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Revitali
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
1st Ave-14th St (L)
Astor Place (6)
2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Late Night
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
17 reviews for Revitali
I'll admit, the included gratuity does suck, but I really do love it here. I love the hookah and there are some great mixed drinks and nice teas. I've never eaten here. It is a casual place with a great atmosphere and great vibe. The service is nice and the waiters and owner have always been friendly to me and my friends.
With the one drink minimum and maximum of 3 people per hookah, the bill does rack up. But for a once in a while hang out, it makes for a nice night. I also think they have belly dancing/live music on some nights, but I've never been there for it.
This place is an atrocious rip-off. I stumbled in here haphazardly with a group when we decided that hookah would be a good next activity in our night.
As soon as you sit down and look at the menu, you realized that you are being slapped with regulation. All the requirements are printed on the front of the menu--one drink minimum, maximum three people per hookah, gratuity included, und so weiter.
We decided on a pitcher of Sangria to fulfill the drink requirement, which still came out to about 8 dollars per glass. The hookahs were expensive and mediocre in quality. In my experience, which I admit is not all-encompassing, it's been the case that nice hookah places will put the hookah on the ground beside the table (just did some research online, this is in fact the norm). This place put the hookahs smack in the middle of the table, creating a really precarious and unrelaxing vibe.
When the waitress brought the sangria she informed us that she was doing our group a huge favor by letting 5 people split one pitcher. I don't know if she expected us to be grateful that she was allowing us to break an entirely arbitrary rule.
Because of all the regulations and rules, it feels like you have all these hoops to jump through. As soon as everyone reached the minimum number of hookahs and drinks, no one wanted to stay. If there hadn't been all these minimums (and if the prices hadn't been in the 'please bend over' range) i'm sure we would have stayed and relaxed for awhile, which is what hookah is supposed to be about...as i understand it.
Basically this place is a big scam. Restaurants should be about ordering what you want, and not needing to order things to fulfill some artificial minimum. Plus, a bottle of water is 4 dollars. With all the minimums and the 18% added gratuity, which is the biggest ripoff in the world (beware this is one of those places that does not make it readily apparent that they've applied this 18% and sneaks it in with the tax on the bill), this place prevents any level of enjoyment. There are some great hookah bars in this area, even ones with sound enough business models that you are allowed to order off of a menu like a regular person.
Avoid going here, and save your dignity.
mixed feelings....
i came here three times and I always leave happily but the next morning, my chest is filled with anger!
The service is great and the staff is incredibly attentive. I have only been here on weeknights where the place is quite empty and they let us stay till literally 3 30 AM. The coal changer dude is always near by or it is easy to call him over.
The hookah quality is average-- nothing to jump for joy about, but not bad at all!
Beers arent dirty cheap, but not expensive. Buying them in Buckets seem to be the best deal available
I have never ate food here
The ambiance is nice. Its dark, cool and the music isnt too loud or too quiet. The decor is middle eastern/egyptian inspired and its not too heavily over done where it becomes tacky looking
THE BAD PART
When leaving I would sign my credit card bill for Revitali and happily stumble my way home. I gave the receipt a brief drunk lookover befre signing and noticed the added gratuity and didnt mind. HOWEVER
the next morning Id look at my receipt and realize they over charged me!!! by $20 dollars or so!
THAT AINT CHEAP
but i thought it was an accident and i went back again with friends
THEY DID IT AGAIN!
i love their service and their hookah, but I DO NOT LIKE BEING CHEATED. TWICE
I can't stress how much I dislike this place. I'll give you reasons:
1) Too many stupid policies
a) If there are more then 3 people, you have to get two hookas, which isn't that bad except only 3 of the prople are smoking, which didn't matter. I guess they have their logic, so whatever...just consder yourself warned.
b) 18% grautiry is included on all checks. Again, not the end of the world, but I've found that at gratuity-included places, the service is terrible. I don't know about other people, but if I get good service and a good product, I tip 20% to 25%. I guess it doesn't make much of a difference to the management, but anyone waiting tables at places like this is either a shitty waiter or getting a little shafted.
c) One drink per person, minimum. Generally I'd let this slide, but in this case it's strike three.
2) Prices: Though the hookah and drink prices are average, one of my friends who wasn't feeling well got a bottle of water ($4) and a small drip coffee ($5). And no, they "don't have tap water"...I guess that's Evian they use to fill the hookah.
3) No outdoor seating. Try an outoor place and an indoor place and tell me you wouldn't go a little out of your way for the former.
4) Awful music. Besides being one of the resons, I prefer an outdoor spot, the Arabic-techno-pop at this place is especially heinous. Sometimes I can get into the mid-east beats, but when combined with "disco" music...well, think Don't Mess With the Zohan.
5) Not to be redundant, but the service is terrible...not just inattentive, but straight rude. Unfortunately, based on my experiences, this isn't unusual for a hookah joint. I've actually seen worse. I wish is rememberd the name, but there's a place in Astoria guilty of all of the above, plus they were kind enough to inform us AFTER we have finished that they don't take credit cards. Anyway, it was oh so pleasant how they sat us next to a four foot speaker and then gave us attitude about moving to another table meant for more people. Keep in mind the reason we ended up here is because the place was pretty much dead. The place we wanted to go--Horus--on 10th and A was pact and had a wait. but is the lesser of two evils, so I'd suggest heading there in a pinch.
If it were possible to give zero stars for a bar, this would be the one. I've been to hundreds of bars in this fair city, and none have angered me quite as my Saturday night experience at Revitali.
An experience already touched upon by other reviewers, but here's the bullet-point summary:
- One drink per person minimum. The bar was empty, what right did they have to demand this?
- The fact that a friend had ordered a bucket of beer with FOUR beers did not account for my one drink, therefore I was forced to order a $4 bottle of water (ooh, they lowered their prices).
- Despite the mostly empty bar, the service was not good. Not at all.
- When a friend and I wanted to leave earlier than the rest of the group, we asked to pay for our drinks... seemed simple enough, but you would have thought we were requesting a UN Treaty. They finally brought a check our way, and we were suprised to see 18% gratuity added on. It was at this point that I vowed to never return.
PLUS, they apparently don't believe in AC, because it was hotter than the shades of Hell in there!
Never again.
I'll keep it short and (un)sweet, as other reviewers have already touched upon most of the negatives:
2 pitchers of sangria + 2 hookahs + 2 small finger snacks = greater than $200
And don't forget about "double 18% gratuity" (unlisted on the menu when I scoured its contents) + taxes.
But hell, I'm nothing if not generous, so I'm giving it two stars -- on the night we went, it was pretty empty, so we had the place mostly to ourselves and it was roomy with a decent atmosphere. Tacking on another star because my coals were refilled a few times over the course of the night. Halllllelujah!
Let's REVITALIze this review stats shall we?
We came here on Friday completely out of random; the front windows display several neon beer ads, so we totally thought that we were entering a Pub or Dive Bar, imagine our surprise when the scent of sweet apple hookah coupled with north African Mediterranean decor welcomed us. Hookah? Yes. The course of action for the night was changed and decided in a nanosecond.
The place is small but not tiny; dimly lit, conveying a Moroccan decor but with a nice touch of Egyptian flavor via fake papyrus on walls, and other ornaments here and there... music was your garden variety hookah lounge sensual tunes in arabic; we were all set!
We ordered the $15 Pineapple Hookah, and it's curious that the actual fruit wrapped in aluminum foil was sitting at the top of the pipe. We ordered a bottle of Spumante to celebrate the night, and the generic Champagne was surprisingly good and bubbly.
We also ordered baklava (which I didn't sample) and a Hummus platter which was NOT your shop-n-go hummus in a container, but actually home made hummus which was delicious!!!
All in all, we called in reinforcements to oomph the party, and pretty soon we were ordering more hookah, and more champagne. It was about 4:00am when we got out and there were still people inside; hmmm..... I'm starting to think that certain people I hang out with have the uncanny ability of making a zombie out of me, cause I wasn't even tired. In 4 syllables: Re-vi-ta-lized.
it was a cold and breezy October night in the east village. we went from bar to bar--- in search of a place that would cater our drinking and partying woes. an off night, from bars being too packed or having certain "codes"- we were turned off of our quest to chill with our companions.
i had never done the whole "dive bar" thing before. i know, call me frou-frou... but i was eager to try it out in NYC someway, somehow. we walked by Revitali... the neon lights illuminating from it's velvet curtains drawn and it's color ricocheting onto the street. "a dive bar?" we all ask each other. we were unsure- but we decided to take a chance. the Moroccan decor, beautiful furnishings and overall red-light puts you in a very sensual and exotic atmosphere. the Arabic soundtrack was quite enticing- fused with a little electronic and house beats--- i knew that we had arrived in the right type of venue.
in celebration of some occasion, we had champagne bottle service- along with some cocktails, bottles of wine and more champagne. the service was impeccable. the pricing was a little too up there, but the thoughts begin fading away once your Shisha arrives at your table. from choices of fresh Pineapple (in which you smoke the tobacco right from the fruit) to the typical staple of Strawberry or Peach...they hosted many varieties of flavors fit for any Shisha enthusiast. the Baklava was delicious... with chocolate drizzled on top- it was a food finish to our tasty Hummus Platter.
the memorable aspects of this place was the wait staff and it's owner. they are constantly checking up on you, refilling your charcoals, catering to your needs and socializing with all the guests. earlier than 9pm- it doesn't get overly packed in here... but just the right amount of bodies for it not to be considered "dead" or "boring". as soon as the clock hits 10 or later... the venue gets packed. still- they didn't fail to accommodate to our growing table of guests throughout the night.
Wandering the east village after 10pm on a Friday night? Too old to stand up and drink but too young too call it a night? Not dressed well enough for a fancy cocktail bar? Revitali maybe just your ticket. On a cold Friday night after passing up a number of standing room only bars, we came in here to warm up before calling it a night. From the outside it looked like a diner. When you get in it's a dark, nicely decorated hookah bar.
At 11pm 3 of us entered. Our party grew to 8 and we didn't leave until 3am. It was a good night. The host were very patient as our party grew and we had to move tables and close out and reopen tabs. While they have a rule about purchasing 2 hookahs for a group our size, they let us pay for one with the promise we'd buy more alcohol (which we did). While it never got crowded, it did get busier as the night went on.
The background music was a bit strange. It would switch from middle eastern sounding music to hip-hop or r&b, quite frequently in the middle of a song. This is a place that would benefit from a jukebox.
Otherwise it's a good spot to hang if your too old to rock 'n' roll but too young to die.
Aww, I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews. I love this place! The management and wait staff are totally friendly and awesome. The shisha here is some of the best I've ever had. It's very smooth and good, and doesn't make me cough at all. I love all the champagne drinks here. I recently had the baklava, covered in chocolate sauce, which was different, but absolutely orgasmic. I end up here about once a week, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
This place is so weird. Burly waitresses, Mary J. Blige blaring, but the Middle Eastern remix? What? $15 for the hookah? What? No liquor? What? Ok that's getting old. The manager here quickly ushered us in, giving us all cards as though four scumbag kids are gonna REALLY pull in some business. From that alone, you can see why this restaurant sketches me out. There was no one in here except us, and the seating was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. Not conducive to lounging around and smoking at all. Every time we wanted another beer, the manager would YELL at the waitresses so that they would just come over with a pouty face beer in hand like they were going to be lashed in the back later. I would not go back here unless I were pretty desperate.
Came to meet people kinda late night, post karaoke and all. Champagne? yay. Hookah? double yay! Coupled with good company, triple yay. I haven't tried much other than champagne and hookah, but really, what more do you need? Good, quick service. Only down side? Cash only. I wasn't sure what happened there, but that crimped my style for the moment. Otherwise, I was very glad the folks I went to meet were there instead of cheap shots!
I joined Joolie T, Audrey J, Javier M, Irene F and Lynn F for hookah at Revitali on a Friday night, and I must say I had a good time. The place was pretty crowded, but we managed to get our own table. The hookah is $15, and considering that was the first time I ever had hookah, I have no idea whether that's expensive or not. They have all kinds of flavors, and we got to try the pineapple and the apricot (both of which were good, though quite mild). We also had bottle of sparkling wine (was it Spumante?), which at $30 a bottle was quite a bargain.
Great hookah bar, giant hookahs, good Moroccan tea and a very laid back vibe. Most hookah bars in the city rush you, but here you can take your time. I've been here on a number of occasions with large groups of friends, and we've always enjoyed the service. There is a one-drink-per-person minimum and one-hookah-for-every-three-people requirement, but that's quite understandable. Nobody would want loungers that don't give you any business. The hookahs are great, they switch out your coals often enough to make sure you keep puffing away. And the finger food is not bad either. They're open till 4am, which is the best part.
I think this place needs a few positive reviews. My friends and I actually really enjoyed this place. We passed it on the street while we were attempting to go to Yaffe Cafe after some late-night dancing, and it was just too cute (and aromatic) to pass up. The hookah here is amazing (the bong-thingy was one of the best ones I've seen), probably the best in the city. It doesn't make you cough every time you inhale and we ordered the flavor that was off the menu. Sex on the beach!!! The chocolate shakes weren't very good, a bit too icy. The Egyptian fachfachina (pronounced faa-throat sound--fa--throat sound--ina) was the best drink we've had all night. It's a fruity concoction of mango, guava, oranges, and some other ingredients. The guy taking our order was also very nice and interacted with us at the right times. It wasn't busy at all, so it's a great place to just talk with your girlfriends (guy friends) and relax.
everything is prefect. i wouldnt go anywhere else on the weekend. you gotta go its a given. the management is friendly and great.
This place sucks ass. I can't even say it more eloquently. This place sucks ass. I'm from Los Angeles and am in town working for NY Fashion Week. note: I absolutely LOVE this city and I've only been here for 2 weeks so far. I also love hookah, so I decided to go to this particular one with some friends who were in the area. I first want to say that I have NO idea what the rules are for Hookah Bars in NYC. We walk in, we're the only ones there, which was ok because we weren't looking to rage or anything. We sit down and they tell us there is a minimum one drink order to even be there. So we all order a drink (shitty champagne mixes and random beer, not to mention the $5 bottled waters) Already disappointed, we get our mango hookah and it was nothing special. Long story short, the bill came and I had to do a double take because I could've sworn we were trying to steer clear of the expensive four star bars. It's all good though, because we figured that NYC prices are just generally higher for certain things. We then complained about the extra shish order that was on the bill that we did NOT order and was NOT served to us. Then we realized that they slapped on a hefty gratuity, and that is when things got ugly. There were only 4 of us. I called the asshole manager over and mentioned to him that NO WHERE on the menu or on any signs did it say ANYTHING about a ridiculous gratuity for FOUR people. He then told me that there is a gratuity for even TWO people, so he DOUBLED our gratuity. He says that all of his customers are usually regulars and already know that in NYC, there is ALWAYS a gratuity like that. I'm skeptical (that sounds ridiculous) but again, I am not from here so I take his word for it. I just politely said that he should probably state that on the menu or tell all customers aside from the loners who smoke hookah by themselves that there will be a gratuity. He was a total ass about it, made me feel stupid for not KNOWING about this "manhattan hookah bar" rule, so we paid the stupid bill and walked out. I really wish I had yelped this place before I went.
