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

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.

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!