Gazuza

After my first experience, I vowed never to step foot back in this place, but when two of your friends request your presence, you oblige!
I don’t know if I was taking too long of a puff-​puff on the hookah or if it was the really great mojitos I was sippin’ on, but I actually enjoyed my time this go around. Not sure if Gazuza has lightened up on the table service, because the group I was with didn’t have any issues with getting a couple of tables without being charged extra. Granted, the bill did cost a grip, so that could’ve played a factor as well.
Even though I had a fun time (90% contributed to my friends and 10% to the hookah and drinks) I can’t say I was satisfied with the food options. The sushi was cool, but I would prefer heartier options. Can a sista get a burger, wings or some fries? IJS… lol! The service was great and our server was right there each and every time we needed our drinks replenished or the hookah coal burned out.
We had a cool meet up. Still not top on my list to make any immediate returns.

The sheesha was really harsh and the atmosphere was pretty depressing at night time! Really don’t recommend this for a good night out. I have heard this place to be better in the summer time but I highly doubt I would go here again!

I met some friends here on a Friday evening for Happy Hour and boy am I glad I was able to partake in this awesome evening! Who would’ve thought I would have so much fun eating sushi AND enjoying a little puff puff pass with the hookah! ;-) Ok, so let me get down to the business of how things went down. Gazuza is located off of Connecticut Ave. I suggest you arrive early to find good parking no matter what day or time of the week you decide to go. I got there around 5:30pm and lucked up on parking right around the corner but there were plenty of people double parked looking for parking. Once inside I was immediately showed to the upstairs area. This was my first time there but from the looks of things I believe they have separate seating sections in case you want to just eat sushi OR just enjoy the hookah. We were seated in a closed in area so we could experience both. ;-) Here is a run down (from what I can remember LOL) of what I had and everything was great!
Lychee Martini — Very good — strong and the Lychee flavor was on point
Apple Martini — DELICIOUS!
Gazuza Roll — VERY VERY GOOD!
Rainbow Roll — FRESH AND presented well
I decided to participate in the hookah experience after I was done eating and that too was great. We had strawberry watermelon blend which was very tasty and smooth. I really wish I could remember the blend of the other one someone else in our party had because it tasted like bubble gum! SSooo freakin good!
I had a few other sushi dishes that I am not recalling right now but hands down I truly enjoyed myself and I’m sure you will too. This place is a good HH spot to have some good times with friends OR the kick off to a hell of a bar hoping night!

We went to Apple Lounge on U Street that evening. Much better atmosphere. The hookah and customer service was SUPERB! Never going to Gazuza again. Toddles!

At the coercion of my cousin, my sisters and I decided to swing by after the hookah bar on 8^th street gave us the runaround. I called and spoke with a nice gentleman who informed me that they had a table for 4 available. Sound easy enough, right?
Wrong. We get there and it’s stupid packed. There are no tables to accommodate. I promptly find the man I spoke to who informs me that there’s nothing he can do. We can sit outside but it’s going to cost us $ 300. WHAT?! At this point every one in my party is left dumbfounded as he saunters away. I ask him why he told me he could accommodate me if he couldn’t. He says «I never told you I would hold seats, there’s nothing I can do. We can’t make everybody happy». You know I was pissed at this point. After I run him down and repeatedly explain the importance of good customer service, he offers a solution. He’ll let us sit outside if our check totals $ 200. He also suggests we sit with some stragglers at the bar waiting for a seat. I’m appalled. One person from our group leaves and we know we’re not going to drink up $ 200.
Luckily, a group decides to get up just then. We scurried over to their dirty table and claimed it for our own. My initial disgust with this place was solidified. The hookah was strong, it was displeasing. None of us could hit it without coughing. All in all the atmosphere was very trendy and up to date. I just felt as though because we weren’t spending beaucoup bread, we were cast aside. That’s not right.

Visited this place on a Tuesday with a Meetup group. Plenty of space and cute rustic décor. The happy hour specials were good, the sushi was surprisingly really good and drinks and hookah were decent. The staff were very friendly and attentive. I wish there were more flavors for hookah but they kept bringing the coal for the hookah.

Dina & Gabrianna are so dope! Excellent customer servive, Dina made sure that we ok at all times. HAPPY HOUR from 5−8pm. 18 hookah yes please!
Highly recommend the gazuza roll its to die for

Pretty chill spot. Not super packed. Great service. Just don’t expect full sized sushi, but it was tasty.

Wish I could put a lower rating. Don’t want to write a page to summarize it customer service sucks, everything is pricey. Definitely better Hooka places around.

I came on a Wednesday at 10 and it was pretty happening. The hooka was good and the vibe is cool. Lots of sofas to lounge in, occupied by smartly dressed couples.

This hook spot is one of my favorites for wind down. The spot fell short a star because something was wrong with the hooka pipe and I really couldn’t enjoy my time. My lungs were kinda sore the from the strenuous pulling. We told the server but she gave us the «you just don’t know how to hooka baby look» and replaced the fire.
The dranks and ambience is always great here so I’d def come back. I guess you’ll catch a bad hook every now and then I’d you do it enough. I’m def coming back though.

The G-​Spot gets 5 stars!!!
As soon as me & my gal pal walked in we were greeted & told to sit wherever we preferred. We sat in the enclosed patio, on the plush leather seating, where a few patrons were getting their Hooka on!
Gabrianna was our server… Med Student getting her grind on, turn up college student. We ordered a bottle of Malbec to get the night started.
After looking at the menu that was full of variety & great prices, we ordered the the Salmon Ceviche, Eel & Avocado & Super Crunchy Yellowtail rolls & Eel Sashimi.
The wait was surprisingly short & the presentation was very cuisine-​ly set on point. The portion was outstanding & very good to the palate.
Gabrianna was on point with a great timeframe of checking in on us without being too far away or overheating :-)
Anything we needed she almost knew before we asked. She replenished our wine glasses without skipping a beat, which always is great vino service.
She kept our water glasses filled & checked in on us periodically. After stuffing ourselves, she asked if we were still at it… great proactivity… yes, we have satisfied our Sushi craving & was good to go.
Very enjoyable ambiance, mix music was on point & of course the service was the
.
Got a new Sushi spot thanks to my other place relocating.
Gab, we will be back next week! Keep those A’s coming… Pre-​Med all day, everyday!
May be back before then for the Happy Hour… hopefully she’ll be working.
Great experience!

Typical shisha lounge. Music way too loud. Overpriced. Thinks it’s a night club. No hot drinks. Wait, no hot drinks? What kind of an idiot would serve shishas but not TEA?

I can’t handle going to hookah bars very often especially those that have zero ventilation. Our friend brought us here one evening after dinner and I was skeptical at first.
The hookah bar is located on the second floor, and there is indoor bar seating and patio seating with windows. The patio area is extremely well-​ventilated, and service is good. You can order drinks as well as hookah which is rare for some hookah spots that I’ve been to. The hookah only got harsh once and the lady fixed it immediately.
Watched the dubs win here — so I could be biased, but I really enjoyed it here!

So this place gives off the middle eastern vibe and serves sushi and sake? Plus the place is hot as all heck and they didn’t have the air or fans running on a hot summer night. Everything seemed a bit pricier than what I’d pay for. So not sure why but definetly not a place I wanna go back to.

I had one complaint that didn’t come up until after my last post. My girlfriend and I had been in there for almost 3 hours eating, drinking, and smoking… then, as we get the check, the waitress told my lady that hats weren’t allowed. Would’ve been great to know ahead of time!

This place is awful. I went for a few drinks/​dinner on a Wednesday night. It wasn’t busy. The service was awful, but whatever, I didn’t make a big deal about it. Low and behold, when I get my check, I didn’t have an itemized bill and I had a 20% tip already added. When I asked why, the waitress said for all parties over 5, it gets added, however she forgot to do it for everyone. And she said she knew her service was bad, so she would take it off and provide me an itemized bill. However, she came back saying her manager wouldn’t allow it, so I asked to speak to him.
Here is the best part — he was a total hothead. He said that he would not take it off and that he could do «whatever the f*ck he wanted». Not only was he dropping the F-​bomb around, but he called us sh! theads and told us to «get the f*ck out of his place». Not only that, but he made the waitress cry, calling her an idiot and dumb and «f*cking retarded».
I am going to call the BBB about this and make sure to file a complaint. The manager/​owner not only insulted me, but also made me feel threatened.

I was in town for business, and a shisha bar is mandatory wherever I am in the world. It was super close to my hotel, so I opted for here.
The interior looks like a dance club converted into a space with kitchen, a bar, and chairs/​tables to smoke/​eat/​drink in. a larger expanse adjacent to the bar was set up with DJ equipment and music played, but no DJ, it’s like someone had their music player hooked up to their speaker system.
Attentiveness, not so much, I’ve seen so much better in other places. The flirtatious server really did nothing for me at all to begin with, so her flirting for whatever professional reason had no effect, but anyway…
Would I go back? I doubt it.

I have only been to Gazuza one time in my life, before my Unilocal days, so when I saw that one of my favorite Unilocalers had bookmarked it, I insisted that we go for a night out so I could see if anything had changed. We went on a Tuesday during Happy Hour, which is from 5−8PM. They have a great HH, aside from the $ 18 hookah, which isn’t really a good deal in my opinion. They have a variety of sushi … and … well it stops there! Ha ha. Although sushi is all that they offer, it is amazing! We both ordered a bunch of sushi to share and try out. We had the Mexican Bumble (I think that is what it was called), Philly Roll, the Rainbow Roll, and TWO Gazuza rolls which was my absolute favorite roll out of them all. It was incredible … I will definitely be back for that! The drinks were awesome too… mixed perfectly and heavy on the liquor, just how I like it: D The hookah was good but a bit harsh on the lungs after 20 minutes. But the favors were good! Now to the major down fall — the crowd! There wasn’t one. It was crazy to us! Literally, there were four tables that had customers! SMH how is this even possible right now? I mean I get it, its cold and a Tuesday, but only four tables seated in the span of 3 hours? What is going on? The vibe is nice, ambiance is relaxing, food is awesome, and the drinks: MUAH: flawless … SO WHY? My friend had some great suggestions, like maybe adding more of a variety of food on the menu, such as Asian wings or calamari, which would appeal more to those who aren’t big on sushi — I thought that was an awesome idea! All in all, Gazuza is a great little hookah place, but if you are going for the crowd, I would probably try Chi Cha instead.
Favs: Gazuza Roll
Would Change: Add new items on the menu & lower the hookah HH price to $ 15.
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I want to give this place a 3.5 sooooo bad. Come on Unilocal, it’s time to add .5 stars! That being said, my favorite Unilocaler saw my bookmarks and insisted we go to Gazuza since she had been there before and loved it. I absolutely see why. A few times a month, I love hitting trendy spots that are hard to find and fun to experience. This place defines both!
Gazuza is very similar to Black Jack on 14^th Street, in that it’s on a very busy street but you can walk right by it because it’s just a door! LOL. At least Gazuza has a name and address on their door unlike Black Jack! So once you walk up approximately 40 steps, you enter a super cool, dark, contemporary furnished lounge with a huge bar with funky music touching your ears! Again, my kind of place! We got there shortly after they opened, so the place was practically empty which gave us our choice of seating. Gazuza also offers an enclosed deck area that has retractable windows for the Spring and Summer months. We chose to sit on the deck which has red leather couches and a perfect view of busy Connecticut Avenue. Unlike my good Unilocal buddy Rae M., we weren’t asked to pay $ 500.00 to sit on this Ikea red leather couch, so I don’t have that beef at all. I would have left salty as she did after reading her extensive review. LOLOL!
Now to the controversial part of Gazuza which I learned is owned by the same group that owns the Chi Cha Lounge on U Street. The lounge serves food but ONLY and I do mean ONLY Sushi rolls. Don’t get me wrong, the sushi was GREAT especially the Gazuza Roll which has baked salmon, crab and shrimp! Delicious! Management may want to rethink their business model, because there is a large contingency of people who just doesn’t like sushi. They may want to throw in some Asian wings and Calamari on the menu along with a few other food options that would assist with their happy hour crowd.
After sitting in Gazuza for a hour and a half, that aforementioned happy hour crowd never materialized into a crowd at all. This place was as dead as a tax office not at tax time. A straight snore fest! I could not wrap my head around this phenomenon. They have good happy hours drink specials and the sushi was reasonably priced. The hookah, which was not that great (too strong), was a little pricey for HH $ 18, but that being said, there were only 8 people there at it’s peak while we were there. I felt sorry for the waitresses because their tips weren’t worth them coming to work at all. Maybe we happened to catch them on a bad day but I must say, this place has unlimited potential so I hope management figures it out!