Omar’s Hookah Cafe

It is the worst hookah place in whole PA! They charge you a bunch, but they don’t do anything! They don’t refill and anything! Don’t go to this place!
Also, the offer is fake! They say it was from the previous owner and that’s not our policy

Omar’s went through a change of ownership recently, so you really should disregard the reviews prior to 2015. The new owner Chris has done wonders with this place, converting it to a more hip place with lots of cool décor. He is the sole owner of the business, and he really knows his hookah stuff… so much that he can come off as a dick because he’s very quick to tell you why you’re wrong.
But all his sets are Khalil Mamoon, he has a quick coal lighter that takes seconds, and he gets good shisha tobacco… so he really has the whole thing down!
Maximum 2 people per hookah so it’ll always end up about $ 12/​person before tip. It’s also BYOB and there’s a pool table and other stuff upstairs… so lots of things to like about this place!

I’ll definitely say that my group of girls were a bit crazy. With that being said, I know we were kind of a handful but they put us in the VIP lounge so we could wreck havoc and be loud. +++
The layout is fantastic: VIP upstairs with pool table, outside deck available, private booths, board games, ect… The set up has been well thought out and is one of the better hookahs that I’ve been to. It is a BYOB, which makes this perfect as a night out with a group. +++++
The service was not so good. They had stopped checking in on us and we had to go downstairs a few times for help/​requests. Also, the bathroom ran out of toilet paper and we had no glasses for the wine we brought. One of our coals was kicked for a bit so again, back down the stairs we went.
The cost for our group was pretty reasonable. Even though they didn’t honor the Unilocal check in discount, they seemed to give us a discount that was worth it. ++++
I’d come back again since I had such a great time with my friends but for a huge party (birthday or event) I’d be weary on the servicer being able to handle a much larger group.

This place is a lot of fun. Upstairs is great with a «VIP» area, and pool table. They have a popcorn machine which is fun, and its BYOB. The service is sometimes slow when they are busy which is why i’m going with 4 stars. They have removed the 15% built in, but should be tipped. For me and 3 others, I thing the total bill was around $ 45 which isn’t bad considering we brought a case of beer and hung out for hours and smoked 2 hookah. Not sure if we were charged for extra coals or anything but I know we paid 60 including tip.

I have gone back a few times and the service was great. The staff was very helpful and prompt. A definite improvement!

Stay away, this place is overpriced. Never have I gone to a hookah place and paid per person. So many better places in the city to go to.

I’ve been coming here for a few years. It is much more convenient than going to the city for a nice hookah bar. The décor makes the experience more enjoyable. I’m a bit of a clean freak and I was comfortable in this place. They don’t have soap in the bathroom though, just hand sanitizer which kind of bothered me. The staff was alright, they seemed like they didn’t want to be there and were hoping you wouldn’t order something that would take time to make. More enthusiasm would have gotten 5 stars.
The prices are good. $ 10 per person with an upgrade of shisha for $ 5. It is worth it. I don’t like that they charge for another coal. I hookah at home and you always need a second round of coals to keep it going.
Overall, I would recommend this place.

The hookah is great, the seating is great, but never have I heard of a cover charge where the customer gets nothing in return. The service is iffy at best, and at a hookah bar the server is supposed to move the coal, and not once did ours help us out. No actual price menu was given so the end was a surprise. And beware because tip is included but god forbid you’re forewarned about it. Overpriced.

The service has been solid when I’ve gone here, but 2 of the 4 times its just been a hassle from the owner. I’ve never actually met him/​her bc he has the servers relay the messages. The one time I invited a friend to stop by and our server came down and told us that the owner was watching us from upstairs on camera (creepy) and said the friend needed to leave or pay $ 10.
Why have policies that put servers in awkward situations, like trying to squeeze 1 out of 5 people for $ 10 if they aren’t even smoking.
To the owner: This probably hurts your business long term because college aged people will be discouraged from coming if they’re trying to hang out with any non-​hookah smokers. Why not let people in on a minimum per table and then make money off of people hanging out and buying drinks? You’d do better long term.

We went there on a Friday night, and there were maybe 2 other tables. The hookah was not good at ALL and had to ask to it «adjusted» by their amateur hookah staff. And the worst part was that when the bill came, we ended paying $ 125!!! wow!!! There was a $ 5 charge for bringing your own beer (they did not provide any glasses or anything) just drank straight from the bottle. So I guess you pay the $ 5 (per person) «corking fee» to bring your own beer. and another $ 5!!! for another charcoal that probably does not cost $.07. The staff had no answers and no experience. The table and seating arrangement were weird and uncomfortable. I say it was a TOTAL FAIL. If you expecting a «hookah night out» and anything close to that, do not have high expectations. Better yet, hope for the worst.

Honestly, a friend and I came in here and ended up running away before the waitress could come to take our order. It was sterile and uninviting. The server told us we could sit «anywhere along that wall» against which stood only one empty table which was also uncomfortable and cafeteria-​like. No mention was made by her of the supposedly lovely upstairs space I’ve heard so much tell of – we were simply ordered to sit at an uncomfortable table and wait.
After a while, a server came by and went over the menu with us and it turned out the place was out of an unbelievable number of shisha flavors including all but one (!!!) of the twenty-​something items listed under their premium selections. The place just seemed run-​down, not properly managed, and like whoever owned it did not care about making people comfortable and was more interested in milking Main Line kids for all they’re worth. But frankly, my friend and I are both too old for that b.s., so out we went.
I think having to swipe our IDs also put a bad taste in our mouths and tipped us off from the get-​go that this was not really our scene. If you have the option to get off the Main Line to enjoy a relaxing hookah, then by all means do as we did and run, not walk, away from Omar’s and towards one of Philly’s hookah establishments that value their clients’ business.

I’m not sure why people are complaining about the prices and service! This place is amazing!
ATMOSPHERE:
I’ve been to many hookah bars & yes some of the more downscale ones do charge PER hookah, but Omar’s is: a) on mainline, b) more upscale, their upstairs is gorgeous with a pool table, small dance floor & deck!, & c) the people who work here are awesome!
PRICE: (as clearly listed on menu)
So it’s $ 10 per person, $ 5 per hookah for premium flavors, & $ 5 per hookah per each extra coal, & I believe it’s like $ 2 per water bottle. So for the reviewer that said she couldn’t figure out the bill, here’s a better break down. I did take off one star for this because the coal is genuinely over priced. I mean a pack of like 10 coals costs a few bucks, so they’re certainly making too much off of that.
SERVICE:
It’s a hookah bar. Your waitress does not come up to your table every 15 minutes. People hookah to have conversations with their friends! I’d be annoyed if my waitress came by too often. However, instead she/​he comes by just to check on the coal every now and then, so that she/​he don’t ruin your conversation.
Yes, this place is a bit pricier than others but it’s a good time, expect your bill to be around $ 15-​$ 20 per person if you get more coal/​drinks, and lounge on comfy pillows & a great quiet atmosphere for catching up with your friends!
Remember, they do sell hookahs here, I bought mine for $ 30, works great! This way, my friends & I only come here as a special-​ish occasions.
(and for you at home hookah lovers: their flavor selection is LARGE! Their new exotic shishas are SO good, $ 15 per container, but I recommend queen of sex!)

My friend had a birthday in the lounge area upstairs. As soon as I arrived, the owner called his hostess on the phone and told her not to seat us until we ordered food. It was really awkward because I had to order food at the hostess podium. or we would not be allowed in. I don’t smoke, so I had to pay a certain minimum for food to even join the party. It was incredibly awkward and uninviting. The furniture and look of the place is cheap. I felt like I was back in a college dorm, with its shapeless pleather couches that sink to the ground as soon as you sit down. I think the owner would do better if he or she had just a tiny bit more faith in his customers and was a little nicer than a border crossing guard. The best thing about this place was the pinball machine. I felt sorry for the waitstaff, who seemed apologetic when the owner was talking to them on the phone about what kind of minimum fees to charge the nonsmokers. I would’ve walked right back out the door of this smelly cesspool if not for my friends waiting for me upstairs.

Bars are always so loud and crowded, so this place is the Main Line alternative if you actually want to talk to your friends/​significant other. I have been several times and always enjoyed myself. $ 10 «cover» for everyone (even those not smoking). It’s BYOB and there is a menu with mediterranean selections (though I haven’t tried it). The owner and staff are really nice and chatty, gives the place a good vibe. There’s a cool lounge-​y upstairs area with pinball and pool. Nice place to enjoy a hookah and good company.

Price: This place is a complete rip off. You don’t pay by hookah like at a normal place, you pay by person. It’s $ 10 each for the regular flavors (which aren’t great) and $ 15 each for the «premium» flavors. They automatically add a 15% gratuity for parties of 4 or more. That is ridiculous considering 1) probably 75% of the groups that come in there have at least 4 people, and 2) if you’re just there for hookah, you don’t require a lot of service to justify tipping that much. Our bill was $ 64 — all we had was 2 hookahs and 4 bottles of water. Also, you have to pay $ 2.50 for each coal. You don’t even get the first one free. That $ 10 per person is just for an unlit hookah you can stare at.
Service: The waitress (or whatever the title is) probably came by the table 3 times in 2 – 3 hours we were there. And some of those times we had to flag her down. When we were done, we were told the «machines were down» so we couldn’t get a printed receipt, she just told us the final price. We had to ask to see her hand written bill — which was inaccurate but we didn’t feel like arguing at that point.
Hookah: We had one grape and one apple. The flavors were very weak, to the point where we had a substantial debate over which one was which flavor. Eventually we became convinced one of them was actually black licorice flavor instead of grape — which tasted fine, but still… it wasn’t what we asked for. Either that or it was a really terrible rendition of grape. The hookahs themselves didn’t work well either.
So in conclusion, if you want to go to a hookah place, make the trek into the city. The hookah, atmosphere and service are much better and you’ll spend less money.
P. S. Parking was ample.

i love omar’s! i went there with my boyfriend for the first time last night. they card you as soon as you get in the door, which is great. there’s no little fifteen year olds sitting around. the place is super clean and there are three seating areas. you can sit inside either downstairs or upstairs, and then you can also sit outside upstairs. we sat downstairs in a beautiful booth full of pillows with a little flatscreen tv. we ordered a pineapple hookah, green tea, water, hummus, and baklava, all of which were amazing. the staff are super friendly and knowledgable, and they make suggestions about the menu, which has food, dessert, and hookah on it.
the prices are very, very reasonable, too.
my new favorite place!

…i just can’t give them 5 stars because… well…and it’s a terrible reason… the hours. THE HOURS. OPEN EARLIER OMAR– whoever you are — YOU’LL GET MORE STARS. (oh and they don’t have tap water.)
The upstairs is like a mid-​western newly finished basement. It has generic plush Dillards couches. There’s a bathroom with textured walls and a shower. There’s a balcony offering a beautiful view of Lancaster Avenue. It’s comfortable. You feel like you’re at home. AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT SO FREAKIN NICE.
…the caramel vanilla sheesha was delightful… sweet but not overly so. smooth and just delicious. really delicious.
…and it’s pretty rad that the 8 ball for the pool table is white… and that there are black lights above the pool table, which illuminate the neon balls…

I’ve only been here for the hookah, which was awesome. Prices are good and the place has a really nice ambiance. All of the employees are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. It seems like a fun place to go with a large group — definitely recommend it!

On the whole I could offer a very solid 3 – 3 ½ stars, and probably would if Omar’s was in the city, But this gem has some seriously key things that practically no other place offers that easily kicks it up a notch. And it does it to the point that I almost don’t want you to know about it, but I may as well share the wealth.
For starters Omar’s is very likely the ONLY non bar/​restaurant option that I’ve seen on the Main Line open well into the 9(10+?)PM hour. And for a location that is otherwise practically dead this is potentially HUGE. Grant it I have only been in over the weekend hours so it could be different on other fronts.
But the ultimate reason why this place is pure gold lies upstairs. The downstairs may sparkle from its shiny looking chandeliers, feature roomy and comfortable looking booths to sit in; and look similar to Mos Eisley Cantina where Greedo bites the big one in the sky. But Upstairs is bigger, hooks up a pool table, has a cool balcony overlooking n interesting portion of Bryn Mawr; and offers… –wait for it– … FREE PINBALL! order a coffee, grab a sandwich, and prepare to bask in playing a few rounds of Shaq pinball or another option (I think its influenced by poker, but its been awhile) free of charge, Shaq might start to sound annoying with his call after awhile (not as bad as this travesty —
), and the tables are somewhat old. But you get what you pay for.
And did I mention that they have hookah? The rosehip molasses flavor is the one that you really need to know about, and the apple is a good flavor. But they also offer plenty of regular and deluxe blend options.
The place isn’t without some flaws. a couple times that I’ve been the coffee machine has been somewhat on hiatus which sucks considering how perfect coffee is for the atmosphere (it’s been awhile though so that could be fixed upon. Also the service can be somewhat slow, and beyond hookah and coffee options the menu isn’t that spectacular. But when it comes to lounging in a cool relaxed area, playing pinball, and being in an area that you would nowhere near expect; Omar’s is second to none!

Nice place, fairly new still so there wasn’t many people when we went. Staff was friendly, they have tons of flavors to choose from and nice lounges to smoke in. Prices seemed a little much but honestly I’m not very familiar with the cost of hookah so I could be wrong.
Anyway the place was a really fun evening, it’s BYOB which is great, I’d def go back.