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Ambrosia Café
Categories: Food Coffee & Tea Nightlife Bars Hookah Bars Coffee & Tea, Hookah Bars [Edit]
1963 N Sheffield Ave(between Armitage Ave & Wisconsin St)
Chicago, IL 60614
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, DePaul
(773) 404-4450
- Nearest Transit:
-
Armitage (Brown Line, Purple Line)
North/clybourn (Red Line)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 5 pm - 1 am
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 3 am
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Music:
- DJ, Music Videos
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Wed, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Smoking:
- Yes
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
29 reviews for Ambrosia Café
Review Highlights
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"Free wireless and good food/drinks at reasonable prices." In 3 reviews -
"this place is BYOB, which is always slamming." In 7 reviews -
"...the corner of Sheffield & Armitage, you're guaranteed a fun..." In 4 reviews
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29 reviews in English
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Review from Mike K.
Brighton, MA
Updated - 1/3/2012
This is the best hookah bar in the city. I've since moved to Boston and wish we had some place like it. I was in town again over New Year's weekend and I'm so glad we had the chance to go to Ambrosia again. They really take care of you here, coming by to change your coal or asking if you need anything at just the right times. It's BYOB, which is nice, and they do charge $3 a glass for the corkage fee but it's not bad at all considering we took up one of their tables for 3 1/2 hours and they were able to make one bowl last that entire time. The place was very crowded when we were there, but the crowd was chill. I, personally, don't like the overdone places with low, uncomfortable couches and lots of fabric everywhere - I'd much rather hang out at Ambrosia.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/21/2010
Ambrosia Cafe is one of the better hookah bars in the city, mainly because of our waitress. At other… Read more »
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Review from Andre W.
4/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
A friend of mine that loves hookah decided that we should try a new hookah place as we usually go to Samah. She had heard good things about this spot and thought it would be a good idea to check it out.
We rolled over this past Saturday night and she forgot to mention that they were BYOB...I wish I would have known that as I have bottles of liquor at home I could have bought and I didn't feel like looking around for a liquor store. My night was sober..lol
They have a nice list of flavors on their menu...we decided to go with Citrus Mint as my friend always has to have mint in her hookah flavor. The flavor was good, but I think we got a bad hookah as we were having to take huge pulls to get anything out of it, but we fixed the issue after awhile. The staff here isn't the most attentive as I would have to flag someone down to refill our mint tea or get another flavor. It might just be that I am so spoiled by Samah. In regards to the mint tea, it was very good and actually had the mint leaf in the mug. Their sound system is a little janky as they have these little speakers at the corner of each wall that are pretty treble heavy. The music was loud as hell and we wound up screaming at each other across the table to hear one another speak.
The one thing they have on Samah is that they don't give you a time frame to smoke and get out. We sat there for a god 3 hours. I would come back here, but Samah will always be my first choice for hookah.Listed in: Best of Lincoln Park
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Review from Amy D.
3/21/2011
Great hookah, BYOB, chill space, friendly service, open late - what else could you ask for?
Smooth smoking even if the charcoal is almost gone. I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of their flavors. The strawberry, cherry, and melon flavors are amazing!
$18 per hookah for the standard flavors and $20 per hookah for other flavors. -
Review from Brian P.
12/28/2010
Some yummy hookah flavors are available, and they have mastered the art of creating a long lasting experience. indeed it's BYOB which is probably a great move.
I wouldn't say its a really comfortable environment per se, though there are couches--which you may need to fight for.
But if you like hookah as much as i do, it would be tough to find places that can execute better than here. -
Review from Aaron N.
1/31/2011
Definitely a chill spot. I'm not a big hookah guy, but I enjoyed the atmosphere at this place. Ambrosia Cafe is in a great location in the heart of Lincoln Park and is a good alternative to the DePaul bar scene.
I would suggest going with a group of people as a pre-game spot or a even a night cap situation. Oh yeah....this place is BYOB, which is always slamming. Check this spot out and try the peach or wild-berry flavors for sure. -
Review from Frank S.
Chicago, IL
7/30/2006
Very unusual cafe. Poor signage and trees make this place easy to miss from Sheffield. But step inside and you immediately see this little place has a different vibe. I would call it a tech-art design. Plush purple and deep orange walls are complimented with a couple of small plasma TVs, steel framed mirrors, and matching couches. Plasma TVs are different for a cafe, and so are hookas. I don't know another coffee shop that offers hooka smoking after six, and BYOB. Those amenities might explain the late hours, till 3 am Monday through Saturday.
They have a good menu too. I tried a half tuna sandwich and salad for seven bucks. It was awesome. My latte was less than ordinary though. The staff said they sell Starbucks products. So they're obviously more focused on the food and smoking than the coffee products.
I've only been here once, so I don't have a good feel for the crowd yet. But on a late Sunday night there were three other groups chillin with hookas and conversation, some watching sports. They had the sound off on the TVs so the music, fairly soft and low key, could still be heard. I'm always looking for a cool place with free wifi so I can work into the late hours. Looks like I've found the place. Taking the red line is a must, because parking in Lincoln Park is impossible. -
Review from Jason H.
Chicago, IL
2/19/2008
1. free wireless.... 5 stars.
2. blaring TVs.... 1 star.
3. sandwiches/salads... 2 stars. really, they could do much better on these. they are small. they aren't as tasty as they could be. they could do much better.
4. smoking.... 1 star. Ok, it is a hookah bar, but i still get home smelling like smoke. yuck.
5. tea selection.... 3 stars. it's good, but it isn't great. not compared to argo across the street or cafe bourgeois pig a few blocks away.
6. convenient to transport.... 5 stars. it is around the corner from the armitage el.
7. barista.... 5 stars. she is super fab and she is always there. i hope they pay her well.
when it comes right down to it, i wouldn't go here except that i'm staying a block away from it this month. -
Review from Neil C.
Chicago, IL
2/25/2010
Terrible service for those who don't like Hookah.
A friend of mine and I were on a quest to find a high quality Coffeehouse in Chicago that was open late. In looking at the reviews it seemed like it would be a good place. However, when we showed up, the waiter very rudely told us that we had to order hookah or else we couldn't go here. We started to get up and the waiter then tried to go back stating that he'd allow it this time. I don't think this is a good way to treat customers, and I would have nothing to do with going to this place because of that.
If I smoked at all I'd like this place, but since I don't I didn't care for that attitude. -
Review from Niki C.
Chicago, IL
6/6/2006
I couldn't remember if I liked the sandwiches here, so I thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt & go when the bf suggested it.
Pros:
- free wifi (which I've never used here, but bravo for that)
- yummy smelling hookahs (that look much cooler when other people smoke them than when I fumble around & try)
- pb&j
- laid back, chill atmosphere
- outdoor seating
- friendly staff
Cons:
- bread is too damn bready & awfully bland (yes, even for bread)
- when seated outside, I kept getting whiffs from an open dumpster in the alley next to the cafe (the bf could only smell grape hookah, but he also doesn't have my superhero-nose)
- asked for grape jelly, got strawberry
I'll probably go back if someone wants to go so bad, but instead of trying another sandwich, I'll stick with pb&j. -
Review from Julie H.
Chicago, IL
5/14/2009
Friendly neighborhood BYOB hookah lounge, Ambrosia, I tip my hat to you!
Rather than the other impersonal commercial hookah hotspots in the city, I feel welcome and leave happy every time I come visit.
BYOB + minimal corkage fee with a 7-11 right at the corner of Sheffield & Armitage, you're guaranteed a fun time.
Have not tried the food yet, but it all sounds very tempting.
Pop in there after a night painting Lincoln Park red, or kick off the evening at 7 when the hookahs come out.
I wish the TVs were playing something besides sports or Bad News Bears on TBS, but you can't win 'em all.
Very accommodating staff, great location and chill vibe. Even when I move out of LP, I will be back for more!Listed in: Blue Demon Eats
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Review from Robby C.
9/2/2010 1 photo
For those unfamiliar with the area, the search for a hookah bar near downtown Chicago has likely offered quite a limited selection. However, from the river downtown where the majority of tourists have taken up temporary residence, Ambrosia Café is a mere train ride away. Jumping on the brown line train takes you directly to Armitage station where the hookah bar is about a block away towards downtown. While the prices were a bit steep, about twenty dollars a bowl, the selection is quite diverse from mango to winterberry mint as well as other more exotic flavors. The service was good, but somehow we would expect it to be since we were the only customers in the bar on that particular Tuesday evening.
Worth it?
Twenty dollars for about an hour of smoking time without anyone from the staff rushing you? To us it was worth it, but so far we have only been made aware of one hookah bar in the area so we may be a bit biased. -
Review from Danielle W.
New York, NY
9/27/2010
GREAT hookah- white peach was amazing.
OK service.
GREAT mint tea.
Highly suggest/recommend this place & I spent a year in Israel smoking the finest hookah. -
Review from Marion P.
Chicago, IL
9/27/2007
This place looks really nice, but I'm not sure I love it.
The people who work here were grumpy the few times I've been.
I've had a sandwich, which was decent, and a smoothie, which was really bad (sugary and flavorless, despite sounding yummy on the menu). I wouldn't come back here if it weren't for my friends who like the hooka. -
Review from Lynn N.
Chicago, IL
6/19/2011
I would definitely hit up this place to hookah before going out or to wind down afterward. It's definitely a more low-key hookah spot, so I wouldn't make a huge event out of this place (I'd go to Samah for that). But the ambiance is warm & cozy and the hookahs are pretty good. If you're in the mood to lounge with a hookah and good company, this place does the job.
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Review from Michael L.
Cincinnati, OH
8/12/2010
If you are a fan of hookah, this is the place in Chicago. I've tried several places in Chicago. This place has a great staff, and a phenomenal selection of tabacco. Great hangout place, it's always a great time.
And from personal experience it is a great place for a birthday party! -
Review from Lauren H.
Bloomington, IN
6/30/2011
Avoid! The hostess was snippy and unpleasant, an audio-less video of Pussycat Dolls concert was on loop the whole time we were there and it was more overpriced than I ever imagined. They charge you for everything except the coals and they don't even have actual screens for the hookahs, they use foil. For the price, they should have metal screens. Also, our hookah was cracked. With the extra hose charge, tax and included gratuity, one bowl ended up costing $30, which is ridiculous for the lack of quality! I will try another place when I return to Chicago.
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Review from Meagan L.
Chicago, IL
3/26/2011
This place is great. It is everything a hookah bar should be: relaxing, inviting, good atmosphere and wonderful smooth hookah apparatuses. Pretty cheap if you go with 3 people $18 per hookah.
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Review from Elena D.
Chicago, IL
8/1/2006
Good sandwiches, smoothies (get the raspberry/berry mix) and service. Hookahs too! It was a wee bit weird to have a pounding techno beat in a small, cosy cafe, but wotthehell. Very cool joint.
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Review from Susannah H.
Los Angeles, CA
3/11/2007
Strange combination of a sports bar/hookah bar/caf. The menu looked alright (although they score major points for having a nutella-banana panini), and my tea was pretty good. The place was loud and smoky when I was in the mood for more of a lazy hazy chill-out type atmosphere. But the hookah lasted us a long time which was a huge plus. I would go here, but probably only if Samah was booked again or if I was too lazy to go to Belmont.
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Review from Jookie K.
La Jolla, CA
4/19/2006
This cafe is so practical: there's food, coffee, tea, and after 6, hookah. It's spacious enough that you can come in to study, without feeling pressured to constantly be ordering something. There's free wireless, and you just ask at the counter for the network code. The food is yummy and reasonable and has a Mediterrenean leaning, so you can order hummus with your smoothie or latte or whatever. It's centrally located (just off the Armitage stop), and although I'm not crazy about the orange and purple decor, it's such a practical, comfortable space. Bonus: the (french?) doors in the front of the cafe open when it's warm.
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Review from Basel T.
Rolling Meadows, IL
10/27/2010
Great place to meet some friends, have some fun and smoke a great hookah. The service is very good. There hookah is awesome. The prices are very reasonable. I recommend this place 100%.
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Review from Andy S.
Chicago, IL
8/28/2009
I never did try Hookah at all, but its a friendly place. You can go in there, chill out, have a meal, BYOB, and enjoy the atmosphere. The employees are friendly. A couple of cons i had were: 1) Trying to find parking is horrible. Took me a good 10-15 minutes to do so. 2) The food was a bit stale and lacking in portions. 3) The prices are really out of hand. Come to this place if you have time and money to spare.
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Review from Jen S.
8/7/2007
Free wireless and good food/drinks at reasonable prices. They're open pretty late so I was always doing work here when I couldn't stand my apartment anymore. It can get annoying if people are smoking a hookah but you get used to it.
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Review from Jean C.
12/1/2009 1 Check-in Here
This is such a great place for a group or with one other person. The first I came here was for my Bachelorette party. My sister found this place and we had a great time! It's also BYOB with a corkage fee but I am not sure of the price. We came here this past weekend and tried the Strawberry Margarita and it was awesome! It had a great flavor and tasted like it. We ordered a cafe mocha and a cappuccino and smoked and drank. It was a pleasant hour and I always like coming here to wind down. It does get busy later in the evenings on the weekends so I suggest coming earlier if possible. It's a great experience!
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Review from Scott D.
Saint Paul, MN
9/12/2009
An evening out here has a lot of potential. I imagined spending a relaxing evening drinking beers and smoking hookah - oh and not spending a fortune on a night out. As it played out, my experience was disappointing.
Our sever was unable to communicate the flavors of tobacco and was not eager to make recommendations. Our hookah was flavorful for the first few minutes, but soon each drag gathered more ash than smoke. To cap our night: we were handed a bill which charged us $24 in corkage fees for a party of 6. As a frequent patron of other local BYOBs, this rate seems outrageous. The server should have had the courtesy of notifying us of the fee.
Saved by good company and ample beer, I was happy with my overall experience. With a more personalble server and a better understanding of the costs, my letdown would have been eliminated. -
Review from Miss M.
Chicago, IL
1/3/2010
Their food is really overpriced and not very good. The hookah, on the other hand is very good and they have a good variety of flavors to choose from. I would defintely say to come for the hookah but get coffee and a bite to eat across the street at Argo Tea.
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Review from Rachel B.
Chicago, IL
4/11/2009
My friends and I love this place. They have great hookah, free wi-fi, and a great staff. It's fun on weekends and a great place to study!
The atmosphere is comfortable and they play fun Arabic music! -
Review from Bridget G.
Washington, DC
11/23/2008
It's sort of a strange scene, and it took forever to get my latte. But when it came, it was one of the best lattes I've had in a long time. So, no stars for speed or ambiance, but 5 for the latte. delicious.
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Review from a j.
Chicago, IL
8/20/2007
awesome! went here for the first time last weekend and loved it. casual, friendly, good food, great hookah (try the black grape - it's delicious), very reasonable. with the wifi and cafe menu, i can see this being a great place to study, meet up with a group of friends for hookah, or just hang out on a weekend afternoon. will definitely be going back.
