Nefertiti Cafe

The Nefertiti I once knew has gone up in smoke! I remember back in my undergraduate days this joint  was a little run down. The seating certainly had caught on fire one too many times from projectile coals. There was dim lighting despite the projectile coals. And there was an abundance of old men unable to projectile, smoking hookah outside. Not that I minded because I love seediness. It's so much more interesting!

After visiting recently, I realized that the new renovations certainly helped the place transform into a family oriented destination. The child friendly playground area is great and the puppet show is so much fun. After all, smoking hookah with your 5-year-old son is now all the rage. I'm kidding, of course.

Though I miss the seediness of old, the last time I was there I had such a wonderful time with friends, some of which do not smoke at all and some that probably smoke too much. The place is open and spacious so the hookah does not completely overwhelm the immediate area, much to a nonsmoker's delight.

Also, while we were there, the scheduled belly dancer got into a row with the owner/manager, and then left unexpectedly. My group did not mind though because we had a great deal of fun dancing traditional dances and listening to awesome music.

I've been here once, and haven't gone back just because I haven't really thought about it, and my friends don't really hookah anymore.  When I went there, it was pretty good.  I liked that it is open late, and it wasn't very busy.  There were kids in there, but they didn't bother us.  My friend and I also ordered falafel and hummus. It was really good.  I see everyone talks about the minimums they have.  They usually have that at most hookah places...or atleast ones I have been to.  Neighborhood is a little shady, but not too bad.

I can't believe the good reviews on this place.

I admit, I used to be a regular here because It's byob, they never check your ID, and I was underage. It used to be a great place to dance and hookah with your friends... and then...

EVERYBODY DOWN! Are those gun shots right outside? How many times has this happened.. two that I know of (another occurred while my friend was there).. and that's two too much for me.

I knew the neighborhood was shady, being right by the admiral theater and all, but having fun is not worth it if people are outside playing with guns.

Other than that, why would you go somewhere that plops water bottles on the tables (that you don't ask for) and charges you for them without telling you ($2 each). Then, there's a min for each person. I had friends stop in to say 'hey' for 5 mins.. and we end up getting charged extra. They didn't eat, drink, or smoke anything. What a friggin' rip off.