Forte Lounge and Cafe

Pretty chill place right here. Good people. Good hookah. Good atmosphere. Hoookkaaahhh!!!

Forte has got to be the best hookah lounge in Austin, by far. The selection of flavors is excellent, and the quality of the hookah can’t be beaten. The staff is very knowledgeable, friendly, and eager to help, you’re essentially guaranteed to get something good.

I’ve been here a couple of times and if I was ever stumped on what to try, the owner would suggest something that turns out to be an awesome pick. They have awesome hot teas which compliment the hookahs that they have. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions you have cause they just want to help you enjoy your stay.
I always usually find myself here when it is slower, I tend to like to just chill and chat or play games with the people I come with. They do have a selection of games you can choose from as well. They also throw events such as movie night, open mic, or djs playing. I haven’t been to any of those yet, but I shall try one day!
They have a new sign out so you shouldn’t miss this place anymore!

Awesome atmosphere, fantastic original hookah flavors, and really friendly staff. Always fun to be at during the late hours.

Def not what I had expected for Austin. A group of friends and I left almost as soon as we got there.
Pros:
BYOB
We are all over 21 and got in for free.
The sound system was pretty good.
Also they had a keg while it lasted 3 bucks per cup. Also decent.
Cons:
It’s tucked back off the road by a market and the hand painted sign is hard to see until youre driving right past it.
I went to use the bathroom which was foul, so i ended up not even using it. I can’t stress enough how important a clean bathroom is…
the crowd was super young. good if youre also super young. not so good for those of us over 23.
The layout/​seating was ok.
My group had just gotten their beers and sat down (to decide on a flavor etc) when an employee came out and told us that we had to purchase a hookah if we were going to stay. I understand that, since we were in a hookah lounge, but we had barely had a chance to sit down. As you can imagine we decided to take our business elsewhere after being rushed.
I wont be coming back or recommending this hookah lounge unfortunately. Do yourself a favor south austin and drive up to Arab Cowboy.

Great new place, nice lounge atmosphere and good music! Their hookah has amazing mild taste and I loved those cute little pillows on sofas! :D The owner is very friendly and he was taking care of customers and fixing hookah as well. Definitely recommend this place!
P. S. Try out jasmine and peach ;)

Out of all the hookah lounges in Austin, Forte is above the rest. The selection of shisha is way above average. It’s nice to have a lounge that has brands other than Starbuzz and Tonic: Argelini and Nakhla for example (of course they still offer those, but with more variety). Solid and beautiful Khalil Mamoon hookahs to smoke out of with really excellent wide gauge hoses. I love that they only have natural coals so you aren’t left with a horrible ignite flavor in your mouth and the place doesn’t smell like charcoal. Solid vortex bowels to smoke out of, and they lasted about 2 hours to 2 ½ hours with awesome coal matinence. The atmosphere for the grand opening was a little loud with the live music, but I loved the upbeat liveliness of it. On other nights, I know that it’s mellow. The low seating was extremely comfortable and I love the mellowed out color scheme of the place; it’s not over done to look like a hookah lounge– it just looks like a new place to hang out with your friends and smoke. The chess tables were a fun and clever touch. $ 1 a person BYOB is awesome as well. Can’t wait to come back. For those of you going to other places and you don’t know what you’re smoking, go to Forte and realize that the other places aren’t anywhere near what those place has to offer.

Cool place, weird vibe and atmosphere décor wise though. Kind of confusing conflict between modern and the usual hookah lounge like Kashbah and the likes. Good shishah though!