Definitely an OG when it comes to Shisha lounge in Ottawa. It's always going to be busy especially when the temperature is warm so be prepared to wait. During the winter, the patio is closed. Once inside I found the area closer to the entrance to be calmer and quiet. Further inside, it's loud, plenty of smoke and a little congested. The place has gone through renovations throughout the year, it's a lot more modern this recent time I visited. There was only 1 washroom if I'm not mistaken, there was a line ups. The service was fine, we did have to ask a few times for things but they were nice and apologetic for the wait. Beside desserts, there isn't food available, I did see a food truck outside so they allow outside food. You can also buy nuts from the counter. The shisha is priced accordingly $20 with various flavours to choose from. The coals were replaced in a timely manner as well. AODA: barriers in place (stairs) inside. read more

Cafe Bab Lel Hara - the interior of a restaurant - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

nice staff and chill atmosphere. would give it a 5 if it had some music playing. Other than that it was nice

We stopped here because driving by it looked like it had character - a likely hidden gem that only locals know about. Walked in and almost turned around - I felt out of place! It is a neighbourhood joint for hookah lovers! Well - they have 2 rooms - so we choose the non smoking room where the hookah smoke smell was pleasantly there, but light. The owner, a wonderful Lebanese host brought a hookah over and showed us how it works, assured us it has no tobacco etc., - I thought that was wonderful of him to do. Found out he's a fairly recent owner, with ideas for updating the restaurant. This place is worth keeping an eye on. On to other things - decor is funky - a little bit like being in someone's home - but it was kinda neat too. Definately a middle-eastern feel. We were just looking for a late lunch - planning on Shawarma sandwiches. Owner suggested we try one shawarma and one sish touak (spelling?) so we did. Serving size was much larger than typical - found out the make their bread on site in traditional method. All I can say about the bread is "wow". It was fantastic, with a hint of char taste. I coulld eat it all day every day. Shawarma was good - I liked it more than the beef, but beef was good too. I enjoyed the experience. Owner noted that weekend nights, after about 7, it's packed. TV was on arabic station, no english subtitles. Music was arabic, and enjoyable. Would I return: Yes. Would I recommend: Yes - but only to people who will be ok stepping a little outside of their comfort zone (i.e. - not your standard north american restaurant). read more

First time there and the staff were great. Excellent baklava and so was the cinnamon tea. Can't wait to go back!

How is this place Persian/Iranian? Besides the fact that Shisha is originally Persian, I don't see anything Persian about the place. The music is Arabic. The staff is Arabic. The food is Arabic. Kinda funny to claim it's Iranian! Besides my little rant, it's a fairly decent place. Though it is small, the shisha is great, and the food is delicious. Very cozy place to hang with your friends. My only complaint is that the staff is kind of rude. They hardly check up on you, and don't make you feel welcome. But I guess that depends on who serves you. Overall, it's worth a visit with some friends! read more

This place is pretty fantastic and reminds me of places ive been in London or Turkey. I would even just come for dinner without sheesha too. This place has great food and service. The inside is pretty huge. It's a nice looking and fun with friends and even with a large group. The cheese pies and drinks were delicious and everything had a very homemade at your aunts table kind of feel. Try the grape mint or the peach mint sheesha. They are open very late so come almost anytime and you will find people there. The staff was friendly and seem to know lots of the regular patrons. Also, you can borrow cards or games to play with friends. read more

Bab el Hara is by the best in Ottawa! Service can get busy at times but that's expected for the high volume! The seating is super comfortable and the staff are always so kind! The shisha price is really good. $15.00 and they will bring you coal at no extra cost. They have the best tobacco around and MANY different flavours! They don't serve food anymore but have lots of non alcoholic drinks- the mint lemonade is amazing! Rhee have great music playing! You can bring food from the outside in and they also work hand in hand with chess pizza and have menus inside if you get hungry and they deliver it right to you! Definitely a place to check out! read more

Worst shisha I have ever had and I did have many! Staff is not helpful and all items are overpriced, I would strongly recommend staying away. read more

Great shisha bar located in Ottawa. So far, every food item I've ordered has been incredibly good, and the shisha lasts a good while (we had two ordered in a four hour period, for example). Containing three rooms, there is usually seating available for everyone, though the front room and the room on the left with the nice Arabic decor are the ones you want to choose. During warmer weather, there is a large deck where you can sit with friends and enjoy the diversity of customers that are constantly streaming in and out of the establishment. read more

The waiter didn't understand what it was we wanted, as Latin-Americans, we felt like we were being scammed in some sort of way. They would give us something we didn't ask for, insisting that we did order it. A friend asked for the lemon-mint, and was given something else. On the other hand, there was this lovely lady who tried her best to comprehend our requests. All in all....I would not come back here.... read more

One of my favorite places...fantastic sheshaa...great hospitality n awesome ambience !

Very nice Arab/Lebanese place Food is really good and made by experienced Arab women Shisha tastes very good, and service is great! Be careful though, it is PACKED on week ends read more

It was my very first time on Sunday: menus were covered in layers of previous food/grease, and the vibes I was getting were off - usually I abide by the vibes, gut feeling (foreshadowing), warnings I get, but a friend had insisted she'd enjoyed it there her previous time. When our food arrived, way too long after ordered, our waiter had his thumb in one of the plates' garlic sauce - too polite to say anything, my friend ate around it. After our food was dropped off, he never came back to pick up our plates, let alone to find out if we were enjoying our meal. 3 out of 4 of us had food poisoning. The food poisoning I suffered was so severe I was bed ridden for two days, and had to go to a clinic to have my breast checked out - the lymph nodes in my breast had swollen due to the staph bacteria found in the food poisoning, causing my breast to be so swollen it was hot, heavy, and unbearable to the touch. I'm feeling much better now, as this happened on Sunday night, but I have to take the antibiotic Keflex every 6hrs for 7 days to reduce the swelling+bruising and have my lymph nodes functioning normally again. I don't wish this upon my worst enemy. I often forget how delicate the human body is, and vomiting bile repeatedly while crying and clutching my breast definitely reminded me how lucky I am to be in good health. I hope this post sheds some light on public hygiene, and that no more contaminated food will be served at Bab El Hara. This is my first time leaving a review online, had it not been for the 3 cases of food poisoning (and who knows how many more), I'd have simply deemed this place not my cup of tea and never returned. Being in the service industry, I find I am much more accommodating and understanding - as people who worked in service commonly are. I want to stress that lack of hygiene in a restaurant is directly correlated with the restaurant itself, and poor knowledge of hygiene and improper practices. It's 2016, foodborne illnesses are avoidable... Especially when they can be life-threatening. I gave Bab El Hara 1 star, but truly my rating is worth much less. Thank you for reading. read more

A worker dropped a small piece of burning coal onto me and my winter coat. The coal burned a hole inside my jacket and damaged it as some down escaped from the jacket. I was not compensated but rather told to 'suck it' by one of the employees when trying to resolve the issue. Very unprofessional staff and establishment. Would not recommend going to the cafe unless you like feeling threatened by the workers and management of the cafe. At the end of the day, I did not get compensated for my damaged property caused by the establishment. Not even an apology. Very disappointing. read more

love this place! it has a very homey feel to it, service it totally outstanding! definitely the best service ive ever had in canada! food is great, bread is made there and is amazing! the shishas (no tabacco) are great too.. and the owner is super hospitable and he has done a great job with the place!! everything here is just perfect, atmosphere, service, food, shisha! this place truly is a gem! read more

Best shisha /restaurant in canada. I was there couple of years ago for training first time in Ottawa and I was referred to it by someone. It has a homey feel definitely not a hookah bar where you see all kind of weird people. The owner is very welcoming and friendly. read more

I was looking for a place to get good sheesha and i found this gem. Without doubt, these guys offer the best sheesha one can find in Ottawa. This place has a nice feeling of Lebanese culture, nice decor. Food is absolutely amazing, We ordered two chicken shawarma plates and the size of each plate was quite reasonable. Try their special Turkish coffee too as it has a new crisp taste. This place is a must for our every weekend evening, Gets very busy on weekends and with summer coming, the patio is open and gets filled up very quickly in evening.... I would recommend this place to everyone who likes sheesha and Lebanese food. read more

Do not expect service quality. People come here for good quality shisha, homemade lebanese quick food and the family oriented ambiance. Love it, been coming here for years since it opened. read more

I have never been treated as well at a shisha place than at this cafe! They checked up on us, made sure the food was fresh and even gave us a new batch of cards when we asked to play with the old ones right in front of us. The food was great, the surroundings were lively, and the shisha was amazing--best I've had in Ottawa so far. read more