The Egyptian Cafe and Hookah Bar

Peter there makes the best hookah. Their gyro sandwich is really good As well. John also makes good hookah as well. They honestly have better hookah than lava. Good food and a nice chill spot

I used to come in here all the time and the service was terrific. It has slipped a lot since and it’s not uncommon to be sitting for 10 – 15 minutes before I have to wave down server. The food is great and the hookahs are okay. A lot of the the servers are untrained on proper preparation so not every hookah is alike. Over all I like the place, but I used to like it a lot more. EDIT: I think they saw this post and have stepped UP! They have great packs! Place gets ALL THE STARS.

Love this place, it is like being back at Purdue all over again. The staff is very friendly and helpful and hooka prices are decent. Be aware that sometimes, you have to wait for a table because it can become really crowded really fast. But for the most part it is a nice relaxed environment and a nice place to chill.

I love this place! It’s genuinely authentic and the atmosphere is great. The best hookah I’ve ever smoked. The last server I had was a little rude and took advantage of my hookah ignorance to get more money. But otherwise I have no complaints. The food is amazing.

The Egyptian Café & Hooka Bar is hands down my most favored hang out spot in Broad Ripple, as well as the best Hookah bar i’ve had the pleasure to frequent. Broad Ripple has always been changing over the last few years with different types of venues and establishments, but The Egyptian Café continues what it does best, done right.
First off, the staff are exceptional, always ready and willing to help out with new flavors or requests and spot on with drink and food orders. As a regular, I’ve come to know many of the staff and are always happy to walk in and chill. Shout out to Joel, always quick with an awesome flavor recommendation and on top of every order.
The Hookah flavors and pricing are exceptional to say the least. Priced much more affordable than other local options, the shisha always leaves a pleasant flavor and aroma, unlike some other venues that tend to taste ashy or mellowed out. They even offer a discount on refills if you happen to have an extended session.
From Turkish descent myself, the food is outstanding and authentic to Egyptian /​Mediterranean cuisine. My all time favorite, the Gyro Platter, is priced well with plenty of meat and pita to enjoy. Along with their recently updated food offerings, they continue to offer Authentic hot tea and bubble tea’s that are paired great with the food and hookah.
It has to be noted as well, they are the only hookah joint that I know of with a full service bar, making it an awesome spot in the evenings as well.
As a regular that is in several times a week, The Egyptian Café will continue to remain my favorite hang out location in Broad Ripple, and Indianapolis for that matter.

this is my usual hangout place.
Pretty good food, nice hummus + ice coffee.
Stay open till late hours. Staff pretty friendly.
Well priced too.

This has alway been my favorite go to place until last night. Service was bad, kept forgetting orders and at the end of the night they added 18% gratuity. I don’t remember them doing this before?
I tip 20% to 30% cash so server at this establishment missed out.

Went to this place yesterday, literally had one of the worse servers I’ve ever experienced, keith. If you get this guy, I recommend leaving. Guy was rude, delayed, forgot an order, literally cleaned stuff as it was being consumed. Terrible. Just terrible

Wow, literally the worst customer experience I have ever had. The rudest waiter and ‘manager’ I have ever had contact with… I feel like this place has completely changed my thoughts about Indianapolis. Way to go Egyptian room, your horrible service and extremely rude employees have ruined Broad Ripple for me. FYI I have 6 attorneys in my family and you will definitely be hearing from one of them and my fiancé who is a reporter for NBC. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re not out of business by 2017. I used to be proud to call Indianapolis my home town because everyone is always so friendly — this place has completely changed my thoughts and should not be a part of this community.

ID’ed multiple times just to sit down and then waited forever for service.
Would not recommend to anyone — will go to the other joint downtown for hookah.

The food is good and the portions match the prices. I usually have decent service, but this past Friday I had an awesome server. He was friendly and attentive.
I haven’t tried anything from their cocktail menu yet, but I think it definitely sets them apart from their competitor up the street, Lava. I’ve been hearing that the drinks are good.

My group of friends like to go for the hookah since we don’t drink. I’m not sure if it’s because we don’t buy alcohol to run up the bill or what but our servers are always rude and condescending. We don’t feel welcomed at all and receive bad service. Another thing I find annoying is that they always add on the 18% gratuity. I’d tip at least 20% if they didn’t do that.

I really like the Egyptian, but I understand it’s not the best experience for everyone.
First of all, it’s loud. Just enjoy the music and the sound of people enjoying each other’s company.
Second, service is a bit slow. You may need to flag down your server.
Hookah is fun. I always get a bit of a buzz that’s pretty unique and fun. I like the mint hookah because it has a cooling effect, but i’m not sure I would recommend this to everyone.
Free WIFI is a plus, but I haven’t really used it. I see some people with their computers just hanging out.
My strongest recommendation is to PLEASE not mix too much alcohol with hookah. You will throw up. Friends don’t let friends do this.
My biggest complaint is that they sometimes charge for water. I’ve been know to fight this… and you should to. Ask for the manager. Tell him you want free water.
(Side note: I got food here once. It was okay. I don’t come for that, only hookah.)

A fun & friendly environment at night and a relaxed chill environment during the day. No matter what service is always the best, even when it’s packed. The food is amazing and fresh, and the hookah flavors are excellent and long lasting.

I’m not sure why this place gets such negative reviews. I think this hookah bar is amazing and a perfect spot to wind down after a night of shenanigans in Broadripple. However, I recommend checking it out beforehand, since the Butler Bros tend to start flooding the place once the bars start closing.
I recommend the pineapple hookah, Turkish tea & hummus plate. Everything was delicious and our server Rebekkah was a doll. Definitely recommend.

Chill staff, good food, probably the best hookah and lemonade in town. A good place to hang out w friends or enjoy a sunny afternoon yourself.

This place is alright. Every time I’ve been there they’ve carded me, but it always seems like most of the other people are too young to be there and sometimes seem judgmental. I realize it’s a strange comment to label the clientele as rude, but I’ve received some not-​very-​nice stares. The food that I’ve sampled has been decent, but I wouldn’t go there just to eat. They do have nice, full vegetarian meals, though, which is a positive for my fiancé.

While the food we ordered was pretty good, the service was not up to par. I could tell our server had one too many tables and he was attentive when we sat down (because we were the only table) but shortly after he went missing and we would have to flag him down when we could spot him. The process of getting our checks was just that… A process! I would definitely recommend the Hummus Trio though, I’ve been craving it ever since.

I gave this 5 stars. I come here regularly. Been sitting on a quiet Wednesday night for 15 minutes with no service. Fucked up…

So a bit of a disclaimer: I came here during the late night hours. If this place is different at normal dinner or lunch hours, I am not sure.
My party of 3 walked in around midnight buzzed from our alcohol fueled day and had the case of the munchies. We sat at a table in the very busy restaurant and my two friends elected on a hooka. I don’t smoke but they claimed the hooka was fantastic. We also ordered hot Plumberry tea with some honey and it was fantastic! I could have sat there all night ordering kettle after kettle of that stuff.
We ordered an appetizer of Falafel to start and I was very disappointed. Honestly, the falafel tasted pre-​made as if they make them that week and then freeze them until ordered. They were mega crunchy from the fryer and sort of bland on the inside. In my opinion, go to canal bistro or LAVA if you want Falafel in Broadripple.
Next I ordered the Butter Chicken which is more of an Indian dish rather than Egyptian, but ok. It was very good. I can complain about any of it and it was big enough to feed 2 people easily.
In the end, I don’t think there was anything necessarily bad about this place, but there was nothing to make me want to come back either. If I have a hankering for middle-​eastern food, I will stick to Canal Bistro… and if it is past 10pm when they close, I think I will go to LAVA.