Roya Bar and Hookah Lounge
1823 Sansom Street
Mon-Thu, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Fri/Sat 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
(215) 557-0808
After seeing Alice in Wonderland at age six, it may have been your dream to blow smoke rings like the pimp Caterpillar. Ok, so perhaps at age six one doesn't equate smoke rings with hookah, but, still... The Roya Bar and Hookah Lounge can help one fulfill long-held dreams of blowing the perfect ring.
The lounge is located on top of a classy Persian restaurant near Rittenhouse Square. Compared to the ground floor, the second story is a little shady. Don't be dismayed, though -- after you go through the unmarked door, you step into a spacious, plush room. Think upscale '30s opium den, minus the thick billowing smoke and glassy-eyed, 60 year- old ladies.
Roya has nine flavors of hookah, from apple to jasmine to coffee. The apple is smooth but a little weak -- the lounge doesn't give you enough tobacco -- and it's hard to get the thick smoke required for caterpillar-rings. The charcoal is also a little cheap for the steep $12-per-hookah fee.
Still, although overpriced for the quality of its smoke, Roya makes up lost points in the atmosphere department. The couches are easy to sink into, and the dimmed lights make spending an evening there a very relaxing experience. It's the type of place you could go with a few friends if you don't feel like studying for your OPIM midterm. After all, being able to blow perfect smoke rings is a much more useful life skill than mastering Microsoft Excel.
