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| - *DISCLAIMER*: I will be rating this establishment for Hookah only and as such you should know that my comments reflect that.
For Hookah, honestly this is the best place in the Arab Quarter (the stretch of Arab restaurants and establishments stretching down most of Apache and the surrounding area). I have tried nearly all the other places (hubbly bubbly, Harem Nights, King Tuts) and compared to all of them I can sincerely say that Cafe Istanbul is the best among them.
Reasons:
Hookah: Wide variety of flavors both Starbuzz and Al-Fakher (important for those who are tobacco purists wishing for either the straight UAE brand or the more hip sugarier flavors) and they will mix whatever you ask. They use natural coals (not the instalights) which allows for a "smoother" smoke as it were. They also carry much more in stock in terms of their brand.
Staff: Generally speaking, very polite and very helpful, they will turn your coals as often as possible and accommodate a lot of requests. One simply need to follow the rules of common sense and be equally respectful.
Ambience: Now this part is particularly personal, but I have likened the ambience to being similar to that of Jabba's Palace or the Cantina from Star Wars, which to say the least, is amusing by far. Generally comfortable seats and couches, but I prefer the more quiet ambience of the outside balcony; in either case, you're bound for some great people watching, especially on wilder nights as they cater to a lot of the local arab community. Definitely not a "Club" hookah scene which definitely makes it feel smaller and more of a nicer atmosphere.
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