Beans & Leaves

I went here about a week ago with two friends to check it out. I'm 24, and so is my girlfriend, and we both have Connecticut ID's. Our third friend left his ID at home, which was close by, luckily enough, because apparently the store owners thought he might have been spending his Friday night with friends who are seven years older than himself and demanded ID before service. Whatever, policy is policy and it protects the store so I get that. We retrieved his ID from home and returned. My real problems began later.

Upon entering I was greeted by a lovely, personable, 35-40-ish year-old blond woman. I told her this was my first time at Beans and Leaves and inquired about the deals and pricing. She asked if I was a university student and because I am, I was told that they would discount each hookah by 5$. On that basis, we decided to get two hookahs at 15$ a piece (30$ total) instead of sharing one. One hookah flavor, mint, wasn't good, but the honeyed blend we got was absolutely delicious. My only problem was my hookahs didn't draw the thick smoke that I'm accustomed to at the hookah bars I've been to in New York. It was like the equivalent of a light cigarette.

The atmosphere and decor were nicer than expected, but they're trying to promote some sort of club/dance atmosphere on Friday/Saturday nights that plainly is not going to happen. The music they play is god-awful, and girls are not going here looking to socialize with the largely 30's-to middle aged Middle Eastern clientele. It wasn't that crowded, and it was a better place for conversation than a bar, but still was not the subdued alternative I was looking for. As the owners have themselves admitted on Yelp, Fri + Sat are probably not the time to go if you're looking to just chill out.

Anyway, the real problem came upon checkout, whereupon the large Middle Eastern woman infamous in other reviews here delivered disgusting customer service. After being asked if I were a university student by another employee and told that I would receive the appropriate discount, the woman at the register demanded university ID before delivering on another employee's promise. I considered retrieving my ID, but after already having left and returned just to obtain my friend's proof-of-age, I declined. I asked if she was providing the discount anyway as this was my first time there and she informed me that "no, your discounts can begin when you bring your university ID". That won't happen, because I won't be back to provide patronage to a woman who doesn't appreciate her customers. Having worked in a service industry for years bending over backwards to please people, I was taken aback by her total disregard of my first-time experience. I had a decent (not great) time while I was there, but my friends and I were turned off by this lady's lack of personality and service, and won't be returning because of it. A hint to the owners: it's more important for your customers to return than to squeeze every new entry for every possible dollar.

Still 5 stars!! I went down to Fairfield because I needed a change, and because I wanted some good hookah! The place was not crowded for a change, and I got excellent service, my coals changed frequently, and the peace that only smoking hookah can bring. Bonus points now for hookah in fruit heads!

Great place. Reasonable prices. Best hooka in town. The place is clean and classy.