Sinbad’s Hookah

It’s not a bad place. It’s pretty small place and on the weekends they only do reservations. It’s about $ 17 a person no matter if you hookah or not. It’s BYOB but they might make you buy cups. I’m not sure.

Horrible employers, they can never get their hookah right! They’re very rude, and don’t come to check up on you to see if everything is okay. Majority of the workers are sitting down smoking their own hookah. Like come on, they need to work on their customer service. I would never suggest this place, music is good but other than that there really isn’t too much to say. 2 thumbs down

3 – 4 years ago, this place was awesome. I went here last night for a friends birthday and the staff WAS COMPLETELY RUDE! As a paying customer at your establishment, coming to the back room, turning on the lights and telling us «grab your coats and things because you guys have to go» was SUPER UNPROFESSIONAL. There were plenty of empty tables in the front and there was still extra room in the back VIP room. It was super uncomfortable not to mention embarrassing being told to leave in the manner that we were told. Delivery is everything and they epically failed. They won’t be getting my business ever again.

I went here with a group of friends and had a really nice time! We were the first ones in so it was pretty empty, but we got free waterbottles (usually $ 2 each) and we only had to pay $ 17 each (Usually $ 20 I think?). The employee was very helpful with us choosing flavors, and he regularly came by to check on our charcoal. Fun music and good ambiance! Would go to again!

Awesome… Awesome… Awesome and Terrance was great! Hospitality at its finest, Terrence made great recommendations and made sure that we were well taken care of. We will be back… Thank you Terrence!

The only people defending this place are the ones who are friends with the people that work there. I was just in town for the weekend for work so me and two guys decided to check it out because it had okay reviews. We tried calling ahead around 11pm and they said they wouldn’t have a reservation till 1am but we just showed up hoping someone could get us a spot anyway. We show up and the girl at the door, Ruby, told us «oh you’re lucky because someone just canceled their reservation at a table for 2 so we can add an extra chair there for you 3 to sit.» Okay, great, what luck! Well we sit down and the place is filled with a pretty gross crowd. Our table was kind of sticky and no one came to serve us for at least 15 – 20 mins, probably because all the «employees» were too busy dancing and smoking hookah with their friends at other tables. Finally, I flag down the hookah guy that says that the max is 2 people to a hookah (wtf?) and $ 18 per person for 2 hours of smoking. I’m from NY, a place with some fantastic, upscale hookah bars that don’t even charge like that. I’ve never heard of only 2 people to a hookah, it’s usually 3 – 4 people. The $ 18 didn’t bother me because that’s reasonable for 2 hours if you aren’t paying for the hookah, itself. So we had to get 2 hookahs for the 3 of us and they brought us the check immediately after which I thought was weird until you continue reading what happened next.
One hookah burned out within 8 minutes. Took a little while to get someone over to change it out (incorrect coal placement). Not even 10 minutes after someone replaced it, we are being asked to leave because a reservation came in for our table. We had only been there about 45 minutes. If we took the spot of another reservation, and each reservation is for 2 hours, how could you have another reservation coming in already? I tried to tell the staff and they said «we don’t know about that but we know the table is here so you have to leave.» We said «but we haven’t been here even a full hour so we aren’t paying for 3 people x 2 hours.» At this point, Ruby came back with a nasty attitude and basically started yelling at us, speaking down to us (probably not realizing that she was speaking to 2 physicians and a business owner who could more than afford to rent out the entire building, let alone pay the bill and leave a tip). Obviously, they were lying so I said «there has to be some sort of miscommunication here because we were paying $ 18 per person for 2 full hours based on the fact that there wasn’t a reservation for this time slot for this table». Considering how rude they were being, I should be anointed sainthood for being so nice and calling their screw up a miscommunication. To which, Ruby replied, «listen i’ll eat the cost of one person, myself, if you guys get out.» what in the hell?! At this point, we had about 3 staff members basically circling us in the corner. We said «well we still aren’t paying full price for 2 people because that would still be more than what we actually got.» If it’s $ ¹⁸⁄₂ hrs/​person but we were there an hour each, shouldn’t we only be paying $ 27 rather than $ 36? Well aside from being rude, these people are also apparently dumb as rocks and can’t figure out middle school math.

Came to this place there was no one there to greet you or even let you know what’s going on. Walked in seen a bunch of people smoking hookah but it looked like they had only 1 employee running everything. I asked him where can we sit he said sit anywhere so we sat down and waited 20 minutes he never came by the table or said anything we ended up leaving if they don’t want my money that’s fine I’ll take my business else where so whoever runs this place needs to hire more people or work on customer service skills before they go out of business

I was compelled to write a review because the place is great value and fun place for the money. Most of the reviews are complaining about price $ 18 per person and mixer fees $ 3.50 a drink even if tip is included. How do you expect them to stay in business? I feel for a byob place (you would spend hundreds at a bar for booze) and if you spend a couple of hours it’s an amazing value, and the ambiance is good chill and enjoyable. Music was decent. And yes coal service is decent but could be quicker but still reasonable I think people don’t know how to smoke Hooka so they complain they need more coals which you don’t. I will be a regular. Good selection of smoke and gave good suggestions for flavors.

A good place to meet up with friends after work and hang out for a couple of hours. Though their prices are a bit higher than most, there’s a good atmosphere about it and BYOB makes it the right kind of place to get friends together to catch up, discuss the day’s events, or talk about whatever. They often have decent music playing (fortunately it’s not blaring loud, so you can actually hear people) and/​or whatever big sporting events showing on the numerous flat screens. The service is ok, so long as you can get the staff’s attention. I’d be more inclined to give it an extra star if the service was more in line with the price. All in all, I’m a fan.

Wish I could rate it 0 stars… Dropped by this place to catch the game, celebrate friends bday, and pregame.
Been a regular here about 2 years ago… Current people suck. Homie saying he needed to «clear the table for reservation»… On an empty night, don’t bs me man
Stef was cool (sorry if I misspelled the name man) but other than him, poor coal service… Poor customer service… And mandatory tip for included (prepaid) for shitty service.
Woulda tipped nicely if the service was worth it.

Amazing place. Must try. the staff really go above and beyond to ensure customers are happy. I can’t say enough great things about this place.
It will be my first stop when I’m back in Chicago :-)

I used to live next door to this place when I went to uic. It went though different managers possibly owners as well. The place is small but it does have a good look inside. This place become a CASH ONLY spot so make sure bring cash. Having owned a hookah for years Im not the biggest fan of paying to smoke, but if the environments right its worth it. This spot charged us $ 18 per person!!! Once again not per hookah, per person with 1 hookah per 2 people. Its BYOB which can be a plus. Seems like most of the crowd comes for the BYOB and night out, not purely to smoke but thats alright. The hookahs do smoke well, but the only reason to come here is because there aren’t many hookah spots around.

Great ambiance, very mellow, good seating, debit cards would be a plus, but cash keeps it simple.

Love it!!! Great service!!! Great hookah!!! Good people!!! I love this place when I want to unwind from a long day!

This is my go-​to hookah place. Always a fun and friendly crowd. Consistently good hookah and nice people serving you. I’ve been going there for about 5 years.

Unfortunately, this place is all hype and little game. Just because some NBA players come here automatically doesn’t make it a great place to go.
A couple of friends and I went to spend some time there but left much sooner than we wanted– the flavors we smoked died out within 20 minutes and the rest of the time felt like poison in gaseous form.
Customer service was decent and they were playing some good music, but the hookahs absolutely killed the whole session; not to mention that we paid over $ 70 for 2 hookahs.
I feel like this is a trend with city hookah bars (all hype), but you’re better off going to Al-​Hambra or many suburban hookah lounges to smoke your money’s worth and get other entertainment.
If you’re not at Sinbad’s to smoke, then it isn’t half bad. If you smoke there, you may very well regret it.

Well, coming from the west coast. this hookah lounge was a huge disappointment. I arrived with my friend and found seating in a back room. Shortly after I was greeted by our server who stated they only take payments upfront before the hookah is made which I found extremely tacky and cheap. Then we asked the different kinds of shisha offered, and he proceeded to tell us all they had in stock was starbuzz… what is this, 2009? The hookah tasted poor and we noticed they use instant coals, gross. Despite the disappointing experience, I went to tip and as I grabbed the tab to calculate, I noticed they added a tip with the payment, (again, how tacky). This places charges more than the huge hookah lounges on Hollywood boulevard. Won’t return.

I came here around 3pm on a Friday while visiting from Indianapolis, and I am writing this review before I even leave. You folks are nuts for rating this joint so low. I had a most enjoyable time.
I got 2 Diet Cokes and a hookah for about $ 20 after tip. I pay more at the hookah bars in Indianapolis, and the atmosphere in those hookah bars may be a little more swank, but the couches here are WICKED comfy, and the Megan’s Blend hookah is delish.
My only complaints are that there isn’t even a snack menu, and the the service was rather slow. But the gentleman who served me is nice, friendly, and very knowledgeable about the city. I plan on coming back!

Not as bad as I was expecting…
I read the horrible reviews before coming here and it definitely made me apprehensive to go. But a friend was in town so we went. The best thing about the place is it is BYOB and there are no corkage fees. The drinks for mixers are a bit pricey ($ 3.50 for a 12 oz. bottle of sprite) so if you can bring your own mixers. The music was surprisingly good. Hip hop was playing in the front area and the sound level was good. Hip hop was also playing in the back area with the couches where we were at. Unfortunately those speakers in the back sucked. The speaker on my cell phone is louder. A worker did come and try and fix them and turn the volume up but it was still very low.
Service could use some improvement. We waited for a good 15 – 20 minutes for our waitress to come back and take our Hookah flavor order.
It was a bit pricey. I spent about $ 50+ for 2 people to smoke 1 hookah and have 2 sprites…

I’m a casual Hookah smoker so take that into context with this review. Diehard hookah smokers may feel differently.
Sinbad is a decent spot in Little Italy. Place is small filled with mostly wooden tables and chairs, which is negative for me. I prefer to be a little bit more comfortable. We were fortunate to get there early and get some couches in the back area (their VIP I guess).
Its a little pricey particularly if you are in large group. Its basically $ 17 a person which for 2 – 3 ppl is okay. But the splitting 1 hookah with 4 ppl at $ 68 dollars is a little ridiculous.
Best part about the venue is its BYOB. But besides that its nothing spectacular. Best way I can describe it is by saying its not bad. Its just not good either. And as it gets later in the night, especially on weekends, you will probably have to wait a while as it gets packed.