Ali Baba's Cave

by Patel E.

great service,  great ambiance,  hot belly dancers.   zero complaints,  the lamb was great and the rice was excellent!!!

by mohammad a.

Easy parking in the front. Went there with a date. It was a Tue night, dead empty, one other person there. I'm a guy and I don't mind an attractive waitress, but this girl's low cleavage was making her boobs almost fall out, I think she had buffed them cause they were too shiny. I swear I wasn't trying to stare, it's like a glare off a hood of a car, just can't avoid looking. She was very nice, I'll give her that but if it wasn't the low cleavage it was the daisy dukes or whatever the heck she had on. Anywho, no problem, the waitress aside I was looking at the menu. I'm Persian and never been to a "Persian Restaurant" that serves baba ganoush. It's like going to a Chines Restaurant and having Sushi, kinda confusing. I got the $13 boneless chicken, she got the $18 Soltani and we got the Baba Ganoush (I guess the equivalent of Keshke Bademjoon) and the maste-moseer (yogurt and challots). The baba ganoush had stale olive oil on it and was very average in flavor (Go have the baba ganoush at Sunin Cafe in West LA near UCLA....what a difference). The maste-moseer. . . where to start. I think I found one piece of shallot that made it into the dish (go have the  Maste-Moseer at Shamshiri Grill in the Valley in LA, what a difference, you'll be chewing challots all night). The yogurt tasted old. So the skimpy challots and the skimpy dress of the waitress weren't leaving much to be desired so far. Here comes the main course. The boneless chicken was slightly dry but very falvorful. The Koobideh was amazing, one of the better ones. The Barg wasn't even barg but damn, tasted good. It was little steak chunks but very well done. Now, the grand part of any persian food is their awesome rice and this rice tasted soooooo bad. The price came out to $60 with 2 glasses of $5 wine.The place is really interesting and like I said, plenty parking. There is a lot of hooka spots on the outside. There is a little waterfall with all sorts of electrical wires which I am sure is against some sort of regulation out there. The bathrooms were very clean and they had a small wine selection. My house Merlot was served in a sticky wine glass and her chardonnay was served nice and cold, that was good. They didn't have pinot grigio, don't know why, wish they did.It's kinda romantic if your girl don't mind some boob monster coming to your table constantly. What's the deal with that? Is that their outfit for work there or was she having hot flashes? I'd classify this as a nice sleezy place you can take a date to or hang out with friends probably on the weekend. You should try Habibi Cafe in Westwood Village in LA, always packed and much more fun.

by Francis P.

I went to this place and the food was great. The service was helpful. The servers knew their product and helped us make decisions based on it. The happy hour is short though (4 - 6 pm), but is a great deal. 2 for 1 drinks and $9/hookah's. It is super got super crowded during a Friday that I went so be prepared for that. Also the parking situation sucks. Not to mention the traffic can be bad for a short time, but that is due to the close proximity to the freeway entrance. I suggest get to this place have a drink and smoke and wait for the traffic to die down on the freeway before going home. They have Belly dancers that are incredible on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. They put on a good show and try to get the guys into it. Very fun.

by Christopher S.

This is a hidden gem.  Polish Beer, Hookah, and Persian food.  Great combo.  As a Persian and a lover of Polish beer I found my new once a month hangout. I have yet to try the Persian food, but the menu was great.  The owner seemed nice as well.  I got the Chicago Style Hookah, a Polish beer, and a Persian app.. It was great.  I am going to check it out this week one more time and get some Chicken Kebob...

by Andre M.

Ali Baba's cave is under the 5 freeway, in Sorrento Valley.  It's a sports/hookah bar and has the surroundings done up looks like you are in Arabia somewhere. Daylight on one side and nighttime on the other!  They have a good selection of beers, wines, and food.   if you drink too much, just try to remember that Ali Baba over by the wall is only a painting.

by Peter f.

the only thing I could possibly recommend here is the hookah and maybe the hummus with pita. The food here entirely sucks for the money you pay. I'm not sure if it's chef or what, but the food is terrible. They claim they serve Persian food, but most of the items aren't available. IE: the stew entreesThe service is decent and the owner is a nice guy, but they must be new in the restuarant business. They always give you dirty glasses and utensils which is gross.If I recall correctly, I had the chicken kabob sandwhich; since I wasn't really hungry. I don't recommend having it with the lavash bread. it basically falls apart and become a cucumber/chicken salad with soggy bread.

by tim c.

The falafel was mediocre at best. The falafel at http://www.yelp.com/bi... was orders of magnitude better. Now that's pretty darn shameful that a food court stand can make better food than a restaurant.

by Sara S.

This place is a little strange. I feel like I've walked onto a cheap movie set because of the decor. I was here on a late Saturday afternoon to take advantage of the happy hour buy one get one draft beers - you can't go wrong with this, especially since they have some good ones on tap. I also tried their equivalent to an appetizer sampler. It was tasty but not enough to draw me in. My experience was OK but I know they do belly dancing and some other events here that would be really cool to check out for dinner. I'd like to come back and check it out.

by MIKE D.

very good selection of beersgreat location,  carmel valley / torrey pines / sorrento valleys nearest bar!!!

by REBECCA C.

When I first arrived, I was a bit sketchy.  The place is located in a tiny "strip mall" just across from the Sorrento Valley coaster station.  However, once inside I was quite relieved.  Unique cave setting nicely decorated with a many tables, a few lounge couches, and full bar.  They have a large menu with a lot of tasty choices.  I was there for Happy Hour.  Definately reccomend.  2-for-1 drinks and $9 hookahs.  They do have some great beers on tap (Green Flash West Coast IPA for $4.50= heavenly.) However their Baba's Beer (beer mixed with orange juice) was disappointing.  It was mostly pulpy OJ with a splash of beer.  Something you might drink on a hot afternoon after a long day of heavy labor.  An abundance of Sheesha to chose from.  We got the premium white peach, but after my hoppy beer it was hard to appreciate.  Smelt good.  Ordered a few appetizers.  The babaganoosh (poor spelling) was divine.  Sooo flavorful and served with warm pita slices.  The falafel was a bit disappointing.  Three pieces, great flavor but plain yoghurt dipping sauce, and super firm.  They also forgot the pita bread it was supposed to come with.  The biggest upset was how our waitress was super new.  She didn't know the specials, and only refilled our charcoal once (way too early).  On the upside they did apply the 20% off coupon I got from the clipper magazine on top of the happy hour specials.  Overall, relaxing experience at an inexpensive price.