Habibi Lounge

by Dee L.

Background note: My man and I have recently decided to hit several places of the same genre in one week, and make a determination about which are our favs.And so begins my tour of NY hookah bars...Last night, a Thursday, we dropped into Habibi Lounge around 10PM. The place seemed legit since they heat up the coals outside the authentic way. Legit, it was. Continue on inside and find yourself surrounded in a chamber of cushiony couches, ample pillows, and medieval-inspired lanterns and sconces throwing a dim, epicurian light.  It must have been this sensuous lighting and cozy atmosphere that provoked the high-school kids occupying the majority of the small space to grope, grind, and make out in between spurts of dancing to the music coming from the ipod they had hooked up to the speakers. I know this sounds like it would be unappealing if you were to stroll in, hoping to wind down and converse post-dinner. However, we found some amusement in it. Only in NY do you get to hang out in an Egyptian Shisha joint and listen to reggaeton. If you have a sense of humor and you're just looking to enjoy some shisha and a drink or two, stop in here on a weeknight.

by Ro N.

This was the third and final place that I went - so I am pretty much feeling really really good.  I didn't drink anything here at all except water.This was my first time to smoke hookah.  Are you suppose to feel anything?Because I didn't feel anything at all and so I ended up taking only four drags and that was it.We were pretty trashed and we ended up just spending our time here dancing to hip hop music.The DJ Rob ( I think that was his name!)...he's pretty cool since he does take requests!As for the scene ---- there was a private birthday party here and a good mix of people here.This guy that was with this group that we were hanging with since he is an acquaintance of my friend's friend.  He asked for my number and I gave it to him because he's gay.  ( I love gay men ---- they crack me up!)  But unfortunately, I had too much alcohol that I didn't realize he was actually straight.  I was like WDF - my gaydar is down.This other English dude was trying to suck my friend's and mine face here while we were dancing with him. HELLO---WHAT A SLEAZE BALL!!!!!I don't know why but this dude smelled like corn to me.  I couldn't stand his smell ---- totally dig the accent but he has no rhythm.Even though the guys here are bunch of douche bags.....I can't judge this place just because of those groups of guys.  I have to give this place 4 stars because I still had so much fun with my friend here.As long as you have a I don't care attitude and you're there to have fun - it's a cool place to throw private parties here.

by Laura T.

I've only been to Habibi once, but I keep meaning to go again.  I went on a Saturday night, and there were enough people present so it didn't feel empty...but not too crowded to be uncomfortable.  The drinks were good, and there was a nice selection of hookah flavors.  I held a slight grudge on hookah bars after losing a table at another place when we refused to purchase a $200 bottle of vodka.  Habibi helped me see the good in the world again.  Amen.

by Joolie T.

i know this is a totally biased review. i apologize. for some reason, every single time i've been to Habibi Lounge... i have an astronomical time! yes, the owner is in-love with me... and has asked for my hand in marriage a few times (as a joke... well, i hope!). trust me- my friends on Yelp are all aware of his affections for me. LOL. people are convinced that i possess special powers. from random DYL's to a birthday party gone wrong-so-we-moved-venues, Habibi Lounge has never disappointed me. maybe it's because i am comp'd- no matter what i order: whether they be drinks, bottles, hookah, etc.  or simply the VIP treatment we receive the minute we walk in the door. DJ Rob let's my friends i go behind the booth and basically pick out all the songs we want to hear. the overall music is "OK". it's a mixture of Arabic beats and random Hip-Hop joints. the apricot, rose, apple, pineapple, coffee and pear are my absolute favorite tobaccos to choose for hookah. they're awesome about replacing the charcoal and make sure to bring you disposable mouth guards for the pipe. the crowd is always different. sometimes this place is completely empty and other instances... packed. it's a real hit or miss. that doesn't matter to me, though. being treated like a goddess by the staff and owner is why i continuously visit them with a small group of friends. it's kind of our "go-to" fall back bar if we can't decide on any place.

by Lucy L.

Neighborhood Lounge... never discovered until recently. No cover charge always a ++++ cool/chill place.. not super packed.. another ++++Hookah my favorite +++ however the hookah isn't one of the best in town I have to say.. it's just ok qualitySalsa music.. I can't dance salsa so there you go :-(

by Lucy L.Renee C.Andy C.Kimmie S.james s.

Neighborhood Lounge... never discovered until recently. No cover charge always a ++++ cool/chill place.. not super packed.. another ++++Hookah my favorite +++ however the hookah isn't one of the best in town I have to say.. it's just ok qualitySalsa music.. I can't dance salsa so there you go :-(Had a great time here with friends after seeing a movie Friday night. The bouncer and waitress were really nice! Did a little Salsa dancing, a little hookahing and a little drinking gaming. A great TGIF pick me up! :) Again...one of those places I never knew existed in my neighborhood! I need to keep my eyes open when I walk home.Habibi lounge features a bar area, a space for hookah, and a lounge partially enclosed off in the back of the room. It's like a hybrid between your average street corner bar and marginal hookah bars.The music is loud, so don't expect good conversations, the mint hookah had a weird sugar-free aftertaste to it, and water bottles are $4 a pop. The worst part is that the service is poor, and our charcoal was out for 15 minutes before we were able to ask someone to replace.Bottom line: there are so many better hookah bars in New York. Go down the street to Horus Cafe; now that's a solid place to smoke.The Habibi Lounge was a lot of fun. Anytime I'm in the East Village, I'm bound to have a good time! I loved the Hookahs and he DJ (my issue was the random karaoke that was going on). Since I was there for my friend's birthday, I loved that we had a tent which is always fun. Lots of fun dancing and mingling with people and the staff were definitely attentive to ensue that everyone was having fun and had drinks. I would definitely come here for a night out with a bunch of friends. Note that it gets warm so you want to make sure that you have a tank or something that allows you to continue dancing!I've only been here once but i really enjoyed it!  I would suggest going during happy hour, sunday - thurs before 10 pm i believe.  If you go at this time they have drink specials and the hookahs are only 5 dollars!  I mean you cant beat a 5 dollar hookah in the city.  And i must say the hookah was really high quality and they refreshed it about three times in the hour that i was there.  The food was a bit of a rip but who goes to a bar to eat?...and yes it is a tad loud...but f--k it...5 dollar hookahs people! If you cant make it for happy hour i think they also have an ad in the voice for two drinks and a hookah for 20 scoots...nice.

by Mark S.

I came here recently for a friend's birthday after-party. We arrived a little behind others, but made a bee line towards the back lounge area and proceeded to make ourselves comfortable on the couches. Some friends ordered a hookah and for whatever reason it was not providing much smoke. After a while it was finally removed and in the meantime I had ordered a separate banana/mint hookah, which arrived. I never did see the original hookah returned, so hopefully they worked it out with the waitress. Either way, the second hookah was great and had a very nice, thick smoke. Service did seem a little slow, although it was fairly crowded inside and I did only notice one waitress. Prices seemed reasonable as well, but that may have been because my tab was incorrect (in my favor). Overall, I might go back to Habibi Lounge if I didn't have a hookah of my own.

by molly c.

hmmm. the group i was there with was rad. but...i think there are better places in the area to have some drinkies.if you like hookas? go. if you like crowding around the bar and tripping over the absurdly low tables? go.

by Ben W.

This place is confused. It's a hookah bar, and a bar. It 'sorta' has that Turkish love den thing going with the ottomans and some curtains, but it's really just another lounge. When I arrived there was a club version of some Middle Eastern music going on, and I kinda dug it. I got a kick out of the bartender when he would periodically grab a tambourine from behind the bar and begin dancing and banging it to the rhythm. I know he was trying, but it didn't really help the mood.We puffed on some apricot tobacco and drank a couple of beers with the Yelp crew -- and my first DYL in NYC -- and then the music changed. All of a sudden they began playing the standard club music you'd expect drunk college kids to listen to, which just doesn't fit in this place. It could be so much cooler if they stuck to their hookah lounge theme instead of trying to appeal to the night-clubbers. In the end I'm glad I met some Yelpers, who made this first stop tolerable.

by Andy C.

Habibi lounge features a bar area, a space for hookah, and a lounge partially enclosed off in the back of the room. It's like a hybrid between your average street corner bar and marginal hookah bars.The music is loud, so don't expect good conversations, the mint hookah had a weird sugar-free aftertaste to it, and water bottles are $4 a pop. The worst part is that the service is poor, and our charcoal was out for 15 minutes before we were able to ask someone to replace.Bottom line: there are so many better hookah bars in New York. Go down the street to Horus Cafe; now that's a solid place to smoke.