Cafe Dahab

by Tina L.

I wish I could give it four stars. Thought I could give it five in the beginning.. but alas, it's not even a 3.5 on my scale.We were greeted graciously by the hostess/lead waitress and were settling into the ambiance - nice Arabic music lilting in the distance, people around us smoking hookah and having a good time, and us hungry as Hell..And then somewhere, someone turned up the Lakers game up 30 decibals so much that even I plugged my ears. No one was even watching the damn game, let alone could hear themselves speak over it! It ruined the mood rather permanently for the evening and the nice romance that I had going on for me was squashed like a grape in Ahnold's fist.Worst of all, when I finally asked the "lead waitress" (who by the way, stopped checking on us as soon as the sound went up and the music died) if they could turn it down, she went, "Umm, I think so," and looked around rather unsure.I walked away annoyed. Annoyed and bitter that I could be so disappointed in this place by the NuArt. The sound went down, but my hopes were never drawn up again.We left immediately after eating and paying our bill, both of us determined never to come back again.The food by the way is GREAT. It's the attitude you have to deal with.Also, a little pricey considering the digs aren't THAT high-class.

by Diana T.

Great atmosphere, fast and friendly service and truly delicious Mediterranean food.  Our http://resto.com coupon was just a nice bonus =)I had no idea how much extra food they would bring out so we ended up totally over-ordering and had a bunch of leftovers.They started us with a basket of warm thin pita bread, two bowls of hummus (delicious), cabbage salad dressed in herbs and lemon vinaigrette, olives, and pickled vegetables.  On top of that I ordered the falafel app ($6.95) which were crisp, and the most delicious I've had on the westside so far.  We shared a small fattoush salad ($7.95) which was okay but unnecessary with all the cabbage.  The entrees were pretty pricey at $15 each: chicken and filet mignon kabobs served with rice, however, the meats were tender and flavorful.  I iwould definitely return to this place and if hookah is your thing, they have it too!Otherwise the sandwiches and wraps are a good deal at $6-$8 a piece.

by Stephen M.

I've interestedly strolled past this place countless times on my way to Cinefile and finally gave it a chance this weekend. Nice interior - call it casually authentic. I'm a bit of the complete slut when it comes to Mediterranean food, so don't take my word for discerning, but I found the chicken kabab plate pleasing and stomach-expanding. Believe the bread is store-bought. The youthful service: surprisingly good. Did not bother with the hookahs - I refuse to smoke something that doesn't make me irrationally crave butt-nasty egg-salad sandwiches from Togos (did you know that they by default coat your sub with mayo in addition to the 'naise in your egg salad? Disgusting).

by Sim City Slicker S.Hari I.Denis S.james D.Michael C.

I don't smoke hookah much,but hookah aficiondos seem to like this place.It's pretty good but pricey. I suppose it's worth it if you wanted to hang out here for hours,which I don't.The best thing about this place is the hummus. The falafel ain't bad if their slow ass service gets it to you before it gets cold and stale. The rest of the food is pretty mediocre and a $7 minimum should be a crime. The kabob is drier than Joan River's crotch. The hummus is notable though.The service is variable, sometimes good sometimes bad. Never really outstanding. Kinda like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, friendly but slow.This spot used to be a great little coffee shop called Lulu's Alibi. I miss it. This place wasn't a good trade.I'll be back for the hummus.A nice Middle Eastern themed lounge to chill out with friends. I have been here a couple of times in the evenings and it has always been fun. I come here especially for the hookahs. The place is filled with many Middle Eastern folks, always a good sign for an ethnic place. They have TV screens all over the place playing music videos and Arabic music. You feel transported to a neighbourhood corner cafe set someplace in Middle East. The food here is pretty good too. I have had the hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, musaka, etc. and they have all been good. Their meat dishes are especially good according to my carnivore friends who have tried the chicken, lamb and shrimp. There mainly two veggie options - Kosheri and the Veggie combo. The Kosheri is a simple Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni and lentils topped with tomato sauce with some grilled onion slices. It is good but could definitely use some more flavour. The veggie combo comes with three pieces of falafel alongwith hummus, baba ganoush and tabouleh. There are sides of greens, shredded cabbage, olives and pickled beets. The portions are generous and you would be well advised to share amongst the group. The hookah here are also good. The hookahs themselves are in good condition so you will not face problems with it unlike some other places I have been to. There are a lot of flavours to choose from as well. My favourites are the melon, strawberry, coca cola and sour apple. They replace the coal pieces frequently so you are not inhaling any of the ash, which is good. One hookah lasts you about two hours which is also good for the price you pay.Highly recommended an evening with good company in a relaxed environment.Went here for lunch.  Service was bad.  How bad?  Water never refilled, not even once, even though my cup was empty halfway through the meal.  Even though it was lunch, and we were the only people there, it still smelled like there was a room full of hookah-ers.  Now I'm not one to complain about hookah, usually, but when you're assaulted by it during a bright Sunday lunch, it makes on lose their appetite. The food was just bleh, which is the worst part.  I've been craving a good gyro for a while now... and I was hoping this would be it.  I was wrong.  The lamb was pretty bland, simply no seasoning.  The pita fell apart halfway through the meal.  Even the sauce, which I presume was supposed to be tzasiki, was just bland and wet.  I won't be back.If you like middleastern food this is probably not the type of place you wanna go the food is just whatever but if you wanna hang out and smoke hooka this a great place to hang out.My turkish co-worker loves this place sooo much so we come here more often than I would probably like.The food here is good.  The shrimp; however, is what would make the high prices worth it.  Along with this, I find the extras are what makes this place stand out and the reason why I would return there occasionally.Despite this, I find that the food is price-y.  The fact that I do not smoke the hookah at all is why I would be hesitant to return however.Other Notes:Service: Great Service...Location: Parking is decentEnvironment: A bit too middle eastern for me...I think the music videos constantly running just puts it too much over the top (I am Islamic too)In short: decent food yet the prices are quite high for what you get.

by Sim City Slicker S.

I don't smoke hookah much,but hookah aficiondos seem to like this place.It's pretty good but pricey. I suppose it's worth it if you wanted to hang out here for hours,which I don't.The best thing about this place is the hummus. The falafel ain't bad if their slow ass service gets it to you before it gets cold and stale. The rest of the food is pretty mediocre and a $7 minimum should be a crime. The kabob is drier than Joan River's crotch. The hummus is notable though.The service is variable, sometimes good sometimes bad. Never really outstanding. Kinda like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, friendly but slow.This spot used to be a great little coffee shop called Lulu's Alibi. I miss it. This place wasn't a good trade.I'll be back for the hummus.

by Karin C.

The food here is definitely above average. Great kebobs, my favorite are the kofte kebabs. All the sides and salads are also delicious. The babaghanous and the lebnah really stood out.  Finish the meal with a nice cup of mint tea. As a hookah lounge this place is smokey (poorly ventilated stale air), has really uncomfortable seating, obnoxiously loud arabic techno music videos coming from all the TVs, nasty fluoresent lighting. It felt more like a taxi stand in Queens you get take out from rather than a nice lounge or restaurant. If this place was cheaper I wouldn't mind the poor decor and atmosphere. But the prices are more along the lines of a restaurant and lounge not a taxi stand. Maybe I'll come back at a less crowded time in the afternoon and sit outside on their patio.Just a side note on observations I've made on middle eastern culture - have you ever noticed real women are generally covered up in public in most middle eastern and north african countries, but the women in their popular music videos are total porn star lookin' skanks with their ta ta's and ass hanging out everywhere, and the majority of the people  accept this as part of their pop culture.

by Wilbur L.

i've wanted to try cafe dahab for well over a year and finally got my chance last night. since cafe dahab is just down the street from me, i braved the rush hour traffic and walked to the joint. when i rolled in around 7pm, the place was sparsely occupied. there were probably 3 other tables occupied, with folks already smoking hookah. my buddy rolled in a few mins later and we ordered up the following: babagannouj: this is an eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings and this was very refreshing. i am used to more flavor but this was a decent rendition. falafel platter: this is ground fava beans and vegetables with special seasonings formed into patties and deep fried. a total of five pieces is served with a side of cabbage salad, tahina sauce and hummus. the falafel was heavy on the garlic and was pretty good. i'm still on my hunt for outstanding falafel in LA. three-skewer combo: this consisted of kofta, chicken and shish kabob served with a side of basmati rice. i did not partake in this dish but gt seemed to enjoy it. lomit el addi: this was our dessert and consisted of a bunch of mini "donuts" drenched in honey and topped with powdered sugar. i use the term "donut" loosely as they were essentially balls of fried dough with some being soft on the inside and others fried to death and crunchy all the way through. i'd pass on this next time. as we were waiting for our food, the busser brought out a basket of piping hot pitas, cabbage salad and hummus. i gotta say, the hummus at cafe dahab is very good! service was decent (plates cleared, etc) but our waters were never refilled the entire 2 hrs we were dining. it seemed as they were more preoccupied by the hordes of people that arrived during the course of our dinner to smoke hookah. all in all, i will go back to nosh. please note the pricing is a bit more expensive but if you roll with the http://restaurant.com gift certificate, it is allllll good.

by Atish M.

Came on a Sat night with a group of 6 or 7 people.  They stop serving alcohol at 12, there is a $7 minimum (buying a hookah doesn't count towards your min cost), the music was WAY too loud, the service was slow, and there were cheesy music videos on the screen.  We got 2 hookahs, 1 of them burned well, the other we didn't even touch since we got no smoke.  The staff didn't do much to help either.I will never come back here again.

by Hari I.

A nice Middle Eastern themed lounge to chill out with friends. I have been here a couple of times in the evenings and it has always been fun. I come here especially for the hookahs. The place is filled with many Middle Eastern folks, always a good sign for an ethnic place. They have TV screens all over the place playing music videos and Arabic music. You feel transported to a neighbourhood corner cafe set someplace in Middle East. The food here is pretty good too. I have had the hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, musaka, etc. and they have all been good. Their meat dishes are especially good according to my carnivore friends who have tried the chicken, lamb and shrimp. There mainly two veggie options - Kosheri and the Veggie combo. The Kosheri is a simple Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni and lentils topped with tomato sauce with some grilled onion slices. It is good but could definitely use some more flavour. The veggie combo comes with three pieces of falafel alongwith hummus, baba ganoush and tabouleh. There are sides of greens, shredded cabbage, olives and pickled beets. The portions are generous and you would be well advised to share amongst the group. The hookah here are also good. The hookahs themselves are in good condition so you will not face problems with it unlike some other places I have been to. There are a lot of flavours to choose from as well. My favourites are the melon, strawberry, coca cola and sour apple. They replace the coal pieces frequently so you are not inhaling any of the ash, which is good. One hookah lasts you about two hours which is also good for the price you pay.Highly recommended an evening with good company in a relaxed environment.

by Jefferson L.

My buddy and I wandered in around 3pm on a cloudy afternoon, after I had to run an errand at the nearby "volunteer center."  The place was empty, but we weren't concerned since we'd seen the place packed many times at later hours.The friendly manager came to greet us and gave us menus.  To our pleasant surprise, we found out the lunch special was served until 4pm.  We both got kabob plates that are served with rice (the kind with noodly stuff in it), cabbage salad, pita bread, hummus, and a grilled pepper.  Oh, and I absolutely cannot forget the DIVINE garlic sauce.  If you thought the garlic sauce at Zankou chicken was pungent, you HAVE to try theirs.Another Yelper below mentioned the babbaganouj and I must agree.  I love the stuff, but Cafe Dahab's was the best I've ever had.  In fact, my Indian buddy, who is an eggplant-phobe, loved it.  He won't ever eat anything eggplant.... benghan bharta, nasu soboro, stir-fry in garlic sauce... ABSOLUTELY NO WAY.  But when I went to wash my hands (in their very clean bathroom) the manager brought out my side order of babbaganouj with some pita bread.  My friend had started eating it and when I came back told me "Man, this is the best hummus I've ever had."  To which I responded "Dude, that's the eggplant dip, you eggplant hater."  So he officially admits liking something eggplant now!Everything else was tasty too, from the juicy and well-spiced kabobs to the creamy and fragrant hummus.Next time I'd like to come at a later hour and enjoy some hookah and beers along with my meal.  The kitchen stays open until 2am so it's definitely going to be one of my late night spots now.   OHH, and the music they play is tight.  It's modern American hip-pop (yes, I meant to write that) mixed with Arabic beats or pop songs.  It's really cool stuff, I'm sure many of you've heard it before.  The restaurant's official background is Egyptian, incase you're wondering.