I was rather excited to discover that hiding in the heart of our little city was a hookah bar. I had frequented them in other cities and had wonderful experiences. Finding one so close to home was fabulous. When I finally decided to investigate, however, I was not so impressed.
To start, the place has a great space to work with. The former Café Boba on S. Main Street, Akron Hookah House has high ceilings and a loft. Their décor is fabulous (it looks like they did a lot of their shopping at Ikea), they have pieces from local artists hanging on the walls, and the music was pleasant. My initial reaction was a positive one. From the minute I sat down, however, I was continuously let down.
My first issue was that the Hookah House had a one-drink minimum. I suppose this would have made sense if the bar served alcohol. But there was no bar, and certainly no alcohol. Nor was there any tea, which would have been my second choice. Canned pop was my only real option, which sat full the entire time I was there.
Beyond that, the shisha (flavored tobacco) they used was not all that great. Perhaps I've been spoiled in the past, but I assume if you are going to go out and pay for a hookah that is up-marked nearly ten times that it will be quality-especially considering the drink minimum. Their flavor selection was decent, but I would have paid more money to get decent shisha. They use instant coals, which was also a let-down, but was somewhat understandable.
Akron Hookah House serves home-made desserts, though no other food. This was disappointing, but by no means a deal-breaker. I didn't sample the desserts, however they did sound good.
The service itself was not all that great either. I found this particularly bad considering my guest and I were the only customers in the establishment for the majority of the time we were there. No one came over to check our coals until we asked-and we are quite patient people. It also took us a good 15-20 minutes to get our check, as the two people working disappeared behind the curtain for quite a while.
On a positive note, they do have live music there periodically, free Wi-Fi, and apparently show movies on a projector (though I have never attended a showing). I think for someone who has never smoked a hookah before, or are used to smoking cheap tobacco, the experience may not be quite as bad as mine. However, for someone who smokes hookah frequently and has "been around the hookah bar block," it would be quite a disappointment.
To start, the place has a great space to work with. The former Café Boba on S. Main Street, Akron Hookah House has high ceilings and a loft. Their décor is fabulous (it looks like they did a lot of their shopping at Ikea), they have pieces from local artists hanging on the walls, and the music was pleasant. My initial reaction was a positive one. From the minute I sat down, however, I was continuously let down.
My first issue was that the Hookah House had a one-drink minimum. I suppose this would have made sense if the bar served alcohol. But there was no bar, and certainly no alcohol. Nor was there any tea, which would have been my second choice. Canned pop was my only real option, which sat full the entire time I was there.
Beyond that, the shisha (flavored tobacco) they used was not all that great. Perhaps I've been spoiled in the past, but I assume if you are going to go out and pay for a hookah that is up-marked nearly ten times that it will be quality-especially considering the drink minimum. Their flavor selection was decent, but I would have paid more money to get decent shisha. They use instant coals, which was also a let-down, but was somewhat understandable.
Akron Hookah House serves home-made desserts, though no other food. This was disappointing, but by no means a deal-breaker. I didn't sample the desserts, however they did sound good.
The service itself was not all that great either. I found this particularly bad considering my guest and I were the only customers in the establishment for the majority of the time we were there. No one came over to check our coals until we asked-and we are quite patient people. It also took us a good 15-20 minutes to get our check, as the two people working disappeared behind the curtain for quite a while.
On a positive note, they do have live music there periodically, free Wi-Fi, and apparently show movies on a projector (though I have never attended a showing). I think for someone who has never smoked a hookah before, or are used to smoking cheap tobacco, the experience may not be quite as bad as mine. However, for someone who smokes hookah frequently and has "been around the hookah bar block," it would be quite a disappointment.
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