On retrospect, the fact that there were practically tumbleweeds blowing past the lonely table of two apathetically smoking hookah while seating for about a hundred stood a lonely vigil around them, unused and unwanted by customers, should have been an immediate tip something wasn?t right. But it was the odd hour of about 4 pm, so I didn?t think too much about it. My second mistake was chalking up the waitress? surly tableside manner to something other than what it was: unapologetically bad service.
We sat down, ordered water, a turkish coffee, and a $5 strawberry juice that was really just a smoothy?a tasty but grossly overpriced smoothy in a smallish highball glass. Water is by the bottle only, with each bottle priced at $1.50. The waitress returned for our order and boredly told us our selections were not available but that maybe there was some okra stew. Huh? Given the generally bad prices (a $5 sub-16 oz smoothy, $1.50 water, $30 Iraqi fish dish, etc.), bad waitress, empty seating, and comedy of errors up until this point, I guess being unable to order was the first thing that went in our favor.
We decided to cut our losses and go elsewhere for food, but this place still wasn?t done with us. To add provocation to the injury of bad pricing and insult of terrible service, I discovered a mandatory 25% gratuity had been added to the bill for our two drinks. Our waitress? bad attitude and the air of annoyance she put out at being called upon to seat and take orders was clear: she was getting a top tier tip regardless of her conduct, and so she chose to take the low and easy road of terrible service.
You?ve been warned. This place isn?t just junk, it is insulting, overpriced, misshapen junk masquerading as a food and hookah lounge. Go anywhere else, but don?t go here.
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