Sahara East Restaurant

In Short – Once the warm weather hits, a Middle Eastern dinner here can be truly transporting. In the garden--covered with a canopy of red, green and gold fabric--regulars order hookah pipes for the table, and choose between 40 tobacco flavors, including apple, watermelon, vanilla and jasmine. The menu includes baba ghanoush, eggplant moussaka, miniature donut-shaped falafel and hummus. Baklava is available for dessert.

Editor's Tips

The Extras:: Sahara East supplies the goods for Liquids' lounge party.
Know Before You Go:: Mamlouk also offers water pipes, in a more stylish setting.

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User Reviews (27)

ambiance	88.88999938964844% positive	“They add more though like bellydancing or something like that it would make it a lot more interesting but th location is very convenient and the hookahs are pretty decent” “the atmosphere is awesome!” “And there were some flies flying around in one corner, but the atmosphere is so fantastic in their backyard.” “Relaxing atmosphere and incredibly friendly servers, as well as great food.” “But all in all, great service, great hookah, great fun.” “first, a hookah bar should be chill, comfortable, relaxing.” “My roommate and I come to Sahara East not for the food or even the hooka--though the latter, which comes in around twenty amazing flavors, certainly helps--but for the lively atmosphere of wonderful waiters who dance with tambourines, customers who try ou” “it's a great place to go, it gets very busy on weekends, but it's a fun place and you get to meet all types of people.” “over-crowded, 17 year old and under kids yelling and smoking and it was just a terrible atmosphere.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“(They even let us bring our own cake for the event, which many restaurants may not allow you too) They food was good as I only sampled so I can't really comment.”
drinks	54.16999816894531% positive	“Drinks are a bit pricey at 5 dollars for anything from tea to soda.” “When we asked the waiter what sort of drinks they had, he rattled off some horrible domestic beers.” “The Egyptian, non-alcoholic beer is wonderful.” “When one of us did want something (water, more wine, whatever), we'd simply have to make eye contact with the waiter, who was more than happy to fulfil the request.” “went for a quick late night smoke, were forced to order overpriced drinks, deal with rude service, music so loud and tinny that it hurt, screaming underage kids.” “first, a hookah bar should be chill, comfortable, relaxing.”
food quality	45.83000183105469% positive	“Relaxing atmosphere and incredibly friendly servers, as well as great food.” “And that means chaotic service, lots of messy food, and when crowded, tables on top of each other.” “don't need the "authentic" chaos of cairo unless, of course, they were to charge accordingly.” “Zero rice and they served pita bread that was dry and I guess you were supposed to eat alone.” “The food was excellent: hummus that was so smooth and creamy it was like eating melted velvet; firm and flavorful falafel, fresh and vibrant tabouli salad.” “it might be "authentic" but this place is terrible.” “Zero service was provided and the food was inedible!” “My roommate and I come to Sahara East not for the food or even the hooka--though the latter, which comes in around twenty amazing flavors, certainly helps--but for the lively atmosphere of wonderful waiters who dance with tambourines, customers who try ou” “The food was fantastic!” “will not be returning to this place - restaurants in NYC should learn that if you serve disgusting food and give poor service - well there are inordinate amount of other places to patron!” “This is as authentic an Arabic experience as one can get in Manhattan, full stop.” “(They even let us bring our own cake for the event, which many restaurants may not allow you too) They food was good as I only sampled so I can't really comment.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“There are a variety of flavours to pick from on the menu and its an awesome place to chill out with friends.”
overall	100.0% positive	“This is a great place to relax with a small group of friends.” “it's a great place to go, it gets very busy on weekends, but it's a fun place and you get to meet all types of people.” “The patio is a great place to chill on a warm night.” “But if you're chill and really just want a relaxed good time, I really recommend this place.” “This was a great place to go as a kid.”
service	62.239999771118164% positive	“was so disappointed with the service that I did not even stick around for a hookah session, which was pretty disappointing, but I wasn't going to spend another dime there.” “Zero service was provided and the food was inedible!” “When we asked the waiter what sort of drinks they had, he rattled off some horrible domestic beers.” “The staff was truly attentive.” “I've met so many interesting people on line while waiting for the restroom.” “All the new waiters they have are definitely the most enjoyable and attentive staff.” “The hookahs are not the best as we our shisha was pretty harsh before a waiter came around and cleared it.” “hate to be that person who rates the place very poorly and so on however all we wanted was a chill late night Hookah, and rather we received rude service.” “service was terrible.” “IDK if these people who rated 5 Stars got fed cr@ck in their pipes but the Hookahs are not that good, in comparison to other places.” “But all in all, great service, great hookah, great fun.” “went for a quick late night smoke, were forced to order overpriced drinks, deal with rude service, music so loud and tinny that it hurt, screaming underage kids.” “Maybe because I went on a Tuesday evening, but I thought the service was great.” “Contrary to what another review said, I thought the service was excellent and attentive.” “will not be returning to this place - restaurants in NYC should learn that if you serve disgusting food and give poor service - well there are inordinate amount of other places to patron!” “Relaxing atmosphere and incredibly friendly servers, as well as great food.” “And that means chaotic service, lots of messy food, and when crowded, tables on top of each other.” “Go for the ability to smoke a nice hookah with your friends for as long as you darn well please, while being waited on by friendly and amiable staff.” “When one of us did want something (water, more wine, whatever), we'd simply have to make eye contact with the waiter, who was more than happy to fulfil the request.” “can't stress enough how friendly the staff was, one of the waiters actually came out and sat with us and smoked with us for a bit.” “young man named Mike was very helpful, chatting with us, promptly offering service, and most importantly SPEAKING ENGLISH.” “Sure there are trendy places where art students dressed in black can smoke shishas to look cool, but Sahara East isn't for them, it's for people who want a touch of Cairo in the East Village.” “it's a great place to go, it gets very busy on weekends, but it's a fun place and you get to meet all types of people.” “Its just ridiculous, I have been to other places were we had 3 hookahs with better service and setting and it cost maybe 50 dollars.” “And the service was friendly.” “The waiters aren't very good, they don't speak English well and they didn't really get what we were asking them.” “My roommate and I come to Sahara East not for the food or even the hooka--though the latter, which comes in around twenty amazing flavors, certainly helps--but for the lively atmosphere of wonderful waiters who dance with tambourines, customers who try ou” “The service is great; I've never had a problem!” “I'd definately sacrifice ornate walls, pretentious wanna-bes, and pillowed couches for this friendly and welcoming environment.” “all the waiters are very friendly and will be glad to do anything to make.” “the service is pretty bad too.” “The service was EXCELLENT!”
value	37.5% positive	“Its just ridiculous, I have been to other places were we had 3 hookahs with better service and setting and it cost maybe 50 dollars.” “the beverages however were expensive, at least $5 for a bottle of water.” “Drinks are a bit pricey at 5 dollars for anything from tea to soda.” “went for a quick late night smoke, were forced to order overpriced drinks, deal with rude service, music so loud and tinny that it hurt, screaming underage kids.” “This place is good go there and try the tootie fruity hookah it will b worth it i could sit there for hours” “the hookahs are great, but i don't know if it's worth it anymore.”
wait time	62.5% positive	“Go for the ability to smoke a nice hookah with your friends for as long as you darn well please, while being waited on by friendly and amiable staff.” “went for a quick late night smoke, were forced to order overpriced drinks, deal with rude service, music so loud and tinny that it hurt, screaming underage kids.”

02/21/12

Vomit.

by candiemandie

Sahara East is dirty and has horrendous service. When we sat down, one of our friends immediately said it smelled terrible. The rest of us didn't smell anything, so we went ahead and ordered our hookah and a pitcher of sangria. I soon noticed that there was vomit in the bathroom sink, and told our waiter. After half an hour, my sister noticed that they still hadn't cleaned it up. A little later, the girl who had initially smelled something decided to leave early, and I moved to her seat. I noticed that there was something slimy under my feet and began to smell more vomit. Sure enough, there was a puddle of puke under our table. We were really grossed out, but didn't make a scene because it was very busy. They quickly moved us to another table. Later, the waiter suggested that we had done it! I wasn't sure if he was serious or joking, but I assured him that this was not the case.

When we got the bill, nothing had been comped. We told them that we had expected some kind of compensation, but they said nothing could be done because we had already smoked the hookah and drank the sangria. Both the hookah and the sangria were almost finished by the time we noticed the puke and moved tables! I tried to explain this to the manager, but he talked over me the whole time and I don't think he even heard me. They claimed that once something had been rung into their system, they couldn't remove it. That's ridiculous considering that if a waiter makes a mistake, surely he has the ability to remove it.

I've waited tables before, and I realize that bad things can happen that are out of your control. What I don't understand is why a busy restaurant would have a problem accommodating well-behaved customers who have had a terrible experience.

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03/28/10

Good hookah but pushy service

by Athena Chang , Citysearch Contributor

I used to really like this place but now I am a little disappointed after last night.

We came on a Saturday night around 10PM. Some guy greeted us at the door and said he would sit us down ASAP. So he found a table for two but we had 4 people. It turned out the backyard garden is under construction so they only open the front area, which is really tiny.

After we sat down, they told us we had to order 2 hookahs or 1 premium fruit hookahs even though one of us was not going to smoke. They said coz we technically had 2 tables while we occupied 1.

Then during the time we were there, they made us moved to another side twice so they could accommodate more people without really giving our opinion any consideration.

Finally, they charged us 18% service fee automatically. The hookah turned out great and the sahlab, Egyptian custard drink was special but I was really disappointed with their service last night.

While there are so many Hookah cafes in East Village, they really should consider providing better services.

Pros: Good hookah
Cons: Service is blah

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10/04/09

Great place to relax with friends

by KReye

Me and my friends went to the city for a day and searched for some Hookah bars to go to. We ended up at Sahara East, and good thing too. Relaxing atmosphere and incredibly friendly servers, as well as great food. I would suggest getting the lamb off the dinner menu, it was incredibly tasty. We ordered 2 Hookahs, one with pineapple flavoring and one with mint, they were both incredible. Our server filled the base of the pineapple hookah with sangria wine and lemons which made it taste that much better. We stayed for about 2 hours since the hookahs really lasted us, and they replaced the tobacco free of charge. I can't stress enough how friendly the staff was, one of the waiters actually came out and sat with us and smoked with us for a bit. The bill was about 125 dollars for 5 of us, and that's with food, drinks, and appetizers. Definitely worth the money, and I can't wait to visit the city and Sahara East again!

Pros: Great Hookahs, food, and atmosphere

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05/30/09

Best Shisha Bar in Manhattan

by FranReguso

I have been coming here for a few years and the place has only gotten better. My initial visits were nothing out of the ordinary but in the last couple of months the place has really changed. I came here as a group of five and we had to get two hookahs and a one drink minimum per person, a bouncer at the door made sure we did not get any alcohol but thats alright. Drinks are a bit pricey at 5 dollars for anything from tea to soda. The hookahs are exceptional though and the music is great, late at night you get to choose some of your own songs. The best part of the night were the new waiters.

They now speak english and are very memorable and attentive. A young man named Mike was very helpful, chatting with us, promptly offering service, and most importantly SPEAKING ENGLISH. He talked us through all the hookah flavors and recommended his favorite, (lemon mint), afterwards he played us a couple of requested songs.

All the new waiters they have are definitely the most enjoyable and attentive staff. The surprise came when we could not pay with credit card, a fact I found out only tonight, all other times paying with cash which made a very unpleasant run to the ATM machine a necessity (a block away). But all in all, great service, great hookah, great fun. I recommend this place to everyone and anyone.

Pros: Great service, delicious hookah, Waiters Speak english!
Cons: expensive drinks, no creditcards accepted.

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04/24/09

The Worst Place!! Awful Food and Service

by Sejal

I went there last night and I've never had such an experience where I have felt the urge to write a review. I had a friend with me who loves their Lamb Shawarma so that's what we ordered. The menu's description is "thinly-sliced lamb" while the lamb dish was filled with hunks of lamb that was undercooked. Further it was served with fries that just the same type of fries, you can get from the frozen food section of the grocery store. Zero rice and they served pita bread that was dry and I guess you were supposed to eat alone. We talked to the server and he didn't understand english and didn't offer anything. I talked the manager that my friend said that he had this dish plenty of times before and it just wasn't made the same and the manager just blew me off with a shrug.

Lastly, FYI this place had the audacity to charge $13.95 for the dish that I wouldn't even feed a dog, but then for 2 ppl they added a service charge (gratuity) into the bill. I'm an atty and gratuity is optional it's for the SERVICE. Zero service was provided and the food was inedible!

I will not be returning to this place - restaurants in NYC should learn that if you serve disgusting food and give poor service - well there are inordinate amount of other places to patron! Go at your own risk!

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Sahara East Restaurant

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What People Are Saying About Sahara East Restaurant

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Editor's Tips

02/21/12

Vomit.

by candiemandie

03/28/10

Good hookah but pushy service

by Athena Chang , Citysearch Contributor

10/04/09

Great place to relax with friends

by KReye

05/30/09

Best Shisha Bar in Manhattan

by FranReguso

04/24/09

The Worst Place!! Awful Food and Service

by Sejal

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