Very intimate, setting. We came on Wednesday night. Make sure you pick your cigar before you sit…read moredown and reserve your table online... The vibe was actually nice. The vibe was chill and laid back. We are in our late 40s and it was younger crowd but we didn't feel completely out of place. I like the live music. If you're an old head, then the DJ music may not be your speed, but the live music was good. there was a young lady singing with a guitar accompanying her. i'ma pretty hard grader but I would go back.. the wings were $12 for the special six wings and fries . it was pretty reasonably priced in my opinion. They did get service right shout out to the server who served us their name was El. Because of the service and the lady who was singing (she started around 9) I give the place 7 out of 10. They will be the reason I come back and tell people abt it.. We were dressed casually I had on fitted jeans and out the off shoulder top and wedges. Hubby had on a white button shirt black jeans, fila's casual shoes and he had on his hat.. Parking could use work. We did park in front of a bagel shop that was closed and it wasn't an issue

The worst service I've ever experienced here and I've been coming since 2022. The female dread head…read moreserver/ bartender with reddish brown dreads is the worst server here by far. I came in at 4pm on a Tuesday. The crowd was dead for the most part. Why did it take me walking up to the hostess to order? After the server stated she would be with me shortly she proceeds to make several drinks ( when she could've asked for my drink order at least) then takes a toast and lallygag with her friends or people she knows at the bar still not coming back to take my order. I came here to eat and get a drink and having to wait over 10 minutes on a SLOW Tuesday afternoon is a bit crazy. I've gotten better service here on a Friday night where these is no standing room. The catfish basket was delicious as all ways. The best thing on the menu by far!

I'm here for the World Cup. Taking the train back to downtown I spotted this gem at the McGowen…read morestop. Best ripcord I pulled in a minute. Jerry knows how to make a mean cocktail. Improv sazerac is spot on. I can't understand how I'm the only one in this place. Will be back after the Dutch match Saturday no question. Look for the British phone booth outside

We stopped in for a quick nightcap on a Monday night. We were able to park right in front of the…read morebar which was convenient. Street parking is free after midnight. I didn't catch the bartender's name, but he greeted us immediately. There was only one other patron and the staff was decorating the bar with Christmas decor. The bartender informed us that the bar wasn't fully stocked but asked us what types of drinks we like. Based on my preference, he suggested a Martinez. I had never even heard of a Martinez but I was open to trying it. He made it, looked at it, and said it didn't come out right. He asked if it would be okay for him to redo it which I of course obliged. I appreciated the fact that he didn't serve me a drink that wasn't properly made. The wait was worth it. The Martinez tasted like a sweeter Negroni and I really enjoyed it! I'm glad I was able to visit one of the oldest bars in Houston. It was super low key and chill which was a perfect way to end our evening.

Went to the Speakeasy Burlesque show Friday night and had a blast. This is a very small and…read moreintimate venue area which made the show an even better show as the ladies were able to interact a bit with the audience. Loved the New Orleans speakeasy vibes of the place. The ladies were beautiful and funny will definitely be coming back as they did inform us there are different ladies each night.

This is a cute little date spot. The outside area is huge. The lighting and setup is really cute…read more They have parties and poetry nights here. No food but there has been a taco truck and pizza maker on site depending on the day I'm guessing. Free parking is street parking and very scarce but they do have a valet lot. Bartenders are nice. Drinks are average priced.

"Not All Who Wander Are Lost"...And what I found was some great food! Atmosphere is casual, service…read moreis friendly, the vibe is definitely Viking (and from what I have heard, it's really popping during brunch!). We came on. Friday after work during happy hour and the prices could not be beat, especially with their lobster bites (was sitting at about $30, and we got them half off!) Drinks were fantastic! I selected the "Golden Cadillac" that comes with a miniature bottle of Grand Marnier inside of it. Very good. My company decided on an array of appetizers for his "main course", while I went with their Fried Salmon (served with Mac and cheese, and collard greens). Omg! So tasty! The pepper was prevalent throughout, but it did not over power the flavor! I make collard greens at home (and learned from one of the best), and even I found theirs to be pretty good! My company selected fried ribs, along with the lobster bites, and crawfish queso dip, and their wings! I tasted what he got, and we both agreed that the wings were "off the chart" delicious with a beautiful straight off the grill smoky flavor! So good that he got another order to go! Lol. What made our experience there amazing was our server Ray (Rajean = think "the 90's TV Show "Living Single"..."smooches"!)...she was the best!! From her hello, to walking us through the menu (as first-timers), her recommendations, her energy, her smile, and her being very relatable. Loved her! My only gripe was the bathrooms, the ladies room needed attention (and could use a spruce all around). It doesn't help that it is a bit small, but yeah, they need to focus some efforts on ensuring it's upkeep. As for seating and parking, there is a bar area and limited seating toward the front of the restaurant, but it does extend to back of the house with additional seating. There is also patio seating as well. Because this place seems popular, it is best to reserve ahead to ensure your seating. Parking is very limited! They do however, offer valet (but at $20+). There is off-street parking, but be careful since this is a residential area and nothing is secure. All in all, I really had a great time and left with my belly full! Definitely worth checking out! What was lost is now found! Enjoy!

Came in on a Saturday night around 9:340ish... we ordered…read more.... fried salmon a side of fries While the salmon came out...... my fries didn't lol! The bartender even mentioned about the fries coming out first. But I sat for a longggg time before my side of fries NEVER CAME! At 10:13 I canceled my fries! Usually I'd chuck it up to it being packed.... But baby this place wasn't packed...... I'm ngl I feel a lil played.. but whatever. I heard back in the day this was the place to be.. but babyyyy not no more smh! Honestly the prices don't match the place or match the menus (they were clearly done, and needed to be replaced) Overall will I be back.......!? Nahhh I'm good!

Chill spot that's available anytime of the week! They have inside and outside seating for you to…read moreenjoy. Now they don't sell liquor, so do know it's byob. But they do have food and juices to order. I saw a lot of people on their laptops, watching shows or just working.. so I think they have wifi as well. Parking is street or in the garage across the street! The neighborhood is fine as well just make sure you read all signs and pay if you have to! Because they will tow that mf. Overall I enjoyed my time and will be back.

BUYER BEWARE: If you want to experience one of the worst restaurants in Houston, with horrible,…read moreweird and discriminatory employees who show their disgust against the patrons of color who unfortunately are still regulars and still frequent this location as well as hidden prices, upcharges, "tips" and weird customer service, then definitely come here to Cafe Layal on WEST GRAY. Having someone literally curse at you in your face, have an obviously intense conversation in front of other customers and tell you to your face that "they will never serve you again" because you are on to their scheme? Definitely come here and be completely disrespected like they are you doing YOU a favor by taking your hard-earned money. Make sure you know and check your bill for every single fake tip that you do not approve on your credit card or debt card. The scheme is set up to put a hidden "tip" in your bill, then quickly give you a detailed tablet with additional tips for service as well as another discriminatory tip on top of that. In addition, the new scheme is the disposable hose charge of $3.49 per hookah that they round up to $4 after you leave along with the additional 15% tip that seriously makes its way onto your final bill unbeknownst to you. In addition, watch the servers at night who zoom past your table, do not catch your eye, do not want to serve you and show their disgust with hard breathing, eye-rolling, slow service and inside jokes to each other about the customers that they do not like. They will perform all of this behavior within earshot of you with no discretion whatsoever, especially the employees that work from 5PM to close in the evening on the patio. I would strongly encourage anyone who has used a credit card or debit card at Cafe Layal on West Gray to check your receipt and immediately dispute each and every charge with your bank or credit union. Hopefully EVERYONE who knows the real deal with this place, the high staff turnover, the laziness and a myriad of other issues, will avoid it. There are so many other upscale, well-run establishments in Houston with a much better product and employees that actually take pride in serving customers not slandering them.

Pros Ambience Hookah…read moreVariety Music Selection Cons Asthma Risk Patron Mixture Risk The Hookah lounge was comfortable however I'm not a big hookah smoker because it makes me dizzy after a while. This night I went with one of my close sorority sisters and ended up smoking hookah with her. This location was dark and very easy on the eyes. It showcased a heavy middle eastern influence since hookah is heavy there. The variety of options are given in a menu style and allow you to pick whatever fits your needs at the time. You are also able to freely smoke as long as you would like with the occasional waiter coming to replace the coals on your hookah. They also hire their DJs every night, so the music can change and control the mood depending on what is played. The do played a variety of music from hip hop to r&b and pop, there was no shortage on the tunes just know that they will change. The downside of this place is the smoke, if you're asthmatic or have trouble seeing this place might pose a couple of risk to you. You might have trouble breathing or being able to see the ground as you walk into the puff clouds of other patrons. There is also a mixture of patrons, some there to enjoy themselves and others to have parties and fun, if you're set on a flat consistent vibe then this may not be a place, there was someone on a couch enjoying their entire life while we were there, luckily we didn't care how they did anything it didn't interfere with us. Risk was also a major thing to be mindful of, the coals can be extremely hot and give damaging burns, people can also get sick from the hookah so be careful of the health risk and also use caution around the hookah to avoid coals! Overall a good place, if you're in Houston definitely stop by and have a good time.

if I could start off by giving this I would. I went there to have a good time every 5 to 10…read moreminutes. A waitress approached me trying to get me to buy a bottle. After I already bought the as well as a a waiter ended up walking up to me and telling me even though you bought the section. You're holding it up because there's other people that wants to buy bottles. Which made no sense to me since I've already would not recommend going here. Not only is the service bag, but waitresses are pushy like sales people one out of 10 would not recommend.

Oh how I love the settings, the service, and the price here…read more Even though I didn't come during Happy Hour, the price is still affordable. I always ordered one for myself, not sharing, so I stay like 2-3 hours there. I could even bring outside food/drink to this place. I have looked elsewhere and no other places have as cheap of the price with nice sofa like here. They refill the coals very often too. I would definitely come back every time I'm in Houston. I came here twice one day after another. It made such a good impression on me.

One of the best clubs in Houston, HANDS DOWN…read more I came here for a birthday celebration with my friends and they made sure we had a good time. We had a section and the bottles kept coming. This is a Nigerian club, so the music is always on point. The bottle girls were nice and beautiful as well. Plenty people, liquor, and fun. No complaints at all.

Ordered: Mint Lemonade (~$7)…read moreHookah on Orange Head (~$18) with Iced Hose (~$3): Tropical Mix with Mint flavor Aya's take: Out last night in Houston and so glad we ended up here! We wanted to do something chill and hookah is the perfect activity for that. They have more chill seating (couches, etc.) and also table seating in front of the stage which is nice for when the bellydancers perform (started around 9pm on a Sat). The Mint Lemonade is a must whenever I go to a hookah lounge and this one was spot-on; delicious and refreshing. The hookah was also well-made and although we had to ask a few times to rotate the coals, the workers came pretty quickly. It lasted over 2 hours overall. They even gave me a buzzer in case I needed anything to call someone over. Shout out to Abdul for being a great waiter!

Good place to go to be in the middle eastern culture. Great food good entertainment, they have…read morebelly dancing and live music. It's always busy so you feel very lively. The juices are freshly squeezed and so good. The hummus/ yogurt plate is good as well. Service is also good. Staff is entertaining.

We received an invite from one of the owners and wished that we had went just a little earlier. The…read moreparking in the area was a challenge and we had to walk a little but it was worth it in a full moon. The DJ was on point all night and thank you for the birthday shot-out for my girl Mendy. Our waitress served us quickly and when we could not remember what we needed for the second order, she remembered all the drinks. Last, the security was on point. They continued to walk back and forth. There is a small seating area outside with cover and the security man tilted the fan to cool me on this hot night in Houston. Good energy vibe, happy people, and hookah love

Perfect atmosphere to get get both the Houstonian and touristic experience…read more In the heart of third ward it's easy to here and walk and enjoy 3rd ward. Pros: The Houston experience Good variation of music Hookah Great DJs Wonderful bartenders Parking Clean restrooms BOB Owner was nice and welcoming t Cons: None

Love this place! But just a heads-up, they don't have a sign in the plaza where the hookah lounge…read moreis located, so it's a little tricky to find. But it's so worth it! Aly the manager is so kind and opens his place until the last customers leaves and never acts pushy or rude. He also lets you test out different flavors and if you have a problem with your hookah or you just don't like the flavor, he'll switch it out for you no problem! They've also done some renovating to the place and it looks pretty nice now. New couches and tv's at every corner of the lounge, plus they've added some nice decor to the walls. Only complaint I have is the music they play. Aly lets this amateur DJ come in every once in a while to play and test out his music, but it's just so loud and overbearing sometimes. It's hard to have conversations when the DJ is there... But besides that, I would highly recommend!

First off, the actual customer service was great. The seating, ambience was very cool. The dj…read morecould use a little fine tuning but he was cool. I'm just not ok with a dj who is being paid by the owner, telling folks or allowing the MC to tell folks in order to request a song, you gotta pay. If I chose to tip him, so be it, but being forced ain't cool. My biggest complaint was the price of everything. Now I'm a country chick and realize that prices are more expensive in the city. I was approached by the manager and I told her I needed a set up. She asked me what chasers I wanted and I said water and coke. I was charged separately for the water and coke that was supposed to be included in my set up.... so all together for a set up and a hookah, I paid over $60. I've never paid, IN HOUSTON, more than $10 for a set up and $35 for a hookah. Then they have small 4 oz paper cups to get the ice out with. After all this she attempted to charge me a bottle fee for each bottle I brought in. I sincerely think the young lady wasn't sure about what she was doing. Again she maintained her professionalism but she looked overwhelmed. Let's move on to those hookahs, the flavor lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and then the other lady who was helping refresh the coals was firmly pressing them down on the foil. I called her to the side and advised her that she was going to burn the shisha like that and sure enough my next puff was nothing but burnt shisha. They did replace it for free so I can't say much about that but overall....... The employees need training, I think they were overwhelmed and I think y'all were understaffed to serve the amount of people that accompanied this party... Great establishment Great employees Refine their skills and you'll be open a long time.