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| - Before I was old enough to start drinking this was my slightly-illicit-late-night-teen-hangout place, and now that I'm over 21 this is my not-at-all-illicit-late-night-bring-a-bottle-of-wine-with-friends-hangout place. The space is awesome--an old 19th-century church totally redone in rich fabrics and knockoff Egyptian paintings, with cushions along the walls on the side. For a dollar extra you can sit upstairs in the ~VIP~ room, but I've never done so.
Parking is a literal nightmare, but it's South Oakland, so that's par for the course. Service is very, very, very slow--I think they are encouraging you to linger as is traditional in most hookah-smoking countries. You have to order food or a drink to smoke--try the mint tea, or just get a bottle of water if you're not hungry. The tobacco selection runs the gamut from the very traditional--molasses or apple--to weird cocktail-based flavors. I like pomegranate. For an extra fee, you can get ice (to cool down the smoke), juice, or wine in the base of the hookah.
I always see people with their laptops doing homework or writing. But others are chatting, drinking, or just chilling. This is a very mellow place in nutty South O, and is a nice respite from Oakland as a whole.
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