Tangiers Tobacco Oddessey Hookah Lounge

by charlotte b.

This place is great if you like funky eccentric places to hang out.  The hooka tobacco is good, so good they make it for export, (I'm told it's very successful).  The walls are covered with notes from Eric, the owner, declaring  rules about things like how kilts are not acceptable.   Eric is usually there, and he goes out of his way to talk to each customer.  He has strong opinions , not jerky, but strong, so be prepared! There are also some strategy games around the lounge for people to play.  They sell sodas (pepsi) for $2 with free refills.  Awesome movies play on an old, but large screen TV.  Not fancy, but this place has personality and reasonably priced quality merchandise.  They have parking, but only a few spaces, plan to park on the street.

by Joseph G.

The best hookah lounge I've ever been to, by far.  The hookahs last for hours, unlike other lounges where they last maybe an hour and half.  It's a chill place to watch a movie or play a game.  Highly recommended.

by Frank C.

I have been smoking hookah for seven years now and i have been all across the board when it comes to different hookah tobacco! I have tried the Splash tobacco, Al Fahker, Al Waha, Starbuzz and Fumari.... I find them all to be inconsistent and cheap, not to mention the amount I get for my dollar, its just not worth it. When i want quality and quantity I look to Tangiers for my answers. Oddessey has a long list of flavors and how much i get for my money, Tangiers makes me a happy camper!! I love the Kashmir Cherry! it has a smooth, rich, sharp flavor that seems to last forever. The customer service at Oddessey is second to none and the prices for sale hookahs and tobacco are the best in San Diego. When it comes to being a customer to Tangiers/Oddessey,  I am a customer for life!!! FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!!!!  i just only wish i could put 6 stars!!

by Tim L.

Is this place so good that you would drive 100+ miles to come here for couple hours to chill? Yes, absolutely yes, me and couple of buddies do it all the time, from LA to SD via M5.First thing you would notice from the outside if the doors are closed is that it looks like one of those places that you go for some "adult aerobics" if you know what I mean. I have known the owner for maybe three years now and he has still made no attempt to make the place look more attractive to drive-bys but you will be glad that he didn't because at times, this place will be packed with a dozen people and you will have no where to smoke.Let's talk about the lung cancer, what a great way to get it! First puff of Tangiers will get you talking about how good it is, second puff, you will be sleeping on the couch. If you are new to hookah or even the hardcore hookah smokers that never smoked Tangiers before, be warned!!! This stuff is extremely good, extremely addicting, and it will give you the best hookah buzz ever. No other type of hookah tobacco can come close to Tangiers, it is just in a whole different league!The tobacco is made on site from the best tobacco available, which is grown here in the good old USA. Make sure to ask about F-Line, Tangiers caffeinated line of hookah tobacco which will knock out of your boots. If you are there, don't forget to pick up some of the very nicely price uber tobacco and a innovated tobacco bowl, the phunnel bowl.Come in, make friends with the owner and have your ass handed to you in chess, Scrabble, poker, and dozens of other activities you can do there while you smoke. Sit down on the awesome sofas that do not give any back support and watch a flick of the owners choice with the worlds best sound equipment for a hookah bar (Paradigm... Velodyne) and the worlds loudest ice maker. Don't forget to read the little paper notes that are taped all over the place, they are funny!Best hookah of all time. Pick up some tobacco. Make Eric happy and buy a hookah pipe. Do not sit on the green Ikea chair located in the middle of the place, your face will get smashed in. Ask about Etna's.P.S.Some of my suggestions, try to get F-Line horchata flavour if you can. Tropical revenge is to die for. Kashmir peach WILL be the first for you. If Eric is NOT there, ask for cherry lemonade. Don't forget to unlock the bathroom door when you come out.

by ASHLEY B.

I love it! I absolutely can NOT smoke anywhere else. The tobacco is high quality and fresh. You smoke Tangiers Tobacco and you'll never smoke anything else again. I love the environment. You can watch movies and play board games. Chit chat with the regulars or even chill with the boss man! My first time there i smoked the same bowl for 8 hours straight and the sheesha kept its flavor the whole time. Ive never been to a hookah lounge where they made their own tobacco and it actually tasted great. Their horchata flavor tastes exactly like the real thing! I love this place, I love the people, I love the environment. This is the place to be! I love the prices! Its half the price of all the other lounges Ive been too. He doesn't ration your charcoal and the bowls are huge. You definitely get your bang for your buck. All the hookahs are cleaned after each use, and there are certain hookahs for certain flavors. This really is the best place to smoke. I love it. I wouldn't go anywhere else if you paid me!

by richie e.

I actually worked a small stint working the back being part of the production of Tangiers.  I had absolutely no talent in doing it but walked away with complete respect for his manufacturing methods and quality.Damn, I'm starting to crave Tangiers just writing this Yelp review!This is quite the underground place.  It really feels like you've stepped into a secret hookah club.  This isn't like any other place in SD.  It's really like going down the rabbit hole and arriving in someone else's dimension.  If things are too funky for you to hang out just do yourself the favor of buying Tangiers, Japanese coals (these make a HUGE difference) and if you don't need a new pipe at least get one of their engineered bowl heads.  It's a superior design, trust me!

by Brittany G.

If i could give it 0 stars, i would.I picked this place because of all the good reviews i saw on yelp, but I'm thinking they are just friends of the owner or something. How could this place even get 2 stars?!I was planning a small get together for my boyfriends birthday, i called ahead and made "reservations" i told him about 7 or 8, possibly more people for 8pm on Saturday. Since this was a surprise, i wouldn't be getting there first, a group of friends got there at 8 and went in to tell the owner we were on the way.First the owner makes fun of one of the boys in the group, and is a total smart ass to him. So the group goes any waits outside for me and the birthday boy. We get there and first of all you cant find this place AT ALL. There are no signs, no indication that there is even a hookah lounge, nothing. So i poke my head inside and its a small room with some chairs and such and a tv. Thats it. Its a hole in the wall. The group that got there early said there was a place up the street, we ended up going there instead (and were much happier). So while we were leaving, the rude ass owner pokes his head over the corner and yells "whats up?" at me, I'm thinking seriously dude? your going to try to start something? We just left, i was not about to even waste my breath on him. I would not waste my time even looking for this place. For anyone wanting a hookah kick back, just know this place is at the bottom of the food chain, there is WAAAYYY better out there. Dont bother!

by Elliott M.

ok so tangiers...the quality of the tobacco is amazing, the best, fairly cheap, BUT it is finicky, you have to let it adjust to the humidity for hours in order to the the most out of it. if you dont then bad things will happen, and as to the people who have had bad experiences with it, im betting this was the reason. The owner is cool, he'll give you a hard time sometimes but is a nice guy and if you cant take it, then you can go to France. its not very "posh" inside as the other yelper said but thats what makes it awesome. cos it isnt a cookie cutter hookah bar like the rest of the ones, and im guessin that the other reviewer may be a cookie cutter person herself. (not that thats a bad thing)So if you are lookin for something different and wanna try some crazy strong/flavorful hookah you should go to tangiers.

by Nick C.

Although this location is a bit underground - with no sign displayed or any sort of effort made to make customers welcome, it is a prime find and the ultimate local San Diegan hidden treasure. Tangiers is a locally made brand of sheesha. The entire product is made domestically from the growth of the tobacco to the mixture of the flavors. It is undoubtedly the best sheesha you can buy. The difference between in Tangiers' flavors, unlike what you'd usually find in a liquor store/smoke shop, is that they all simulate the taste of real fruit (or coco or lemon blossom - whatever the flavor is titled). The creator of the tobacco and owner of the shop is a brilliant engineer with several degrees, and he's constantly refining his tobacco; even making changes to the flavors based on seasonal temperatures and humidity. Keep in mind that this business is one of Tobacco sales, not of a hookah lounge. Although you can hang out and have a good time there, with some nights getting a little crowded, this is definitely THE BEST place to pick up any kind of hookah products.In order to give people a medium to use for smoking the tobacco sold here, Tangiers gives away hookahs just above cost. You can get a full sized, good quality hookah starting at $35. Here  you can also find good Japanese coals and quality leather hoses (which are super hard to find). And of course they have a huge selection of THE BEST flavors of sheesha. Some of the highlights are cocoa, mint, blueberry, and red tea. Another amazing thing about Tangiers is that they invented caffeinated tobacco. NO BULLSHIT. You can get a few select flavors made with caffeine which gives you an instant feeling of alertness and zip, but doesn't make you feel all crappy or strung out like coffee does. I would tell anyone who is into hookah (especially those who like to smoke at home) that they have to find this place and start getting all their supplies here.