been the only thing I’ve tried. Please give their cucumber soup a try! When a friend ordered it for us it sounded a bit unusual but shrimp was so succulent and tender plus the soup offered delicious mixture of sour and savory taste that will have you craving for it. So there you have it… My 3 favorite items! I will be back to try the mayo shrimp next time!

Our favorite local Asian style food! We have huge battles over the leftover Chow Mai Gun/​Singapore noodles. Not cheap but a good value at lunch. No delivery :(

Just had a late dinner here. The food was delicious and the service was great and very polite! I had the teriyaki chicken and the flavors were right on point! Great place to go! I’ll definitely be back!

I visited here with my dad for lunch. Frankly, I thought it was terrible. However, the beer was nice and cold — so gotta love that. My dad seemed to kind-​of enjoy his meal, which makes me wonder if I ordered poorly. But the thing is… I can’t even remember what I ordered. I know the egg drop soup was just god awful. I tried pouring in about a gallon of soy sauce, but no dice. It was a meal that I hardly ate and 30 minutes that I will never get back. I don’t think I’ll go here again when I am down visiting my dad.
But, they get two stars because my dad said his meal was, «fine.» And, again, cold beer.

I told my daughter, let’s just grab some pedestrian uninspired generic Chinese food. And that’s exactly what you get. But it is like just getting a fast food burger, you set the bar fairly low. This restaurant will meet your reduced expectations food hot, quick, boring and was fine for me as far as to portion size, but I think most people would expect more quantity for the price
Nice service, quiet when we were there They did screw up my bill by adding a $ 25 tip accidentally. Quickly dealt with, but check your bill I live down the road so it’s not a big deal for me, but for gods sake don’t drive from anywhere south of 101. Cave Creek and Carefree have lots of great fun restaurants unique to the town atmosphere, this is not one of them. The Sesame inn could be in Lincoln, Nebraska or Fargo, ND. You have been to this restaurant before somewhere in America and, if you’re like me some days that’s all you need from Chinese food. Some days. Just not a lot of days.
That was me, my daughter hated her meal, and brought it home for the dogs
C’est la vie

This is really solid Americanized Chinese food. I live just about a mile away, so we get take-​out every now and then. I honestly believe the low reviews are because of the fairly high prices. I do wish they would lower their prices – we would get take-​out more frequently if they did because their food is good. Our last take-​out order, we got the moo-​shu pork, shrimp with vegetables, house fried rice, and one egg roll. Our total with tax was $ 40 (as for the reviewer who ordered for four and their total was $ 110 — they must have ordered a crazy ton of food. My family doesn’t eat like pigs). This fed my family of four for dinner, and I had enough leftover for my lunch the next day (a big lunch too. I was stuffed).
Quantities are not always very big. I love moo-​shu pork, but they give you very little for $ 10. If you eat it in the restaurant, they roll it into only two pancakes and serve it like that. If you empty those two pancakes, it amounts to very little, but it’s still very tasty. I also like to take my daughter here so we can sip tea while we wait for our meal. The ambiance is lovely.
Anyhow, if you need a Chinese fix, this is a good place, but be prepared to spend more than you would at your typical cheap Chinese place. The food is good, though, the décor charming, and the service friendly.

We found our special occasion Chinese food place in our new neighborhood! Friendly and informative staff and GREAT food. The Alcohol drinks were a bit marginal, but we found out it was the waitress that makes them, so next time we will just skip it or stick with something easy! Will definitely go back!

Quick and simple Chinese food. Lunch combos include egg drop soup or salad, fried rice, egg roll and fried wonton for about about 10 bucks. My favorites are the Kung Pao Chicken, General Chu’s Chicken, and I’ve heard great things about the Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. Get it with brown rice to save a few calories. I stay away from oriental dishes containing beef unless I know they’re using high quality steak. That goes for any restaurant.
I believe they’re family-​owned and operated. The staff is always very nice and will chat with us if we have enough time. We’re usually in a rush, so they expedite our lunches and we’re in and out the door in less than 30 minutes. The prices may be on the high side, but you don’t have many alternatives in the area aside from Pei Wei, and you’ll pay the same there.
Great for take-​out too!

This was our first visit. It certainly won’t be our last.
Charming atmosphere, not too noisy. Very friendly service… and quick.
The food was some of the best Chinese we’ve had a while. Their version of egg drop soup was outstanding. We combined House Fried Rice with Kung Pao chicken. Delicious!

This place was recommended by one of the guys at our retreat, so we decided to try it.
The food menu here is extensive and moderately priced ($ 10-​$ 20)
This Chinese restaurant attempts to cover several other cuisines like Thai food.
I ordered the Spicy Basil Tofu which was perfectly done. Not too spicy, but very flavorful and savory.
Ambiance is very Asian with lots of oriental lanterns. Lots of reds and the space is great for large groups. It was probably one of the best sit-​down Chinese restaurants I have been to.