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"I'm not an expert on Persian food but this is probably one of the the best Middle Eastern places I've tried. I had a lunch here with a vegan…" read more »
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I used to eat here alot. I work not too far from this place, alittle further down Sawtelle so It's a convenient place to eat. But convenience aside, the food is great and the service as well. I almost always order the same thing so i can't comment on too much of the menu ... but the standard stuff i will say is pretty good!
babagannouj, hummus, tabouleh, chicken Kabob, Kofta kabob... are all pretty good. Cafe Dahab gives you more than enough food and the white peach Hookah is awesome!
A nice Middle Eastern themed lounge to chill out with friends. I have been here a couple of times in the evenings and it has always been fun. I come here especially for the hookahs. The place is filled with many Middle Eastern folks, always a good sign for an ethnic place. They have TV screens all over the place playing music videos and Arabic music. You feel transported to a neighbourhood corner cafe set someplace in Middle East.
The food here is pretty good too. I have had the hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, musaka, etc. and they have all been good. Their meat dishes are especially good according to my carnivore friends who have tried the chicken, lamb and shrimp. There mainly two veggie options - Kosheri and the Veggie combo. The Kosheri is a simple Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni and lentils topped with tomato sauce with some grilled onion slices. It is good but could definitely use some more flavour. The veggie combo comes with three pieces of falafel alongwith hummus, baba ganoush and tabouleh. There are sides of greens, shredded cabbage, olives and pickled beets. The portions are generous and you would be well advised to share amongst the group.
The hookah here are also good. The hookahs themselves are in good condition so you will not face problems with it unlike some other places I have been to. There are a lot of flavours to choose from as well. My favourites are the melon, strawberry, coca cola and sour apple. They replace the coal pieces frequently so you are not inhaling any of the ash, which is good. One hookah lasts you about two hours which is also good for the price you pay.
Highly recommended an evening with good company in a relaxed environment.
I don't smoke hookah much,
but hookah aficiondos seem to like this place.
It's pretty good but pricey.
I suppose it's worth it if you wanted to hang out here for hours,
which I don't.
The best thing about this place is the hummus. The falafel ain't bad if their slow ass service gets it to you before it gets cold and stale. The rest of the food is pretty mediocre and a $7 minimum should be a crime. The kabob is drier than Joan River's crotch. The hummus is notable though.
The service is variable, sometimes good sometimes bad. Never really outstanding. Kinda like Lenny from Of Mice and Men, friendly but slow.
This spot used to be a great little coffee shop called Lulu's Alibi. I miss it. This place wasn't a good trade.
I'll be back for the hummus.
Went here for lunch. Service was bad. How bad? Water never refilled, not even once, even though my cup was empty halfway through the meal. Even though it was lunch, and we were the only people there, it still smelled like there was a room full of hookah-ers. Now I'm not one to complain about hookah, usually, but when you're assaulted by it during a bright Sunday lunch, it makes on lose their appetite.
The food was just bleh, which is the worst part. I've been craving a good gyro for a while now... and I was hoping this would be it. I was wrong. The lamb was pretty bland, simply no seasoning. The pita fell apart halfway through the meal. Even the sauce, which I presume was supposed to be tzasiki, was just bland and wet. I won't be back.
If you like middleastern food this is probably not the type of place you wanna go the food is just whatever but if you wanna hang out and smoke hooka this a great place to hang out.
Ever since my trip to Egypt, I sometimes crave a yummy bowl of kushari. http://en.wikipedia.or... It's basically a bowl of macaroni pasta, lentils, chickpeas and long grain rice, topped with caramelized onions and spicy tomato sauce. In Egypt, it's cheap and delicious, and I was hoping to find a place in SoCal to satisfy my kushari craving.
Cafe Dahab was the only place I could find, so we ventured out to try their kushari. At Dahab, they have hookahs everywhere, so you could smoke some if you want to during your meal. I ordered a cold glass of karkaday (hibiscus), and it was so tart! It's tart by nature, but it was so concentrated that it was beyond the tartness I was expecting. We also ordered a side of hummus, and it was pretty good.
I was SO looking forward to my kushari that when it arrived, I was highly disappointed. Wrong type of rice. :( It tasted really watery, like the pasta and rice weren't drained properly. :( And it wasn't a lot of kushari for $13. :( It's sooo cheap in Egypt that $14 would get you 50 bowls of kushari! Darn. I guess I have to go back to Egypt to get the real deal. :\ But-- bonus points for good service.
BTW, why label yourself as serving "mediterranean food" when you're named after Dahab, an Egyptian city on the coastline of the Red Sea?
My turkish co-worker loves this place sooo much so we come here more often than I would probably like.
The food here is good. The shrimp; however, is what would make the high prices worth it. Along with this, I find the extras are what makes this place stand out and the reason why I would return there occasionally.
Despite this, I find that the food is price-y. The fact that I do not smoke the hookah at all is why I would be hesitant to return however.
Other Notes:
Service: Great Service...
Location: Parking is decent
Environment: A bit too middle eastern for me...I think the music videos constantly running just puts it too much over the top (I am Islamic too)
In short: decent food yet the prices are quite high for what you get.
I used to live a block away from this restaurant but never found the motivation to go... until now (because I got a http://restaurant.com certificate). =)
We parked on Beloit since there's no parking lots nearby, and ventured in on a Friday night at about 6:30pm. There were very few people there, as expected, because it's more of a late-night hangout place for smoking hookah, etc. The decor is very ethnic, with lots of flat screen TVs all playing the Lakers game (so much for watching it at home on DVR!).
After we were seated, I already knew what to order to rack up the minimum $35 needed, so I just started naming things off.
1. Babagannouj (eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings) - It was like regular hummus but a little more bitter. Think I prefer the regular hummus overall still.
2. Three-skewer combo (kofta, chicken and shish kabob) - All nicely flavored and marinated, but the lamb was a little tough. The chicken kabob was definitely the best. The cabbage salad that came with this combo is not bad, but I can't get used to the mint leaves flavor in there.
3. Two desserts - One was like a souffle (don't recall the name) but had too much nuts in it, so we didn't even finish it. The other dessert was the fried donuts with honey. That was actually pretty good, but certainly greasy.
Pros: food was not bad, but not the best I've had
Cons: service was mediocre (they were all watching the Lakers game), and price of one of the desserts was actually higher on the bill than what's on the menu (BEWARE)
So it's really just OK... not really worth paying full price for the food, but if you enjoy the hookah experience, then it might be more worth the trip.
Best hummus, hands down! I usually get the chicken or steak kabob dinner plate (approx. $16). It's enough to share with another person! Lots of rice, meat, salad, pita & hummus. Tho we usually end up getting another small side of hummus 'cuz it's THAT good :)
Highly recommend this place.. and they are open pretty damn late! Also, there's a parking lot in one of the neighboring streets.
Ah-ha. So that's Egyptian food. I went here tonight with my friend Jimena Martinez and we made fast-friends with the waitress. The food was good and the guidance from the waitress was good too. Definitely listen to the reccomendations from the people that work there.
I think next time we will be going with a few more friends so we can get the huge sampler appetizer.
Sent from G1 Mobile Phone
I had passed Dahab on my way to the Japanese restaurants a little farther down on Sawtelle many times, and had always thought I'd one day try it out, and finally, I have.
I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. There was ample seating inside and outside. The servers were friendly and attentive. We ordered the guava hookah as we sat on plush pillows and enjoyed the "chips and dip." Pita and pita chips were brought out to us with hummus, babagannouj and lebnah, as well as some salted olives and pickled turnips. It was all so delicious. My friend even tried the yogurt drink, doug. It was certainly... interesting. It was definitely an experience, and exciting compared to my coca-cola.
The hookah was fun and the food yummy, but the entertainment was perfect. Mostly there was music played over the speakers and videos shown on the flat-screens, but there were some live musicians there as well. The music they played and the way that everyone was involved and joining in the singing made the atmosphere truly authentic. There are framed papyrus paintings of King Tut and other ancient Egyptian designs that grace the walls, and the musicians sing and hookah, the servers joining the singing during popular songs. At one point, people got up and started dancing in the middle of the cafe. Our server came over and took my friend over to dance with them.
This is my favorite place for hookah. It is not at all pretentious like some of the other hookah cafes can be. The food is good (so far, as I haven't tried too much), the hookah is good, the service is good, and the atmosphere is wonderful. For a moment, while everyone was singing and dancing, or smoking hookah and smiling on, I imagined if that was what it must be like to be in Egypt or any place culturally similar. I know, a funny thing to think of, but the whole experience was fun and incredible. I certainly felt as though I had sampled a small taste of the culture. I'll definitely be back at Dahab soon!
$7 minimum not including hookah. Terrible service... Our waiter Vishal was inattentive to the point of assuming he must be legally blind. Once he did pay attention to us, it was most of little use seeing that he needed constant reminders as to what we had ordered. Decent Hookah though
Let me start by saying that maybe I just don't like Egyptian food. I'm a fan of Middle Eastern and North African food (Lebanese, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Persian). But, I've never had Egyptian before, so because I have no reference of comparison, I'm not sure if the issue was the food itself or my palate. Needless to say, I wasn't crazy about what I ordered.
My BF and I ordered foul which I expected to taste like the Ethiopian version. Wrong. My BF swore it tasted like chili and said he wanted to take it home and put it on a hot dog. We also had appetizers of olives and spiced beets. I didn't like either. We both ordered the grilled trout. The portion size was nice, but the flavor was just ok.
Pros - very friendly service and nice sized portions
Cons - flavors left much to be desired
Alright, another Friday night in LA. It just keeps getting better! No. I'm serious. I'm freakin 28 years old and I'm still having adventures. I went out with this girl and her friends last Friday after drinking in K-town we ended up here somehow.
Sitting down with all these new faces and making small talk about inane topics like, you went to UCSD also, did you know John Kim? No way! I grew up with that guy.
Okay so here is the run down. No drinks after 1AM, you must spend at least 7 dollars a person or they will charge you 7 dollars a person, the hummus is delicious, and the Pyramids cake is really amazing too, if I have not stuffed my face all evening I definitely would have enjoyed the food more.
Oh and there is no music outside, so this dude turns on his cell phone play list, and he playing that Bangara hip hop song, and this place is Egyptian, totally ignorant and hilarious. Goodness Asian people...
I've been intrigued about Egyptian food for the longest time and finally had a chance to try it at this hookah bar. Perhaps this place isn't the best representation as the menu seemed to be rather familiar with hummus, babbaganouche, dolmas, kababos, falafel and...sandwiches and paninis.
Hmm.
But service was really nice, presentation was good and the hookah smoke wasn't overwhelming (A+ for the people smoking lovely floral and berry stuff). Cafe Dahab is in what was obviously an old coffee shop space but for those who didn't frequent the old coffee shop probably wouldn't notice.
We started with the dolmas. I love grape leaves and were glad these were served warm. They were loosely rolled and not over-stuffed. The complimentary pickles and olives were also enjoyable.
Skylar's vegetarian plate came in the appropriate amount of time but after my salad and hummus was delivered, I thought they had forgotten me. My three-kabob meal took a long time in coming. But when it finally did come, it was quite welcome because it was so tasty. The beef was very tender. I made myself stop eating since I had a long night ahead of me.
I thought the Egyptian videos were so hilarious. I particularly enjoyed the one where the guy went to meet a blind date and the girl showed up in a disheveled mess so he gave her a rose with all the petals plucked off. Classy!
I'll be back...perhaps to try the chicken and okra dish I was also contemplating. And to get the little chocolate pyramids for dessert. Aww.
Great atmosphere, fast and friendly service and truly delicious Mediterranean food. Our http://resto.com coupon was just a nice bonus =)
I had no idea how much extra food they would bring out so we ended up totally over-ordering and had a bunch of leftovers.
They started us with a basket of warm thin pita bread, two bowls of hummus (delicious), cabbage salad dressed in herbs and lemon vinaigrette, olives, and pickled vegetables. On top of that I ordered the falafel app ($6.95) which were crisp, and the most delicious I've had on the westside so far. We shared a small fattoush salad ($7.95) which was okay but unnecessary with all the cabbage.
The entrees were pretty pricey at $15 each: chicken and filet mignon kabobs served with rice, however, the meats were tender and flavorful. I iwould definitely return to this place and if hookah is your thing, they have it too!
Otherwise the sandwiches and wraps are a good deal at $6-$8 a piece.
i've wanted to try cafe dahab for well over a year and finally got my chance last night. since cafe dahab is just down the street from me, i braved the rush hour traffic and walked to the joint.
when i rolled in around 7pm, the place was sparsely occupied. there were probably 3 other tables occupied, with folks already smoking hookah.
my buddy rolled in a few mins later and we ordered up the following:
babagannouj: this is an eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings and this was very refreshing. i am used to more flavor but this was a decent rendition.
falafel platter: this is ground fava beans and vegetables with special seasonings formed into patties and deep fried. a total of five pieces is served with a side of cabbage salad, tahina sauce and hummus. the falafel was heavy on the garlic and was pretty good. i'm still on my hunt for outstanding falafel in LA.
three-skewer combo: this consisted of kofta, chicken and shish kabob served with a side of basmati rice. i did not partake in this dish but gt seemed to enjoy it.
lomit el addi: this was our dessert and consisted of a bunch of mini "donuts" drenched in honey and topped with powdered sugar. i use the term "donut" loosely as they were essentially balls of fried dough with some being soft on the inside and others fried to death and crunchy all the way through. i'd pass on this next time.
as we were waiting for our food, the busser brought out a basket of piping hot pitas, cabbage salad and hummus. i gotta say, the hummus at cafe dahab is very good!
service was decent (plates cleared, etc) but our waters were never refilled the entire 2 hrs we were dining. it seemed as they were more preoccupied by the hordes of people that arrived during the course of our dinner to smoke hookah.
all in all, i will go back to nosh. please note the pricing is a bit more expensive but if you roll with the http://restaurant.com gift certificate, it is allllll good.
Oh, fuck. This is why I yelp.
Two friends and I had straggled into Cafe Dahab randomly one night. Had I had the chance to look up the place on Yelp, I would have known better and thus ordered what is supposedly their awesome Middle Eastern cuisine. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance and apparently missed out on some great food. Bummer.
So my review will be limited to the hookah experience. I realize that might be unfair to the place, but I also do feel that there are others who, like my friends and I, may only be coming here after already having eaten and are just looking for a place to lounge about on Sawtelle. So on with the review!
Though this place isn't much of a looker, it has had been one of the best hookah places I've been. Granted, I'm not a big hookah-er (insert prostitute puns here), but I had some more experienced folks by my side who verified that this place indeed offers some great hookah. The place looks like they converted a cheap Mexican restaurant into an attempt at a Middle Eastern restaurant/ lounge with decorative lamps and tasseled-cloths hanging from the ceiling. The place also has poor ventilation, giving the restaurant a nice haze from the hookah; if you're averse to smoke, you should avoid the place, but then again, what are you doing there in the first place? Simply put, it's not the most impressive place around.
We got the white melon hookah based on the recommendation of the waiter. It was a premium flavor ($18) not on the menu (hmm... secret hookah menu?) and it was quite excellent. Subtle, not over-bearing, but definitely flavorful, it was a great way to waste way two and a half hours. Yes, two and a half hours. That's probably the most amazing part about the hookah here--they were super long lasting and didn't even get harsh.
What I didn't like was the mandatory $7 minimum per person in which hookah did not count. It's silly and small, and in some ways I understand the reasoning behind the minimum charges, but at the end of the day, I have something against it morally. So we ended up getting beers ($5.50 for a bottle) and sulking.
I also did not like the service. As others mentioned, the waiters here are largely nonchalant, bordering negligent. We were ignored for most of our stay, which was fine, other than the times we needed more coal.
Since I'm barely ever in this neighborhood, I doubt I'll be back here. While I do suppose I lost out on good Middle Eastern food, I'm really not too bummed out about a losing out on a hookah joint.
Oh, and the televisions were blasting on Middle Eastern pop, prompting one of my friends to ask, "Why do all these singers look like a cheap Kim Karadashian?"
Wow. Is there a worse insult?
We had the Ultimate Dahab Feast and it wasn't bad for five people. The food might have been lacking if we were all super hungry but fortunately my darling and I had already had a large meal shortly beforehand. I thought the place was a bit pricey for what it was but other than that, this meal didn't really stand out enough for a longer review. You can also use hookahs.
This place only has street parking which is always hard around this area but can be found. This place takes cards but there is a two card limit on a group bill. This place is large enough to accommodate multiple groups.
The first time I went to Cafe Dahab, it was just a random visit. We went with no knowledge of the place and for no reason at all. All my friends and I were surprised at how everything they served tasted. The kabobs were awesome (I recommend the Kofta -- ground beef), the falafels were fresh, the hummus was amazing, and even the fries were good. I've been back many times since.
I'm not a big fan of hookah, so this review does not include the smoke -- no points docked or added. Service was good, they serve beer, and on a Friday night, they had some dude rocking out on a synthesizer.
This is also where I saw the most beautiful girl I have ever seen with a kabab.
I wish I could give it four stars. Thought I could give it five in the beginning.. but alas, it's not even a 3.5 on my scale.
We were greeted graciously by the hostess/lead waitress and were settling into the ambiance - nice Arabic music lilting in the distance, people around us smoking hookah and having a good time, and us hungry as Hell..
And then somewhere, someone turned up the Lakers game up 30 decibals so much that even I plugged my ears. No one was even watching the damn game, let alone could hear themselves speak over it!
It ruined the mood rather permanently for the evening and the nice romance that I had going on for me was squashed like a grape in Ahnold's fist.
Worst of all, when I finally asked the "lead waitress" (who by the way, stopped checking on us as soon as the sound went up and the music died) if they could turn it down, she went, "Umm, I think so," and looked around rather unsure.
I walked away annoyed. Annoyed and bitter that I could be so disappointed in this place by the NuArt. The sound went down, but my hopes were never drawn up again.
We left immediately after eating and paying our bill, both of us determined never to come back again.
The food by the way is GREAT. It's the attitude you have to deal with.
Also, a little pricey considering the digs aren't THAT high-class.
My buddy and I wandered in around 3pm on a cloudy afternoon, after I had to run an errand at the nearby "volunteer center." The place was empty, but we weren't concerned since we'd seen the place packed many times at later hours.
The friendly manager came to greet us and gave us menus. To our pleasant surprise, we found out the lunch special was served until 4pm. We both got kabob plates that are served with rice (the kind with noodly stuff in it), cabbage salad, pita bread, hummus, and a grilled pepper. Oh, and I absolutely cannot forget the DIVINE garlic sauce. If you thought the garlic sauce at Zankou chicken was pungent, you HAVE to try theirs.
Another Yelper below mentioned the babbaganouj and I must agree. I love the stuff, but Cafe Dahab's was the best I've ever had. In fact, my Indian buddy, who is an eggplant-phobe, loved it. He won't ever eat anything eggplant.... benghan bharta, nasu soboro, stir-fry in garlic sauce... ABSOLUTELY NO WAY. But when I went to wash my hands (in their very clean bathroom) the manager brought out my side order of babbaganouj with some pita bread. My friend had started eating it and when I came back told me "Man, this is the best hummus I've ever had." To which I responded "Dude, that's the eggplant dip, you eggplant hater." So he officially admits liking something eggplant now!
Everything else was tasty too, from the juicy and well-spiced kabobs to the creamy and fragrant hummus.
Next time I'd like to come at a later hour and enjoy some hookah and beers along with my meal. The kitchen stays open until 2am so it's definitely going to be one of my late night spots now. OHH, and the music they play is tight. It's modern American hip-pop (yes, I meant to write that) mixed with Arabic beats or pop songs. It's really cool stuff, I'm sure many of you've heard it before. The restaurant's official background is Egyptian, incase you're wondering.
Just had lunch here.
For $7.50 there were appetizers of hummus, bread, olives and spicy pickles. Then a big plate rice with well cooked, juicy chicken kabobs.
Some people were smoking the hookahs, but its more fun than obnoxious and this is a cheap place with pretty tasty food.
The food here is definitely above average. Great kebobs, my favorite are the kofte kebabs. All the sides and salads are also delicious. The babaghanous and the lebnah really stood out. Finish the meal with a nice cup of mint tea.
As a hookah lounge this place is smokey (poorly ventilated stale air), has really uncomfortable seating, obnoxiously loud arabic techno music videos coming from all the TVs, nasty fluoresent lighting. It felt more like a taxi stand in Queens you get take out from rather than a nice lounge or restaurant. If this place was cheaper I wouldn't mind the poor decor and atmosphere. But the prices are more along the lines of a restaurant and lounge not a taxi stand. Maybe I'll come back at a less crowded time in the afternoon and sit outside on their patio.
Just a side note on observations I've made on middle eastern culture - have you ever noticed real women are generally covered up in public in most middle eastern and north african countries, but the women in their popular music videos are total porn star lookin' skanks with their ta ta's and ass hanging out everywhere, and the majority of the people accept this as part of their pop culture.
Some of us have never seen or heard of hookahs, and some of us have only seen or heard of hookahs in the context of college (of course, none of us inhaled).
Well, Cafe Dahab has perfectly legitimate hookahs and a menu of some rather poetic sounding blends involving perfectly sunny elements, such as apples and mint. Tasty as those blends sounded, I didn't try any. Me + burning plants = not cute. Sorry, I'm leaving that to future reviewers. I will say that Dahab isn't overpoweringly smoky for a hookah lounge and I would feel pretty comfortable bringing kids and impressionable teens to Dahab.
I'd be a little more concerned about the sinful music videos playing on a couple flat screens around the cafe ... who knew Joey Lawrence took over the Middle Eastern music scene? And that he convinced Ricky Martin to grow a gnarly soul patch and join him? And that Ricky in turn invited Xtina?? Yes, they are the evil booty-shaking triumvirate of Middle Eastern music, apparently.
If you can tear your eyes away from Joey, Ricky and Xtina shaking their (well covered, for once) butts, you might notice that the food is a little bit disappointing. The hummus is good, but not the best, and the gyro I had was average, if not less than. My sister ordered Chicken Shawerma (sp?) and got mystery meat that was definitely not chicken.
Prices were decent for what you get, and ladies, check out the restroom ... pretty neat. All in all, a pretty fun weekend adventure, and a good spot to take someone who knows a bit more about hookahs and enjoying them. And if you go, write us a review!
I have to say, I TRULY crave this food on a daily basis. It is just like eating home cooked food. I am an adventerous eater and have tried almost everything on the menu... and I am yet to be disappointed. All of the food has incredible flavor and texture, the sauces are amazing and the desserts are a must! The staff is so warm and friendly, they never miss a beat. The hookah is very flavorful and I appreciate the fact that it is alway clean. If I am in a rush takeout is a great option. It's alway hot and tastes just as good at home. I highly recommend Cafe Dahab. The parking is across the street and I have never encountered a problem
Some of the reviewers seem to have a personal problem that they may want to address within themselves...?
Walk like an Egyptian! And smoke some hookah like a.....uhhh.....hmmm, I dunno what.
But onto the restaurant. This place is located right next to a little independent theater and also a unique DVD store where I first ever came across midget porn. Ahh, sorry, I degress.....the cafe is small with very middle eastern decor. My friend and I really liked the lamps that hung from the ceiling. And the silk fabric draped around one side of the room added a nice affect. They also had a great flavor assortment for their hookahs. Our table ordered a White Peach/Blackberry and a Papaya/Blueberry. MmmmmMmmmm......but actually, I didn't take any hits but one, it tends to get me light-headed.
FOOOOOOD! I ordered the Chicken Shawerma which was very soft and flavorful. A few people at my table ordered the 3-Kebob combo and I had some bites of it. DEVINE! And their little appetizer dishes such as the hummus and mint yogurt dish, I wanted to stick my finger into the bowl and lick it all up! I'm so glad I'm not lactose intolerant anymore. GOODNESS!
The restaurant is typical middle eastern environment. My party arrived at around 7:30pm and played games, chatted and smoked hookah for almost 30-45min. before actually ordering our food. Then we also ate leisurely and chatted some more. We didn't leave the restaurant until almost 10pm. HAHA! Why are we Americans so rushed???
Having recently moved from Los Angeles to Austin, thinking about this place brings a tear of longing to my eyes. It was located on Westwood Blvd. for years and somewhat recently moved to its new location on Sawtelle. My hub and I have been to both locations and it remains our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant (here's hoping we find a new one in Austin). We would typically get the falafel plate and veggie combo plate, but have tried the musaka, foul, and lentil soup, all of which are flavorful and fresh-tasting.
Let me start a new paragraph for their babagannouj. I don't know how grilled, mashed-up eggplant can vary in taste so much from one place to the next, but theirs is the best. It is so fantastic that the first time we tried it we asked the waiter about it, thinking we might be able to buy some for ourselves. He told us it was home-made. Extra yum!
Adventurous beverages, from least to most, are as follows: karkadeh (habiscus juice; fruity, tangy, supposedly cleansing); Turkish coffee (strong!); and doug (a sour, carbonated yogurt drink that most whiteys don't seem to like very much).
I don't remember much about the decor or "feel" of the place, other than they had fun Middle Eastern-looking music videos on the TVs inside. There's both indoor and outside seating. They do the hookah pipe thing. Staff are friendly and smiley. They are accomodating to huge groups of people, and really that's the best way to do it b/c you have an excuse to share loads of food.
This place is a crowd pleaser. Every time we had out-of-town visitors, we'd bring them here and they would love it (even the meat-eaters) -- enough to request a return visit the next time they stayed with us.
Cafe Dahab, I miss you!
My friend was craving middle eastern food, so we went there. It was a Japanese fusion restaurant before. The decoration is decent but not consider super nice. We had the hummus and chicken kabob. Surprisely, the chicken is very juicy not dry at all. The hummus was very good too.
I had hookahs before, but didn't try it today.
The menu does has good selection. If you do not want middle eastern food, they do have sandwiches and salads. They also do have wine as well. Not too bad for a date if you both like something different.
Los Angeles charm with Cairo efficiency.
Come here if you have the time to kick back, relax, play backgammon, and enjoy Arab music videos (I don't smoke, so can't comment on the hookahs. Don't come here if you're a fervent anti-smoker). That means don't allow 25 minutes for a quick bite before the movie at the Nuart. The waiters and cooks operate on their own rhythm
A sandwich and appetizer or full dinner plate before alcohol (terrible beer and wine selection) will cost about 14-17 dollars per head. They serve food til 2 am (as of this writing) but cease serving beer & wine after 12 due to license restrictions.
The menu is varied (there is selection of vegetarian items), and food is tasty and plentiful. There is better Arab food down the street (see Sham in Santa Monica), but the atmosphere at night here is a lot more fun.
**Edit 5/12/08**
I'm editing my review since I finally ate the food here. My company had lunch catered from Cafe Dahab, and I thought the kofta kabobs were really disappointing and bland. I think they were on par with California Pita's, which managed to make their ground beef kabobs have no flavor at all. The chicken wasn't anything to wrote home about either. At least the salad was ok, otherwise I think I would have had to buy something after the company lunch to eat, or I would have been starving all afternoon. Oh, and the olives were all right, but I love olives and I highly doubt Cafe Dahab prepared them themselves.
**End edit**
Basing this on the service alone, as I ended up not eating here.
I walked into this place one late weeknight, and it was practically empty. Eventually, one of the staff acknowledged me at the door and asked if we wanted to eat here.
I asked for a table on the patio, and there was only one other person sitting outside, a lone girl with a hookah at a table that would seat 4 people. So my boyfriend and I sat at another table for 4 (I like to have a chair to put my gigantic purse), and immediately the waiter told us that we can't sit there because we were only a party of 2.
Ended up being so annoyed we got up and headed down the street for some better, friendlier service.
This is a good place to be a regular. It was my first time there but everyone else that came in were greeted like old friends. Nonetheless, we felt very welcome and they helped us a lot with what to order. You have to get used to the apple and berry smells from the hookah because it's inescapable. They also have a paltry selection of beer. The food, though, was plentiful and flavorful. The chicken and kafka kabob are winners. We got a couple of combo plates that were more than enough for the tree of us since it also came with hummus, pita, and a salad. Maybe next time I'll try that hookah.
I haven't been to many "middle eastern" restaurants, but have had my share of good hummus, falafel, grape leaves etc., and have to say that Cafe Dahab's was great.
My buddy organized a dinner for 20 here for a birthday, so we didn't order off the menu; the wait staff just kept bringing plate after plate of food and we ate it all. Everyone agreed that the food was excellent, with the exception of the falafel which, IMHO, was overcooked too crispy crittered.
The yogurt salad, Lebnah, Babaghannouj and a mystery light bean dip were all excellent and the pita bread was warm and soft. After plates of this, the servers brought out huge platters of rice, topped with skewers of meat. There was tender grilled chicken kabob, steak, lamb (kofta) and unpeeled grilled shrimp. Yum!
After dinner we passed around a hookah pipe with a special blend (you each receive little plastic tip/condoms to avoid cooties). Then, at 11pm or so, a belly dancer worked the room to loud music. She was great - and apparently appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tipping tip: to tip a belly dancer, you stand in front of her with dollar bills (maybe five of them) and literally shower her one at a time. By the end of her 3-dance set the floor was littered with cash.
All in all a great time, good food, fun vibe. The crowd, apparently, is more Arabic than Persian (many Persians live in Brentwood and hang out in the village, Dahab is just below SM Blvd and close to the Saudi consulate or such building).
Parking is on the street, but after 6pm there is free metered parking in a small lot just west of the cafe.
Came on a Sat night with a group of 6 or 7 people. They stop serving alcohol at 12, there is a $7 minimum (buying a hookah doesn't count towards your min cost), the music was WAY too loud, the service was slow, and there were cheesy music videos on the screen. We got 2 hookahs, 1 of them burned well, the other we didn't even touch since we got no smoke. The staff didn't do much to help either.
I will never come back here again.
I admit it-- the first time I went to this place, the food was great and all, but the thing that made me want to come back was my HOT waiter. Holy crap.
I don't think he works there any more (boo hoo), but the food is excellent and well-priced and is definitely worth coming back again and again for. Portions are generous-- you can make a pretty impressive feast off the appetizers alone, and there are tons of vegan options.
One star off because it can get a little loud, and the hookah smoke can be a bit much for those of us who don't smoke.
I can not say enough great things about their chicken!! wow! It's so delicious. I sometimes dream about their amazing chicken. With that said, I don't go back (although I want to) because the place looks unclean and dusty. The time they spend watching tv, they should do more cleaning. The place is really not clean looking or feeling. Too bad because I miss their chicken.
this is a great place, the sheeshas, the hummus and the lunch meals are perfect. go for dinner and the prices are a bit higher but nevertheless worth the visit because you will be well satisfied. fyi- i was taken there by an egygtian who noted, the hummus is better than his mom's:)
the chicken is kinda dry- would be my only complaint.
So he stuck it the only place that he could: his Da-hab.
I love the shish and chicken kabobs!! The meat is so tender and flavorful. Each plate comes with cabbage salad, hummus and rice.
I really love this place. Good food, great hookah, and bad Arabic music video's. What else can you ask for. It's a local hangout for those who miss their countries of origin.( Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and many other middle eastern countries) I think it's what makes this place feel like a social club. Oh, and it's a great place to hang after a late night of partying, their open till 3 a.m. Order a banana hookah it's my fave.. and the prices are reasonable too. Don't expect amazing service. It's like having traveled to another country, sometimes it's good and other times it's lousy.
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Kosher
Neighborhood: Westwood
Category: Greek
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Sherman Oaks
Category: Coffee & Tea
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Middle Eastern
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