Hookah lounge

The hookah lounge (also called a shisha bar or den, especially in Britain and parts of Canada, or a hookah bar) is an establishment where patrons share shisha from a communal hookah or which is placed at each table or a bar.

Often, hookah lounges are owned and operated by people from the Arab world, origin and or other regions where use of the hookah is a centuries-old tradition. Many hookah lounges incorporate such elements as Islamic decor and Arabic music or Indian music. In Europe this is no longer a fact and hookah lounges are simply a bar without the eastern cultural elements.

Hookah lounges are mostly found in college towns and urban areas and are regarded by some as a novel and chic way to socialize and embrace multiculturalism, but not only that. Certain lounges offer modern hookahs with fruit bowls or other kinds of improvements over smoking hookah at home. Some people of Middle Eastern or South Asian extraction consider them a continuation of their own cultural traditions. Hookah lounges nowadays often distance themselves from the eastern cultures offering hookah and alcohol without the cultural elements. These bars differ from other bars only in the fact that they offer hookah.

Typically a disposable mouthpiece is provided for each user for hygiene reasons. Hookah lounges do not typically have liquor licenses but instead derive the bulk of their revenue from sales of coffee, tea, soft drinks and snack foods. Almost all offer Turkish coffee. Nowadays most lounges also offer alcohol beverages.

Some hookah lounges have well-equipped kitchens and are more akin to bistros. In the broadest sense, any restaurant or nightclub can be considered a hookah lounge if it offers patrons hookahs, shisha and a comfortable place to smoke. Some offer Middle Eastern cuisine menu items.

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