Restaurant review - The Velvet Hookah
I know The Velevet Hookah had been open for a while but my husband and I finally got some free time this Saturday, so we went there for dinner. A few of our friends had recommended this, so I was really pumped to go check it out. It was not too far from where we lived, so that meant we could get a little tipsy and still drive home safely. Anyways, here it goes -
Neighborhood - We thought we were lost by the time we came upon this place, it was located so out there. Nothing of interest around here - cannot walk or sit outside - we found out why once we went inside.
Ambience - The thing is, this place was more of a bar/nightclub minus the dance floor than a real restaurant. I know it was stupid of us to just rely on our friends’ word and not check it out in the Digital City guide. You need an ID to get in, so be sure to carry your wallets and purses with you - all of you. It was pretty dark inside and there was some good music with fast beats playing. They strung up a bunch of chiffon (I think) sarees all over the place to create a Middle-Eastern kind of look.
There are tables only in the bar area. The rest of the place has a a carpet you will be sitting on and a bunch of pillows that you can lean on. It can be quite uncomfortable, especially if you have on tight jeans like my husband did (heh!). It does feel quite cozy though I hated being almost shoulder-shoulder with the people sitting next to us. There just wasn’t enough room or private space.
Food and Drink - I was so hungry by the time we had showed up at the bar that I wanted to dig into something good right away. Unfortunately they served only appetizers, that too a limited variety. We ordered the chicken satay - three skewers with three chicken pieces on each, served with three apple slices, a few grapes, and soy sauce and spicy peanut sauce on the side - and some roasted red-pepper hummus. The food was good, but barely enough for the two of us.
I ordered the M3 which was really good and that was the only drink I had for the evening.
The Hookah - We ordered the menthol hookah, but I suspect they gave us a vanilla one initially by mistake. It was pretty mild and tasted kinda like the Vanilla Mints you get at the Starbucks. There was barely any smoke in it and I failed to see the fun of it. They replaced our hookah with a eral menthol one later and this was pretty strong. I liked menthol in my throat but the minute the smoke hit the back of my throat I was coughin so hard my husband was embarrassed to be seen with me. I guess there ended that experiment.
Overall, it was a pretty fun and different experience and I think we will definitely be going back. The bill was about $80 for 4 M3s, 4 Amstel Lights, 2 Chicken Satay and 1 roasted red pepper hummus, so it wasn’t that pricey. Check it out - you might like it.
Update: I forgot to mention there was belly dancing. They also charged us extra by $35 on our credit card and my husband is taking care of it right now - be careful!