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| - I've been to Awtash 3 times. Mostly because it's the only half-decent shisha place in downtown.
Unfortunately, I've been more and more dissapointed each time I go there. This last time was probably the last time I'll go here!
I must admit that the decor and vibe of the place is awesome. I love the lighting and the eclectic music. They should lose the flat screen t.vs playing music videos though; it takes away from the ambience.
I've only ever had drinks and shisha here, except for the faloodeh once. While the drinks are decent, it's quite clear that shisha is definitely not their forte. Staff has no clue about how a hookah works.
I was there on Saturday night, but it was surprisingly empty inside. We sat at the bench by the window. Nice view of the street, but that bench is really uncomfortable. I couldn't get into a comfortable position no matter how many pillows I stuck under my back.
Service at this place leaves a lot to be desired. We ordered a Peach-Rose hookah and pomegranate Sangria. About 20 minutes later, the Sangria arrived, but hookah took another 10 minutes.
When the hookah arrived, the guy just put it down and left. Not bothering to wait and see if everything was to satisfaction. Clearly no one in the back tests the hookahs before giving them to customers, as ours did not work. The bowl was tilting, the hose was blocked, and there was no suction. So, we waited and waited but no one came by to check on us. Finally, I had to get up and go get the designated hookah guy. He seemed to have no clue about what was wrong. I opened the flavour bowl and was amazed that they filled it up less than half..I'm talking a thin layer of flavour at the bottom of the bowl! What a ripoff!
He took the hookah in the back and brought it back saying he had put more water in it and it should be ok now. Seriously? Water was clearly not the problem! I mean, c'mon, if you're serving hookah, know how it works! So obviously it did not work, then he took it back and changed the hose, didn't work; then I noticed that they had replaced the little metal ball needed to maintain suction with a ball made out of aluminium foil. I pointed it out and he says "yah, i just fixed that since the ball was missing." Why not just change the hookah for us and try your experiments in the back after?? So after going back and forth 4 times, and having been in the restaurant for almost an hour without having a moment's peace, I had had enough and asked him to just replace the whole thing.
Meanwhile, charcoal was burning on our flavour the whole time but we got the same flavour back. Halfway through the first coal, the flavour was entirely burnt out. To make matters worse, they only allow one extra coal and don't give it to you upfront. So we waited another 10 minutes after the first coal burnt out but no one came to replace the coal. Again I had to get up and get the waitress. Frustrating stuff.
Needless to say, it was an aggravating end to what started as a good night elsewhere.
The place definitely has potential - it's very nicely done in terms of decor and ambience and the drinks are good. They really need to improve the service and quality of hookah though.
Unfortunately, not too many other options in downtown. Markaz had even worse service, arrogant owner and bad shisha, but that's for another review - that place has closed down for now, to be opened elsewhere. Downtown's better off!
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