With the shisha ban due for implementation by late November, here are five places that still have licenses—so you can get your shisha fix before it all goes dead.
Ambrosia
This second floor cafe offers Mediterranean (read Greek-inspired) food and shisha. They’ve got Persian carpeted floor seating with low wooden tables for that exotic Middle Eastern vibe.
Beirut Grill
This Lebanese restaurant and shisha bar not only dishes out Middle Eastern food, but also have a stock of shisha pipes at their upstairs Magic Carpet Lounge. The floor space gets pretty happening on weekends with lots of music and dancing, but on week nights the atmosphere is pretty chilled.
Blu Jaz
Aside from hosting regular live music gigs and shows, this cozy Bali Lane cafe also has shisha. It’s one of the only places in the area to serve alcohol and tobacco, but it doesn’t hurt that the shophouse unit also has guest DJs over the weekend to amp up the party atmosphere.
Derwish Turkish Restaurant
This halal restaurant on Bussorah Street is a quick walk from the main Arab Street stretch. Although they serve rudimentary Middle Eastern food like baklava and baba ganoush dips, they’ve also got shisha pipes to smoke on all night long.
Sahara
This Middle Eastern Boat Quay restaurant has been in the circuit for a long time. They’re also famed for being one of the only places along the river to serve shisha and will be doing so for (at least) the next couple of years. So load up on some mezze platters and puff to your lung’s content.
