1001 Arabian Nights Hookah Lounge

3 stars are for the hookah selection and the service

Now I've hit the age where If i go to a Hookah bar its to chill out and relax. There is where my 3 stars are really coming from. The place is now loaded with teens. Teens just hitting the 18 mark or the college kids coming in from bars to get the extra kick from the hookah. It becomes SO LOUD sometimes you cant even hear yourself think.

I really wish we had more hookah places around but I guess if you wish to have Hookah and maybe leave with a headache from the crazy amount of yelling then this is it.

They don't serve food or drinks but they allow you to bring them in. I don't believe they have a liquor license so wouldn't be BYOB.

This is to hookah what Taco Bueno is to fine Mexican dining. I visited on a Saturday night and we promptly decided to go elsewhere.

For starters, the two-hookahs-per-person policy is obnoxious. I get the trade-offs here and why the business has to do it. But you're telling me if I've spent $50 on 2 hookahs for people and one more friend shows up, our tab is now $75? No thanks: I get that most customers are younger and would smoke 10 people on 1 hookah if given the chance, but you've got to have a middle ground.

Then comes price: I'm from Texas where tobacco taxes are sky-high and businesses have about $20,000 of prep work to do for special tobacco-oriented zoning, and you still don't see prices this high. $25 for a bowl is obscene, especially with the aforementioned policy.

Then comes the atmosphere. Loud, cramped, poorly ventilated, dark, and uncomfortable. It may seem novel to novice smokers but is less likely to be enjoyed by a regular hookah bar attendee.

I also am not a fan of the pay-when-you-walk-in model. The register is up front and you cash out before you sit down. We made sure to walk into the back and have a look around before doing so, thankfully. Again I do get that their clientele may be a little younger and more stealy than other establishments, but it does not make for a friendly or inviting experience.

There are myriad websites that will sell you an entire hookah package including pipe, tobacco and coals for the same price as a single 5-person smoke session here. I know he's got some overhead but a single bowl of this stuff pays for a whole box of the stuff you're actually smoking.

Save your money.

No ventilation, poison quicklite coals, weak packed bowls, way overpriced