We were looking for a good vibe with good music and found this place. It was pretty empty around 11, but quickly filled up by 11:30. I guess we went at the perfect time. They serve hookah, food, and drinks which resulted in a great night. For 2 drinks and hookah we paid about $35, which was great to me! The only think I didn't like about this place was the seating arrangement and the wooden seats. Most hookah bars I've been to have better seating than wooden bar seats. read more

NO thanks, went here last Friday evening around 630 to meet with my travel group. It was about 20 of us altogether. While it was nice that we had a separate area, the service was a bit lacking and I was not a fan of the tip already included in my check. While I understand that is typically the norm, I wasn't expecting that since the 2 other individuals on my check did not purchase any food. She literally received $13 to give us 4 drinks and a hookah and still never brought me my water after asking twice. There were also no drink specials and the drinks were pricey. I was told from the other individuals in my party that the food was also seriously lacking as well It's crazy also that the woman's restroom only has two stalls and it was so hot in there. I won't be back. read more

B-Side Complex - Hookah Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'm not sure what I enjoyed the most about B Side last night (Saturday). Was it the $20 vanilla hookah with unlimited coals? The cocktails? The fact that you can order delicious Italian dishes from BARRA next door? The ambiance? I'm not sure. They were all pretty awesome, equally. My friend Shannon C. and I walked in around 7 p.m., ordered drinks, hookah and hummus, and settled in. The walls and lights are really fun. The whole lounge is, actually. My first drink, the Aviation (blue coat gin, maraschino, lemon and creme yvette), was perfect. Later on, I also ordered the Basilico out of curiosity (svedka, basil, strawberry and st. germaine). Surprisingly really good! Staying in line with the basil, I asked our server (John), if I could order anything from BARRA, he said yes, and I opted for the Margherita pizza. SUCH a good choice, too! The sauce had a great taste, without overpowering the mozzarella and basil. And speaking of the staff, they were all really accommodating, and not overbearing. As a side note, go through the sliding door to use BARRA's bathroom. The doors are clear until you lock them to make them foggy. By the time we left a couple (few?) hours later, my stomach was satiated and my lungs were full of fancy smoke. I was surprised B Side wasn't brimming with the Saturday night Old City crowd -- it's such a gem. Maybe it was still too early though? In any case, we will be back. Soon. read more

See all

We on a Thursday night. It was ok. Calm, chill, laid back environment. Music could have been better. It was at a level where you could hold a conversation without yelling though. read more

B-Side Complex - Thursday night around 10pm - Hookah Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place was turnt up on a Saturday night. I mean all the way turnt. When we first got there around 11 ish there wasn't a lot of people and we contemplated leaving. However, we grabbed some hookah and food and chilled. Shortly after, a massive crowd arrived, people were dancing everywhere and it was a insane party. The hookah's last a really long time. They are also very flavorful. I can't remember how much the drinks cost. I just know they had to be strong. The Dj did his thing. There was some commotion due to some rowdy individuals but that was quickly taken care of and the party went on til the morning. This is the perfect spot to get your ratchet fix in and be back to normal for the Monday morning grind. read more

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BOOK THIS PLACE FOR AN EVENT, DO NOT BOTHER. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BAR IN PHILADELPHIA, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I'll keep this short. B-Side Complex is the worst venue I have ever been to. Its management is poor, bouncers are entirely rude, and drinks are served in plastic baby cups with watered-down alcohol for $12. You are confined to a small space after you buy your drink and unable to walk around with it. You are CHARGED MONEY for asking for a cup of water. The layout is laughable. I just wish I could rate this hellhole of an establishment zero stars. LISTEN to the Yelp reviews. Save your money and time and go somewhere else. read more

Take a deep breath. Gasp caugh ahem. Ok, not that deep. Not like a bong. More like a little puff. How is that? Much better, right? Hookahs have been on my bucket list. Sure, close to the bottom, but it was on the list. This is a great place to try it. Went on a Tuesday night when it was quiet and the ladies gave us the inside scoop on hookin. We tried the vanilla and got set up on one of the big water pipes. The smoke was extrememlu mellow. Once its cooled theough the water and long hose you cant even tell you are smoking. But you are and the nicotine rush starts quickly. There were a few regulars in there besides us newbies. They have a good selection of drinks so those not hookin it up still felt at home. So if this is on your bucket list, give em a try. Just remember, just a little puff. read more

See all

Came in for the first and last time on a Wednesday night. Took my credit card for a tab and charged me 20$ a drink. 5 drinks for 92.77. I was rudely told by manager that a shot of Baileys was 8.00 apiece and patron was 10.00. After asking for a shot, they gave me and my wife a double without asking and said they'd take it off bill. On top of a 14.27 "service charge". Wtf is that???? Your a damn bar! The manager was a foreigner who was rude as hell and said too bad, welcome to Philly. Stay away. They will rip you off and laugh at you on the way out. Rember, I paid almost 100.00 for 5 drinks. And the place sucks anyways. AVOID!!!!!!!! read more

B-Side Complex - Hookah Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place honestly only had one redeeming quality about it: a friendly bartender. We first went in there with the intention of having a hookah. After having to pay the $5 cover, we go in and THEN are told by a server that reservations are required to have a table with a hookah and that they were completely booked. While this may seem fine, (1) there were many empty tables and (2) this wasn't told to us till AFTER we paid the cover which they said was "no refunds." Of course, this was actually illegal for them to withhold our money especially after false advertisement. Additionally, a few other people came in with the same intention of getting a table/hookah and complained to the management while also demanding a refund. They had not purchased anything from the establishment and yet the management refused to issue a refund, which again is illegal. Lastly, there was a credit/debit card minimum of $25. Not only is this a ridiculous amount if you just intend to have a drink, but it is also illegal as businesses are only allowed to put a max of a $10 minimum. Overall, I felt like this place was there to simply swindle customers , specifically new ones, of their money. If it was possible to give this place half a star, I would have. read more

On a Saturday night with several friends. We definitely have experienced better such as Infusion Lounge. The ventilation sucked! It was nice to see a live DJ, but my bro said "this is twerking music..." A younger crowd and not as classy as other hookah lounges we been to. The place was small. Ordered a double apple mint hookah for 5 people. Why it only came with one pipe? At Infusion lounge you would get a hookah with two pipes. The upside was we tried a new place and can mark it off our list. read more

I came here last weekend with M, Kathleen D. and a friend of ours. It was my first time getting hookah in Philly so I was pretty excited. We walked in to a fairly chill environment and got seated right away. The drinks here are good -- I went with the Basilica all night, as I am a big fan of basil in my drinks. The awesome part about this place is you can order food and it's pretty good. I got the margherita pizza and it was yummy. I wolfed down most of it, with M finishing off the last couple slices. M got the crabmeat orecchiette but he wasn't a huge fan. It was fine, but not very crabby. The hookah was good! We started with the blueberry grape and got the mango the second time around. Both flavors were good. They were constantly changing out our coals too, which is great. Be warned -- this place starts poppin' big time around 9:00! The music turned from quiet house music to rap in an instant. I'm not complaining -- we were still having a good time. We just weren't expecting it. If you're not into that, you would probably want to leave before 9. Overall, I really liked this place and I'll definitely be back! read more

This place actually just relocated--it's now at 939 N Delaware Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19123. I went to a silent party there last night and it was lots of fun. It has a very upscale look, with a large loft-style upstairs area, a dance floor, and multiple bars. And good food! The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because they employed a trifling, thieving bartender. Ali pretended as if she didn't know about the specials the event advertised--$5 mixed drinks and 50 cent wings. When asked, she said she didn't know what drinks were on special and what ones weren't. I ordered one drink and an order of wings...somehow it was all full-price, and she tipped HERSELF 20% on top of that, without permission. I was definitely going to tip anyway but I will not be leaving my card for a tab anymore if I go back. read more

The place is pricey so if you're bank account isn't set up right i would advise you not to come here. Almost every bar has hookah now so I'm sure you can find something cheaper and even better elsewhere. This establishment is just money hungry which is normal but they make it so obvious which is abnormal. The entry fee is dumb because it's not a nightclub, atleast when i went, there were tables everywhere and no one was dancing. It's a restaurant/bar, so anyone who comes in is going to spend money anyway so i don't see the point. So after you pay to enter, the hostess says you have to spend however much to sit at a table. That's tasteless and stupid because everyone's first instinct will be to say no until they see the menu at the bar and calculate everything in their head to see if the price makes sense. Or they get uncomfortable from standing then they finally ask for a table. How about the hostess show some class and just ask people if they plan on ordering food. Anyone who orders food, drinks, and hookah here will easily meet the table requirement. Lastly, the typical rude ass philly bouncers literally yelling at everyone to get the fuck out when the club is closing. It was a little before 2 and we weren't even finished our food and drinks and some asshole is yelling at our table of 3 cute girls to hurry up and get out but the waitress was the one who was slow with giving us our bill and take home boxes. Our food was slow coming out too so it was actually their fault but he was yelling at us. read more

They have a cover charge that's $10 for women but $15 for men, which is just whack. Is this a college party? Everything there is extremely over priced, just like every other sketchy hookah establishment. Their food is bad and tastes like it's been microwaved. They charge $100 just to reserve ONE TABLE, and that isn't including the cover or any drinks or food you might want to order. Do they think they're some high class club? Their TVs were playing weird swimsuit model videos for an hour before they switched it to some basketball game. And of course they're cash only / don't take cards where you pay the cover, so you're forced to use the ATM that charges you $3.00. You're better off buying your own damn hookah and just chilling someplace on your own. read more

Great atmosphere and crowd mix! This is the best hookah spot in the city. They have a large selection of hookah flavors. My fav is the BLUE MIST! You can even mix the flavors here. read more

I have been wanting to do Hookah in philly for a long time and I had read pretty descent reviews about B-Side so when the boyfriend and I found ourselves wandering the city on Saturday I suggested this location. We were seated outside, which was a good move because the music inside was extremely loud and "clubby". I don't mind some dancing music but it's not really what I am looking for when going to smoke hookah. For me, it's kind of a social activity where I would like to actually have a conversation and be heard. Outside was pretty much perfect though; if for the people watching alone. Ordered the grape hookah, which I thought was pretty good but made the boyfriend light headed. The server was pretty good. She seemed to be handling both inside and outside tables so there were points where we didn't see her for a bit and refills were a little harder to come by than I would like. My only real issue here - and it's a big one for me - was the automatic service charge. We were a party of 2 and yet there was an automatic 15% charge on our bill. This makes me crazy... particularly when they slip it on the bill without warning. This could have been a 3 star experience but I am subtracting one for that. read more

I came here for an event and the bouncers were incredibly rude: they tried and failed a number of times to manage the line (which included yelling at people to move back) which led to us standing in the freezing cold for an hour while the people being yelled at were let in first. When we finally got in, no one was allowed upstairs without checking their coat. At that point, there was no way I was waiting in yet another line that wouldn't move to waste even more time and money at this horrendous venue. Will never return. Worst venue ever! read more

The sauce on the pasta either had too much garlic or had no flavor. The pizza was good as was the service. The short rib ravioli had promise but fell way short of expectations. Next time, we will just get drinks and pizza. read more

The best hookah in Philadelphia !!!! Hands down and the food good also. Pick any day of the week and you will have a ball. The owners treat you with respect and that says a lot to me in philly !!! I recommend the summer time day parties read more

Great hookah, but they have $70 minimal. The drink is ok, the service was horrible, they don't really pay attention to customers. Its a ok place. read more

B-Side Complex - Hookah Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In regards to hooka bars it's different. Most hooka places are more relaxed in their setting and furniture. B-Side looks and feels more nightclub, BUT the dancing and people were simply fantastic. I had such a good time enjoying the belly dancing and the clientele from that culture, it was quite the experience, looking forward to going back. Thank you for making feel so welcome. read more

I am personally glad that I went to this club. Now I know exactly where to go if I ever want to have an absolutely terrible night

I tried parking at one of the public meters in front of this establishment only to have the bouncer come out and yell at me that the public street is "reserved" for customers. When I pointed out that it was a public street and that they couldn't just reserve the spots in front without some kind of city permit, he said that he had warned me and that I should take it up with his boss. I called the parking authority, who then told me to call the local police district, who then told me to call 911 and file a police report. I'm not going to bother, but I really did feel threatened. Keep in mind what kind of people these folks are before you give them your money. I also thought it was interesting that he assumed we weren't customers even though we were still in front of the place (could it be because we are white?). read more

Absolutely awful. Came here with some friends, got charged for water cups. Security guard busted down my stall door while i was using the bathroom, didn't even apologize for it. Should have just turned us all away instead of giving us the worst night of our lives and taking all our money. Never again. read more

This bar definitely stands out from other old city establishments. Their bartender makes horrifically strong drinks. If the other local cocktails are sledgehammers, B-side's are chainsaws filled with deadly adders. A note about atmosphere - hookah smoke and hip hop music blend to create a great break from the regular Old City haunts. People dance here, and they dance well. Management and staff is crazy attentive for such a busy place. Give it a shot. And maybe another shot. Maybe another shot. Wake up somewhere you won't want to check in on foursquare (or I guess it's "swarm" now or something). read more

Not surprised with the bad comments! This is totaly expected. After the close to move. It should have been just closed not reopened. Very disappointed and it's a shame because it's a wonderful location. No matter what management says these yelp reviews and overal rating speaks for itself. I mean get real who'd lying all these people, highly doubt it. Do us a favor and close because there's one mission I'm on not reccomending this place at all. read more

Finally made it here after an unexpected setback (see my review for Rotten Ralph's). Atmosphere is chill and very hip. Loved the DJ and there was no cover this particular night (this Thursday that just passed). Service was also very great between ordering drinks and the hookah experience. I didn't even have to notify them to change my coals. Six drinks (mixed, beer, and soda) plus our peach-banana shisha came to $60 after service charge & taxes ,plus, a couple bucks we decided to throw the waitress anyway ($55-something before the last bit) since I wasn't sure if that was a tip or not; never saw that on a bill before. I wasn't expecting the extra nearly $10 and do understand some people's peeves without advertising it, but, it doesn't change my experience drastically. Will return. read more

I went here with a friend on a rather slow day for the lounge. Nice, chill atmosphere, and the staff was super friendly. Our server was awesome, the head chef happened to be around and was also very friendly. The hookah itself was just like any other hookah, except it lasted about 2 hours (could have been more but had to leave). We also ordered an appetizer from the menu. Overall, this place has a nice atmosphere, and great food. There is a great selection of hookah, and the staff was excellent. Also the bathrooms are trippy, you'll have to see for yourself. read more

I love B-side! It's my go to bar in Philadelphia. Diverse crowd. Staff are pleasant. Very attentive. Music is always great on Thurs/Fri/Sat. Drinks are reasonable. Always can find at least one local celeb or a few of the Sixers players (especially after their home games) in Bside. The only thing I hate about the place now is that they enforce this you have to buy (at a certain rate) to sit. I understand it's business, but I hate it! I end up spending the rate for the table at the bar anyway which pisses me off even more when I get the tab. Lol Don't let that deter you just be prepared. read more

Good service, very ghetto atmosphere though. Shitty rap music very loud and cheap decor. Decent place, won't be back. read more

B-Side Complex - a man sitting at a bar - Hookah Bars Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Worst place in my life. I'm a women and to have the owner in my face all night made me feel so uncomfortable. The drinks are very bad and over price. The bar was so dirty and sticky. Fruit flys all over the place. I seen the bartender put there finger in a drink to get a fruit fly out of it how gross is that. Then she serve the drink like nothing ew... This place is not wroth it. Never again read more

OK so I've been here multiple times but the first time I came here I had a really good time. The hooka was really good and so were the drinks. BUT I've been back here recently and it wasn't all that great like I remembered. During my second visit, my sis and i stopped in to have a drink around happy hour on a Friday. We sat at the bar and we were not greeted for a whole 10 minutes. Not a smile, not a "I'll be with you in a second " nothing.The bartender stood there chit chatting with two other guys at the bar. There was only 4 customers total in this whole establishment so I just had one drink and left. During my third visit the customer service was horrible once again and it wasn't busy at all! I came here with a few family members and it was a SLOW weekday night. When we arrived there was no one insight so we searched for an employee and we finally found them next door laughing & searching the web on a laptop. We asked them if we could be seated and they looked at us like we just ruined their moods. When we were seated it took the waitress FOREVER to get us our hooka and our drinks. The waitress looked miserable and it took her a long 20 min before we got our hooka. I just didn't understand because the place was completely empty. Ugh I love the hooka here but the customer service really sucks on a SLOW day. read more

If you want an absolutely horrible night come here. Over priced is an understatement. Card machine went down so cash only which they had an atm with a 5 dollar charge rate. Drinks cost a fortune and were not even good. No water was given and made us all pay for water since apparently they just have ran out of tap water. Later on in the night they kindly gave us cups of ice. This place is a joke and the people who work here are not kind. Don't come here go somewhere else manager is a moron if this is how this place runs. read more

Chill good drinks, good hookah, good dj do I need to say more. Can come any day of the week and have fun. Definitely recommend for a good night out! read more

Hmmm. Well let's talk about what I liked about this place... Not much. This was by far the most average hookah experience I've had and one of the worst customer service wise. A friend was visiting from out of town and instead of going to Byblos (natural inclination) I decided to try B Side instead as a friend mentioned it was a chill spot with good music and a nice crowd. Good music? Sure. Nice crowd? Eh maybe for winter I guess. Everything else? Nah. When we entered we were surprised to see that they were charging a $5 cover before 9pm. Most places don't start charging until 9pm or even later. After paying and putting that iffy feeling to the side we made our way in where we were approached by a waitress. She asked us if we were planning on sitting at the bar (we replied yes) and she notated that if we would've decided a table instead there was a $50 minimum that night. Ummm ok. I guess if you were to put that in retrospect that's probably a hookah rental and 3 or 4 drinks which isn't that big of a deal for people looking to stay the majority of the night. Less than 5 minutes in, my friend and I decided that the bar was a bit uncomfortable and with no coat check we wanted more space for our things. I flagged down another waitress to move us to the table who then informed me that the table (yes the same 2 person table) now held a $150 minimum. Lol WHAT? Like I've never seen a table up priced so quickly. At the same time I'm trying to figure out when I relocated from a semi-shabby hookah lounge to a nicer club that would even warrant such a price for a 2 person table. Since my friend was paying, I also didn't want to have to have him incur that price after we'd just had dinner as well. After explaining to the waitress she insisted on giving me the same price and I requested a manager. The manager was BEYOND helpful (sarcasm) and told me that we could switch to the table, however the hookah we ordered at the bar would not count towards the tables minimum. Okay. Whatever. Whateverrrrrrrrr So we move, and the music is great and there's a better crowd than I expected in cold weather. Bigger issue being the difficulty we had tracking down a waitress of whom were either flirting with male patrons or taking shots and similar foolishness. Drinks were weak and watered down and not worth the price at all. The hookah did not boast a strong flavor and in my opinion took way too much effort to get a good pull. I haven't been back and I'm comfortable with that decision. Although it's smaller, Byblos offers a hookah experience that I prefer much more over B Side. Yes, the music was good but that's just not enough. Judging by the other amount of negative reviews the questionable experience I had during my visit wasn't an anomaly. B Side clearly just survives on doing the bare minimum. No thanks. read more

BARRA rebranded their next door lounge area into a hookah bar. $20 a pop like the rest of the old city hookah places. quality hookahs that are packed well and friendly service. they are relatively new, so not always too busy, but i'd definitely recommend it depending on your mood and what crowd you're looking for. if you're looking for arab music videos, mint tea, and turkish coffee then there's other options down the street. but if you want to order an alcoholic drink and are looking for more of a younger and loungy vibe then this is your place. read more

So me and my two friends decided to come here last night and it was by far the worst experience I've had at any establishment. When we first got there, there was a ten dollar cover. OK cool no big deal, we paid it no problem. But I did notice a sign that said no refunds at the door which I thought was odd. We go inside and there is no where to sit all the tables were reserved so we ask someone is there any place for us to sit they said no they were all taken so my friend demanded a refund they said they do not give refunds. Now they should have told us before we paid that they didn't have any seating available jus like they had a sign that said no refunds. But they said they were clearing a table but it was $75 minimum to sit there. Like really? $75 to sit down to smoke hookah. Honestly the money wasn't an issue I jus didn't like how money hungry they were. So we said fuck it I told my friends we were probably going to end up spending it anyway. The table we sat at was by the door and we were freezing. The food wasn't even good my burger was way too salty and my friends ordered mozzarella sticks and wings and they didn't like their food either. To put the icing on the cake they put a 15% gratuity on the bill and didn't tell us. It was only 3 of us so why they did that is beyond me. I would never go back there that whole place is a set up read more

I went here for an event last night and it was a terrible experience. I spent an hour waiting in a port controlled crowd to get in. Bouncers kept yelling at everyone to get in line and back up, but those who went to the side still got in before me. When I got in, I had already missed half the event. They then required that everyone check coats which led to another thirty minute line. Overall this venue is horrible and I would not go back. read more

Best Hookah in Philly! Let me just say ever since I've moved out here from California, it's been such a drag to find a hookah bar that knows how to make a lasting bowl that gives dense smoke. It came to the point where I just bought my own because Byblos and the others don't truly know how to pack a hookah bowl and use proper coals. I've been to at least 10 different lounges and BSide is definitely the best I've had :) Brianna took good care of us...she's a doll! read more

Rude staff. Tried to charge for everything and to sit at a table when no one was even in the club. Tried to give me a hard time for ordering a glass of water. Never again. Sorry not sorry. read more