Fairouz Mediterranean Cafe

Good vibes...drinks are ok, but they make them strong. The hookah is good (mango and mint). Service was fast and bathroom was clean. DJ played of variety of music.

I thought this would be my new hookah spot, but I won't be back...

2 stars for a 20% included gratuity for a party of 2.
:( when I asked the waitress why a 20%, she said that if she knows someone and that person tips - she won't select the 20% tip option on checkout screen and she will not include tip amount. But if she doesn't know the person she adds the tip amount to make sure she gets tipped. It's the principle and I always tip - this is not a good way to treat your customers - and 20% is too much - 15%-18% is standard.

This remains the best shisha cafe in the area that I've been to, and the owner, Ahmed, is a saint. He will make any complaint you have, right. That's just his ownership style and it's a breath of fresh air if you appreciate engaged and friendly management. He also has a very friendly staff that will take the time to get to know you and will remember your name and what you like to order.

Do drink their mint tea, have a shisha, relax, and pretty soon this will be your favorite cafe too. When I first started going to Fairouz, it was a little smaller (pre-renovation) and mostly frequented by middle aged and older Arab men drinking coffee and playing backgammon or reading the paper. Now the clientele is younger and those authentic scenes of middle eastern men smoking as they would back home, is all but absent. I miss the old Fairouz, the one that reminded me of my time working in North Africa.

Hookah is overpriced ($23 for weekend) for the skyline area. There was a strong licorice taste and barely any apple. Water bottles cost $2.50, they won't give you ice tap water. There is a 'Restaurant Service Charge' on the bill.

Service was great which is why this cafe is receiving 2 stars instead of one.

Total for one hookah, 2 waters, and a tea was $44 including tip. I'll stick with the hookah bars in the Arlington area.

Bruh OBAMA BOYS!!!! Had a blast! Definitely the place to be! Beautiful people and great music!!! The service is A1!!!!! And they have BRUNCH?!!!!!

I came here last Friday night for the first time.

Parking was an absolute nightmare. I had to fight for a parking spot. Once I found parking, I thought it would be smooth sailing, but boy was I soo wrong!

The atmosphere is nice. The music is a mix of 90s throwbacks, Middle Eastern Music and top 40s. The hookah was fine as well.

My issue was with the customer service. I had someone tell us, a group of four that we could only use one table. Even after we told them we were expecting two more people, we were told to squeeze into one table. Fitting our food, and hookah onto the table was not an easy task. Once we were ready to leave, we tried to split the check. We were told that was not possible, so we took out a pen and paper and wrote out the amounts to which each card should be charged. That apparently also didn't work for them. Then we all took turns going to the cash register to pay for our own meals, leaving the last person to pay for hookah and any other extraneous expenses like water bottles (oh ya did I mention, when you ask for water, they gave you water bottles and charge you accordingly, there's no option for just a cup).

Even before we left, we had people coming over to wipe down our table. It was obvious the owner was trying to kick us out as soon as we were done. This place is just plain horrible. If your trying to have a relaxing night with friends, avoid this place at all cost! You will be rushed out of there! Not a fan.

So somewhere in a strip mall that looks like the little middle east in Arlington is this hookah bar with a fantastic dj. Sitting in this smokey tiny cafe, watching people smoke their shisha and play backgammon, it definitely feels like you're somewhere more exotic. Being that every country I want to visit this year is having some sort of political upheaval I take what I can get.

Quite honestly I would sit here all night and smoke some blue mist and listen to the dj who is fantastic. We did order a mezze plate, and I can say their falafel and anything with lamb is fantastic. The owner was very hospitable and made sure we had a good time, he also sent over some complimentary dessert which was much appreciated.

More about the dj though: finally an international dj that actually pays attention to the international charts. Thank you thank you thank you for not playing Tarkan's "Simirak" over and over like it's the only arabic song on earth that came out in the last decade. There's no dance floor so you just kind of dance in between the tables.

Highly recommended for a fun night out in the burbs!

Great atmosphere... food drinks and hookah is amazing... def a chill spot. Highly recommend this place for great music and drinks.

OVERPRICING WITH HIDDEN DETAILS!
Went here because the security said hookahs were $7.95, our bill turned out to be 10 times more than we thought. (Ended up paying $18.95 per hookah) They failed to explain the whole promotion, that you have to buy food in order to get the deal. Never coming back here again! And plus the hookah sucked.

If you're looking for a place to chill and get some food and drinks with friends, this is it! Fairouz has completely transformed into a new sleek spot. The owners Neb & Rediet are amazing! Neb is such a kind and humble guy who always speaks to all the guests, personally making sure everything is up to part! The prices here are so affordable! Hookah bars usually have ridiculous prices the ones at fairouz are fair. Now let's talk about the tibs panini.... my favorite! It's a delicious mash up of traditional Ethiopian food and an American sandwich. Their food menu is very good! The coffees are great as well and so is the shisha. One of my favorite things about this spot is the music! The vibe is always just right. If you and your friends are looking for somewhere to get good food, drinks and shisha and chill ,this is your spot!

While the food was good and the service was friendly, I've had better overall experiences at other hookah cafes. Fairouz has some unusual surcharges that I've never seen before and that simply do not make sense. And though our server did note the 1st and 2nd ones, that doesn't make them any less ridiculous.

A) $5 surcharge per additional smoker. This is the most ludicrous surcharge I think I've ever witnessed from any merchant. You don't receive any extra shisha or extra hoses; you are simply charged an extra $5 per person that uses the hookah. Could you imagine ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant and the server asking, "Will only 1 of you be drinking or all 4? Because if all 4 of you drink, we're going to charge an extra $15 for that SAME bottle of wine." Shit, at least the restaurant could make the (still bad) argument that they now have to wash more wine glasses. Here, you're charged an extra $5 for no actual service or work extended by the venue.

B) $1 "open item" charge for a new hookah hose. Huh? Am I expected to bring my own hose? Why is this a separate charge from the hookah itself? This is like ordering a dessert from a restaurant and then being charged an additional fee for the fork.

C) $5 "club fee" anytime of the day. This might make sense if they had live entertainment or a DJ like nightclubs charge for, but it was just a regular night with background music. You can become a "member"; otherwise, you'll incur this bullshit surcharge for no added value or service.

D) $2.50 for bottled water. This is not an exclusive club in Washington DC. It's in a humble place in a strip mall in Alexandria, VA. Besides, those waters cost ~17 cents each. Why the 1500(!)% markup? What did you do to the water to merit such a markup? PS. All we wanted was tap water anyways.

Yelpers, there are 4-5 other hookah bar/restaurants in this same strip mall. Skip Fairouz and enjoy similar -- if not better -- food and service at the others without having nonsensical and exploitative charges thrown at you.