Stop #2 on our 0-2 outing last night celebrating Sharon Thomas --cafe Mawal. The place is huge..Mediterranean food 5$ Parking Customer service- moderate Drinks- somebody forgot to tell us its BYOB...so it was a virgin drinks type of outing Food...I guess it was alright...nothing to brag about..but I already knew that from the reviews...lol Apparently they are known for great hookahs, but I dont smoke so I can't verify those facts but everybody had one. Highlight was the belly dancer Melissa featuring Tann Cooper and some dude with no rhythm...lol Overall good experience. One of those 1 hit wonders for me. read more

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Not to be confused with Cafe Narwal which is owned by, obviously, a Narwhal, not a human. It's definitely a lovely little cafe with delicious Middle Eastern food and Mediterranean food, but the problem for me personally is that you can always smell hookah in and around this place. And that's a shame for me personally because I would come here just for the food, but I can't stand any kind of smoke, and any place in Texas - especially Houston and Dallas - serving Middle Eastern food is most likely going to have that smell permeating the air. It would get 5 stars if not for that. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - I prefer Cafe Narwhal - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Service so far is terrible. Ordered an orange head hookah which should be 24.99, they tried to charge me 40 then she "fixed it" to 34.99 telling me it's tax, I saw the receipt and I was charged for gratuity which okay no big deal but to then ask me for tip again is diabolical. Very slow, loud hip hop music, not a pleasant setting over all. Oh yeah it's supposed to be an Arab owned place, not a single one, just black l and Hispanic workers who couldn't answer any questions I had. And I still don't have my hookah yet, I'll update u on how the hookah actually is Update: hookah is mid read more

This place is a vibe. You get all the club vibes and even better, you don't pay club prices. The hookahs are under $20 and they actually work great. It's BYOB and the food is healthy. They are open super late too if you just want a cool, inexpensive late night hang out. This is a good place for meeting new people, good cheap 1st date to actually get to know the person, pre-game before you hit your main spot for the night, or just a quick snack and hookah when you off WESTHEIMER. read more

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This place is so GHETTO do not go here unless you fit the stereotype. The music is so loud if you don't know sign language forget about having a conversation. The food isn't really worth talking about either $9 for a chicken shawarma THEN there's automatic gray for half ass service and the food was so dry and the lettuce was absolutely trash. Overall if you enjoy mediocrity and ppl just being obnoxious and looking for attention then hey by all means this is your spot to hang out, if you have standards keep looking. read more

Best hummus ever. Good food. Service needs improvement. Service was slow. Ambiance is Okay.

Great food, hookah and entertainment. A perfect spot to hang out with a group for any occasion or catch a game.

I would give this place a zero instead of a one if I could. I never tasted food so SO bad. Instruction wasn't followed and they missed an item I paid for. Gave me old salad because it tasted very bad. The meat was super dried. I couldn't even chew it! It tasted like rubber! They gave me bread that was OLD . You know how old bread taste like when you leave it out for a week? It tasted just like that. Nothing tasted good. What a waste of time to order and wait. Worse food I ever taste. I don't know how they last . It just so SO SOO BAD. It was just plain nasty food. It's not even human food. read more

It's a vibe for sure. In my opinion it is properly priced. $10 to BYOB, food is reasonably priced and hookah $20. Where the two stars come in is the fact that the service is slow.. and the furniture could stand an uplift. I went last night and was sitting on the patio and the patio chair collapsed while I was in it. I'm talking about your boy was on the ground smh. While I personally wasn't embarrassed, my friends were lol so of course we asked how would I be compensated for the situation as it was apparently embarrassing and unexpected. We were told that there was nothing they could do. I didn't make a fuss because I mean.. I've been saying the furniture in the patio was old. Anyway.. it's a vibe.. visit with minimal expectations .. just enjoy the company of those you're with and your own bottle. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Collapsed patio chair - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

I went here for the first time this past Thursday. It is such a cute place. Bigger than I expected! I've been to the original one plenty of times, so my expectations were a bit high. When you first walk up, there are cute little grass walls to take photos. In the inside there are nice big booths with beautiful lighting hanging from the ceiling. And other neon light sayings all over the walls Our server Mimi lead us to a cute little room, made us feel really important lol. The room is a similar set up to the room at the original. Nice long seats covered in fabric, lamps hanging from the ceiling and a tv(that doesn't work). We ordered the kafta kabobs-with rice and hummus. Love all of it! The beef was cooked perfectly and the rice was sooo good. I didn't like the pita bread as much, didn't seem too fresh. For the hookah we ordered the 713 Mix and added mint. OMG!!! The buzz was real!! It was great. Only thing I didn't like is the hookah pricing. They charged us fo 2 things extra. One being the hose- so instead of $12.99 it came out to $18!! That's a bit high for a hookah lounge. Since it was our first time Mimi brought us complimentary baklava! And I tried a strawberry banana smoothie that was gifted from yelp. Another cool thing about this place is Shelf of games!! We played a really cool drinking game called "Buzzed". It is BYOB-$5 per person!! And we played with the life sized Jenga. Over all. I will be back!! read more

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Beautiful decor, good vibes & it's open until 6am on the weekends. The hookah is really good & the owner Saeed is very nice. Will definitely come back. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Outside, in front of the entrance. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Amazing food and hookah!! Must try the mint lemonade drink. Services was great, on Saturdays they have a belly dancer performance. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Orange mint hookah! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

They serve the food too cold, but anyway, everything is okay , that the others. Things are good ! read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Plate cold - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Food was lousy at best. Lettuce limp, meat tough. Silverware was filthy. Sat outside so we could smoke cigar, but seating does not allow eating since the tables are low. Coffee-type tables. Outside area is made for hookah not eating. And the worse was the atmosphere. Loud, annoying music. Waitress got my order wrong because she could not hear me. Music was rap that was full of CURSE WORDS and the N-WORD. I was extremely uncomfortable. Music should be conducive to eating not make you ill! read more

Love this place! Very chilled vibe, food is great, prices are very reasonable, BYOB for $5, great music and games available to play, total vibe! read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Hookah - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Arrived at 12pm on 8/25/23 a Hispanic gentle told me someone would be with me in 15-20 mins, no one ever showed up and no one ever came back to Check on me 2.5 hours went by, A few people came and went no server/manger was no where to be found! read more

Amazingly smooth hookah and really fast service. Went here on a Tuesday night and the place was packed. The inside has a cool Mediterranean or morrocan feel, depending on which tent you sit inside. The food also smelled so delicious. My only drawback is valet. I'm so paranoid about leaving my car keys which have my house keys anywhere that I couldn't enjoy the night. The whole time my mind was on who has my car keys. I would've preferred if they pointed me where to park and I parked myself. I get what theyre trying to do, but not everyone is comfortable with valet. Overall, great hookah lounge. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Inside - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

This place is awesome! Great hookah bar in Houston with some amazing food! The Chicken Tawook (Kabob) was sooooooo damn tasty! Plenty of Hookah Flavors to choose from and the Booths have Marble table tops that light up at night! Definitely a good spot to hangout with friends. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Chicken Tawook, Rice & Salad - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Tab $24 tipped waitress $40 at the beginning.I Never saw her again. I Asked for a coal refill. No one ever came, and just passed me by, over and over. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

I come here almost every week so I GUESS I like it lol I love the atmosphere, staff, food, music, the late hours, and of course the SHISHA! I always get the Shan Mix. Just a heads up though- they do add tip regardless of how many people there are. But other than that, this place never fails. Plus, they open super late on weekends (I think 4am)with a great DJ read more

Sinbad is no more!! Cafe Mawal has officially taken over and wow what a change! You might not even believe me if I told you this was where little old Sinbad used to be. They completely changed the interior and how it's a lot nicer on the eyes. Might even be worthy a place to snap a couple shots for the 'gram! Hookah is still great as it used to be and to me I haven't noticed any big different in my usual flavor. My go-to is still my blueberry mint! Prices definitely have gone up a couple dollars but that's to be expected with the big renovation. Service is a lot better than before and workers are a lot more attentive. Have yet to try the food. Hopefully this change is for the better. read more

The waitresses are SCAMMERS! BE WARE! I went to Mawals with a few friends and the waitress Ashanti made me and my friends pay $50 to sit at a FREE table and took the payment through apple pay claiming that it would be better for us to send the money to her and not pay through mawals. This is also Ashanti's 2nd time over charging us. Next we all paid for byob and hookah but Ashanti still tried to charge us another $200 when everything was already paid for. She harassed my friend through text about the money not being paid and said we did not need to return to Mawals to pay the balance she wanted the $200 sent through apple pay to her phone. Ashanti had no intention on putting that towards a fraudulent tab she was pocketing the money ! I do not appreciate being taken advantage of because your waitress THOUGHT me and my friends were too drunk to see what was going on but this needs to be handled. The first time she added her own tip on my tab ! She tried this twice to get extra money. I need to be contacted ASAP thank you. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Receipt - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Excellent Kazakhstani food. We tried the pilmeni, mantu (which takes 40 mins but is delicious), hollupsi, borscht and meat pie. All was excellent as was the hookah. Service though was slow and erratic. But the people were nice. And the food made up for the slow service. Sit back, enjoy the hookah and wait for your mantu to arrive Note yelp has the old menu. The Kazakstani food is in the Russian section of the menu read more

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Good food, great customer service , amazing hookah and the environment is just on point . Ask for Zeina she will treat you like family not just some other customer. My favorite hookah spot, you won't regret it. read more

5 Star place, staff is a 3 from my most recent visit. I LOVE this place, come here occasionally and always refer my friends to this place. Sunday evening me and 3 of my girls came here and the waitress had an attitude but we ignored it because we thought maybe she was just having a bad day. However we enjoyed ourselves. read more

I really like Sinbad. Their hookah is really good and they have a bit more selection for types of hookah than most places I've been to. It's a nice place if you're not looking for a huge crowd but it's also a good place to bring friends on the weekend as weekend evenings are more crowded than the weekday. I usually like to opt for Al Fakher hookah and one of their semi private booths. All in all consistently good hookah. Oh and the food is good too! I've only had the fries, wings and beef plate I think? All were good! read more

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Bad service. I refuse to give them my money now. What restaurant in 2022 refuses to take to go orders. When I asked to speak with a manager the employee who answered the phone got an attitude and said there is no supervisor during the day shift. They should seriously reconsider how they'd like to do business. read more

Omg! This place is so cute!!! I absolutely love it here! The food is amazing, the service is great, and the vibe is awesome! It's such a trendy place and the decorations are beautiful!!! This has literally become my favorite place in Houston!! read more

Cafe Mawal Express - They have the cutest decorations! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great hookah and great food! Their chicken is very well seasoned and fresh, really good vibe/lighting inside, super friendly staff. I got their mawal bowl And their Pina colada and recommend both! They have very nice indoor and outdoor sitting areas and several TVs inside perfect for watching any games Their bathrooms also have vanity mirrors which was a very nice touch read more

Consistently good & always fresh. Freshly sanitized the whole cafe as of maybe less than a week ago. This is the place to be, the aesthetics and the Instagram worthy neon lights and background make for a super unique Mediterranean x Houston vibe and it's just a habibi thing. Anyway I have to recommend the Mint Lemonade cause that stuff right there mannnnn, like they know how to mint lemonade is all I'm gonna say. They're food is always hot too it's a chill lowkey vibe with upscale decor and music. 10/10 -SPACECITYSHMACKS read more

Eh it was a nice place in terms of Instagram pics but they charge too much for a simple hookah head and food :(

This place is absolutely Amazing. It's a great place to relax with your friends. They have top quality hookah, play a variety of great music, and have TVs everywhere. If your looking for a place to chill this location is a must! GOOD JOB MAWAL EXPRESS! read more

Best hookah lounge ever i come every night great place to do hw and hang with friends. MashaAllah read more

Manager is rude !!! She needs to be fired . Very dismissive & acted like she couldn't come to our table when asked . Never again

I absolutely love this place!! Great atmosphere, friendly staff, delicious food and the largest selection of hookah flavors in the city!!! Come check it out for a late night bite or to just chill. Highly recommend it. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - It's Hookah time! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

Came here for the Valentines special. My bf met the owner and decided to give it a try. I would probably not go back. The ambiance and music were good (music was a little too loud at the end). The food was ok? The chef is nice and takes a lot of pride in what she cooks. My pasta was overcooked- almost mushy and the dish was too salty. The pork chops were delicious (a little over cooked) and our asparagus was burnt. The hummus was amazing though. Highly recommended. Presentation of the dishes were great! The berry dessert was good. Unique. The staff is ok- a little unprofessional? They auto added at 20% tip for two people dining in.. which for the service was not appropriate. read more

Usually a good vibe but lately it haven't been . Being that I'm a regular I tried speaking to the owner and he told me to go wherever the dj at that I asked about . Which is the dj who usually Dj's at the place . The owner was bluntly rude and racist. They want black people money but do not respect our culture. Oh the food is over priced and trash . Only thing good is the hookah! read more

The service at this place is so horrible. The food tasted like trash and the music was horrible. When we spoke with the owner about the DJ he said, "he not bringing him back and that we can go where he is!" Did not like the atmosphere and will not be returning! read more

cheap hookahs, service is great, the drinks look exaclty like their pictures and taste really good. their fries are good. their food is good. tables light up if you turn the lights on, inside decor is different from sinbad. read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Beef Shawarma plate when it was sinbad - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

This cafe serves the best food and hookah in town no . Their fresh fruit platters are the best!!! Also extremely love the aesthetics of the cafe read more

Cafe Mawal Express - Fresh fruit platter - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas