Two things I noticed from the bad reviews...
1) They don't understand how hookah places work. Most will charge extra per person regardless if they are smoking.
2) They are 5....6 years old reviews
This place is great. I've been to a lot in the area and while I do really like Hookups I prefer the service and style of coal at red sea. If you don't know what I mean pay attention when you're there. They use shards of coal that burn hotter vs the round, typical ones at most places. They do need to be changed regularly but they are great about that.
I've been to this place YEARS ago and had a bad experience and vowed to never go back. Lately I've been going to a lounge in coast mesa called bublyz and the owner randomly told me that he also owns the red sea. I was thinking nooooo way but decided to check it out again and they are identical. My new favourite place close to home.
Came here last night for a nightcap, or should I say hookah-cap. Â OK I will make this review quick and to the point.
I like the joint! You will too if you know what to expect. If you are expecting some world class Hookah Bar..... DON'T. Â This place is for the college crowd or those of us adults who want to smoke some good Hookah without the $30 price tag.
Red Sea is located in a strip mall, sandwiched by sushi places. Â When you walk in you are quickly greeted by the owner who then takes your order. Â They have a variety of different flavors (I had Sex on the Beach), as well as beverages (hot tea, water, etc).
The smoking area is dark and very reminiscent of a drug house. Â Or at least what I think it looks like. Â I'm sure there aren't plush couches in most crack dens. Â
The service is really superb, and they keep your coals burning. Â I like Red Sea and plan on coming back soon.
Am I at a hookah bar or a shady dudes basement? This place blows. The hookah is over priced. The atmosphere sucks. The furniture looks like it was rescued from a dumpster. The service blows...will never come back. Negative million stars  the only reason I would come near this place is because of albatross.
Review Source:This place blows! We pulled up and right away my first thought was where the hell are we? There's two or three rickety tables outside and the condition inside was no better. The place looks old and run down. There were hardly any people there. We didn't see anyone to help us so we walked in. Then a guy came up to us and said they'll seat you in the front. We go to the front and same guy comes around the counter. He just stares at us and we say for 4 people. He says you'll have to get 2 hookahs. we say okay that's fine...(like were not stupid. We know how most hookah places work) Â he says what flavors and throws us some menus. Then another guy maybe the owner comes up. We ask him what flavors are good? He says "Everyone has different taste" Â we say okay...what's the most popular? He says" all of them" Â at this point we decided we did not want to stick around to experience their extraordinary service so we left!
Review Source:wow. what happened to this place? i used to frequent red sea back in college when they were under different ownership. when i walked in the other day, it was COMPLETELY different.
i walk in, and immediately i see a large fat guy sprawled out on the couch, taking a nap on prime real estate. there were no longer the nice plush couches; instead the furniture was arranged inefficiently and groups of people were awkwardly close to each other. i don't want to hear a couple nibbling on each other's ears right next to me!
i enjoy music of all kinds, even ethnic music...but they were playing cheese-ball persian music from the 80's.
service was awful: we were told "sit wherever you like," but the only table available was outside, and was taken up by the owner's dog. HER DOG! So we got shunted to another table away from the outdoor heater and it took about 20 minutes for them to pack the hookah. I've done it myself...it doesn't take more than 5 minutes. Â Then it took another 7 minutes for the coal guy to come start the bowl....after he went around to all of his friends to tend their coals first.
it's a shame because once the hookah did get started, it was delicious and lasted forever because it was packed sky high as they do in the middle east. too bad we didn't get a 2nd coal service to keep that magical bowl going!
we asked if they had cards or games to loan out, but they refused. bitch, if you don't have games, how come i'm watching your buddies play backgammon over in the corner?
this place clearly doesn't cater to new clients or have interest in serving customers that aren't related to employees. i'll take my money to an ed-hardy-free zone, thank you very much!
oh and fyi, it's pretty standard to have 1 hookah for every 3-4 people, so don't trip if the management tells you it's store policy, noobs.
more like 3.5/5 stars
its a shame oc hookah places are hard to come by, especially in irvine. Â
they use starbuzz shisha and the prices are about 12 bucks per bowl. Â (depending on which flavor and how many you wanna)
in my opinion, its just a lot more cost effective to buy your own hookah.
they have couches and tables to sit on. Â The couches do seem rundown and a bit "used". Â
The time i went, the people working there were not as attentive. Â I had to flag them down for new coals. Â
they lend out cards for you to play with.
all in all, this place is just a chill place to come to smoke a bowl with a few friends and catch up.
PS: if you have the time and are willing to make the drive, go out to anaheim. Â that's where all the better hookah bars are at.
This place deserves -5 stars. I've been to this hookah lounge two times and my experiences have been exactly the same both times. They have a one hookah for every two people rule which was strictly enforced with my group both times. There were at least two tables of Persian customers that had more than two people with one hookah and they didn't say a thing to them. The men who were bringing us coal were more interested in hanging out with their friends than keeping our hookahs going. The tables outside are wobbly and falling apart. For $16+ a hookah, I was expecting a little more. This place is such a disappointment - Hookups is the lounge to go to if you're in the Lake Forest area.
Review Source:They have a great variety of flavors, cozy decor & average coal service. I went when the owner was here & we were waited on reasonably, though I could see how the other yelpers may have a problem. The younger guys working there (the owners' son's perhaps?) do more socializing with their friends than they do helping out, so I'm not even really sure if they're WORKING. They did kind of act like us whitey's were spoiling their precious poker game by requesting some tea, but whatever, they're young.
There's not much outdoor seating & we had to move indoors when the Peruvian cuisine next door closed at 9:30 & had to take their outdoor furniture in...which was a little weird because we were served our tea & hookah there. The inside has cozy couches, a fountain, & some American music video's playing. Overall, I thought it was pretty chill, even though we got kicked out at 12:30 & the hookah was $16 for a reallllly mild smoke.
SIDE NOTE: My favorite hookah bar is Nubian Cafe in Anaheim-- wayyyy better coal service, better tea (served with real milk versus the creamers I got at Red Sea), way cooler owner, more flavors, food, & they're open until like 4am. As an added bonus: it's much more of a cultural experience, especially if you sit outdoors;)
I'm okay with giving horrid places 1 star...I am NOT okay with giving THIS place 1 star. Â I really wish there was an option for 0 stars, this place needs it like I need oxygen T_T
I've never had such bad service and I go to Chinese restuarants on a weekly basis! Â Like Karen C. said, I don't smoke but I was hoping to chat it up while she and another one of our friends smoked.
I don't know what we did to piss the guy off but...we came in, Karen and Beth went to talk to the guy about flavors and the remaining 3 of us went to look for a table in the back. Â Karen comes to us and told us that we need to show him our IDs, we all came back to the front with IDs ready. Â I stuck mine out and he completely ignores me so I thought, okay, maybe he wants to check it after Karen buys. Â Was he offended when I smelled something he said was very good and went ew? Â Personal opinion please...don't hate...So Karen finally decided on double apple and the guy told us we needed 2 hookahs because it's 1 hookah/2 ppl. Â If that was true...then why didn't the other tables have a bajillion hookahs??? Â Karen told the guy that only 2 ppl were smoking and that the other 3 DIDN'T smoke and he told us that it's still 2 hookahs because there were 5 of us. Â I don't smoke and even I know that's ridiculous...
Well, FORGET YOU RED SEA HOOKAH LOUNGE!!! Â We headed to our friend's house to play Cranium instead and had OODLES of fun! =)
We went here looking to just chat some more after eating at the Inka Grill a few doors away. This place gets one star because of the attitude of employee behind the counter... he even looked like he could be the owner.
I was a bit indecisive when selecting a flavor, but I couldn't think of anything else we could have possible done to provoke him. After deciding on a favor, the employee made up some BS rule saying that since we were a group of five we HAD to get two hookahs. But that didn't make sense, I've had hookah with larger parties able to share one. Also in our group of five, only two were actually going to smoke hookah the other three simply did not smoke from personal choice... it seemed a bit much to be forced to get our own... we left immediately after.
I call extortion, the prices per bowl was $13 and $16 for "special" flavors, then requiring us to get two hookahs when only two people were smoking seem unfair. Though our waitress at Inka Grill said the bowls last a couple hours which makes the price more worthwhile, Â this place will not be getting my business. Seedy looking and shady, you do not want to go here.
First off i would like to say that I am an avid hookah smoker (at least 2 bowls a day) so my rating may be harsher than others.
This hookah bar is really bad. When I went the people running it didn't give a rats ass about their customers, they were just busily talking amongst themselves and I was treated like a nuisance. The place also has a really dirty vibe to it, something I just can't explain. They have Starbuzz shisha which is a plus but it's overpriced. Their hookahs are of sub-par quality, my mini 1 foot mya hits better than any of their junk.
The only good thing i have to say about this place is that they give a generous amount of shisha per bowl (the tobacco oozes over the top of the bowl) so the bowl last for a while.
Who took the chessboard pieces? I used to love to come play chess here but people have stolen the coolness from here. wtf? Also the seating is kinda worn and uncomfortable. Tobacco is pretty good though, lots of choices. Vending machines for food. You can smoke cigarettes inside. prices aren't bad. Owners are pretty kicked back. Overall it's a "chillin in the garage" type of feel.
Review Source:It's not the best hooka place that I've been to, but I still like to occasionally go there because its so close to my house.
They have a decent selection of shisha flavors to choose from. Unfortunately, they use the self igniting type of charcoals which affects the flavor and experience in my opinion. I much prefer the places that have an oven or firepit where they heat up the charcoal first before using it with the hookah.
When this establishment first opened, they would close at 3am. Nowadays, they seem to close a bit early and at the discretion of whomever is working that night.
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