The Basement Hookah Lounge

 

55

117

Luan N.

Chicago, IL

The thing I liked about the place was that there was ample seating and it was relatively clean.  There was a great selection of flavors.  However, when the miniature hookahs came out, I was scratching my head.  I've never been to a hookah lounge that used $20 toy hookahs I can get on Devon.   I was expecting a large ornate hookah for aesthetic reasons and also for creating thicker smoke.  Also the old skool rap music videos is not something I want to be entertained with while I smoke shisha.  The mean age of my group was 30, and it felt like I brought them to a high school party.  There was a guy walking around without a shirt.  I couldn't tell who was working either because even the employees were smoking up with friends.
The server was nice, but I don't think math was his strong suit.  The bill came out to $26 (2 hookah, 2 sodas) + $4 tax + $8 gratuity included for a total of $38.  I didn't realize the mayor raised taxes to 15% already!  So basically he took 15% tax and doubled it for gratuity.  After my friend noted the error, the server still insisted that it was calculated based on 15% gratuity.  The actual bill should have been more like $32, but he knocked down the price to $35.  $6 is not a big deal, but I can't stand that sort of unprofessionalism when it comes to running a business.  Bottom line, I think this is a great hangout for a younger crowd.  But, if you're looking for some professionalism and competence, I would go somewhere else.

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5

19

Nick N.

Chicago, IL

This place is great... if you are 18 and wasted, or want to hang out with a bunch of wasted 18-year old high schoolers.  More than a few of the girls in here probably weren't even 18, which made me feel pretty creepy because most of them were really hot.  I'm 23, and this place made me feel REALLY OLD.

The menu says "no liquor allowed" but I could tell that they cater to the underage drinking crowd because (i) there was a girl throwing up (massively, according to the next girl who tried to use the restroom), (ii) the bouncer had to carry some girl out who was completely passed out (same girl?  not sure), (iii) there were TONS of kids with water bottles and slurpees, and (iv) the only things on the menu, aside from the flavored tobacco, were a litany of the ideal mixers (red bull, coke, etc).  I would normally expect to find regular coffee, if not turkish, as well as tea, at a hookah bar.

All that aside, their selection of flavors was impressive, more extensive than I have seen anywhere else.  And at $10-$12 per hookah, it was cheap.

The setting wasn't bad, either.  The seating was low, but comfortable.  The front room (where we sat) was fairly well lit, without being bright, and a flatscreen TV played a series of rap videos while the soundsystem blared with a different set of rap songs entirely.  The back room was a dance floor, mostly illuminated with black lights, while some movie was projected on the back wall.  The employees were generally friendly and helpful, though they were slow to take our order.

For high school students, this is definitely the place to be, for everyone else interested in hookah, I'd say check out Sigara on Divison.  Also, I have a slight suspicion that the two other reviewers who have written so far are employees/owners, given their glowing reviews, and the fact that they haven't written any other reviews.

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0

1

Mike S.

Chicago, IL

The Basement Hookah Lounge, which just opened earlier this month is the best hooka bar that i have ever been to. It has nice music, entertainment, and of course the hookah...you have to see it for yourself. I have never smoked this kind of hookah ever in my life. The flavors are just amazing and the prices are unbelievebly low. It has a really nice atmosphere you just have to go there and see for yourself. Not many people know about it since it just opened up, but if you are looking to smoke the best flavoring sheesha in town, The Basement is the place to go. It is on the corner of Clark and Hollywood.

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