Sahara Cafe

Really nice place. Good music. We were here for the hookah, staff is friendly, service was a little slow, but it was busy and they never forgot an order. The hookah flavors were diverse and seemed of good quality. Bartender not skimpy on the alcohol in the mix drinks.

Okay here’s what you do. Come here and grab some hookah. Then order yourself some karahi chicken which will come from Kabob Palace that’s in the area. Enjoy your hookah while you wait for the slow cooked marinated chicken cook in the karahi.
Your huge karahi will come out that’s perfect for sharing within 4 people… you will get 2 big naans, so order more if you need it. Perfect Friday night!
The service was fine for us, I mean it’s not a fancy spot where they come around and refill your water, there’s one man working so yeah when we needed water we walked up and told the guy. The hookah was perfect, and lasts so long… we couldn’t finish it!

Heard this place tries to rip you off, definitely true. Came in at night to smoke some hookah with some friends and get some food to eat. We had a good size group and we planned on getting 2 hookahs, among drinks and food. First off, the server told us that we all had to at least order a drink, even though we were ordering multiple hookahs, and I was ordering food too. They said that other people would want the table, but there was ONE other group of people there… Every single other table was empty.
On top of all this, they also make you pay for WATER. So even though I was ordering a $ 10+ meal, I was told there was no such thing as a glass of water and I had to pay $ 3 for a bottle of water. Complete and utter rip off for people that actually want to drink water.
So go to this place if you want to get squeezed for money on every little possible thing, or visit one of the MANY other hookah places in the area that offer basic things like free water.

Been here twice now, walked into this place recently and no one was there to greet us and so we sat ourselves. We waited for about 5 mins or so but no one came to us to take our order. I walked up to the guy with headphones watching something behind the register on his computer and took the menu myself.
Service was really bad, considering there was no one there at 4pm. Some of the flavors we wanted to try for the hookah, they didn’t have it in stock.
The guy took our order and brought out the food prior to the water. The samosa had to no flavor, the baklava was decent and my friend, she liked the beef side dish.
The hookah was pretty good but not once did he come by to check on us to make sure if the food was okay or to change the coal on the hookah, i did it myself. The mango lassi we ordered was definitely not mango lassi, no idea what it was, it tasted like flavored water with crushed ice.
If nothing else, i would come back for the hookah.

Service — complete crap. We had to call him over to get refills. He was less than interested in checking in to see if we needed anything. We got our food before we got our waters…
Hookah — medium priced, but good. We enjoyed it for 2 hours with mango and mint combo flavor.
Food — somosa was crap. This coming from my friend who is a vegetarian and throws up at the thought of consuming chicken. I ordered a ‘side of meat’ which was beef curry. It was tasty and not overly spicy. The baklava was good that we ordered. The mango lassis are not worth spending your money on. I don’t know how to describe what they tasted like, but it sure wasn’t your typical mango lassi.
Atmosphere — it’s alright. Typical hookah scene with a bunch of flat screens blaring Egyptian music videos. Weird that they are Egyptian considering they serve Afghan cuisine.
Would I come back? Probably so. The hookah was pretty good. Just be warned the include gratuity in their final price, and yet they still have a line for you to add more if you feel so intrigued to do so.

2.5 stars
Based on the shisha alone, I would give this place 2 stars. I’m only giving them an extra half a star because they put some effort into decorating.
This place looks sketchy. It’s dimly lit, and the benches lined up against the wall are lined with dirty, old leopard print cushions. Despite these big negatives, the place actually achieves a cohesive look. Aka drug den. But hey, a drug den is a unique and interesting ambiance.
As for the shisha, it sucks. It got harsh after less than 10 minutes — not sure if it’s the quality of the shisha or the charcoal. The service was also extremely slow. They probably know that, which is why they add on an 18% mandatory tip.
Bottom line — I’m not coming back.

Good arguuila none alcoholic drinks at reasonable prices.
I have been coming here for over 4 years. Like the quality of the hooka (I am a critical hooka smoker). The overall cost is reasonable. You can bring or oder kabob from neighboring famous restaurants. The café is open till early in the morning. Many options for cold and traditional hot drinks. The owners seem to be from Marocain origin but are open to anyone walking in the café. Traditional Arabic music mixed with relaxing western songs. The café caters to formal and informal attire. I highly recommend a visit if you like a good shisha (Egyptian). Quiet relax and romantic if that is your choice for an evening.