We had an unforgettable night filled with fresh flavors, handcrafted dishes, and some of the warmest hospitality in the city. Chef Saad Ghanem absolutely showed out. His passion for cooking with fresh ingredients shines through in every single bite. Everything here is made completely from scratch, and you can truly taste the love behind the food. We started with the creamiest fresh-made hummus and tangy tzatziki, followed by kibbeh and perfectly fried labneh that were crispy on the outside and dreamy on the inside. The lentil soup was cozy and comforting, and the Mediterranean house salad was bright, crisp, and loaded with flavor. Then came the main event: a massive Mediterranean feast with grilled meats, shrimp, chicken, lamb, fresh veggies, and house-made sauces. All cooked to perfection by Chef Saad. The cocktails were refreshing and delicious, and the hookah had the smoothest minty-tropical flavor that paired perfectly with the entire experience. And just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite... we met the crispy banana dessert. A warm, golden pastry stuffed with banana and cheesecake, lightly fried, and served with vanilla ice cream. Absolute heaven. From the food to the drinks to the service, Sahara Café delivered a 10/10 experience. Jacksonville, if you're looking for authentic Mediterranean cuisine made with heart, this is the spot. read more

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Came here for trivia night (Wed at 8), didn't realize it was a hookah bar but that was our fault. The air was quite smoggy and you can taste the sickly sweet juice in the air. Again, our bad for not realizing. The trivia was a lot of fun, hosts were very friendly and questions came from a variety of topics. I got a falafel wrap which was decent but definitely needed some more sauce or flavor of some sort. Solid mid-tier wrap. The fries were good. The wrap looks small but definitely filling. Staff were very friendly and attentive even with an event going on read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Falafel Wrap - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Friendly service, clean bathrooms, nice atmosphere, good variety of drinks, friendly bartender, and server checked on us constantly came on a Wednesday for karaoke and stayed for a while read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Amazing cuisine & hookah I went here with a party of 8 friends and we had hookah and ordered a ton of appetizers as well as entres to share. Appetizers were falafel, pitas, and kibbeh. Our entree consisted of lamb kabab, chicken shawarma and steak platter with white rice, French fries and a Mediterranean salad. The owner and chef made the dishes with so much enthusiasm. One of the managers assisting us was called Ameer/ Amir. Our group was provided excellent service that was attentive and quick. read more

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This place is amazing. The staff is so warm and friendly and the food is delicious. Everything from start to finish was excellent. Hands-down, the best hummus in town and some of the best Kibbeh I've ever had. I'm looking forward to going back and exploring more of the menu. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Interior - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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"I'm really disappointed. I'm not sure why they're squeezing all the flavor out of the tobacco, but it lost its taste. I just spent $20 on a hookah that tasted awful. I used to love coming there and chill for an hour or two after today it's a no for me ...the service was fine , food was fine but the hookah is HUGE Disappointment... read more

Phenomenal hookah, food, drinks, and service. Friendly staff. Great prices. Try it. Never disappointed. Great atmosphere. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Hand crafted drinks! A thing of beauty. - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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I've always enjoyed coming to Saharas, especially for karaoke nights. It's been one of my go-to spots to unwind, and I've consistently supported the business by spending money there over time. While the food has been just okay, the atmosphere and experience have always kept me coming back. That's why I was honestly really hurt and surprised by what happened during my most recent visit. I came with a friend, and they brought someone along who may not have been ready to make a purchase right away. Instead of handling the situation with understanding or simply communicating expectations, the staff made us feel uncomfortable and ultimately asked us to leave. To make matters worse, I was told I was banned. As someone who has been a loyal and respectful customer, that experience felt very dismissive and unfair. I've never caused any issues there, and to be treated that way without any real conversation or consideration was disappointing. I truly hope management takes a moment to reflect on how situations like this are handled. A little empathy and communication can go a long way, especially with customers who have supported your business over time. read more

Buyers beware: they charge for water now. They bb only serve bottled water, which I think is crazy.

My friends have been raving about this place and now I know why. Food was amazing! We started with hummus and spinach dip which were both great! I had the lamb and shrimp kabobs plate with greek salad. First the plate was huge and had plenty of leftovers. The food was seasoned to perfection, even the rice. The service was a little slow but she was very friendly. If you don't like smoke get your order to go because hookahs were all over the restaurant. The one thing that bothered me is that they have a drink minimum which we didn't know and were forced to purchase after we ordered a ton of food. read more

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Omg! This place is so delicious! We had the amazing hummus, spinach and feta in crunchy dough appetizer and chicken and shrimp with scrumptious rice and Greek salad. The waitress was attentive and one of the owners came by to check on the table , he was so nice and gave some food recommendations. We will be going back often! read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Cute dining / bar area - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

I had a horrible experience with this place, it has roaches, the air conditioning does not work properly and the staff and manager is rude. We actually got kicked out last night for absolutely nothing!! she was extremely racist as well We had ordered drinks and they still said we didn't buy anything. It was embarrassing and ridiculous, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!! read more

The food is always excellent ,and the service is top notch .Our server Neisha was fantastic.She was busy,but took care of everyone in a timely manner.I was in the customer service field for years,and know what good customer service is,and neisha has it .The owner is also aces,and takes the time to come out and talk to his patrons.Can't beat this place.Thanx guys for everything.Chris/Terry Garvey read more

Me & my friends go here frequently & I had been wanting to try the shrimp. We all ended up eating some of the shrimp and we all ended up getting sick that same night(none of us were drunk). I would steer clear of some of the food here maybe just stick to appetizers! I certainly will not be eating anything here again, but good drinks & hookah. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Shrimp Kabob Platter - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Can not say enough good things! From food to hookah to service, it's always phenomenal. We like to do their family style dinner when we have a group, they choose our menu and bring out all the courses and explain what they are and the best ways to enjoy them. I was there last night for a joint birthday dinner and Saad made it so special for us! Our server (Gina?) was amazing, friendly, attentive. Always a good time! read more

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Really good Greek food. Different nights offer different entertainment, some have karaoke, some trivia check before you go. Hookah is pretty decent. They have a robust sports selection on the TVs as well. read more

I have been going to Sahara since 2005-06 somewhere in there. It's changed hands in ownership but the food has remained the same. The service is better now than it has ever been. Typically I order to-go but last night I sat at the bar and ate with Jesenia as my bartender and she was great! I had the same thing I always get = fried jibneh, kibbie and meat grape leaves, all of which were delicious. I've never been served anything that I didn't like at Sahara. They also have hookah of course but that's not really my thing. Definitely give them a try if you're in the mood for good Mediterranean food and/or Hookah. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Fried jibneh, kibble & meat grape leaves - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Tucked away off Beach Blvd. stands Sahara Cafe. I really enjoy coming here because of the friendly employees, who are first rate. They are attentive, knowledgeable and quick. My friends are down with the hookah, and occasionally I'll join them on the fun, though it's not my thing anymore. I love how Sahara does have a pretty substantial cocktail menu, but the execution can be hit or miss. I'd stick with basics like highballs or gin & tonics. Although the waitress was impressed by my Sazerac order a few times back, I regret ordering it, because it wasn't properly balanced. The atmosphere is extremely laid back. I think a fresh coat of paint and couches could make the space even cozier, since it's a little outdated. I will say, the staff do a great job at making people feel warm and comfortable, and I greatly appreciate their efforts. To me, it's a nice late night alternative when you don't necessarily want to sit at a bar, but have the option to sit in a booth or a bar. Bring your laptop, utilize their free wifi and have a hot tea, which is really soothing for the throat and the soul. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Sazerac - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Food is amazing, the lemon drop and green tea shooters are amazing. This place is a vibe. Wait staff could be more attentive on the patio. Lovely place overall. read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Chicken shawarma.. amazing - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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When I walked in I was greeted right away with a smile. That was the end of that. About 15min after being seated without acknowledgement, I finally had to flag someone down to grab my order...which by the way I knew about 3min in. While waiting, the greeter/server, bartender, and what seemed to be the manager made direct eye contact (followed by a look-away LOL) and I was seemingly ignored. Mind you, it was a busy night (trivia) but I was the only person without a hookah or a drink...not that hard to spot me. AND a couple of the servers were cleaning up after ppl that left, but no one else was waiting for a table LOL Once I was able to get a server, she was good. Came around often and I was at peace. She's the only reason why I'm not giving a star lower. At $8.99 for a mint hookah I thought this would be a new spot when I'm in town, but I think I'll avoid it instead. read more

I cane with a few friends to try! I read a bunch of reviews saying the fries are delicious and I absolutely agree!! They ordered chicken tenders and fries and honestly the chicken was amazing too! Amazing flavor! The hookah was nice i dont remember what they got but i think it was a mango mint blend, i arrived late so wasnt there for the order! But i would go again to try other flavors! Was a nice experience and the server did a great job checking uo on us and made sure we had everything we needed! read more

This Hookah Lounge is really nice, the food is amazing, the hookah smokes great and the specialty cocktails are a 10 out of 10. The staff are all really friendly and helpful too ! The music is amazing and they have an event or specials for every night of the week, round of applause for this establishment read more

I feel bad for people who don't have Lebanese food on a regular basis. And I feel worst for those that have their first experience here. I guess this place makes more money at the bar and hookah because the food sucks. It makes great pictures for IG but tasteless. Something about the gyro meat felt fake. I really could not place want animal it was from??? (I know it's normally made from lamb or beef - sometimes even pork), I have no idea what animal died for my gyro. Tasted more like time capsule fruit cake. Tzatziki sauce was plain and runny. It could have been watered down plain yogurt? Greek spinach pie is very easy to make. And here very easy to mess up. It was overwhelmed with lemon. I'm assuming someone washed the spinach down with lemon and never rinsed it off. It was marinated in lemon juice. So no one is tasting the food out back? (But see how well it looks in picture.) Lastly was the poor desert of Tiramisu. Only flavor that was below store brand whipped cream. Ladyfingers could have been stale rice cakes. (The only reason there was even a dessert was because I ordered everything all at once since it started raining hard and people were flooding in quick.) Didn't want my server to go missing. But after he delivered the food to the table he was never seen again. We had to flag down another waiter to ask for the check. After 2-3 minutes our original waiter comes back with check. Nice establishment aesthetically but the customer service and food left me salty ... actually lemony. I've given it two tries, if I'm back it will probably be just for the hookah. Or at least not on a Sunday. Last Note: There is a drink minimum for meals? This is understandable for groups sharing hookah but a little strange for those having a meal. read more

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I was visiting Jacksonville and I wanted to smoke hookah and eat good Mediterranean food. I found this place on google map and I as so pleased that I came here! Great staff! John was amazing! He helped with my dinner choice (I ordered the lamb kabab platter) my hookah was amazing as they don't mix flavors in the hookahs like most places. They do have an outdoor and indoor seating area and we they have a DJ on the weekends. They also use the Maya hookah (my favorite!) and they have the coconut charcoal. Would highly recommend! read more

Great food, better staff. Always a good time. Sit at the bar order a double apple and appetizers. We've never had a bad experience and we've been going since 2007. read more

While visiting some friends in Jacksonville, we decided to get hookah one night. I enjoyed this place overall. They have an indoor and a covered patio with heaters during the winter. Our server did a pretty good job describing flavors to us and suggesting base types that go well with a particular flavor. It's a good space for a small group, as there was one there celebrating a birthday. The inside seems like it can get a little crammed if you aren't willing to sit outside too. The only thing I didn't like was that if you just want a water, they will charge you for a bottle or demand that you buy a drink as well in order to just get a glass of water. A cup of water while I decide what I want should be given without the drama guys, c'mon. read more

Good hookahs, get the "coconut coals". Chicken tenders are really good here. Service can be a little slow.

Very bad restaurant with horrible food and horrible service! Those people are incompetent. We had to wait more than an hour for food that was not edible! They brought the soups after the main meal and the soup did not have any lentil at all, just water with no flavor. The lamb kabbob was uncooked, salad too sour, grape leave rolls were cold and old and without any meat. People, don't go to that place. We paid $ 60 and left hungry. This place should not stay in business. read more

I went with my friends and the prices are ridiculous.I ordered their 5.99 corn nuggets and water. They charged me $2.46 for A WATER BOTTLE (no refills btw) and my total ended up be $10.58. For 6 dollar nuggets and water. Not only that the total charge to my card was $11.58. The worst experience i ever had read more

It has gone way down hill since its glory days. The service is pretty bad between packing the wrong tobacco you ordered, not knowing how to tend to or set up the hookah correctly, and basically not waiting on the tables in their section. Its sad to see how this once gem is so empty now on weekends and evenings. The drinks are a pure rip off too, half of them taste like water unless you just order a beer. I hope they get new management, hire a decent bartender who knows how to make drinks, and get better staff that care. Sadly Jacksonville in general has terrible service and some of the worst outing selections to choose from. In many ways this "major" city only has that merit based off population but at its core its still a bit of a small town so unfortunately sub par experiences is sort of the expectation. Hopefully with so many transplants now that expectation demands more and other competiton can come in to make some of the small town attitude establishments step up its game. Right now Jax does not have a competitive nightlife or restaurant economy compared to other actual major cities, even in Florida, until this changes, I don't expect a lot of difference in the near future. Its true, this place can be considered a local hidden gem, its been around for a long time. But I have to ask myself, if this is one of Jax's hidden "gems" of a hookah bar, than what does that say about Jax? I would have pondered this further while smoking my hookah, but sadly they messed that up too. lol read more

There are times you need a go-to place that's easy. The atmosphere is consistent, the food good enough, and the beers cold. Sahara Cafe ticks all those boxes. I've been here for lunch, for a random beer, and in the evenings. Service has always been great and I can't think of a single problem I've had. There's something to be said for the workhorse bar that meets your needs when you want a relaxed adult beverage. If you were describing this place to a friend, it would be a local neighborhood pub that also happens to have hookahs. read more

Great hookahs always smooth. And all of the appetizers are amazing. I love the Mediterranean combo. It's a great place to chill with some friends. read more

This place is pretty awesome! I love the environment and the different choices of hookah.

Came into town to visit my best friend and she suggested that we go to Sahara for some laid back entertainment. The food, vibe and music was on point. Zach was our server and he was GREAT!!! read more

Sahara Café & Bar - Hookah and spinach dip - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Great food. Great service. DJ/Karaoke Ron rocks. Don't get why the short haired female waitress is the only one not following mask rules

i used to love coming to saharas, very chill place, good food. good hookah. but in the last year, the service has been absolutely awful. especially from the blonde girl. she doesn't come to check up on you but will go to people who she knows and smokes their hookah for 10 minutes. it can be dead or busy and she will still do that. i shouldn't have to flag her down through someone else. every time i have her as my server, i regret even coming. please do better. read more

If I could give this place no stars I would!! This was my first time coming here and the food was mediocre and they packed the wrong tobacco in my hookah. My server's name was Cayla and I have never seen so much disorganization from a server. She gave our table e numerous dirty looks and to make it worse, our party saw her smoking weed in her car. This is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE and I will be calling corporate. read more

I would like to start off by saying, if it were not for this haven to the overly tired server after her 9th shift in a row, I wouldn't have found my husband. But enough about that, the food here is top notch especially the chicken shawarma with taziki sauce! The hookah menu has a great variety but I must recommend the "Salty Bug" its the best. Bartenders here are definitely cool and keep the regulars coming back for a reason! read more

Another great experience @ Sahara tonite ... food , service, atmosphere, drinks , all good...chicken kabob over rice pilaf is to die for

Ah, Sahara Cafe. We really wanted to like you more, and would probably say 2.5 stars if pressed, but honestly, we had some issues. The good: Our waitress was very nice, attentive, and did a fine job. We had no qualms about the service. Also, the manager (?) came over to let us know they were out of cold grape leaves (dolmas). The not-so good: They were out of (at least) three things we tried to order, a beer, the cold dolmas, and a soup. We were there around 7pm and it wasn't crowded, so it's hard to imagine they were all sold out by then. Not a huge deal, but still disappointing. (If you know how much I loves the dolmas, it'll make sense.) OK, I don't want to make a big deal about this, but a couple folks on the other side of the place were getting freaked out by a "big bug" in their seat. Apparently, this was a palmetto bug. One couple left, and a few other diners got a little antsy, but settled in after being informed. I thought LDC was going to want to bolt no matter what when she got this news (she went over and asked the scrambling party), but she kept her cool. Our waitress said it could be related to the patio on that side of the room. You decide. I'm just reporting. We stuck it out over on our side of the restaurant. As for the food, LDC really liked her fattoush salad, the hummus, the labaneh, and the pita. I thought they were all fine, but wasn't blown away. Honestly, the hummus from 13Gypsies has made others pale a bit in comparison, and other places (Zaitoon) are also stronger. I had a love/unlove response to my gyro: the meat was delicious and I really liked the grilled pita, but I'm used to LTO and tzatziki sauce on the inside. It tasted quite good -- but was missing the tzatziki sauce. Put it this way, I'd easily order it again with that difference. But as is, I prefer the version at Hovan by a nose. Your mileage may vary. I enjoyed the 2-for-1 draft beer special (two tall Tuchers, a German hefeweizen). But I did not partake in the hookah fest unfolding all around us. It's funny how the vibe of the place changed during our time there, from a total dude ranch upon entry, to a 50/50 mixed crowd by the time we left. Go figure. On the plus side, they didn't charge for the gyro because of the missing dolmas. That was very cool. And again, the service was great. But the quirks made it a 2.5 star experience, and we aren't in a big hurry to revisit when there are other options around. No hard feelings, but not a real positive recommendation. read more