Should have mentioned, as noted by another reviewer - this is definitely NOT a family spot - the crowd was really sketchy, including what looked very much like some Gulfy guys with hookers. Â Not a place for a family Ramadan Iftar, or even for people who don't like loud, tacky drunks (seems odd, I know, given that it's a dry restaurant/cafe, but a significant number of the crowd seemed intoxicated).
Review Source:Went to break the fast with 2 friends and found that the food was just OK; A bit pricier for the quality (a $20 a head). Kataiif sweet was very dry, Mhalbi was uneatable and fruit choices were limited to watermelon and cantaloupe. We were charged over $5 for an expresso coffee and over $3.50 for a regular coffee ( more expensive than Starbucks!). Added to this dissatisfaction was the 18% gratuity on the bill (keep in mind that it is a buffet ! with self service !). I ended paying a bill of $88 and was asked if I could give more tip :-). For close to $30 a head, I will definitely break the fast in better and closer places next time. By the way, I drove all the way to Falls Church because friends stated that the restaurant charges only $12 a person to find out that was last year price to attract customers. Now that we are attracted, they found a way to make us run away :-). We were told that the only spots we could sit at were under the open canopy. So eek! Methinks not.
Review Source:Not bad! I shared lamb and chicken kabob sandwiches, Um Ali, and baklava with my friend, and they were all pretty good! We had some mint shisha and enjoyed hanging out.
Thankfully we got the friendly server who looked interested in helping people, there was another girl there who looked like she really wished she was somewhere else, and ignored people as they came in.
If you're looking for a good hookah spot and some good Mediterranean food, check out Zaaki!
I live literally one minute away from this place and I always pass it but I never noticed it until one day I was craving some hookah and gave it a shot. Its located on route 7 right across from the Culmore shopping center and right beside the Shell gas station. Spacious decor inside with hookah seatings connected outdoors thats covered in a canopy/tent style. Of course the persian music will be poppin mostly if you go by around the weekends. I've been a regular customer there since I live so close and I like it there, its way better than the hookah places in the Skyline area. Heres a quick review on it.
Pros: good food, spacious seating area, assorted hookah choices, affordable prices.
Cons: Small parking lot, no alcohol, and they charge for water.
I don't know how this place got 4 stars. I was warned before I came here that their service sucks. We came at 5pm on a Sunday. We were the only people there. I ordered the samboosa combo for $5 that was supposed to come with 2 veggie samboosas and 2 meat ones. After 25 mins, it finally comes out but with just 2 pieces. I ask wth gives and the waitress says "Oh they used to be smaller so they were 4". I'm like...shouldn't you reflect that on your menu. Needless to say I asked her to take them back. I make samboosas at home and it costs me $5 to make about 15-20 meat ones. I also ordered their $14 Kabsa with lamb. This is the only reason this place didn't get a one. The lamb was very good and moist. The salad was laughable in size. And the rice was seasoned well but some rice kernels were still hard and undercooked. My husband got the maanek sandwich, fries, and a soda. Tell me why the soda and fries alone were almost $6. Fries were good. Sandwich meat tasted EXACTLY like Banquet brand beef sausage links that you can buy from Giant for $1. Overall, the food is NOT worth the price. The service was extremely slow and unprofessional. Don't go here. Go to Tarbouch in Arlington. Much better everything!
Review Source:Nice quaint hookah place. Coming from a frequent smoker, the hookah was really excellent. They are Arab and you can tell they  know their stuff. Food was good too, and they were open till 4am! It was one person from our group's birthday and the owner got us a really nice full sized cake from a nearby grocery store for all of us to enjoy. We don't even know the guy. Really nice gesture. Will come back here again.
Review Source:Difficult to miss this one on Route 7 with its big parking lot and wedged between the church and the Shell station. I had been to this property before during it's previous life as a Salvadorean restaurant, and can say that it is much nicer now. Lots of color inside with all new furniture and paint is welcoming, and the bathroom is huge and clean. A little odd is that the kitchen is in the cellar.
The menu is reasonably priced, but we didn't eat. We only had tea and shisha. Both were at or below what other local shisha places are asking, which we found reasonable. They have outdoor smoking during the summer on their patio, which is then enclosed and heated during the winter. No doubt an homage to Tarbouch in Arlington.
Overall, we thought everything was fine except that it wasn't special. Just didn't seem like the kind of place I'd want to bring my laptop or hang out. Check it out for yourself, it might just be what you're looking for.
This review is for their late night menu and hookah. Pretty solid place, it's a set-up where seating is primarily outdoors. The inside is night, but it's tiny and more of a "lobby" than people actually eating/smoking in there. The real charm of the place is being completely outdoors and smoking hookah, no worries about ventiliation! It is a bit of an odd set-up, they just put a bunch of tables and chairs out in the parking lot, and part of the seating does have a roof from the restaurant, with large screen HDTVs laid around. It's definitely not your typical hookah place. It's perfect for when it's a nice night out, and there's always people there.
When you first open up the menu, you'll think, "Wow awesome prices!" They start at around $6.50 for kabob sandwiches, and $9.50 for entrees. Sadly, the portions are pretty small, and to add on fries + drink it's another $3.50, then it doesn't seem like such a great deal anymore. I've eaten there a couple of times, and both times they didn't include everything that was stated in the menu (half of the toppings/ingredients). We told them about this last night, and they were at least nice enough to correct the mistake, and give us a couple bottles of water (which as you know, some hookah places rape you prices on these, $4 for a freakin bottle of water). Here I believe it's around $2, but again it was on the house so I'm not sure.
Anyways, the food was pretty good, it is your standard kabob fare, the fries were good, and the hookah was nice and smooth. The waiters/hookah people are nice enough to put a new coal for you and clean it up, I'm not a hookah expert so that was nice to have. All-in-all, a great place to smoke hookah if there's nice weather out, but if they can give better portion sizes and get their orders right, this would be a solid 4 stars.
Maybe I'm just becoming an old homebody, or maybe I've become more particular to how a hookah is packed/cleaned, but I'm increasingly finding that a smoke at home is always better than a smoke outside.
Zaaki is a new establishment, and they seem to be off to a pretty good start. Â There were several parties eating outside when we dropped by for some mint shisha action. Â We didn't eat, but the dishes are reasonably priced. Â The hookah is also reasonably priced at I think $13 or $14 for al fakher--I'm not sure, as I was handed a menu with one printed price, and he was handed another menu with a different price penned over it. Â
--You can only smoke outdoors. I wonder if they have a contingency plan for the winter, as I didn't see any of those plastic tarp things or built-in heaters.
--I am told that the inside looks nice and modern.
--They open at 11am, but don't seem to always have the Open sign out. Â We drove by at almost noon, and thought they were closed.
We went for the Ramadan iftar buffet. Â It was $11.99 and it was well worth the money. Â There were 5 or 6 great cold appetizers - tabouleh, hummus, baba ganouch, foul, etc., presented in lovely modern white dishes. Â There was also a great assortment of hot dishes - kebsa and other lamb, beef, and chicken offerings. Â Everything was delicious, except the falafel, which was just....off.
The service: they're still working out the kinks. Â Luckily, this was a buffet, so we weren't too dependent on the servers. Â There was an older stern motherly lady who reprimanded me for taking too long in line, but it was clear that she had good intentions and was simply speaking to me like one of her children. Â Our server was sweet, but was clearly overburdened. Â The place is new, and they seemed to have only 2 servers to wait on approximately 50 tables, so we tried to be understanding. Â It took 15 minutes to get the coffee I ordered, then another 15 minutes to get sugar for it. Â But as long as you're not in a big hurry, the slow service can be tolerated. Â
We sat outside on the terrace to enjoy the evening breeze. Â The interior decor is modern - white and red with clean lines. Â
We definitely plan to return.
Looking for a new halal place to check out during ramadhan with some friends, I happened to come upon Zaaki online. Â I figured its a Friday night and I don't mind taking a drive out to VA for some kabobs. Â We ended up standing in line for an 11.99 buffet. Luckily we were one of the first 25 people so we got to pick from everything. Â Zaaki apparently has just opened this Summer and offers good food at a decent price. Â You can tell from how crowded it was that people really enjoy it. Â The service was a little slow for drinks, etc but it was understandable seeing as there were over 100 people there. Â I will definitely return!
FYI there is no menu or website online but the food is generally middle eastern.
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