Lotus

Came here for a friend's birthday and we were a party of about...20 I believe. The staff was definitely friendly, helpful, and provided good service. I feel sorry for him because he was the only one helping and he had to deal with 19 girls. So we gave him a lot of slack and tried to be easy on him as much as possible.

The food was okay, but on the pricy side. The green tea creme brule was pretty good and a bit addicting (I love green tea). I ordered the tempura and it was like any other tempura, but there was a lot which is the good thing about it. The tacos were cute but not worth the price.

Any amount of praise I do for this establishment is less. One fine evening, me and a friend decided to venture out to try a new Shisha joint....and we came across Lotus.

Upon entering, I immediately fell in love with the place because of the seating area which is laden with beautiful persian rugs and pillows for your comfort. Now THAT is how a hookah experience should be. I have been here so many times that the employees know exactly what I want!.. My favorite flavor is 'DJ Mixx' which costs about $20 but totally worth it.

Unlike other hookah places where the throat starts to itch after half an hour...the quality of hookah at Lotus is so good that the thick smoke will last for 4 or 5 hours (no exaggeration)! This place is my second home...my temple.... my enclave..... my den....

I have to agree with some of the reviews here in that this place could be the "it" location if the management would provide a bit of extra support to the stuff.

As a late 20's SC Alum, my friend found this place for a buddies birthday. We were a group of about 20. The Shabu Shabu is about $20 for 19 pieces and the Sushi Rolls were about $10-$14 each. The food isn't bad here and the layout is pretty spacious and decorated nicely.

My big issue with this place is that the 2 times I've been here, it's understaffed. I can clearly see the staff working their asses off. We recently went on a Sat night where the entire back area was services by 1 or 2 people max. These guys were great in terms of their attitude but let's get these people some help! I mean I get it, it's off season with no school at USC but if you want to be a busy spot no matter what time of the year, you have fix these things.

Parking is also a joke here. There's no signs to where that back parking is and even with that, it's a good amount of a walk. Put some large signs up, light it up better for safety and that's you're extra star. Staff more people and you're a 5 star spot.

It's almost there. Just a few fixes with more avail staffing and again, you're it.