Karizma

Hmmm… where do I begin?
I’m not saying I am a hookah aficionado or anything, but not so long ago I considered myself an expert when it came to all things shisha/​hookah related. I was invited to Karizma for a friend’s surprise birthday celebration. I got here pretty early (around 9pm on a Tuesday) and was waiting for my friend and her party to arrive.
Atmosphere: Location is everything. Karizma isn’t located on a busy main street so it’s pretty easy to find. When you’re walking towards it from the outside it looks a little… what’s the word… sketchy. However, when you step in, you’re transported elsewhere. There’s a bar towards the back, fully stocked, and a ton of lounge furniture by the entrance. There is also an upstairs, which I didn’t check out. Unfortunately, only a few of the couches were actually comfortable and pleasant in appearance. Pleasant in appearance? Yeah, what I mean by that is, only a few couches didn’t have holes on them (I’m assuming from coals being dropped) and looked like they were comfy.
Service: When I first walked in, I wasn’t immediately approached by anyone. However, I spoke to the waitress and let her know I was waiting for friends and asked if I could see a menu. She was really attentive the entire night, however, it is important to note we were like the only group seated downstairs. When I paid for a hookah and drink I was surprised with the service charge they had on the bill, since I wasn’t sure if that was automatic gratuity or just a miscellaneous charge.
Food: I didn’t have any so I can’t comment on that.
Drinks: I wasn’t in a drinking mood so I just had a Heineken, which was just okay. They have a very extensive list of beers and they all range from $ 7 — $ 10, I believe. Pretty normal for midtown Manhattan.
Hookah: I ordered a mint grape hookah from the Al Fakher (don’t quote me) options. I was pleasantly surprised and loved the flavor! Price was about $ 25, I believe, which is pretty normal for Manhattan.
Would I go back? I think I’ll stick to my spots in Astoria, however, if I find myself in the city and in the mood for hookah, I would pass by again.

I really love Karizma and it was a lucky find! I had just finished a late lunch with a friend at Gyu-​Kaku (50^th and 3^rd) and we hopped onto our trusted Unilocal App to find a hookah lounge nearby and Karizma popped up! We had never been to the lounge so we didn’t really know what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised.
The lounge has three levels with couches on the 3^rd level. The couches have holes, I think maybe one too many drops of the coals, but they were comfortable. There are televisions on each level which were tuned into March Madness… score! The music was current and lively without being too loud. The lounge is low lit which is pretty relaxing. The service was excellent… we had our coals refilled numerous times without an extra charge. The tip is included in the bill so no need to do any extra math after a relaxing fill of hookah!
The hookah flavors we order were AMAZING! We ordered the jasmine, rose, and pineapple flavored hookah with an addition of mint (+$ 5); this brought the total up to $ 33. Pretty steep price for hookah but we got our fill with the constant replacement of coals. The flavor combination was great and very relaxing. I am more familiar with fruit flavored hookah so the herbal flavors were a welcomed and celebrated change.

I really like this place. sleezy, tacky décor is dope if you ask me. dark place that has cool vibes and cheap happy hr domestic beers and food was kinda ok.
MORE PITA BREAD WITH HUMMUS PLEASE.
Staff and accommodations are great — service fee is applied to bill so beware. always pretty middle eastern/​eastern euro waitresses who are warm and friendly… live belly dancing (though i’ve never seen it)

Hookahs are awesome ! Ambience is great. Tried Grape mint hookah. Service of staff is nice too. But it is of course the New York Price to pay for ! Hookah ranges from $ 22 – 35. Nice place !

Every time I visit NY I stop at Karizma. The hookah is reasonably priced and the service is great. I love the atmosphere and the variety of great music. I will be back ! By far my favorite hookah lounge in NYC!

This place is nice and not only nice the guys working here give you such a good costumer service. I love hookah and this place was just right for me.

Visiting here from California, searched for local hookah places, this one Was a perfect choice, everything was great, the hookahs clean and hits perfect, food and smoothies perfect
Really can’t say much more, when I’m back in NY, I’ll definitely come back here

Surprisingly nice place despite the backdoor Chinese massage exterior. Of course, it was cheesy, with 80’s disco lights and funky persian-​style couches, but had a decent vibe. Music is rather loud but since the place doesn’t get too packed you can get a good conversation in. Waiter/​Manager guy was definitely weird and wouldn’t let us sit anywhere else even though all the tables were open. They haev a full bar and lots of hookah flavors though.

Stupid and rude bartender. We went in this afternoon as we were walking down the street and saw their happy hour sign stating $ 4 USA beers. My husband ordered a Goose IPA and I got a Blue Moon. When we got the check the Blue Moon was $ 7 because the bartender said it was a Belgian beer, not US. I showed him on my phone that it was infact made in Colorado. Unfortunatley he decided to be extremely rude and argue with me that it was from Belgium because the label says Belgian White on it (nevermind that directly underneath it states «Belgian Style Beer»). Learn customer service and learn your beers!

There aren’t too many places to hang out, honestly, near the UES, and even Midtown East. Usually I go to the LES to hookah, but this place was close, so I decided to check it out. The front is a bit shady looking, but once you go inside, it’s actually really nice. There is a front portion, back portion, and a large second floor. There are nice plus couches and tables, so great for groups. A few flatscreen TVs are on the walls, which I actually didn’t like because it took you away from that middle eastern hookah lounge experience. Oh well.
The prices are very reasonable for the different types of hookah. I got the mint watermelon, which leaves… well…a minty taste in your mouth. It’s nice! Make sure to get Moroccan tea with the hookah. It’s all very well priced, and service was good.

Went to this place last night and it was pretty cool. At 1^st i walked in and thought damn the music is good but y is it so dead on a saturday –_​– I asked for a table for 2 and they took us upstairs and it was packed upstairs n the music was a PLUS because it was good. The person that was waiting on our table was a bit busy but everything I asked for he bought and didn’t take forever so i gave him a good tip for that since the service waa on point.
Thier hookah was pretty good as well. Didnt eat anything there but i did have some 2 drinks and 2 shots, plus the hookah and the bill was like $ 94, didnt think it was too bad.

Great hookah spot in the city — furniture and lighting give it an authentic middle eastern vibe, drink and sheesha prices are reasonable, music is varied (I’m talking everything from EDM to bachata), and coals are rotated/​replaced often. Will definitely visit again next time I’m in NYC.

Came for some hookah last night and I loved the hookah. We ordered the cheeseburger and had beers and it was a perfect ending to my night and my friends birthday party. We got the watermelon mint hookah and it was really good.

I love this place! I been here many times with my friends even sometimes I go by myself. Very good food. I love cob salad, nachos and fried calamari, mojito. Everything is fresh and they serve it very fast. Waiters are friendly and nice. Hookah is good, sometimes not, it depend on guy who make it, but most of times I like it, couple times I can say I don’t like hookah. I love that this place open till 4 am everyday. On weekends they have belly dancer))

NEVER AGAIN! I’ve been to this place a few times and loved it. Only had hookah and drinks up until last night. We ordered mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, & chicken tenders. The chicken tenders were severely undercooked (please see photo) I took two bites before I even noticed what the inside of the chicken tender looked like. Our server was deeply apologetic and removed the food from our bill. But we will NEVER return to this establishment again. Customers can become severely ill (I’m currently experiencing stomach pains and nausea) by eating undercooked food similar to what was served to us. I’ll be sure to post the picture and message on my FB and Instagram so all of my friends, who I recommended to this establishment, will be aware. I’m disgusted.

I like the hooka but the service is the worst !
I will never come back here again !
We asked one of the people here to move us to another table (that was empty) and he said that u cannot !
He didn’t seem friendly at all.

I ended up coming to Karizma on a whim, not knowing if it was decent or not. Sometimes in NYC, hookah bars are super shady… this one was far from it and actually pretty awesome. Don’t be fooled by the outside, inside it’s massive and the décor is romantic. Rose petals and candles everywhere! They blast great music, have a belly dancer getting the people up and dancing, and an excellent hookah flavor selection. The wait staff is very attentive and always brings you new coals and you feel very well taken care of.
Though I didn’t eat at Karizma, they have a lot to choose from on the menu. The drinks are good too. They have a lot of wines, beers, cocktails, etc. I had the red sangria and it was excellent.
My recommendation is to come here and snag a table upstairs. Downstairs is more lounge-​y, and upstairs is a little more date-​like. Either way, you can’t go wrong. I’m pleased to say I found a solid hookah spot in my area!

This is my joy. This is my pride. This is my hidden shisha joint.
Really, I only like this place because this is my equivalent of the Cheers diner.
⁹⁄₁₀ times they pack an great bowl. They have food. They have a sickeningly long beer selection. Their service ain’t bad for a shisha joint. I also come here at least once a week.
I recommend their strawberry mint in a pineapple.
Now please don’t flock here when I’m here.

Nothing disappoints me more than bad hookah, poor drinks and automatic 20% grauitity for less than attentive staff. Sound system was terrible and constantly made those awful glitchy speaker noises throughout the night.
Karizma joins the many Manhattan hookah bars that serve expensive weak hookah. Seriously, just go to Astoria and get the real deal for half the price. For $ 30+ I expect a good pull and to actually taste some kind of flavor but got none of that. Drinks were typical Manhattan prices and weak so stick to beer.
Staff were somewhat present but could easily have a conversation elsewhere because they’re getting a 20% tip no matter what!
The only redeeming qualities: Décor is kinda cool plus the venue is spacious. Two floors of lounging around and plenty of space to dance… if people do that. I stayed to 1am on a Saturday night and didn’t see any of that. I think it’s best to avoid this one and keep it moving.

Went here lastnight 12/​12/​2014 with 2 of my girlfriends. The place was dead n had about 8 people in there, i guess its because it was sunday. The hookar was horrible. I bought buffulo wing i got fried chicken. We left after a hour. walked to a bar called blackheads but it was close 11:45. Why idk. so we went to wicked willy’s, thats the spot. the balled head fat guy upstair needs to work on his personality
2Stars.hookah
2stars.service
4stars.food
5stars.atmosphere