Naara Cafe

Tonight was my 2^nd time in last 2 days, so far its the best spot for Hookah and Food. Servers were very friendly as well. Great atmosphere with semi outdoor place as well. They have good variety of hookah flavors with quality, economical prices and also delicious food. I love their Mediterranean chicken sandwich and Blossom Jasmin tea.

Phenomenal! Simply phenomenal. From the servers to the food to the hookah to the atmosphere — everything is great. I love coming to this place when I visit San Antonio. You can tell everything is authentic as well.

12:33am —
Long wait for the waiter… not a good start to the night. But the dude was cool, and they have good prices for their food.
1:34am —
Though the start was a bit rough, it was hella worth it in the end! The food was great! Very chill vibes, and great environment!
I highly recommend it.

Food was WOW! The pizza was my favorite. There was only one waitress so service was a little slow, but she was nice.

I came with my friends during the day on a Friday after Jumuah and it wasn’t that busy. Our waiter didn’t pay much attention to us though and just talked to some other customers which I’m assuming were his friends. The gyro pizza was delicious though and it’s two dollars off in the afternoon. I wish the service was as good as the food.

Im only able to give 5 stars but really it deserves 10 stars. Workers are friendly, shisha is really good and not so expensive… i definitely will make this place a regular spot for me.
Keep up the great work

Great place to meet up with friends. Their food, chai tea and hookah are awesome, as was our server, Lauren.
Our first time here, but we’ll be back for more.

Excellent food. Good hookah. Pricey. Slow waitstaff. We had the Philly chicken cheese steak, the shish kabab, mint tea and breaded chicken sandwich. Grape berry hookah was really good.

We found Pasha’s only be driving by. What a delightful finding! This is a busy middle East (Meditaranian) restaurant that is both good and reasonably priced. There are already two Pasha’s in San Antonio and a third one about to open in two weeks in the Forum Live Oak area off I-​35. All look like great successes. They seem to follow the same formula for success as the Peymonds Cafes in Las Vegas.
If you miss a good hummus or lental soup and a gyro plate, this is the place to go to in San Antonio.
Of interest, there is a smaller middle eastern café right behind Pasha’s called the Naara Café. We actually like this place better because it has more atmosphere, great outside pation and some of the best pizza in town. And, it is the only place we’ve found a true Shawarma (wrap) in San Antonio exactly like the small street places in Damascus. Naara Café is like a typical small coffee house in downtown Damascas or Tehran. It was then that the waiter told us that Pasha’s and the Naara Café had the same owner. Was that his Maserati parked next to my Honda Fit right out in front? Maybe it’s the sam guy that owns the huge Ali Baba food market in the same complex.

I wish I could give Naara 6 stars. I’ll start off by saying that this is by far my favorite restaurant and place to hang out in San Antonio. I have never tried something from the menu that I did not like, and trust me, I have been to Naara Café more times than I can count. From the juicy joojeh kabob to the slightly spicy but extremely satisfying falafel wrap, Naara is the place to go for Middle Eastern food in SA. Unsurprisingly, their «Western» food is delicious as well. From cheesy pizzas topped with chicken or beef shawarma to chicken wings and even a burger, this is a solid place for a meal, any time of the day. For dessert, I strongly recommend the «Akbar Mashti», which is a saffron-​rose flavored Persian ice cream topped with pistachios. Other selections such as the kanafeh and «Naara’s Best» are also excellent.
You can not come to Naara without ordering one of their hot teas. There is a huge selection of hot teas, but the best in my opinion is the orange blossom tea with mint. It comes with sugar cubes, but for the best flavor ask for honey. They also served Turkish coffee in a traditional cezve, which can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
The best thing about Naara is the atmosphere. Whether you are looking to catch a soccer game, catch up with friends, have a meal, study, or just relax, Naara is the perfect place for all of these. The environment is super laid back, with several TVs both inside and outside as well as backgammon and domino sets for entertainment. People often stay here for hours relaxing or studying, and it is especially nice because you never feel pressured by anyone to leave. For tobacco smokers, there is a large selection of Starbuzz and Al Fakher shisha, with classics such as «Double Apple» and «Gum Mint», and exotic flavors such as «Safari Melon Dew» and «Geisha». Options for fruit bowls, ice tips and bases, and even traditional salloum hookahs are available. With exotic lamps hanging from the ceilings and all kinds of different people, one truly feels as if they are in the Middle East when at Naara Café.

came here for lunch with my pops today, it was an amazing day so we sat outside on the patio while i enjoyed some of there reasonably lunch priced hookahs, starbuzz for 9 $ during lunch hours. we started off with some hummus as an app and then ordered a gyro and a vavishka sandwich and fries. apparently they do not have water except for bottled, and the soda comes in cans so i got a tea to drink. the hookah came out really quickly and hit well and tasted great as starbuzz usually does, blue mist. the hummus followed shortly, the hummus taste really good with a healthy dose of olive oil on top. the pita fell short tho as it was really thin and more lavash texture then soft pita, more cracker like, still edible though. our entrees took a little while longer to come out then thought, maybe from the fresh ground beef on the vavishka. when it did it looked and smelled amazing, kinda like an iranian version of a sloppy joe. it was amazing and so were the fries that came with it, really good thick cut french fries. my dads gyro was very lackluster and missing a certain something, maybe the tzatziki sauce was under seasoned but it wasnt great, just good. all in all it was an enjoyable meal with pretty good service, but just a couple things short of an amazing meal. ohh well, ill still return. at least for the hookah and fries

Really wanted a gyro today. So I met my son at this hookah joint. The waitress was very nice and knowledgeable about the menu. I ordered the hummus with pita and the gyro hold the pickles, I hate pickles and they don’t belong in gyros.
The hummus was OK, the pita seemed a little on the thin side.
The gyro and french fries arrived. The fries were nice and crispy.
The gyro was lacking something. I’m not sure exactly what but the meat tasted a little off compared to other gyros I’ve had. The taztziki was a little weak as well. I would like to have this at three and half stars but that is not an option. So I am going there stars I took one off for the hummus and one off for the gyro.
I will try this place again if I want a gyro and some one wants to smoke the flavored tobacco

I initially gave Naara a 3 star but since that review I changed it to 5 stars, they have upped their customer service and personally apologized to me. The establishment took my review and is improving their customer service. I hope to visit Naara again and will be recommending others to there as well.
I’m giving this place a 3 star due to the fact that their customers service is horrible, I would have given less but there hookahs and the food is good. They are over priced but the atmosphere is nice.

This place has fantastic Turkish coffee, love it for a pre-​study session boost. The atmosphere is always relaxed and I love that they stay open so late! 2am on weekdays and 4pm on weekends. The hummus is super great and the nachos is some of my favorite comfort food in the whole city!

Wow this place is nice. A lot of food for the money. People smoking hookas and playing everywhere. Their falafel is awesome. The service was quick even though the place was packed.

I am a big fan of hookah. I don’t smoke as often as I use to but this is a café I like to frequent with my friends. I try to mix it up with flavors and try new things. The price for their hookah is pretty average and they let as many people share a hookah as they like, which I really appreciate because some other hookah bars charge extra for multi people to share.
I love the food here. The pizza here is really good, the more the grease the better. They also serve more traditional middle eastern/​Mediterranean dishes such as gyros (my favorite.) Their fries are delicious when doused in ketchup. On a cold night the Chai tea is perfect to warm you up.
The environment is often very loud and very busy. Many middle eastern men sit around playing some board game that has dice and lots of yelling. I recommend this café to anyone looking for a fun chill night and good food.

I am involved in a love triangle with Pasha and Naara. It’s not as dirty as it sounds, I promise! The two cafes both sell Mediterranean food in the same plaza just by the SA Medical Center. Naara draws me in because she’s pretty and fun, but Pasha’s the one with the good cooking that you take home to mom.
All jokes aside, Naara’s food and service are lacking but the interior décor, patio seating, and hookah more than make up for it if you’re into that sort of thing. Their most-​recommended items tend to be the pizza, while the authentic dishes are less palatable. Falafel order is huge for $ 8 but dense inside and lacked the crisp exterior that I like. Pita is crispy rather than soft, which is odd because I know they have the same owner as Ali Baba International Market (same plaza) with amazing house-​made pita bread.
As for the service? They seem to constantly have «now hiring» signs up, and I’ve yet to have an order come out correct. Female staff always seem to be hired based on their looks and a little rude for someone in a front-​of-​house or customer service role.

I am typing this review while sitting in their patio for like 15 mins and no server has came across my table. I see a waitress talking with a group sitting in a table far from mine for like 10 mins and not even bother to look at where I am sitting. I am experiencing one of the worst customer services ever.

Went here on our final night of visiting San Antonio. Wanted a place to relax and do some good hookah and eat something not too expensive. Our waiter was very nice and helped us decide what to eat. We ate a delicious Pizza Pie which had mushrooms, chicken, tomatoes, and some other things i don’t remember, but the Pizza was absolutely DELICIOUS! You can bring your own bottle of wine but it cost $ 10 per bottle so make sure to bring one BIG bottle instead of two small ones.
Although the waiter was very nice the only issue we had was that the service was very slow. We sat out front and had to go get a waiter when ever we needed refills. Over all i do recommend you visit this café if your looking for good food and nice Hookah!

Good pizza, lackluster service.
Came here for lunch, and had the gyro pizza. The pizza was quite good– healthy portions, piled on the lamb, and the appetizers were great! For the appetizer, they bring out two flat pieces of bread with some sort of herb and olive oil pesto sauce that was delicious!
I was a bit taken aback by the service. It wasn’t especially nice. I asked for water to drink with my meal, and the waitress replied that they only carry bottled water, and they don’t have tap water. I asked how they wash their hands if they don’t have tap water. Should I be concerned for my health? No, they wash their hands, but the water is unfit for human consumption. I wonder how much of that water ends up in the food? Or is this just a ploy to ring up more sales from drinks? Of course, they have tea. (How did they brew the tea if they don’t have tap water?!) I don’t think a restaurant should be able to stay open if they don’t have potable water.
The menu selection was fair, and they had lunch specials at fair prices.
They have a whole section devoted to shishas (or hookahs). They carry a wide variety of tobaccos, and accessories. I noticed that the staff was attentive with the coals, and were quick to replenish burned out coals, or offer a new bowl of tobacco.
The décor was authentically Arab. It looked like a Marrakesh diner, with rugs everywhere, cool little lamps, and fun stuff to check out on the walls.
Overall, I was impressed by the food, but underwhelmed by the service and lack of water.