By far the worst lounge i have ever been to. I went with a group of friends and the service was terrible. The waiter kept forgetting to bring out our drinks and was extremely rude. It seemed like he didn't want to be there.
The layout was nice. It's an outdoor patio so it was nice sitting outside on a summer night instead of being inside a room.
If you have the option to go somewhere else then do it. It was overpriced and the music sucked as well. Overall a terrible experience and i myself will not be returning here. They don't even offer the free head change for checking-in.
love this place! great spot to meet up and catch up, chill or study, or get all riled up during the lakeshow! white peach with ice is our favorite and the guys are CONSTANTLY coming around with new coals. :) everyone is super nice, the food is great, and other customers are cool to chat with.
Review Source:Came in for hookah and food, server passes out menu, 5 mins later comes back to take order, "what can i get for you, oh and by the way we aren't serving food tonight." WTF, why did you pass out the menu and why are you open today?! And then I ask for a glass of water, and the guy said "we don't serve water only by bottle" which restaurant does not give their patrons water?
Review Source:Waiter service? I think not! There was no service whatsoever. Â I went with two of my friends on a Friday night at around 10pm. Â It was so hard to get the attention of the waiters even though it was not that busy. Â The waiters all just stood around at their small corner, doing who knows what. Â
We were not even done with our hookah but we decided to pay and leave just because the service sucked! Â We made sure we put down cash just so we didn't have to wait for the slow server to come around again with our credit cards. Â
The hookah was okay, the food was okay. Â
I have not done hookah in a while and was really looking forward to a chill night, and this place totally killed it for me. Â I am not coming back ever ever again. Â Really..who manages this place?? Get a new manager. Â wow.
Come with a group of friends and enjoy some hookah out in the patio. Their tea is super tasty and SUPER STRONG. Don't drink their tea if you want to sleep at night! I also had some of their hot chocolate, which I would recommend if you don't want to be up all night.
When they tell you they're closing at 1am, they mean it. They booted us out at 1am on the dot!
this place SUCKS Â ,,it use to be ok but now it gets worse everytime we go ... last time the waiter came up to us to get our order 20 min after we got there n he was on his phone !!!!! the hookah never tasts good and the food is pricey and very small portion ,,they only have one waiter so if there busy youre screwed coz he hardly checks on you .. one time they got me the wrong order n he refused to change it so pretty much i was stuck with the food i didnt order ....... i will never go back again
Review Source:This is my first time trying Mediterranean food so I have no other place to compare this food, but it wasn't bad. I ordered Chicken Kabab Sandwich and it was fulfilling. After that we got White Peach flavored hookah for $16. The server walks around almost every 10-15 mins to check up the coals. Down part of this place that each person needs to spend $10 minimum and there is only one hose for each hookah :( Maybe I will come here for food, not to hookah.
Review Source:I like this spot. Although I've had way better Persian/Mediterranean food elsewhere, this place is pretty damn decent; and their prices are reasonable, too!
The hookah menu is not as varied as other joints, but they still carry the most popular flavors and you'll still have a tasty session after dinner.
Their kabobs were pretty good...and they've got this drink called a Salahb...Salab...it's like frothy milk with cinnamon that's pretty damn good and makes a perfect dessert.
Outdoor patio seating is really nice, and they've got all the games, if they're on, playing on their one TV. Outdoor heaters everywhere, as well!
Food is ok. For a place that makes kabobs all day long you think they would have learned by now not to overcook it and serve tough meat. Flavor is good though.
They have a relatively limited hookah menu (maybe 6-8 flavors). Quality isn't bad. Not really good but good enough that I don't mind coming for it.
Service is terrible. Ask for a coke when my food came and never got it. Asked for a refill on water... They took my cup and never brought it back. When they finally walked by again 10 minutes later, I tried to get his attention. He nodded to me, kept walking and proceeded to the table by the TV to sit on his phone. The 3 servers were all at the same table on their phone. Terrible Terrible service.
I really do like this place the workers are really nice and i love how they play Arabic music I go there like three times a week with family or friends and it's really great! The workers crack jokes with me and it's nice feeling comfortable while smoking. It does suck they charge for water but it's the same price as coke soo It's  kinda nice being able to be unhealthy for the same price :) but all over all I love this place!! i'd definitely recommend it :)
Review Source:Gone down a few stars. Ideally would give it 3.5 if I could.
I will still go and have no MAJOR issues, but it takes time for them to bother with you now, even when its a weeknight. Â And when it comes to getting your bill and even paying it, it takes even longer. Â So ....I am not as happy as once before...but still would go. Â Just not as attentive as before.
Come here with my friends from time to time. We always come for the hookah cuz it's pretty darn good and once in a while they have new flavors. Pricing is about $10 per person but it's only once in a while so it's not bad.
Although i come mostly for hookah this place actually has pretty good food too. Their lamb shanks were soooooo tender and the sauce that comes with it is awesome. THeir salad comes in a good portion and the dressing is super.
Overall a very good place to come and hookah but also a good place to get some food if you're hungry.
Decent place to go and hang out in the Phillips Ranch / Diamond Bar / Chino area. Atmosphere usually relaxed. When busy it turns into a circus.
When going for hookah it can be a bit pricey as there is a minimum of $10 per person. Staff is cool, come off a little strong, first impressions were meek. Have come around to the selection of flavors though.
Reallllllly dislike having to pay for water.. First place I've ever been to adopting this business practice.
Sahara lacks in few places, but those areas make a big portion of why I'm not dying to go back there. Service could improve, and get rid of the fee for water.
Fantastic!! My fiancee and I come to this place ALL the time. The staff is the friendlies they come. The manager recognizes us as we walk in and makes sure we get seats that satisfy our needs. When it's cold, they always make sure we are near a heater, or they move the heater next to us.
They have great hookah choices, from classic Starbuzz flavors to house flavors. Even more than what's on their menu.
Their food is DELICIOUS!! I have yet to order something that disappointed me. from Hot Sahlab, hummus + pita, or their baklava. Strongly recommend getting something to eat!
All in all, i highly recommend coming here to relax and just hang out.
I come here a lot.
They offer a lot of hookah flavors but the bomb ones are listed as premium -white peach and strawberry margarita are my favorite. The staff, especially Memo are great to ask for flavor suggestions if you're stumped, they always have a delicious combo off the top of their heads.
They hook it up with a fair amount of hookah and try their best to keep your coals fiery and fresh.
I finally tried their food offerings the last time I was there and I was surprised by how delicious everything was. the beef shwarma was super tasty but the chicken they brought out was the superstar in my eyes. it was served with some bomb pita & hummus, rice and a salad. GREAT TASTING MEAL!
Also, you must try the sahalib, it's a delicious dessert beverage that comes with crushed pistachios and helps me remember what falling in love feels like.
Some things to note:
1) there is a ten dollar minimum per person
2) there is no free beverage service when you're only there for hookah- if you ask for a glass of water, you're paying for it. (it's no big deal to me, but I've noticed a lot of people cry about it)
This was our weekend joint... Great atmosphere, great hookah.. If u tip the coal guy a dollar excellent service !! Great food and very helpful servers. However after the new management, I think business has increased but servers are having a hard time to keep up, CID the service is really slow lately !!!
Why i give it 3 stars:-
But after 4/15, we found out they started this new live singing stuff. I dot understand the language they're singing &. I don't mind it... But it's just tooooooooo loud !!! Â And it just wouldn't stop even at 12 am.
We spoke to the management and they told us it gonna be every weekend, so unfortunately we won't be going here anymore !!! Only if they did something any the super loud music we'd het our old hang out place back.
Place is mainly outdoor. Hookah is good BUT this place can get crowded. Â With only couple of servers (only 1 if you're before 7pm...lol) with avg. service and decent wait time!
They don't have water to offer, 2 bucks for a 20 cents bottled water. Biggest draw back, NO alcohol or even beer! Plus, at times loud crowd and/or ethnic music... which is okay I guess. Had chicken kebab, pretty good.
Whoaa~ What a change! I used to come here a lot up until a year ago - the hookah was good, the ambience way better than nearby hookah places. But the service was ... well there wasn't much of it. I felt like they would only check up/change coals for certain people. Well, I went recently to meet up with some friends and it is clear that they are under new management. The people who worked there were nicer and even the food was better. I was really surprised! I definitely recommend this place for hookah over anywhere in Brea and Claremont.
Review Source:Tried this place out with a few friends. The hookah is yes and no sometimes. I've come about 3 times, first time i was there, the hookah was decent, harsh at times, but overall decent. Second time it was bad, really harsh and I could'nt even taste anything. Third time, which was yesterday night, the hookah was good. Not harsh and tasted great.
The food is whatever. Honestly, I would just recommend the place for hookah and a few snacks if you would like. I got the beef shewerma, and it was actually very bland. Not the worst meal ever, but definitley not the best.
One thing thats great about this place is the management and service. The hookah lounges I've been to always have had really bad service, and it was almost impossible to flag down a waiter, let alone get your coals changed. But here the service is very good. There's usually 2 to 3 waiters walking around; just raise your hand and they usually attend to your needs. Theres a guy who comes around and changes your coals frequently as well. Also, the manager is always walking around and asking if you need anything, or making small talk. He's a very nice and accomodating guy.
Food: 6/10
Hookah: 8.5/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 10/10 (really chill place)
Overall: 8.5/10
Not too long ago I Yelped about the service here and how horrible it was and I complained about their not so appealing rules concerning their beverage service, but recently there has been a change to sahara's staff and i would definitely say that Sahara Cafe has stepped up their game!!!!
The quality of the service has improved tremendously..the staff are friendly and are quick to make sure everything is being taken care of.
The quality of their food and the new buffet is definitely well worth coming to Sahara Cafe
The man that handles the charcoal is very sweet and always seems to be there when you need him (for the most part).
They now offer free refills on their beverages if you purchase food and believe it or not the manager himself regularly checks Yelp to see what reviews are posted!! This alone gives me hope that Sahara Cafe will surpass many of its competitors!!!
Keep up the good work!
Previously, Sahara's food was decent, service wasn't something to brag about and their atmosphere was pretty dismal. Facts that would not have earned them 3 stars in my book.
But in the past few weeks, Sahara has stepped up in more than one way to garner a deserving 4 star rating.
The food is fantastic and the new buffet offers a cheap way to taste various middle eastern dishes for a low price. The buffet so far is only done on SAT and SUN nights and compliments the long menu of varied middle eastern delicacies. Oh, and you get free refills on sodas when you order food. :)
Highly recommended: Hummus (so far the best hummus I've had in the Inland Empire, if not in all of California); Beef Shawoorma (meat quality and marinade are both excellent); Chicken Kabob; fries (which resemble fries from Red Robbin); garlic paste is worth the mention as well; the basmati rice; the desert (knafieh with walnuts - though may be a little too sweet if you add the syrup).
The Hooka service and flavors are above average. My coals have never gone cold even though the place was packed.
The games: This place comes equipped with playing cards as well as Taweleh (Backgammon) adds to the overall ambiance.
The atmosphere: In addition to the 3 screens playing arabic music (and the occasional Lakers games), the new lighting and even the new glasses adds to the whole new face of Sahara.
The service: Â The only reason why I did not give a 5th star is because of the service, a problem which will most likely get solved shortly. With the new changes done to Sahara, the influx of new patrons has swamped the staff who, despite serving with a smile and trying hard to be everywhere at once in face of this new influx, are simply overwhelmed.
I'm sure it's merely a matter of time until more help is added to the excellent staff to help ease the pressure.
All in all, Sahara has risen to surpass its rivals in the area and still has room to grow beyond places like Eden Garden and Layaleena.
Highly Recommended from B.
I will start with the positive: Food taste great(we had the beef kabobs).
And the patio is pretty.
Now for the negative: The iced tea sucked! It was a watered down raspberry iced tea,and our waitress failed to tell us they had no regular iced tea and brought us the shitty tea. The service sucked ,perhaps more than the iced tea. And they had no steak knives!!! We had to cut our meat with dull butter knives.
I don't understand why people said their food was good.
SSSIIIKKKEEE!!!
I ordered the chicken shawerma plate. It came w/ salad, hummus, tiny strips of chicken, pita bread  and garlic spread. Salad was OK. Hummus was OK. But the chicken...ohh the chicken!!! It was...DRY!!! Didn't have no taste whatsoever...even if you eat w/ all the other crap it came w/ it still didn't taste like anything! You guys are better off eating at ZANKOU (yelp it!!!)
And for those that are interested w/ the hookah, It was OK too. The service was good though, they kept checking on us to see if we needed to change our coals...
I've been here quite a few times and the nice thing about is it's close otherwise the service is hit or miss at best. I'm usually chasing down waiters for service. And they make you buy bottled water no matter if you have another drink or not.
The hookah is rarely good and the coals are awful.
The food however is good and it's a fun atmosphere.
The location is a little hidden but after finding it once I never had an issue again. You're usually greeted and seated pretty quickly but make sure they don't try and shove you in a corner or else you WILL be ignored. Their hookah tastes okay at best and the coal they use sucks, everything from the taste to its ability to retain heat (funny because that's what it's for).
The service sucks too, some nights there is literally 1 waitress/waiter waiting on 10+ tables and becomes almost impossible to get help. The guy(s) walking around with the coal sometimes forget you if you don't get their attention.
You are seated outside but they heat lamps everywhere so it isn't too cold. Also, keep in mind that they expect you to spend $10/person so you can't really just hang out and have coffee.
You might be wondering why I still go to this place since I have so many bad things to say. Well, it's location is convenient. It isn't indoor (personally don't like indoor smoking) so there is a nice breeze at night. And last but not least, it isn't too loud and filled with immature teens so you can actually sit and enjoy a conversation with someone.
That's it! - Brian C.
I come to this place often because a lot of my friends live in Chino Hills. Â The hookah is good, they have many flavors. Â My favorite is white peach, but since it's my favorite of course it cost more than the average $12-13. Â I have to agree with people that the $10 minimum rule applies, and that they can't charge a card for less than $10, weird.
The last time we were there we order a special dessert that is not typically on the menu, and it was awesome. Â Too bad they don't offer it to all their customers.
The rest of their food is ok, i've tried better hummus. Â Their chicken shawmar is good, and their garlic paste is DELISH!
I don't know why i keep coming back to this place, when i can smoke for free at my friend, Philipp's house.
The $10 minimum rule is ridiculous. I guess it's because there's no other way they could make a profit on this place. Their hookahs average about $13. They have special flavors that are off the menu, like white peach, for example...but they are a little bit more expensive than the ones that are listed.
There are people that go around to re-fresh your coals, but make sure you don't get stuck in a corner. They tend to forget about you.
The food is mehhhh. I wouldn't recommend it. All of it has been sitting in the freezer for god knows how long. I know this because my boyfriend's pita bread tasted like freezer burn. The fries, baklava, and cheesecake were decent...but come on, it's a hookah lounge. You don't come here for the food.
I want to give this place a 3-star but it's hard when all I've had are desserts and the food I actually ordered was horrible.
First off this place is hard to find if your no longer familiar with the 71fwy and what used to be Old Pomona Rd. The signs for the street are incredibly hard to read in the dark, and if you don't know what to look for. I got lost twice. Made two trips actually before finding Old Pomona Rd.
Second the waitress was nice, but not nice enough to tell my friend that when you have a certain amount of people, they automatically charge $10 a person.
I went here and accompanied my friend to her friend's birthday who decided to celebrate at a shisha lounge rather than a bar. Other than it's hard to find (kind of), when we approached it, no one was there to check if you're legal. It was almost as if you were under 18 they allowed you to be there after 10PM. They had a dance room with a DJ, but no one was in there. The place was pretty packed and didn't smell like smoke.
This place is almost like a tapa's cafe. A lot of the desserts and appetizers were really cheap.
I can't tell you the names of the desserts we ordered, but the one that looks like empanada has walnuts and ashta inside with pistachio's and simple syrup on top. The waitress told us it was small and since we were sharing we ordered something else. When we got the dessert it wasn't small at all. They serve two of these things on a plate. One was overcooked (left in the fryer longer) and the other one was a bit softer and easier to cut into. The dough was almost like overcooked donuts. I didn't like it too much. While the filling was pretty tasty, the simple syrup made it too sweet. You have to like nuts and sugar to really enjoy this item. And while I enjoy both, I don't enjoy my desert to be drenched in syrup. It was pretty good, but it's not something I'd order all the time.
The other dessert we ordered was this soft white dough with cheese inside, topped with pistachio's, ashta, rose water and something else. I really can't remember, but it was so good. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet at all. The cheese inside wasn't strong either. The waitress said it's the Mediterranean version of American cheesecake. Which I suppose is not too far off. While this is good, I could only eat half of one. Â
For each dessert, the emapanda-like dessert was $3.00 and the cheesecake-like dessert was about $3.50 (or $4.25) I forgot which one.
Here's the kicker from point #2 above. The guy who made reservations was told about 2-3 hours after everyone arrived and was enjoying themselves that "You're bill is about $110, but since you have over a certain number of people, it's $10 per person, so even if you DO NOT reach $170, we're still going to charge $170." They couldn't tell him this before hand? They need to have this written down somewhere because that's ridiculous. While $10 per person isn't bad and included the shisha, they should have informed him earlier so he could tell everyone. Instead they chose to tell him after the fact. So everyone ended up ordering more food.
I ordered the falafel appetizer. This is the weird part. The appetizer is $5.75 while the sandwich is $3.50 (or so.) I didn't understand that. I couldn't wait to try the falfel too. When it arrived, I was so disappointed. Not only did it look overcooked it tasted nasty. I also want to say they made it themselves, but I'm leaning towards it's processed and frozen and they get it from a supplier. Daphne's has better falafel, that says a lot. I had to put a lot of tahini sauce on it to get some taste. Their tahini is bad too. It was too watery and had a very bland taste compared to other places I've had it.
Only come here to hang out and smoke shisha and maybe order some drinks. I would recommend eating before coming here and if you're going to eat, just get dessert. While the desserts are pretty good , it's the same main ingredient, ashta. Which seems a bit mundane, they have a lot of items on that menu, they need to change it up.
One thing I will give them is that there is someone who comes by every 15 minutes or so and changes the coal on the shisha.
Food: 2.5 star
Service (waitress): 1.5. The .5 is the waitress, the 1 is for the guy that came around to change the coals.
The rest was docked off for the mere fact that they did not inform or have it written anywhere that if you go over a certain amount of people in your party, that it's $10 and regardless of your bill you're still going to get charged for that x-amount of people.
The hookah is okay, the service is okay and the food is okay. Â The only reason I go here is because of its location and the atmosphere. Â "Hookah" lounges have turned into loud and obnoxious club type hang outs. Â You don't go to a hookah lounge to listen to Lil'Wayne at 500 db and look at black light posters.
Review Source:Number 1 rule about this place is that the food blows. I'm talking about a star status handed out by me. Well, if you're really drunk coming out from some party, that's a different story, you might even think my ramen is all star.
Food blows, but why got there? Well my friend, this place is all about the Hookahs and also the cup of hot chocolate. Well after-all, they have the one minimum drink whether you're sucking on those fruity flavor pipes or not.
This joint has been around for quite awhile, well it was pretty brand new back when I first started high school, so most of us used to come here on school nights or weekends. It's where the honeys are, right. Besides, my high school was just down the street, no bro, it was neither Garey nor Ganesha.
So the other day I came by and relived the old high school days with the old buds. It sure was a long time ago, but it did felt like it was only yesterday. Of course, we ordered the hot chocolate, and they're actually pretty good for a place like this. Puffed a little of the hookah with the apple flavor or what not, I don't even know anymore. Tried to make silly holes and shapes, then blowing them into the cups like the good old times. Maybe we did puffed a little too much, after all we don't even smoke and we started coughing. Then that's why we realized we're not the same anymore.
So remember rule number one which is to stay away from the food and order the hot chocolate only. Word?
I used to go here all the time..until it got WIGGITY WACK!!!!
Back in the day there was only a $10 min. only on weekends, but now it's on the daily. Also the people that work here pretty much suck, the last time I went here was in Sep. 07 on a weekday, not a busy night..but the servers paid little/no attention to us. We had to ask them repeatedly to bring our orders out. The food sucks..i'll admit the hot chocolate is good, but NO REFILLS! ...not even for soda!!! How lame..i mean considering we already have to pay the min. per person the least they could do is give an effin' refill for your drink!
After all that bad service and how much you pay..this place is definitely not worth it, especially considerin that it's located in P-town!
Diana: "Hi, table for 4 please!"
Host: "Uhhh, how long ya gonna be?"
Diana: *puzzled* What's that supposed to mean? *starts talking in arabic..angrily*
Host: *starts talking back in arabic*
So, my friend Diana didn't give a clear explanation as to what was said between her and the host, but nonetheless, we were seated in about 5 minutes. Now, hookah (nargilah in Hebrew) is not exactly my favorite, but we were all pretty hungry so we ordered different appetizers.
Baba ganoush: ***
Hummus/Pita: ***
Falafel: ** Â Â (Yeah, it was average.)
Tabbouleh: ***
Baklava: ***
The ambience was pretty cool, and service was fairly quick. (Thanks to Diana, probably).
Good times!
I like to hookah and since this place is near by I like it even more.
The only drawback to this place is that in the summer time when school is out, the place is packed friday nights and weekends with teenie boppers. Seems like there isn't an age policy in effect here and there is a one drink minimum.
The food is ok but I did get allergic reactions from 2 of their dishes so maybe its safe to say stick to the hookah =)
If you are into the Hookah scene then Sahara's is a great place in Pomona to check out.
Sahara's has a small menu that features some Persian favorites and they also have a nice selection of cold and hot beverages. They have the normal selection of favors for the hookah which include some favorite such as Rose, Melon and Apple. I like ALL FRUIT because it taste like Gummy Worms... yum!
In the summer months, Sahara's can get quite crowded with teenagers trying to act like they are hitting it for the first time. They also have a 1 drink minimum during the summer months so remember to hydrate accordingly.
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