Rawshe Hookah Lounge & Cafe

I had high hopes and really wanted to give this place at least 4 or 5 stars, but there were just small nuggets of nonsense that added up preventing me to do so.
We went on a Friday night (Sat nights should be better, with the belly dancing and whatnot), so immediately as we step inside it seems that there are no staff around and are definitely not in a rush to greet you. As I walk all the way towards the back where the counter is, there was a dude sitting taking tokes of a hookah and just sort of glances our way and keeps smoking! I was like wtf is going on?! He then motions to another guy as he’s coming out from the back and he comes to the counter. He too is very nonchalant and not very helpful even after I told him this was our 1^st time here.
The next round of nonsense comes when he tells me «By the way, we ONLY have Watermelon,» which ironically is the more expensive set-​up (mind you, it wasn’t even late yet!). So I bite the bullet on that one and order the watermelon hookah with a flavor (I forget which one, perhaps the Classic Rawshe?).
We had brought a bottle of wine (it’s BYOB), so i ask them to bring out a bucket of ice with the hookah. After about 5 – 10 min the Hookah comes out… without ice. So I ask a female who worked there and she said she’d get it but she never did. Then I ask this busboy dude who was cleaning up for ice and he nods and disappears and also never came back with ice. Finally I had to get up and go back to the counter and ask for the damn ice bucket and they FINALLY give in.
The hookah we received seemed to not hit really well and I got tired of pulling so hard to get smoke that i gave up towards the end.
I will say a positive note was the atmosphere and the DJ. He was spinning Hip-​Hop and Reggaeton (which are 2 of my fav) and that surprised me. He was good and kept the place jumping with a mix of music. Because North Austin doesn’t have many jumping spots that stay open late, this place gets more points than they probably should. If there was more variety in the area, I probably would never go back due to the service, but unfortunately that wont be the case (for now).

Agree with a lot of reviews. Management is terrible. Worst customer service and prices are ridiculous for this area for what you get

If you enjoy paying ~$ 30 for charred shisha and ear-​bleedingly loud music you’ll love this place.
I’ll stick to the reasonably priced places that know what they’re doing.

From a management prospective they have the lowest customer service ever! From all the hookah bars I have been too! I’m from Chicago and I was surprised of their low customer services! I believe they need to hire more staff!
I’m sorry to post this, but it’s the experience I faced in there! Wish they can improve

Want to smoke a perfect hooka? Im arabian ! Went to austin and woooow ! This place is amazing ! Great hookahs. wonderful atmosphere, amazing workers… a little bit expensive but totally worth it ! 25 dollars for the hookah, Loved it.

Had to get 2 hookahs cause we had 4 people. Then 4 groups of 4 came in after us and they all ONLY got 1 hookah.
Also had to pay a bogus $ 5 per person to drink our own alcohol, never had to do that before.
Racial profiling, BEWARE if you are not middle eastern.
Never coming back, I used to love the place but no more.

This place doesn’t deserve even one star. My first trip to a hookah «bar» was laughable. The first impression upon entering the premises was the overwhelming stench that assaults the senses; rather like a disinfectant scent that cannot mask the odor of a restroom that has been left filthy too long. My friend and I waited a while before being approached by a waitress. After we were quoted what I thought was a ridiculous price, my friend called another friend to invite her to come meet us. While we were waiting for our other friend to show up, I paid a visit to the ladies room, which was indeed filthy and without toilet tissue. Upon my return to our table, we were waiting for our friend when the same waitress returned to our table and basically gave us an ultimatum to either place an order or leave. All this within the span of maybe 20 minutes. It was with pleasure I left this nasty, dark, smelly hole in the wall.

The hookah may be overpriced but it’s worth it. We had the apple flavor. The atmosphere was great but it was too spacious for a hookah lounge. Byob is awesome !

Been going here for years. They have never dissapointed me with there hookah quality and flavor.
Fruit heads and fresh flavor.
Rotana is a must to smoke

Olivia always is very helpful, knows me by name because I come I often, very sweet, always comes over to check on our hookah and see if my friends and I need anything else. My favorite hookah bar in austin (:

I used to frequent here a bit, but after some distasteful experience I stopped. It’s not that the hookahs are horrific, because I have had worse. It’s more so that the workers don’t know what they are doing. I have had to wait 35 minutes for a hookah, just to remind them that I didn’t have it, ONLY to get the wrong hookah and see another table get my hookah. Also, the wait for coals is so long, you have to restart your hookah.
The whole bit about, «You only get happy hour prices if you mention it’s happy hour» is horrible to me as well.
The atmosphere is more of a nightclub with chairs and tables with fire hazards all around. It gets packed in there like a Frat party, which for a lot of people going out to spend money on a hookah, isn’t what they are looking for.
This place could be so much better if they paid a little bit more attention to detail and their customers.

Nice place, super friendly staff, comfortable couches and convenient parking lot!!! This is the first time I visit Austin and I came to Rawshe for Hookah with my friend’s recommendation and it was really a great experience for me! Olivia is a great manager!

This place is really cool! This was my 1^st hooka experience it was super chill and laid back here! And it’s BYOB! The staff is very attentive they keep bring more hot coals! I would come back again!

This is a tough one. I’m going to be positive and give this 3 stars, but am tempted to go with 2. Here’s why…
The issue was not so much with the products but rather the service. You can probably gather from my reviews that I’m a people-​person and often choose places (or return to them) based on how people treat me.
I’d never been to a hookah lounge before — I’m somewhat of newbie to the hookah culture but had tried it at home several times. So I was looking forward to trying this place, especially since my guy told me about the fruit bowls!
We got there around 10:30pm on a Wednesday night — my guy said it was a bit busier than the last time he’d been here. The guy that helped us was nice, told us how the fruit bowls worked (we’d unsuccessfully tried it at home), and talked about the flavors before we made a selection and sat down. I’m not sure about pricing since I don’t know what hookah setups usually cost. We chose the apple with grape-​blackberry sheesha for $ 17.99. Since it was my first time there he even offered us each a hot tea.
The hookah came out quickly and I was impressed! The flavors were quite good and smooth, no tobacco flavor at all. Totally different experience than at home. But then, about 15 minutes in, the coals went out. Earlier we saw a guy walking around adding new hot coals but he seemed to have disappeared.
So we waited… and waited… and waited. We sat for at least 15 – 20 minutes before I went up and asked about new coals — the guy said they were heating up. At least we had the hot tea to drink and it was quite good. The tea bag said «alghazaleen tea» which I’d never heard of, but with the fresh mint leaves was pretty darn good, even without any sugar/​sweetener/​etc.
All the while more people came in the shop, two chicks sat at the bar two flirt with the guys working (or rather they had stopped working), and we noticed at least 2 – 3 other hookahs that had died and needed new coals. But still we waited. Eventually my guy went up and asked again — now there was a girl behind the register — she said the coals were coming. FINALLY, a few minutes later the dude comes out with the new coals. Ridiculous. Funny enough we had seen at least 2 new hookahs come out WITH hot coals… so wth?
I feel like we were more than patient, having to sit there at least 30 minutes or more, not being able to smoke the hookah that we had paid for. The hookah was good, the hot tea was good, the customer service started out good but became super disappointing in the end. As much as I’d like to return and give Rawshe a second chance, the service would have to be better.

I love this hookah lounge! Always have the best flavors! Best hookahs, khaleel Ma’moon to be exact! Those who don’t know about this ice chamber filled hookah complemented with a real fruit head filled all the way that will last you all night! Belly dancers on Saturdays! I also heard there is bachata nights during the week along with other events of different ethnic dancing! Definitely a cool alternative to typical hookah lounge!

This place is the best! It’s super legit. It isn’t like the other popular hookah lounges down town full of hipsters who go some where to be seen. Rawshe has a very intimate atmosphere and everyone who works here is super helpful. Its BYOB too! How awesome is that! The prices are very reasonable and the use fruit for the bowl. It really adds to the flavor. I recommend an apple with Code 360. The workers here come by often to give you new coals and they are great at recommending new flavors to try. This is my favorite hookah bar ever!

I haven’t smoked here, but I have smoked up the dance floor!
On Tuesday nights, Rawshe opens up their floor to bachata lessons and Latin dancing.
I came across this place when I ate at the Middle Eastern café in the grocery store next door and noticed the smell of delicious tobacco wafting near me.
While I had a blast during dance night, I will be back to partake in their hookah. Their tobacco menu seems plentiful and prices are decent, maybe a few bucks higher than I’m used to, but not astronomical by any means.
You can also BYOB so that’s a plus!
The guy behind the counter when I was there wasn’t the most talkative guy and almost seemed kind of rude, but whatever, I was there to dance, not chat.
Another plus? The Middle Eastern videos playing in the background. I love.

EDIT: 10÷15÷12
After a very long hiatus, I decided to give this place another chance. As a UT student who lives in North Austin, Rawshe is one of two places that I can go to on the weekends to smoke hookah.
So much has changed since I was last here. The customer service has improved significantly, and I bet that has to do with the new faces I see behind the counter. They’re doing something similar to a waiting and ticket system now, you can order drinks and your hookah first and then they bring you the bill once you’re ready to leave. But I still oblige by the old way; going up to the counter to get my stuff.
On Friday nights they have a live DJ play music, which is cool if you’re looking for a time to have fun and dance with your friends. It reminds me of a calmer setting of a club and a more upscale version of a café; sounds like a weird hybrid but it works. Coals are frequently changed out (though sometimes you might have to remind someone when the night is extremely busy, which is totally fine).
The hookahs have improved; flavors seem fresh and last longer. I suspect that they might have used to reuse the fruit bowls back then, but now it seems that is not the case anymore.
Of course I still smell like cigarettes and BBQ after I leave, but that’s just how the kitchen is built. Restrooms are still well kept. The improvements of this place have been reflected in the frequent customers; even on weeknights the lounge has a significant amount of customers out. Also, a poker table is now present.
Rami, keep up the consistent customer service and this place will continue to do great.
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Want a reasonably priced hookah rental? Amazing mixes and flavors? How about top notch, unbiased, consistent and friendly customer service? Do you prefer a comfortable atmosphere in where you are able to hear your friends without smelling the burning incinerator just a few yards away?
Sorry, this place is not for you.
The hookahs at Rawshe are overpriced for the quality of their bowls. The fruit bowls don’t really mix well with some of their flavors in their selection and they don’t last near as long as they should without tasting burnt. Their customer service is very picky; once we were sitting there for an hour and a half, waiting for a coal run. Customers should never wait that long for service. When we’re with a large group of friends, and several leave, they take away our hookahs according to the number of people that remains at the table.
Also, the backroom isn’t very well ventilated, so the smell of the burning coals trickles to the lobby and sticks to your clothes, making you smell unpleasant once you’ve stepped out of the place.
Positive? At least the bathrooms are well kept. The atmosphere and décor is pleasant, only that at times the music will be much too loud, especially on weekends.
So how should they improve? First of all, customer service. I won’t go as far as saying that they are racist or anything, but they certainly do favor frequent customers more than others. They should treat everybody the same, regardless of how they act or look. If they’re loud, rowdy high schoolers or calm elderly people, they should all be treated the same because they paid for the same service.
Secondly, $ 22 for a regular bowl? Seriously? If the bowls were amazing quality, then I’d understand. But they hardly last more than an hour, an hour and a half at most before the flavors die away. Maybe offer regular Egyptian bowls, or possibly even more experimental bowls in place of the fruit. That’d give reason to lower the price of the rental.
Overall, paying $ 22 vs. $ 15 for a hookah plus a bit of gas driving down south to Kasbah for a better experience is totally worth the difference.

A Starbucks like hookah lounge! I’ve been meaning to try a hookah lounge around the Austin area and this was the «closest» one to Georgetown. You drive down I-​35 south, exit Braker Lane and it’ll be in the mini mart plaza on the corner of Lamar and Braker. LOTS of parking. I knew what to find since there were pictures hereon Unilocal but I was still disappointed it looked so mini mart like with it’s flourescent lit sign and bland entrance. The interior does make up for it with it’s spacious environment and really high ceiling. They even painted the A/​C tubes and vents so had an Urban Outfitter quality to it. It definitely was the cleanest most streamline hookah bar I’ve been to. There’s booths with pillows on each side of the wall and regular tables in the middle… obviously the booths fill up quickly first. And two flat screens playing Indian/​Persian modern pop music videos. We were in the early evening so there was not man patrons there but by 10pm, people started to trickle in and the place did get louder. Definitely a place where the young’uns go (UT folks?). You order at the counter (there’s a menu there) and I simply ordered their most popular flavor (Rotana which is a mixed fruit with mint). I loved that they did have a nice variety of flavors to choose from. Only downside is the cost of one of these and shelled out around 20 bucks for the hookah! We only waited a few minutes until one of the guys working there brought us our hookah, he also started priming it for us. A big plus for this place is that everyone gets an individual disposable mouthpiece to use! SUch a great preventive health measure and good way not to get mono! I asked if they sold alcohol on premises but they do not… they have juice and coffee. BUT you can BYOB so definitely bring a bottle of wine, case of beer, etc. but seems like they want you to consume it discreetly for obvious reasons. Otherwise hookah + beer = a chill Saturday night for us.

I really want to like this place, but it completely misses the target. The ambiance is somewhat lacking in the décor and entirely depends on the friends I see there. The hookah is somewhat pricy but the selection is good. Service is good. Hours aren’t long enough. A lounge should stay open beyond 9 p.m.
I don’t like that the outside view is typical of any strip mall. To me, it looks more like a diner converted into a makeshift hookah joint. I wish them the best, but a little extra work on the décor might help take my mind off the location and interior of Rawshe’s Lounge.