by kendall a.

My husband and I REALLY wanted to like this place.  Clearly we misinterpreted what it was.  First of all, the name is prominent on the sign, with a HUGE cup of coffee, so we were really excited that a breakfast and coffee shop was moving in so close to us.  Wrong.We kept stopping by, but they never seemed to be open, and no hours are posted.  Finally we found them open, so we went there for dinner.  We were very surprised to find it's actually a middle eastern place, and more importantly - a hookah bar.  Their main business is apparently the hookah bar and I guess on nights and weekends they have nightclub-type stuff going on.  We were very disappointed, but we do like the food that's on the menu, so we stuck around to try it out.The menu is extremely limited.  There are far more flavors of hookah available than food items.  However, we started out by ordering a hummus appetizer, and the man taking our order, who appeared to be the owner, let us know that he had an appetizer plate which isn't on the menu - hummus, tahini and falafel with pita- and would we like to try that?  Sure!  Sounds great!  We also asked about some of the drinks on the menu, which were apparently traditional Turkish drinks, none of which we had ever heard of.  The first three he was out of, so we tried the one he did have - sahlab.  We also got two Turkish coffees.  We asked to keep the menu so we could get sandwiches later.We sat and chatted for a while.  Then a while longer.  Then a while longer.  .......The music/sound was VERY loud and someone then turned it up louder.  We made the mistake of sitting in a corner, which happened to be right under a speaker.  Mistake.More waiting, leaning closer to each other just to hear each other in a regular conversation.  Oh - there were only four other people in the restaurant at this point, kids smoking hookah, and the owner, who we thought might have run out at this point.  There is an enormous TV hanging in the middle of the room, which was tuned to an Arabic station of some sort, and was the source of the loud speakers.Finally, the appetizer arrived, along with our coffees.  The food was FANTASTIC.  Cannot complain about that in any way.  Loved it!  The coffee was also really wonderful.  Then he brought out the sahlab - WOW!!!  It's like drinking rice pudding, only like really great rice pudding that you actually want to drink.  It was amazing!  We liked everything so much we decided we would order the sandwiches.  I got the gyro and my husband got a turkey pita, I believe.  They were okay, nothing as good as the first round.  Not bad, but just decent food.So after another interminable wait, we were finally allowed to pay and then we left.  We noticed later that week when we went to the restaurant next door that they had colored lights all over the place and music blasting - even louder than when we were there.  It seemed like they had a crowd going, so obviously late night is their intended crowd.My mom came to visit and we had told her how great the sahlab and appetizer plate was, and she wanted to go, so we decided to give it another try.  Not the brightest thing we've ever done...The same table was occupied by four different kids smoking hookah.  The music was (unbelievably) even louder this time.  The service was (incredibly) even slower.  We stayed long enough to have the sahlab, which was still fantastic, and the appetizer plate, which was served in a completely different manner this time.  The man serving us this time, who is apparently a different owner, was surly and not at all friendly  like the first guy.  Did not seem happy to see us.  We were happy with the sahlab, but not much else.  My mom actually had to go ask to pay.I guess if you are looking for a hookah bar - you've found your spot.  Of if you like extremely loud music or Arabic tv - go to town.  But if you want middle eastern food or drink - not a good place to go.  It's truly a shame, because it's a beautiful place and we thought it had great potential.  If they expanded their menu, thought a bit more about their customers instead of watching tv, and made it a little more diner-friendly, they could do great business.  As it is, we frequently see them standing in the doorway looking to see if anyone is headed their way.  Not only is that a little creepy, but it just isn't what running a restaurant is about.  We hope this place survives, but we would love to see it be a little bit more of a broad-appeal restaurant instead of such a niche hookah bar.  The hookah thing is fine for their nighttime and weekend crowd, but their bread and butter could very easily be the lunch and dinner crowd, if they simply adjusted a bit.

by Erika Z.

So, there's some stuff to know about this place before you go, which will make your visit more enjoyable.1. Despite the name and the giant cup of coffee on the sign, this is not really a cafe. It's more of a hookah bar. I do believe they serve coffee, but that's not what they're in business for.2. Because of that, the menu is small. 3. Because Manassas is not exactly a "happening" place for underage kids, this is where they go. Remember, they've got to go somewhere, and Denny's has a two-hour time limit.This is not a bad place to go. (Wow, is that faint praise, or what?) Really, the food is decent. Boyfriend's mother and grandmother definitely make better hummus, but this is certainly a step up from what you're going to get at the grocery store. Very nice ambiance inside though - it is well-appointed, with cushy pillows, fake plants, nice lamps, and a generally cozy hookah-bar type atmosphere.Service here is kind of lax. All three times I've been here, the guys working seemed more interested in watching music videos in Arabic. And they do grub for money a lot - star deducted for it - as the first time we went we arrived around 8. They had a dj coming at 9, and even though we had already been there for an hour, smoking hookah and getting drinks, we had a to pay a (retroactive?) $5 per person cover to stay. Weird.Also, the dj kind of sucked.Just the same, the hookah is pretty good and the food isn't bad. If you want a better experience, you're best off going closer to DC - there's a strip mall in Alexandria with maybe four hookah bars that are all top-notch - but if you're lazy and hate to drive (like me), this is decent for Manassas. You're just best off going in the afternoon or early evening, and planning on being gone before 9pm, when all the kids with nothing to do show up, you have to pay to stay, and it gets so loud you can't hear yourself think.