Sahara Restaurant & Lounge

You would not think a hookah bar would have good pizza but mmmmmm and there naan is so fresh great with the hummus and baba ghanoosh etc. Very small spot. I have never been on a weekend, but a great local spot for a couple drinks and a hookah with some snacks. My only suggestion is to work on a drink menu, they are often out of some basic liquors. All the servers are super nice and do their best to take care of you.

This place was okay… I went there around 7 to celebrate my birthday with a group of friends. The seating at this place was awkward… Low couches, making it hard to be comfortable and eat. The hookah was great, but our waitress was horrible. We had to flag her down to get her attention. At some point she was sitting down…
The food and hookah is relatively priced well, and the quality was amazing. The one thing I would change is the service.

The servers were extremely disrespectful and we weren’t allowed to sit and just smoke hookah. They wanted us to buy drinks and when we didn’t buy drinks or food they became aggressive and told us that we had to «spend more money» in order to stay in the restaurant. There were three of us and they thought we didn’t spend the adequate amount of money to sit there for more than 15 minutes. This is not how a restaurant should and deff. how a restaurant should operate. Will never come back.

Well I went there just to try the food… manager was rude doesn’t even speak proper English I couldn’t even understand a word but it’s alright… servers were friendly but our server tried to charge us for coal 2 $ every time we needed it for the hookah and the food was expensive and we didn’t get that much of food… I would say go to another place and enjoy

I stopped by here to pick something up for dinner. I’m glad I did. The server/​cashier was very friendly and the food very tasty. I recommend the chicken shawarma and the lamb kebabs.

I’ve only eaten here during lunch hours and service was fine. So I don’t know what people are talking about when they complain about food service. These morons are probably coming in on Friday and Saturday nights when the place is packed, DJ is playing and Belly dancers are dancing all around the restaurant. Don’t be unrealistic. Normal people don’t go to a Hookah Bar on their busiest nights and order food. They order hookah – and drinks – like normal people. You want food come in at better hours.
Servers have always been nice. Never seen anyone of them be rude. People complaining about rude management are full of it. I know the owner Nasir and he’s very understanding and willing to do whatever to make his customers happy. I’ve been here multiple times and honestly sterling nightlife can get a little ghetto and I’ve seen people straight up lie and play dumb and try to walk out without paying their tabs. So don’t let some of these reviews fool you. Give the place a chance for yourself first before believing some cheapskates story.
Furthermore be warned. There is a chance the belly dancers will make you get up and dance with them. It’s a perfect opportunity to embarrass someone! ;)
Overall, good food, good hookahs, fine service, cool DJ, awesome belly dancers.
I’ll probably be there this coming weekend. If you find me I’ll let you buy me a shot.

The food here is OK, but not amazing. The service was lousy. Why would they care though, when they can just add 18% tip to the bill anyway?
When you ask for water, they will bring you a small bottle for which they charge $ 3. They claim they do not have tap water. So, you guys don’t have a sink? How are you mixing drinks at the bar? It is a ripoff.
Fix the service problems, don’t force a tip for lousy service, and stop trying to rip people off with bottled water/​12oz can of soda for $ 3.
Avoid unless you’re prepared to spend $ 50 for a meal that is worth $ 20.

I honestly adore this place. Being from Frederick, MD I was a little wary of going out of the way to try this place. But my boyfriend and I decided to give it a try for our anniversary and I’m so glad we did. Amazing atmosphere and energy, it’s so relaxing. The food, I can’t get over how good it was. It’s a small place, it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the best places are just like that! Our waitress/​server was so incredibly sweet. She recommended a great flavor (white peach) and some really good food items. There are a couple of items that are a bit expensive but besides that, I wouldn’t change a single thing about this place. We will for sure be coming back in the future!

In fairness, I didn’t actually eat here. A group of 8 of us planned to meet here for lunch at 11:30 after checking their website and seeing that they open at 11am. THEY DO NOT OPEN AT 11AM. THEY OPEN AT NOON. We were there at 11:30 and a gentleman was unlocking the door. We asked when they opened and he said noon and we advised him that the website says 11. He shrugged, said noon again and shut the door in our faces. Not that I expected him to open the restaurant early for us, but a «hey, sorry about that, I’ll let management know,» would have been nice. I called a few hours later to let them know about the discrepancy on their website and got a similar response: the woman with whom I spoke said «we always open at 12.» Great, I said, open when you want but make your website accurate. Only then did she say she’d pass the message on to management. And, lest anyone think I’m crazy, I posted a screenshot from their website.
So, all of that is to say that this review is based on their customer service, not their food, and the customer service sucked.

I love this place! I come here with my friends every Saturday like clock work. James is always a fantastic server. Very attentive and talks to us when ever possible. The hookah is great. They have a dj on the weekends and everyone there has a great time. I recommend this place to anyone looking for a good time!

Mason made for a great night. He was really knowledgable about hookah and provided great service.

Service is decent. Other than that nothing is good. The place is like a chimney. No ventilation. The smell of coals got stuck in my nose even after I left
. I’m surprised people don’t pass out from lack of oxygen Ya it’s this bad. Music is loud and horrible. You can’t talk in there. Too noisy. One of the worst places I’ve been to. They obviously don’t know what a lounge is supposed to be like. I got back to the house with a headache. Waste of time and money. I repeat waste of time and money

Fantastic experience! We’ve been coming to this establishment for a few years and it’s better every time. Our server, Mason, is by far the best we have had here. We look forward to our next visit!
If you are looking for a shisha mix suggestion, we really enjoyed the Pirates cove mixed with mint!

I’ve only been here once.
I couldn’t tell who the workers were since the room was dim, to set the ambiance. I could not tell if there was security as there was a random dude hanging around the entrance who didn’t know how to say «excuse me». Pretty interesting as I was first walking in. The servers were all unique in their own way. They were all nice enough, one kind of clueless, she was probably new. I think the servers were kind of busy and overwhelmed. It took a while for them to make their around to see if we needed to be seated. This was probably because there were a patrons lingering in the doorway blocking the view making phone calls, trying to avoid the cold.
Our servers was one of the possible owners and a cute curvy Spanish chick wearing a Santa hat. The rest of the servers I believe wore cute red ties, which I thought was a nice touch. Whenever I did look around to see if anybody could assist me, the employees were usually busy or hard at work attending business in the back. This is usually the case on Hollidays when everyone flakes so they can do their minute shopping. One was clueless when I asked to split the tab. This made me sad because my companion can be a «Scrooge» and I wanted to leave a decent tip. She was probably new or to preoccupied with the holiday rush like most of us.
I was here for 2 hours but by the first 15 minutes, was awkward. There’s not a lot of space between the tables so if you have curves be careful sliding in so your booty isn’t in some random person face. ;) Also if you have limited mobility you may wish to call ahead so they can adjust a table for you. The friendly owners will also allow you to bring your service animal.
The food was good. They were nice enough to make me a custom salad. Which was awesome. When it came out it was huge, it literally filled the whole plate. The kibbeh’s were huge, the size of a cue ball. I don’t know if this is true but I’ve heard they have a lunch buffet. If they do park in the handicapped spot and bring a wheelchair to roll you out of the place and into your car.
What’s cool about this place is they have a split section. Half of the restaurant can be for smoking and non-​smoking. What I also like is, while you are at the table they prefer you not smoke cigarettes. Which is great for me because I hate the smell of cigarettes. I know that sounds hypocritical but I do. However there is a place at the bar where I believe you can smoke your «cancer sticks» Yes, I said bar. This is not a dry establishment! They have a full-​service bar. This is great for those who require an adult beverage. Try the Almaza beer, it’s delicious!
The interior is nice and clean. The hookah was a good set, lasted a while, I’ll give them that. I got the «Rose» flavor which was unlike any Rose flavor I’ve ever hard. It didn’t have that sweetness I’ve had everywhere else. It would definitely be awesome to mix with another sweet flavor like peach or orange… trust me on this. The music was interesting Dub-​step, Lil Wayne, Harlem Shake, Skrillex… One song actually made me crack up laughing. This was probably the result of a younger customer requesting some music. It’s nice the owners are friendly and have a sense of humor and made the accommodation.
The crowd was interesting. A mix of all shapes sizes and races. Some were dressed like they were going clubbing or an extra in 8 Mile. To their defense it is hard to be fashionable when you’re wearing three layers of clothes to fight off the cold.
Someone had swiped the dessert menu off my table. This really bummed me out because when I snagged a menu off another the table the desserts looked and sounded awesome!
I honestly would come here to people watch, and their regular and premium hookah. I also want to come back with a group of friends and order every dessert I saw on the menu. Unfortunately, I live far away and I’m stuck paying $ 20 for a hookah along with ratchet baklava and kanafeh in my neighborhood.
As always, don’t take my word for it. Come check this place out yourself. Preferably on the weekend because I heard this place is popping.

One of the good option to hangout in sterling. I was there this evening and stuff always friendly, service is fast. Waiters are always around checking your hookah and drinks. It is little noisy on the weekend but weekdays relaxing and comfortable. My waitress was Corrine she was friendly and always smiles, reason I did not leave 5 star cause I was close to entrance door and It was little chilling.

The most noteworthy of this Hookah bar was the service! I believe our servers name was Mason. Unbelievable service and attentiveness to our needs. He was excellent at explaining the hookah and the different tobaccos etc. His demeanor was pleasant and he seemed genuinely interested in describing the food and hookah. Not overly, or obnoxiously attentive though. Always acknowledging our presence with a thumbs up when he would walk by. Went mainly for the hookah, which was excellent, but we ended up having the cheese appetizer which was tasty and included a few vegetable accompaniments and warm balloonlike pita. I will most definitely visit again, if for the nothing else, the service!

Went in on a Wednesday for lunch and we were the only people there. The place has a funny smell but kind of expected that as it is a hookah bar. The music they had playing had explicit lyrics in just about every song.
The service was very slow. From start to finish we were there about an hour an fifteen minutes. The food was delicious but waaaaay over priced. I was charged $ 3.00 for a CAN of coke. Yes 12 ounces of soda, not even a drink with refills! I had the grape leaves appetizer and a chicken Shawarma sandwich. My lunch came out to $ 26.00. Much too much for lunch. The only way of come back is if I had money burning a whole in my packet and two hours to spare.

If you like to go to a zoo at night, then sahara in sterling will be the place to go. The owner’s wife has a huge dog, unleashed and barking on customer, never seen this rude behavior before. The dog was about to attack a young guy so he run inside the bar, and instead of she apologizing to him, she started screaming and telling the dog to go and get the guy. So
not going there anymore.

My faith has been RESTORED at my favorite Hookah spot in NOvA!!! After my last incident the owners reached out to me and invited me back and apologized for the rude hostess! I had my usual amazing service and my cousin enjoyed it is well! I tried the meat and hummus appetizer this time and it was amazing – and I do not normally eat hummus! I love the owners (they are wife and husband) of this establishment — they are amazing and warm people! I will continue to go back to Sahara and support! Thanks Nasser and Manal you guys are great! Thanks for caring about your customers!

Good find in the sterling area. they are open late. Service is anywhere between non-​existent and super-​non-​existent.
We tried to return 2 unopened bottles of water (because, OF COURSE they charge for water, right?!), and the server was super rude and said he could not change the check!
The Hookah was pretty decent and the drinks were more like sugar water with a splash of your choice of alcohol. so I would skip the drinks. I would only come here on a full stomach and with no drink cravings. JUST for the hookah! That’s what the 2 stars are for!
Oh! and the fruit hookah is BOG hoax! The fruit (usually a stale watermelon) contributes NOTHING to the hookah flavor, so save yourself the time and money! Invest the same money in getting another regular hookah maybe!