Probably one of the better hookah lounges I have been to in the area.
They have a great selection of tobacco flavors and the atmosphere was as expected. I felt like I was back in Lebanon enjoying some fine hookah (loud arabic music, close cushioned seating etc)
We went on a Sat night which is usually busy (good sign) so we put our names on a list and we received a phone call as soon as our seats were ready. We were seated and served immediately.
The only reason this place gets 4 stars and not 5 is because its a little pricey and the food selection wasnt as it was in the past. But hey, this is a hookah lounge so the hookah is the focus.
Great place and highly recommended.
Really shady location but I guess that would make Habibi's a hidden gem.
Very traditional environment and as hip as I try to be, it wasn't my scene. I felt really claustrophobic when I was here and not very relaxed. It didn't help that I came on an extremely busy night. The shisha itself was very good but I didn't think it was superior to Nile or Sheesha Lounge.
Service was great; the woman helping us was super attentive and nice. Don't think I'll return though since there are more favorable options so close.
Completely shitty location - my sister and I were debating whether to actually go inside or not - but if you can see past that, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Â We found the environment surprisingly relaxing and energizing simultaneously. Â Great selection. Â Bummer that they don't serve alcohol, though.
Review Source:I love this place. It's a really authentic sheesha lounge. The ambiance and decor and music make you feel that you are somewhere in the Middle East. It is so chill and the sofas are so comfy that you almost want to go to sleep! The sheesha menu is very extensive. The house tea is really good (though a bit too sweet for my palate). They just keep filling your tea cup while you are there. The servers are very attentive. The place was packed on a Monday night. We were lucky that a table was leaving just as we arrived. There would probably be somewhat of a wait on busier nights.
Review Source:This was my first visit to Habibi and I was shocked that my party of four was seated immediately. According to the shady bro outside (in charge of seating/ID check) we were just lucky, but nonetheless I was relieved there wasn't an hour wait as is usual elsewhere. The decor and music choice is great, but the music was WAAAY too loud for conversation and therefore, not conducive to the social nature of hookah. The staff was nothing to write home about and the bathroom could be kept in better shape.
I definitely prefer Sheesha over Habibi (despite the god awful wait).
Nice hookah lounge in Boston area. No alcohol so make sure you realize that before you get angry if you're looking for a cocktail to compliment your hookah experience. Prices are much less than higher end hookah lounges in the Boston area. Didn't seem to rush us out, but the waitress was a little slow at coming back around to check on us. The coal tender came around maybe every 20 minutes which was a little too long in my opinion as the coco nara coals were making the hookah smoke harshly after 10-15 and we weren't even hoovering the hookah that feverishly. All in all it was a very enjoyable experience, loud Arabic music although I thought it was a little too loud for my taste, could barely hear my wife and her friend while shouting.
Review Source:hands down best hookah lounge in the Greater Boston area. Trust me, I know my shisha.
I mean all things aside you come here to smoke shisha- so the shisha better be good, right? It was, honestly the best I've had in Boston. Smooth, delicious, fantastic and decently priced.
The menu is pretty extensive, I was pleasantly surprised.
The atmosphere/ambiance is awesome- right up my alley and definitely what you should look for in a hookah lounge- Arabic music blasting, really comfortable cushion seating, dimly lit and smoky. The staff are all very friendly and attentive. Love the vibe in here.
Do keep in mind it's fairly small so often times on a busier night you have to put your name on a list, and the door guy will call you when there's room- but honestly you normally don't have to wait any longer than 30 minutes in my experience- and there are a ton of bars nearby that you can bide your time in.
Love Habibi's!
Finally stumbled upon this place last night, after a horrific experience (and last straw) of going to Sheesha Lounge. The music and environment are authentic, staff is friendly, and hookah is amazing! You don't get charged for extra coals, they have a great selection. We did have to wait 45 minutes (thank Gd for bars), but we came back and had a great time. Definitely will come back!
Review Source:This place is a well-hidden gem--downstairs with covered windows and no sign on the door. This place gets packed so I wouldn't recommend coming with a large group.
It's dimly-lit and smoky. The Arabic pop music, although fun and danceable, is ridiculously loud and does not sync up with the music videos on the big-screen TVs (but it's still very entertaining to watch). There are comfortable wall-to-wall couches with divider cushions between groups of people and tiny round tables that hold next to nothing.
I came here with a friend and we had a short wait while the hostess attempted to make room on a couch for us (asking someone else to move over, though he resisted). Habibi's offers a small selection of appetizers and some of the sweetest peppermint tasting tea I've ever had. The tea cost over $2 and comes in a glass the size of a double shooter. At first I felt a little bummed that the tea was so small and so expensive but the waitress came around frequently to refill. It seems odd to me that they wouldn't put the tea in something ceramic, the tea is hot, and a hot liquid in a glass container is impossible to hold.
I ordered the hummus, which came in a larger bowl than I was expecting, with big pieces of pita bread on the side. The hummus was simple and very smooth with a lot of olive oil on the top.
The hookah is fairly cheap, about $25. Refills are $15, and an addition hose is $5. I tried the watermelon flavored tobacco--reminded me of "Smackers" lip balm--which was a definite fail.
Overall it was a good experience, I would definitely return for the tea!
I go to Habibi's lounge 2 or 3 times a week. I love their Hookah (Lemon Mint, White peach Mint, are my favorites) music (Arabic Music), food (Shish Tawook is AMAZING).
The Hookah is the cheapest you find around for the taste that you got. If you ever tried a flavored and you did not like they are more than happy to change it for you. Don't worry you will not get charged for extra coals.
See you tonight :-)
3.5 stars. Unfortunately, I haven't found that many places in Boston to hookah. But when I do, I tend to become incredibly lenient, seeing that I am overjoyed in finding a place that serves it.
The place is tiny, but the service is great and the hookah choices are many. It's a bit pricey however, but considering they replenish the coals often and the entertainment I'm about to describe, it's well worth it all.
We got there around 11:30 and glad we did since it started filling up much more afterwards. The place has a very authentic feel as middle eastern music was playing being chosen by patrons who seemed to know all the songs. They danced in the one and only narrow passageway in the establishment and got completely strangers to get up and dance with them (my friend included, though his motivations might have been different as footing the entire bill was on the table). The service is also very friendly and frequent. We had the pomegranate hookah and it was great!
Potential downsides are the cramped space - you may end up sharing your seating area with another party and if you're not very friendly, it may be off putting - in which case the entire place would not suit you. There aren't that many food choices either and whatever they have doesn't seem too appetizing, though I may be wrong. Regardless, I enjoyed the place plenty and it's open until 2 so it's a great night cap as well!
Even if my friends (mix of Moroccan,Erithrean, Algerian, Saoudi, Lebanese, Emirati, Camerounese and Ghanean) are huge fans of this place, I only went for the first time yesterday (Wednesday night).
So first of all the place. It's kind of small, the blankets are confortable but the space between each table is really tiny. But hey, we, Arabs, love to say that we dont mind "zham" (translate by crowd). So if you are confortable with this kind of environment , you definitely like it the intimacy feeling in this lounge.
The employees are nice and helpful even if sometimes they can be annoying. Example : when more of your friends join you during the night, they keep remind you that the establishement policy require that you need to buy 1 shisha for each 3 persons.
Nice Arabic music selection (you have a kind of modern juke box in the back of the lounge where you can choose your favorites titles) but they have definitely more khaliji/ lebanese/egyptian songs than North African.
The food and drinks are really good (real fresh fruits juce, a miracle in this country !!!!!) and according to my friends, the shisha are awesome. Now I know that for some people, I can sound ridiculous to go to a shisha lounge when I am a non smoker but hey I love the arab atmosphere of the shisha lounge and I dont need to smoke to enojoy my self.
For people like me who LOVE dancing, I am sorry but you maybe  disappointed. I have seen only 2 courageous souls dancing for like 2 minutes and that's it. Maybe the fact that most of the persons there are guys play a huge factor on the non dancing atmostphere.
At last, my last recommendation fot this place will be to invest in a coat check !
Very nice straight up shisha/hooka/argileh lounge. Â Large tobacco selection. Â They serve some food and good tea.
Pros: Â
-Excellent ventilation. Â Cloths do not smell like hooka after 3 hours there.
-Relaxed atmosphere
-Great Arabic music selection
-Very nice, personable staff.
-free backgammon (maybe playing cards too)
Cons:
-Music volume could be a bit lower. Â No need for 2 loud speakers for such a small place.
-Tough to find parking on weekend
-Can get busy quickly and you wont find a seat.
-Hooka prices could be a bit cheaper, although not a deal breaker.
-A coat check would be a great addition!!
I lived in Cairo for 4 months and this is the closest thing the city has (I think) to it. Â Authentic, run very well, tons of flavors, and cheap compared to others in the area.
Oh, and I HIGHLY recommend asking for ice in the base of the hookah. Â It cools down the smoke and makes it easier on the lungs. Â DO IT! Â Other places actually charge you for this but they don't here.
Enjoy!
this is as much of a review as i could write:
having spent significant amounts of time in the middle east, namely Syria - we have been searching Boston for an authentic shisha cafe that embodies all the traits of a proper shisha cafe, in particular good service, authentic music/vibe, shisha properly made and attended to etc...
after reviewing all the listings on yelp we went to scope this place out, and it did look the part - authentic music [playing remixes of haifa - yes please] and traditional decor, the vibe was really there.
Also, the place actually smelled like a proper shisha cafe, [using all my senses here to complete this review]
unfortunately, and this is why i felt compelled to write this... Â - we made the obvious mistake of going on a saturday night at probably peak time - after 10pm, say... we waited an hour only to come back and be told that there were still three groups waiting ahead of us, so we would have to wait another hour. forget that - we went home, built a den and cooked up our own shisha. but we will be back - and we will definitely look forward to it.
Habibi's  - find some way to expand  your capacity or PLEASE please set up a sister cafe somewhere !!!
this place was good stuff.
This is a great hookah lounge! Don't let the sketchy entrance fool you!
Went last night in a small group. Was pretty crowded but the server seated us immediately. The atmosphere is great! Low Morrocan style seating, decorations, and Middle Eastern music. We knew it was great when we realized that literally everyone in there was Middle Eastern and they were all speaking Arabic and dancing! (much better crowd than at Nile which is probably the worst hookah bar in Boston, but that's another story!)
We only got shisha but the baklava and teas looked great too. Prices are a little high ($25 for a hookah) but Boston is outrageous for that anyway! The quality was great and they had a good variety of flavors.
I would HIGHLY suggest going here. Very laid back and fun!
Underneath one of the sketchiest corners of Allston, lies this little gem.
It's somewhat small, but offers some great, reasonably priced (for the area) sheesha, coffee and snacks. Cards are available for entertainment while you smoke. The ambiance nice with a authentic-feeling Moroccan flair.
My only complaint is that the Arabic coffee tasted strongly of chlorine (ick!). I have yet to try the food, but I recommend this place for some low key time with friends or a date.
Before Habibi's opened, Boston had zero compelling Hookah places - I recall driving to some random cafe where the website mentioned hookah but it had shut down, the other locations were either ridiculously overpriced or had no atmosphere to speak of.
For me, it's less about the Hookah and more about the experience - sitting around with your closest friends for 60-90 minutes where everyone's away from the computer, people put their cell phones away and everyone talks about life and laughs. It's funny - it's not like I would ever listen to the music that Habibi plays, but, it's a big part of the overall experience. The lighting, friendly service and excellent selection are all a part of the package at Habibi's.
I rank it four stars because there are some quirks - the location is difficult to park by, occasionally they try to seat people on the these small stools in the very back of the place by the bathrooms and preparation area which is pretty unsatisfactory, and the quality of the hookah can range from Excellent to "pretty good" depending on the day. Besides that though, it's still a wonderful addition to Boston and will surely improve as time goes on.
This place is amazing. The other hookah lounges in Allston just seem so...generic? This place is truely a cultural experience. Its so nice to have an authentic space in the community for those looking for a little something different. Â Even though many patrons are of middle eastern descent; the atmosphere is equally welcoming and comfortable for those who do not speak Arabic (I do not). If you're over allston bars and trendy hookah lounges, you should really check this place out.
Review Source:LOVED this place.
The place was busy for a Tuesday night at midnight, but very comfy and inviting. The four of us tried strawberry and banana which was really good (though I preferred the strawberry) and had some tea which was wonderful. The music was great and the lighting was wonderful as well, it really created a nice environment.
For 4 of us she recommended 2 hookahs which are usually $25/each but because we showed up at 12:15 and they close at 1:00 she only charged us $20/each and mentioned that they will have some daytime specials coming up.
Definitely coming back, hopefully earlier in the night because I would love to spend some time here.
Lets start this out right. I am a BIG hookah lover. Â I have my own hookah at home, but I love the atmosphere of hookah lounges.
It's the best hookah joint I have seen in Boston. Just a tad overpriced, but all of them around here seem to have the same pricing. Â The location is horrible! Homeless people harass you on your way in and out. Â But inside is amazing.
Great date place. Â Nice comfortable areas so you can sit close and listen to music in the dim lighting.
What a hookah joint in Allston!! Absolutely love it!
Stumbled upon this place on a rainy night and saw the sign.
Habibi had me at "hookah"". Its not obnoxious here like some places are. Amtopshere is cozy, authentic and brought back so many memories of mine. Sit back and enjoy the music, shisha (lemon mint is awesome)and some tea.. grab a backgammon board while your at it.
1) Its great if you go with a group of 4 or more b/c it is $25 for one hookah and you might not have to share a table.
2) The ventilation is great. No smokiness or watery eyes.
3) They have good, quality shisha- why? I was there for 1.5hrs and the next morning my throat was NOT sore.
Did I mention that I forced 2 of my friends to go to Habibis? They went in with a sour face b/c they aren't tobacco smokers... but they came out loving it! The only down side is that this place is tiny. so if you get here late with a big group, anticipate a long wait b/c ppl stay here for hours just relaxing. I know I do.
"The Most Authentic Hookah Place in Boston." That's well deserved. Immediately upon entering I felt teleported back to a Damascus Hookah place. The lighting is soothing and the seating is luxurious, the best place to chill for a few hours with friends for a great time and at low cost.
The music playlist has Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian and Khaliji music, I was impressed (though I'm not a big fan of that kind of music). I withheld a star because the music was loud sometimes in a way that made it harder to talk without having to raise your voice.
The Hookah's were great and the hostess was extremely friendly. The drinks were ok, I tried the Toot (Mulberry) and another person of the group I was with tried the lemonade. Let's just say that the drinks aren't Habibi's Forte.
All in All an awesome place and a must try if you're a hookah fan or just looking to experiment.
Having spent plenty of time in Morocco and Syria, I'm a hookah lover. Â Since there are a couple of other cool spots in Allston, I've already gotten over the outrageous American prices (seriously, $25 for something that costs you less than $1? I digress), and am now prepared to judge a place on its merits entirely.
So, that said, I freaking love Habibi's! Â It's in a HORRIBLE location (under the McDonald's that homeless people pee on all day? Â awesome), which almost adds to its charm. Â You go in expecting it to smell like french fries and are instead confronted with a red-lit den of iniquity-type atmosphere. Â The servers are quick, efficient, and friendly, the house tea (a mix of black and green, sweetened, $3) is served in Turkish tulip glasses and comes with free refills, and the shisha ($25, same as everywhere else) is top-notch (and the selection of flavors comparable to Nile and superior to Sheesha Lounge).
We didn't eat, but the hummus at the next table was served properly (with olive oil and paprika of course) and looked mighty delish.
But, what truly sets this place off from the others is the seating...Low Moroccan-style banquettes wrap the perimeter, facing outward, creating a cozy, familial atmosphere.
Loved it.
This was my first hookah bar experience and I will definately be returning. I went with one friend and we spent almost 3 hours there with one hookah and a dish of hummus (delicious!).
Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. Even though she had a large reservation coming in she was very nice about asking if she could move us (which was actually better. we got seated in the far back by the open door so we had fresh air).
I don't know how other local hookah bars are priced but our bill came to about $32 total. Well worth the price to just sit and relax with some friends. Atmosphere was great. Music was kept at a decent volume.
We are definately planning on making this a frequent destination.
Habibi's Lounge is a great hookah bar. It has a very authentic feel to it: the furniture, the music, the atmosphere - it all gives you the feeling of being in the Middle East.
Their "rose drink" is absolutely delicious. As is their hummus and pita bread.
I've been to lounges with more options (in terms of tobacco flavors, food and drinks) but I give Habibi's a big thumbs up!
This is a very lovely new addition to the Allston area. Habibi's features quite an ambient atmosphere, with dim lanterns throughout, cushioned seating and backgammon boards. This was something that just disappointed me with some of the "other" hookah lounges in the area, which reminded me more of Starbucks than a hookah lounge. Habibi's now tops my list for my favorite local hookah spots.
The menu prices for hookah are good and fair and they offer a very nice variety of shisha flavors (some unique ones include honey, Irish Creme, and a little tropical something called "X on the Beach"). Their menu also includes flavored teas and Middle Eastern foods, though I didn't give those a try when I visited.
The service was quick, attentive and friendly. The girls who helped our group were very sweet and never let us with an ashed coal or an empty glass of water. I would highly recommend this place on any warm and balmy summer night.
Ok, I just came back to Boston after spending 2 years in Jordan doing my "dissertation research" (aka hanging out at hookah joints). I can tell you first-hand that this place is AWESOME! It's just like the best places in the Middle East!
I have tried 3 other hookah joints in the Boston area: Andala (SUCKS); the place on Hanover St. in the North End (better in terms of atmosphere, but the hookah is awful), and Tangierinos (which was my favorite place, when I felt up for schlepping it over to Charlestown).
The atmosphere here is totally authentic - you can take down the chess boards/backgammon boards and play, relax in the Bedouin cushions, and even request your favorite Arabic music artist (which is probably a benefit that I abused during my visit).
If you're looking for a kick-ass atmosphere, with great and knowledgable service, and seriously the BEST tasting shisha around - GO HERE! And, as a personal recommendation, try the Mango-Coconut shisha mix - YUMMY!
This is a true hidden gem that has just opened. Â The service was very friendly, the baba ganoush we had was fresh, and the hookah very smooth.
Highly recommended for a very low key, conversational evening. Â By the end of our time there, I found myself unavoidably leaning casually on the super comfortable couches.
The decor is also well done. Â Colorful and truly authentic. Â Good Arab music, which is also played softly enough so as not to limit conversation, which is also a big plus.
It just opened a few days ago, and I was lucky enough to stumble in for the first time last night.
This place was really great. Truly authentic feeling. The owners and wait staff were all very warm and kind.
If you like hookah, they have a pretty vast variety of tobacco flavors, so this is a great place for you.
Good teas and juice selection also.
Hummus and baklavah both were delicious.
Generally, the whole atmosphere of the place was really fun and relaxing.
Definitely worth checking out.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,916 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
