Hookah at 5th

Whoa, I Went to this expensive dive hookah bar after a margarita crawl…
Need we say more.
Byob, the state liquor store a few blocks north was nearby. hello Jameson!
TLC videos playing on a big screen was a 90s flashback.
You sit on the floor, yes very low key.
The hookah was OK. I got a decent buzz but maybe it was the Irish whiskey…
Anyway, I had fun with my friends so that was what mattered most. It was fine here.

Not too impressed. Interior is sort of sparse and they have to use space heaters to keep the place warm. The only pro I can think of is a decent menu of flavors. The rest is goes down from there. Cash only, they upcharged $ 7 for a 3^rd person in the group and I do not seem to remember that being posted on the menu. BYOB is $ 7 corkage.
Not terrible I guess, just not going to be in any hurry to head back

DO NOT COME HERE DO NOT COME HERE.
SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND ENERGY, GO TO ONE OF THE MANY OTHER LOCAL HOOKAH BARS OR WALK DOWN SOUTH ST AND BUY YOUR OWN HOOKAH FROM A NEARBY SHOP.
This place is awful. I wish i could give this place negative stars. People who know nothing about hookah give this place multiple stars, because they don’t know any better.
I called in advance and was told it would be $ 8 per person, we arrive and it’s $ 11 person.
To repack we would have had to pay again… umm excuse me that’s absurd this costs you ¹⁄₈ of the price and you overcharge to the extreme. ANYONE that knows ANYTHING about hookah would laugh in your face which is EXACTLY what we did.
This place is a JOKE. they try to give off the entire «middle eastern» vibe with floor seating, pillows and flashing lights, but it is completely created around a façade to cater to people that don’t know any better and think they are «cool»
I am BEYOND annoyed. DON’T COME HERE. If you don’t have the tolerance for small minded people I recommend saving the high blood pressure and shouting that will undoubtedly occur because of the piss poor attitude of the employees.
To top it off they overheard I was writing a review and caused a SCENE and demanded that I leave and I responded with the fact that I would review the place prior to leaving because I didn’t want to have to think about this place post exit. You would have thought world war 3 was about to pop off with how rude they were and I refuse to be spoken to like that by anyone.
DO NOT COME HERE. And this is NOT the last they have heard from me. If you are the owner and reading this, expect my follow up TBD. I DEMAND answers to this ungodly experience.

I recently visited this location and I loved it. The setting was calm & mellow. The music was urban & that was awesome too. I don’t mind middle-​eastern music, but hearing songs I can relate to made the experience better. They had a variety of flavor a but I really couldn’t tell the difference. I loved the floor seating but the pillows seemed really flat & uncomfortable. Nothing new pillows or a good fluffing can’t fix! Overall I had an amazing time. I felt like I was on a magic carpet ride! Can’t wait to go back gain!

No stars for this place. I had gone to this place for a year until they started changing everything. They are worth the money and if you stay too long they will ask you to leave.

This place is ok. Found it on Unilocal because it was close to our dinner location. They had a large menu of flavors. We went with Watermelon. tasted delicious. Our hookah was somewhat broken and the server was not helpful at all.
We had to hold the tube connected to the hookah the entire time we smoked so we can actually catch some smoke. It was annoying. She should’ve changed the hookah for us to begin with.
The setting was kind of skeevy. Pillows and rugs on the floor that looked really old and ratty.
Cheap. but I’d rather pay more for a better vibe and atmosphere.

We went here on a Saturday night for food only. Were not the hookah types but we are the Middle Eastern food liking types, which is ok because you can eat here without being affected by the opium den atmosphere that is the hoookah bar section next door (or you can visit it after you eat if you like that sort of thing). There were 4 of us, we ordered 2 appetizers, including samosas– which were spicy, filling & pretty damn good and another fried vegetable thingie I cant remember the name of but liked even more than the samosas. We had 3 dinners, cause our fourth was not that hungry, the alloo gobi, the chicken biryiani, and another vegetarian dish with chickpeas, all were fantastic and if not included in the dish, you get either a naan or a delicious aromatic rice on the side. I’ve eaten at many middle eastern places in the city, and this place measures up for its authentic cooking, flavors, and value. For all four of us, the bill was under $ 30.00, ridiculous. We also byoed, which is nice, anywhere period. The only thing that does take away however, is the atmosphere. The dining room is accented by a huge wall length tv that was airing a basketball game at the time and gave a sports bar feeling. But it wasn’t crowded, and therefore, we were able to hear each other and still have a good time. I would recommend to anyone who wants a good cheap meal and who likes Middle Eastern food, but doesn’t need a fancy atmosphere.

I’m not really sure why, but this is the place my friends and I almost always end up during a night out. I’ll break it down for you…
The Pros:
–cheapest price per hookah in the immediate area
–decent selection of Starbuzz and Al Fakher
–the owner and most of the servers are always friendly and hospitable
–BYO regulations are a bit… relaxed, if you catch my drift
–they don’t try to weasel the «extra person» fee out of us when the 3^rd person in our party doesn’t partake
–convenient hours, until midnight on weekdays and 1 or 2am on weekends, I think
The Cons:
–nothing but MTV Jamz blasting on a large projection screen on the back wall, which makes it difficult to converse or relax (would appreciate a more varied soundtrack anyway)
–certain other servers are not so hospitable and give off the vibe that they hate their job, their life, and YOU. Don’t even bother asking her to flip the coal for you, she’ll give a sigh of exasperation and just bring you a new one, then charge you for it!
–H@5 is in the running for Philly’s Top 5 Worst Bathrooms
–the crowd here can get rather loud and obnoxious later in the night and on weekends
–cash only, and when the ATM across the street isn’t broken, it charges an obscene transaction fee
I’m usually already numerous sheets to the wind by the time we make our rounds here, so I don’t have much more useful information to offer. If you happen to pop in on a slow weeknight, the experience tends to be a lot more chill and enjoyable. Once, on my birthday (a Mon) I requested they play some different music and they obliged, then the few other patrons in the lounge sang Happy Birthday to me, haha.
The owners recently opened a new place next door or a few doors down that I believe serves food and alcohol as well, but I haven’t gotten to check it out yet. I imagine we’ll continue to end up at Hookah at 5^th on most of our nocturnal excursions, unless Fez ever lowers their prices and extends their hours.

This place has adequate hookahs but the service is unprofessional and rude. I was with two people from about 8:30 to 10PM there and by 10 o’clock the «waitress» put on a fake smile and told us they were expecting a party of 10 and said «You guys have been here for an hour so we’d appreciate if you just head out soon.» So rude and inhospitable.
How are you going to run a food/​bev/​hospitality business and kick people out after an hour? That’s not hospitable at all. You should have a hosting system or something or at least put up a sign telling people they may have a time limit.
Another ridiculous change they’ve made is now they make you pay UPFRONT, so basically they get your money right away so if you’re displeased later on there’s nothing you can do about it. The «server» woman said they «appreciate tips» as though it was expected, but all they do is bring you a damn hookah and then check in 5 minutes later and then never check in with you again. (Unless they’re in the mood to kick people out).
What kind of place that accepts tips makes you pay upfront and give tips later? So dumb. They also don’t take credit cards and don’t hesitate to tell people «There’s an ATM across the street.» Really?
Also my friend and I have been there multiple times and the server Aaliyah definitely should have known our faces but every time she introduced herself like we were new. She either doesn’t care about the customers or is too dumb to remember people’s faces.
This place is only good if you’re looking to sit on a dirty carpeted floor and pay two dollars for a can of soda while they play crappy MTV music videos (with commercials) on a projector with the volume BLARING. Take your money elsewhere.

Best hookah I’ve ever had.

Very awkward seating here. Walked in here with my wife once, glanced around, was expecting some big back room somewhere but turns out that this tiny living-​room sized hookah bar was just that. It felt awkward with just 2 other girls sitting inside the empty room with cushions around the walls, where you would just sit on the ground there on a rug and stare at everyone else. I can’t imagine how awkward it would be if there were more people. Small, just way too small, my bedroom is even bigger. We just left right away after being told they only accepted cash (maybe the machine was broken?), never even bothered to try the hookah.

This one star is for the hookah itself. We had mixed fruit and it didn’t suck. Sadly, this place did not earn any other stars. Surroundings are intended to be comfortable, but instead I felt skeeved by the well worn pillows that supported my back while we sat around the hookah on the floor. There was mtv jams blasting my eardrums so I was unable to talk to my company. The server (is that what you call her?) informed us that tip is not included and aside from placing the hookah in front of us did not come check in or ask if we would be interested in purchasing beverages. Prices were inflated enough to have built in any «gratuity» but because I’m not a jerk I did tip at the end. I’m just still not sure what for…

I don’t know why everyone is raving about this place. I’ve been smoking hookah for over 10 years and have been to dozens of hookah lounges and this place is by far the worst.
They advertise $ 15 or $ 20 for hookah, but they end up charging you $ 10 per person after two people. They charge a $ 2.50 «corking fee» per person if you BYOB (which you have to do because they don’t serve alcohol). They also demand the money upfront, provide cash-​only service, have no ATM, and had no idea where to go when we asked where we could buy our own beer/​wine.
The atmosphere is mediocre, and they didn’t do a very good job of making the place feel cozy, which is a lot of what hookah is all about. You can tell they basically took an old retail setting, threw down some rugs, and called it a hookah lounge.
They use starbuzz and Al Fakher tobacco, which is decent. That and the diverse clientele are probably the only saving grace for this place.
I would not go back here unless this was the only hookah lounge in the area.

I went here a few months ago and almost forgot about reviewing it. It’s a pretty decent place. They definitely overcharge for beverages, but, it isn’t that major. The staff is awesome, they have a good selection flavors, chill-​ass seating for the floor if you’d want that instead, and the pricing is alright. Would go again.

They’re fantastic. Very polite. I liked mango and blueberry. Their tobacco lasts a very long time!
Great place to chill out. It’s BYOB, but it’d be great if they had sodas there for sale (I know they do, but, they’re always sold out by the time i get there.) No need, to worry though, because a small convenience store is across the street.
It’s inexpensive too!

The other reviews are slightly misleading, and I say that because I chose to go to Hookah at 5^th based off of them. The place is ok, pretty small and gets crowded easily. Also, the reviews saying that the place is «good for dancing» aren’t true. The music comes from the channel that they project on the big screen in the back (MTV Hits) so you end up listening to the same songs over and over again. Overall, it definitely wasn’t the atmosphere that I was hoping for and I won’t be going there again.

Great and fun place for sheesha. The staff was really friendly and accommodating. We had a large group of 12 people and we could all fit and have fun at the front. The carpet and pillows were pretty comfy. They have a large projector in the back that was showing videos but the front was pretty decent for a large group.
Base price of $ 15 or $ 20 premium for the sheesha was pretty good. Selections is pretty standard and good. It’s BYOB as well and you could get drinks from around the corner while you hang out in the bar.

Best Hookah bar in Philly!
Went in with friends and enjoyed a blueberry /​Mango sheesha. OMG, the best. The place had cool people, ambiance, a great pipe selection and pricing too. We bought a hand pipe for 15 bucks that rocks.
I loved the projector TV showing trendy Video’s on the Wall. I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to chill on pillows with friends.
LOVE IT!

great price, service and ambiance.
though sometimes it tastes old but you can tell them to fix it.

Best Hookah lounge in terms of price and ambiance. The base price is $ 15, which is a much better deal than most other places in the city. You can also pay $ 20 per hookah for higher quality tobacco. They have lots of flavors to choose from. There are Persian carpets and pillows and you can sit on the carpet around the hookah. The owner is very nice. Best of all, its BYOB, so you can bring drinks to sip on while you smoke your hookah.