Ignore every positive review from YEARS past. Here's a fresh take. I hope MIKE the owner is reading this! I was a VERY familiar regular here. My last recent visit a week ago inspired me to make my very first ever Yelp review. Â After falling in love with this place after visiting over the Summer last year, my opinion is much different today.
First gripe. The skinny chaldean gentleman working the counter on Fridays has ZERO problem dropping your change directly from the register, to the TIPS bin without your permission. This has happened to me my last 3, yes 3 visits! And I'm not talking loose change either. BILLS. Real classy. My other gripe is the new, awful remodel! The seats/couches are THEE most uncomfortable you will ever sit on, not too mention give an ugly modern look. Before the remodel, you actually felt you were smoking in some posh, comfortable moroccan lounge. There were random loose pillows scattered about for your comfort, and the decor really gave an authentic vibe. Maybe they made the seating uncomfortable to get people to get up and leave/rotate quicker.
Lastly, they've become extremely CHEAP with giving out hookah coals. I always ordered a hookah with a Pineapple head ($25), which require more coals due to it's larger surface area to burn efficiently. The gal came around and I asked for coals. She gave me a whopping 2! The Pineapple head needs at least 3-4 at all times to smoke properly. When she walked by a few minutes later, I requested some more. That's when her bald chubby co-worker nearby objected to it, and had the balls to say outloud "but you just gave him some!" Yeah, not enough idiot! I was given more, and walked out about an hour later. Never again will I visit Zodiak.
Future patrons, you were warned! And to MIKE, this is the Italian man that always came in large groups. Good bye!
Good place to relax on day time and even better place to hang out in the night time. They have a lot of flavors and if you don't know what you are in the mood, they hook up you with something good. Their tea and chai haleeb is the best. And when you are hungry, you just can order food from next door ( the chicken quesadillas are die for). And they have a belly dancer on Fridays and Saturdays, so definitely the best place  to hang out. Fall in love with that place last summer and still love it a lot.
Review Source:Just horrible.
Me and a few friends decide to try somewhere new to smoke hookah. Unfortunately we made the mistake to try and go here.
We arrive at the supposed location, and can't find the damn place. Â Thinking we may be in the wrong place, I give the guy a call. A gentleman picks up and seems to be rather polite. He tells us how to get to the lounge "unmarked" easy to miss. He also tells me that he is "running late", and asked if we would "mind waiting around 30mins for them to get ready and open"
I tell him that it's no problem, we drive around, come back an park in around 10-15mins. The lights are on, the door is open, there's a few people smoking hookah. Cool, it must be open. We get out of the car walk in to door, everyone smoking gets quite and stare at us.
I notice a larger gentelman, who seems to be the owner I ask them politely "are you guys open?" Expecting either a "sorry, we'll be open in a few more minutes" or "yes come on in."
Instead he decided to be a complete ass.
Him "AREN'T YOU THE ONE WHO JUST CALLED?"
Me "yes?"
Him "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU 30 MINUTES!"
Me "okay then".
Okay, call me crazy, but what the hell do you expect?! You have the lights on, Hookahs going, and the door open. LOOKS OPEN TO ME.
Okay, you're the owner, you want to enjoy a pipe before you open, cool. At least have the door closed. Don't be rude to a customer. Pretty basic stuff.
He has lost our buisness definitely (Both online purchasing of his hookah tobacco and the actual lounge)
I will not support a buisness that treats customers like this.
Great place to go and just chill with some hookah. I came here on a Saturday night and they had a belly dancer perform at around 10pm. It was fun times. Definitely a great vibe in there. The decor is a little dim a little dark and a little smokey. They have outdoor seating as well, but the inside definitely has a better ambiance. A lot of college kids come here because it's right near SDSU. Overall, a chill place to hang out with some friends.
Review Source:This is best place to tar up a lung in San Diego. For starters, your hookah burns consistently for about an hour, every time. As a daily patron, I find this to be one of my favorite features. Sadly there is some want for decor. The cushions are a little worn, but suffice to say the least, and the men's room is always hard-up for paper-towels. Overall though, I greatly enjoy their staff, food, and beverage selection as well as the lounge-like atmosphere.
Review Source:Puff puff pass! There are a lot of hookah lounges in SD, but this one is a hidden gem for SDSU students. The hookah here is excellent and staff is super attentive. Order a cup of their special black tea and you got yourself a nice time to catch up with friends, read, or study. It can get a bit noisy in the evenings on Thursday - Saturday, so studying / reading might have to wait.
Review Source:A solid 2 stars. Why? Im a nice person. Where do I start... everything is stained, the espresso is a joke, the music sucks, the people suck, everything has holes in it, the roof shows signs of major water damage, the staff is ugly, the floor is covered in those hookah cover mouth condom things, my seat sucks, this table looks pretty rickety, I guess that pillow looks pretty nice in this crappy low lighting. The only thing I can't account for is the hookah considering I don't smoke. Ill give them the highest benefit of doubt and assume its pretty okay. "How's the hookah joe?" Joe: "I have a beaver tattoo", "Fair enough". -Kpain thugloc.
Review Source:If i had to write this review 7yrs ago which thats when it was first open I'd say it was amazing.
Now it went from an A+ to an F+ SERIOUSLY what happened to this joint? it used to be great. I was in town for few months and decided to invite my friend to smoke some hookah. I came here ordered a hookah for $17 dollars which is way too high!
than the hookah arrived to the table which was (nice) but yet the Charcoal again was the Pre-led nasty ones!!!!! aghh wat is wrong w/ those people why do they cheap out on the most important thing of the CORE ...
anyways, couldn't wait to finish it and just leave the place was Way too crowded and packed and it was just a MONDAY night LOL... never going back there again!!!!
Do not order their food: you might be hungry, but don't let your lightheadness fool you! There is a restaurant 3 doors down, and you can bring food in. We ordered this hummus, lamb dip and the meat was like beef jerky.
Hookah: Got the rose water fruit (something like that) and it was soo delicious! It was minty, oddly enough and it went down a lot smoother. You definitely want to put 2 coals at the same time to get a better puff.
Atmosphere is chill and the service is great. There is always someone coming around making sure you have enough coal. It was great because you can literally sit, not move a muscle and smoke the night away. I like how there are chairs and couches, variety of music, interesting people. The neighborhood is kinda sketch, but don't be stupid and you should be safe.
Not the best hookah or the most helpful of service, but it's a fun place to hang out, nonetheless. I meet here often with my Arabic Language Meetup group, and we always have a fine time because we're a fun crowd. Last time, I ordered the Shawerma on Hummus from the food place next door that are the same owners, and it was GOOD! The shawerma was well seasoned and the hummus was almost as good as my mom's.
As for the hookas, they have cheaper tobacco and then premium ones. I had the cheaper one because the others were waaaaay too expensive. I smoke hookah at home a few times a week and grew up with hookas as  normal thing. So it's not a novelty for me. If you are new to hookah or don't do it often, spring for the expensive tobacco. You'll enjoy it more.
Ahhh....Zodiak, I miss a year and how you have changed. Â I've always loved the Zodiak and still do, though maybe not quite as much. Â I have spent many nights at the Zodiak, typically immersed in deep converstaion, often hiding from cool evenings amidst puffs of fruit-scented tobacco and warm tea with sugar and milk. Â I enjoyed the delicious late night menu (it never seems too late to order food) of delicious Middle-Eastern sandwiches, appetizers and desserts. Â I would brag of the brightly-colored Moroccan decor, and Arabic music videos which played loudly, giving the venue a special energy. Â
Walking in just before 11:00 PM on a Thursday, I was happy to see the place crowded, with clientele smoking and playing backgammon, but then I was immediately disappointed...the decor had changed...no more overstuffed pillows, bright colors and no more low walls creating privacy around the sections of seating. Â Even worse, there were no Middle Eastern videos or music. The decor is bland and the music is your typical pop and hip-hop, as though they were attempting to expand to reach a broader clientele, however losing identity and originality....as well as much of the Middle Eastern crowd that used to frequent this establishment.
We did stay, however, and I still really enjoyed my experience. We had a delicious chicken kebob platter with rice, bread and hummus, some of my favorite sweetened tea (highly recommended) and a vanilla hookah, which seemed only to get better with time.
I miss the former Zodiak, but am sure I'll be back.
Iraqi-Armenian owned and its def one of the better hookah lounges i have visited
The service was great, they had alot of hookah flavors, the music was hip and at some point there was a very talented belly dancer who balanced a sword on her forehead as she danced!!!
The shawarma and hot-wings had me licking my fingers!
They also have flat -screen tvs all around on the latest soccer game which is a plus for us soccer fans. All around it has a great ambiance, decor, lively, free wifi and the hookah had free refills!!!
The hookah here was good, but I give it one star bc the place looks like a dump.
A group of friends and I came here on Sunday afternoon. Walking in I immediately felt like I needed to take a shower. All of their couches and seats had burn marks, looked old and in desperate condition to get washed. I wouldn't be surprised if someone caught hepatitis here.
Another annoyance was that there supposedly was an important game going on so they had that blaring from their TV for about 15 min while we were there. Finally we asked them to put some music on, the employees weren't rude about it and put it on right after our request. But still, seriously? Lets go smoke hookah and watch a game? Maybe at home but not at a hookah LOUNGE.
We came with a somewhat big group and so the difficulty of getting everyone to leave and go somewhere else was part of the decision to have stay.
All in all I would never go back, there are far too many newer and cleaner places to smoke at.
Gross factor: 5 Stars
My first trip here was earlier this year back in April when I was attending SDSU. Â It was during the afternoon right in the middle of the week so there weren't a lot of people there (two, three customers tops). Â It's a really nice place to just hang out with friends and I fell in love with it immediately. Â I don't go as much now that I've graduated so it's always nice when I do get the opportunity to go.
The hookah's not only great, but they also have some great food and drinks. Â I got one of their sandwiches and was amazed at how big it was (and at such a good price, too!). Â It was so big I had to let me friend finish the rest... but it was just so good! Â And paired with their chai tea is nothing short of amazing. Â Also, they have free WiFi access so you can bring your laptop along with you while you smoke hookah... added bonus!
I came back here last night to relax pre-finals and ordered some food since I was starving for a good while.
I ordered a turkey bacon avocado sandwich for $6.95 and was I overwhelmed! HUGE sandwich, more like a baguette. It also came with a sliced pickle and a bag of chips. Massive sandwich for the win! Had I not shared some bites with some friends, I think I could've finished it, and that's saying a lot. Absolutely delicious.
I'll most definitely be getting more food here whenever I drop in.
It's getting a 3 because I couldn't decide on a 5 or a 1.
After all, it wasn't Zodiacs fault a hot coal landed on my leg and scarred me forever, it was my dates. Â It is, however, Zodiacs fault for being so awesome in it's atmosphere that it constantly taunts me and scares me to think of going back.
I recommend, just don't sit on anything that looks like a stool, because it's really a pillow and the shit WILL hit the fan.
I've been smoking hookah for almost a decade now and Zodiak is among the best. They have a wide variety of flavors and a typical smoke can last for an hour if it's just you on the pipe; with friends, of course, it goes more quickly. The prices are a bit steep ($16 for a pipe on average) but the quality of the smoke is good. I only wish they'd go back to the natural coals; the self-lighting compressed discs are horrible. I don't cough when I smoke but if you put a freshly-lit disc on, you taste it and it's horrible. That quickly goes away but the low-quality coals really do change the flavor and experience of smoking a hookah. It doesn't ruin the experience, though.
The place is big enough for upwards of 100 people and on Friday and Saturday nights, it gets packed. The interior is a little bit worn-down, but that's a testament to the turnover they get. They play a lot of Arab dance and folk music too which adds to the ambience. On weekdays it's more mellow, and they sometimes put on the TVs or play Frank Sinatra (to the person who complained about that: really? He's the freakin' Chairman of the Board!); you can always play backgammon or cards, or browse the net on the free Wifi. The food is quite good too as are the drinks, but the focus here is the hookah.
I don't go here that often any more but the occasional pipe after work is nice; I don't even consider going to other hookah bars now because they're not really as good as Zodiak is. My only real gripe is the fact that they're using those terrible self-lighting coals; if they went back to natural hardwood charcoal, they'd definitely get five stars.
The Zodiak is a beautiful place with tons of memories. I started going a while after they moved to this location on El Cajon Blvd. After a few weeks I was convinced that this had to be the new hangout spot. I'm still at a sweet little age below 21 below so I really don't have a lot of late-night places to go to hang out, that's why I started going here.
I started to bring different friends here just to hang out and talk about current issues or just BS and relax. I even had the guts to reserve the section in the center for VIP one night, and to my dismay I was short 2 people (13/15 came), but I tipped big! I own several hookah pipes, and one of my favorite single-hoses are from the Zodiak.
The place is comfortable overall, good seating, ventilation, good mix of middle-eastern hip-hop/pop and American hip-hop. The usual club vibe.
The limit is 3 people per hookah, which is slightly annoying at times.The price is a little high if your friends don't really pitch in (which is usually my case) so you might end up paying 21 bucks for the works at only 3 people per hookah then another 2 dollars for the dry feeling the price just left in your mouth. But you can make it last 3-4 hours if you know what you're doing.
The staff is really cool, especially when it's not totally packed in there. They finally got new girls working there, one of which is absolutely gorgeous and nice. The dudes that work there are awesome, Sean is the BEST EVER, and I do magic tricks with all of them.
Bring your I.D. at all times if you don't come here often, because starting off, you will be carded by the very large and intimidating manager.
You don't just have to go there to smoke hookah either, there is food, desserts, drinks of all kinds, cards, backgammon, entertainment on TV, or shisha and supplies to take home.
Drawbacks: The occasional headache from instant-light coals, ever since they stopped using Chinese stick-coals.
Sometimes you might sit by an unusually annoying group.
Bonuses: They have a buy 9, get the 10th free program!
I used to come here every weekend, but now I'm limited to about every two or three weeks on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Those are the best days to go anyways. I'd recommend this place to anyone! Catch the belly-dancers at 11pm on Fridays!
Was here on New Year's Day around 4pm.. my husband and I were the only people in there! Â Assumed everyone was still recovering from the night before ; )
Found this place through yelp before our trip to San Diego & all the reviews are pretty much right on. Â Long lasting hookah, tons of different flavors, great service, flat screen TV's, love the decor, cool ambiance. Â Minus one star because it WAS expensive. Â But still, 3 hours well spent!
Kinda pricey but I had so much fun here! The chai tea with evaporated milk is delicious. The hookah we had was pretty good. They recommended the "Sexy" blend... which I did not like but our other hookah was good.
They have cards and games and lots of tv, which is great.
Best part of the night was when the belly dancer came out though. She was amazing!!! She took two of our friends up to dance and I got it all on video. Loved it.
Zodiak is where you go if you want to hang out in a hookah bar but want to go with a mix of smokers and people who are not. Not only are there a number of tasty menu options to make them feel its worth their while, but it is also very well ventilated and they do not allow you to smoke anything but hookah itself inside. It is very open & spacious and the decor is lovely and comfortable. It's not necessarily cheap, but if split a hookah three ways (the limit per hookah), it amounts to $6 dollars apiece, which is not bad for such a lovely night. The tobacco is high quality and they have a wide assortment of flavors.
Fridays and Saturdays they (almost always) have a belly dancer and that adds a whole new level of charm to the evening. I was a little alarmed that the last time I went there seemed to be less belly dancing and more gyrating for tips, but I am hoping it was an off night.
For the many, many years I have been coming here, I should have written a review a long time ago. I have been smoking hookah since I was 16 (now 21) and can tell the good tobacco from the bad, a good hookah from a bad hookah etc! The run down...
1. They use awesome tobacco (Starbuzz Premium Tobacco to be exact) Recommended flavors/mixes: California Love, Tangerine/Mint, Raspberry/Mint, White Grape, Pomegranate, Stawberry/Vanilla, Citrus Mist, and many more!
2. The staff is awesome and is very honest with you if your having trouble debating what type of flavor to get.
3. They have HAPPY HOUR! From 12 noon to 6PM, and hookahs are half price $9.00 and a refill is only $4.50!
4. They have free wi-fi so coming to do my homework here during the day is always an option (I used to go to Living Room, but lately it's been loud and extremely hard to find a place to sit, sorry I have NO patience for that)
5. Fridays & Saturdays have a belly dancer! You definitely get that Middle
Eastern vibe going!
6. They have food! Middle Eastern cuisine and a few regular sandwiches, affordable prices. They also have many blended drinks, teas, coffees, etc.
This place is awesome! I highly recommend to all, come with a few friends chat it up play some cards, backgammon, chess or checkers!
Ps. DO NOT FORGET YOUR ID! If they do not know you they will card you (must be over 18) and won't take I forgot it at home excuse for an answer.
YAY i'm so glad i found a good hookah place down here! thank you, yelp.
came here with a friend last night. REALLY easy to find, but a bit of a drive from my place near UCSD. it's a really nice spot. good size, nice decorations, nice guy working, good tobacco, good music. i have NOT tried the food yet, but next time i will!
i have no idea what Posh P. is talking about. everything he/she said about this place does not apply. DEFINITELY recommend this place. go! and enjoy!
Note to users: Zodiak NOT Zodiac. Hookah Lounge, not Café.
I've been going to the Zodiak for quite a number of years and I cannot believe that I've never reviewed this place!
I used to go there when it was in La Mesa, then they moved to El Cajon Blvd. We started going more frequently as a means to gather the UCSD college kids, secondary mates, and tertiary friends for some hookah action.
Tonight was no different. All of us have lead very different, yet similar lives and we share a hookah as if time had stopped. Tonight, we shared three different flavors of hookah; passion fruit, fuzzy navel, and vanilla. We talked about life, Mythbusters, and my Yelp drama. We also quoted Tropic Thunder quite a bit. It wasn't super awesome, but I'm starting to think it may be the new cool. Killing pandas, and other valuable, tasty creatures in a film has some advantages such as memorable lines and a distinctive flavor in your mouth.
The staff was extremely helpful this evening, and the dancer came out on time. I can't say that this has ever happened before, but I'm glad they always give us the "VIP" treatment now--I guess it's because we always bring a large group and order their extremely overpriced food.
I highly recommend it, however, I'm reserved in saying this place is inexpensive. A hookah and a sandwich cost me $35.00. I shared the hookah, of course, so the bill for 3 hookahs and food + drinks probably topped $100.00. Not cheap if everyone doesn't pitch in. You could almost buy a baby panda for $100.00 on the black market. Okay, maybe those are a little more expensive, but for reals, hookah is getting expensive.
My hookah lasted about 3 hours with only 3 people on the hookah, so I'd say that wasn't too bad. You also have to know how to distribute the coals. If you don't know how to do this, ask the staff. The music is upbeat and lively. Sometimes it's hip-hop, sometimes it's middle eastern craziness. When the belly dancers come out, the volume goes to 11.
Get there early to grab a comfortable spot for you and your friends. I recommend between the hours of 8 and 9 on a Friday or Saturday to really procure your hookah, seats, and food. After that, the lines get long and the place gets packed.
Normally I'd give 4 Stars. I'm being generous with the 5 stars because I saw a 1 star review that is the complete opposite of what they claim this place to be. If you search Miss A's reviews for the word "hookah" you can see for yourself. The "hookah connoisseur" has given one establishment 5 stars, while every hookah place in town gets 1-3 stars. Very suspicious indeed.
This place is TERRIBLE. Ask anyone that knows about hookah and they will say this place is a joke.
They use Toxic charcoal and fill your head with like half a spoon full of sheesha so it will burn out quick and you will need a refill.
It's sooo over priced!
The owner is a toofaced perverted jerk.
The music will put you to sleep(they play FRANK SANATRA!! no joke)
This place is just CRAP.
The only plus on this place is it's comfortable and semi nicely decorated.
The place is a waste of time and money.
If you are looking for a place to go to and get a headache due to the toxic smells in the air from there 10 cent charcoal go here.
Went there last Friday, they had a great atmosphere.
I rated them 2 starts
basically the hookah was tasty and the music good but there were some negatives too.
The music was really loud, to the point I couldnt hear anyone, Iall we
were doing was shouting at each other
the hookah is rather price at 20 dollars, meaning there are better places to go and even if there are better 20 dollar places, id rather go there
The good thing was that, the atmosphere , in comparison to many hookah bars I have been to in orange county, was very diverse, you had arabs, and persians and african and Indians there. It was pretty cool.
UPDATED:
I BELIEVE THAT THEY USE THE KIND OF CHARCOAL THAT GIVES YOU
HEADACHES!!!!!!!!!!!
I like zodiak but when it gets crowded (and it can get reallyyy crowded) the people who work there don't give out the coal promptly enough. The decor is pretty cool but its pretty dirty and worn out now that so many people have been there...theres also some burnt holes on the couch seating along the walls. It can be kind of pricey but the people are nice....except I don't like one of the girls there that flirted with my boyfriend right in front of me! wtf...i should take another star off for that haha...but I wont.
The tobacco is good, the hummus is good and I like going there so overall I recommend it...its way better than fumari or habibi's right across the street. Also, they don't serve alcohol, it was a real bummer for my bf.
Once upon time, on a late Friday night, I discovered a belly dancing lady. However, with my short attention span, it was only interesting for a little bit. Other than the belly dancing lady, they have a wide variety of great tasting shisha flavors. Pomegranate has an awesome taste to it. The athomosphere is pretty relaxing until it gets really crowded with the mass amount of SDSU students...
Review Source:*Exceptional Sheesha w/ wide variety
*Unique Middle Eastern Decor
*Exotic Music
*Space can be LIMITED
Zodiak has outside seating for those warm summer Wednesday nights. They also serves authentic chai w/ haleeb, coffees, and shakes. Last time I went they had baklava, don't know if it's fresh, but I'd rather make my own.
Mostly college students and Middle Eastern crowds. The service is decent, their attention to reloads and coals is really on the ball. Cost can be a tad much. Parking is plentiful in the lot, or park on the street. Two tiny bathrooms, which are tidy, yet difficult to locate.
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