by Luda E.
If you want to pay for atmosphere... thats cool. It's really beautiful inside, great seating, delicious food.But the hooka sucks. They don't pack it right.. it burns to quickly. They get mad at me when i move the coal around so it wont burn the tobacco in one spot.. but then they don't care to come by and do it for me!Meh...
by Aaron R.
I has been a while since I have been here, and since I've acquired my own hookah and keep my place pretty stocked with tobacco and coals, so my view may be a bit skewed.Despite the four star rating, I actually find the place rather hit-or-miss. The thing is, when it is a hit, man is it a hit. It's friggin' awesome! They have belly dancers, and I like bellies... oh and boobs. The tobacco is usually killer-good and their menu (yes, they serve food and drinks) is really tasty.If you've been to the Prince Cafe in George Town and then go to Zeeba, you'll never go back to the Prince. It's friggin' gross in there. Zeeba is super clean. Everyone is friendly, even most of the patrons. I should know, I'm the jerk that introduces himself to couch-mates in between songs. Right, songs. I think the other person to review this might have mentioned the Farsi music. If you don't know what that is, just know it's awesome. It's that Middle-Eastern music that makes you want to get up and shake them thangs.Here's the problem, every now and then, it's way the hell too packed. It's a super-mellow experience, but then it becomes a telephone booth packed with too many people. This is only saved by the fact that most of those people aren't douchebags. On to the next problem, hookah screw-ups. Sometimes (maybe they're training new people?) the smoke is mega harsh, a little ashy, maybe even ouchful (add that word to your dictionary). I don't know what is up with it, but I don't like it. Prices. I've never hit a cover charge, but some nights they have a minimum buy fee per person, which is kinda crummy... but it's like $8. The tobacco is something around $5 - $6 I think? But one bowl will last you 30 - 60 minutes, so, who can't afford that? Everyone buys a bowl and something else. Keep the night going a few hours. But the food, good as it is, is mad expensive! Six dollars for a Gyro with no sides or drink?!? BYO corkage fee by the bottle? They are pretty much guaranteeing that my friends and I are walking out of there hammered, because if I haven't eaten before getting there, I'm not likely to eat once I do, and I'm not paying an extra dollar on top of every bottle of beer I bring with. It's going to be wine or bourbon, and that can be up to $8 a bottle! DAMNIT! I DON'T HAVE THE BLOOD YOU CRAVE!Zeeba is way better than any other hookah bar I've been to in the area. I can't really compare it to Europe, because those hookah bars usually have pot and hookers. I can't compare it to those in the Middle-East, because they friggin' invented it, so if it ain't better there, something ain't right! RAH!
by Samira J.
Considering that I am Middle-Eastern, all my friends are Middle-Eastern, and that I am completely infatuated with my culture, I have been left no other choice but to be a Hookah fanatic. During these six years since my last visit to the motherland, Hookah cafe`s have become my home away from home, my persian abode, my little middle-east. So when the older sister suggested we try out the Hookah cafe in Baltimore, my concurrence was undisputed.Zeeba Lounge is anything but the typical Hookah cafe. There were no 50-year-old FOB's hitting on every black haired girl who walked through the door, no 17-year-old Fairfax County-born Arab boys acting like they were straight out of Compton, and no 45 minute parking mission. The decor is modern-chic with subtle hints of Middle-Eastern culture...The food was amazing. The chicken gyro is one of the best I have had the hummus is without a doubt the best Hookah cafe hummus I have tried. The menu included much more Iranian options that most Hookah cafe`s they even played Farsi music! (def. a plus!). They even have a live belly-dancer on friday nights!...Why is a star missing?Because I am a broke-out-of-state-college-student.The prices were HIGH. My bill came out to about $90 with 3 other people, but we left practically as hungry as we came (the meals were tiiiiiiny!). Another downfall is the hours. Zeeba is only open on Wednesday-Saturday (WTh 6pm-12am; FS 6pm-4am). Limited hours like these are definitley off-putting compared to the 24-hours 7-days a week Hookah cafes around the DC area.But when it comes down to the wire, Zeeba definitely beats out the competition. It isn`t an "every day" kind of Hookah cafe like the others (more of a fine-dining kind of vibe), but it definitely gives you a sense of ethnicity.Green Card problems? Fresh Off The Boat? Zeeba Lounge is the definitely a great solution to your vatan-deltangee (motherland-missing). FOB!
by Judy C.
One of the few places in Baltimore where it stays open past 2 AM. Pretty laidback place with nice couches. It's BYO, so it's a great place for friends to get together for wine and hookah (lots of different flavors). There is a minimum cost of purchase there, so that's a little annoying.
