Amore Cafe

This past weekend we went to Amore Cafe. For full disclosure, a friend of ours works there. However, we are not the type to sway our opinion of a place for that reason, in fact we are likely to be more critical, because we know the level of customer service our friends are likely to offer their customers.

Belly dancer

Overall: 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Food: 5/5
Value: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Noise level: fluctuates from quiet to moderately loud
TV: yes
Wifi: No
live music/entertainment: some nights jazz band, some nights belly dancer

She says:
Amore Cafe has been around for a while, but recently has been under new ownership and management. It is a hookah cafe on the North west side of town, near Military and 1604. It is nestled in a shopping center with three busy nightclubs.

First Impression:

Our first impression, from the parking lot it has a nice sign, chairs and tables out front. We are not likely to sit outside because the view is mostly of cars. Management told us that they will be putting up an awning over the tables, and make it a nicer place to sit. However this would be a great place to sit if you like to people watch and check out all the folks club-hopping. The exterior speakers are a bit loud, likely to cover the sounds of the nearby clubs. Inside the music is somewhat softer, though the volume fluctuates with what is going on.

The inside is nicely decorated in earthy tones and jewel tones. Couches with patchwork brocade and pillows, with a bit of privacy provided by some beautiful screens gives you a sense of intimacy when sitting with your date and/or your friends.

Initially the music was a bit harsh and unpleasant - when I go to a restaurant with a particular cultural or ethnic background, I want to hear that culture's music. I love middle-eastern music, and the rhythmic drumbeats tend to help me relax. A quiet word to a member of the staff switched the music from 80's rock to what I was hoping to hear. So the tendency towards loud or jarring music is well balanced by the responsiveness of staff to the needs and requests of their patrons.

These wooden screens were nice, not a fan of the tv screens though.

The big downside for me was the presence of televisions playing the basket ball game. I don't know about other people, but for me, going to a hookah place is about smoking some good shisha, eating some good middle eastern food and talking and relaxing with friends. Sports games don't have a place in that - yet - with the location of this place, I can see where it appeals to some of the guests. I would recommend limiting it to one tv, or arranging them so it is possible to sit somewhere and NOT see a screen.

The Food:

Nomnomnomnom. Sorry - I have been dying for a good shawarma, as I have not had any since I moved from Houston, where I would get them at Droubi's. Naara, one of our other favorite places, does not offer it. So when I saw shawarma on the menu, I knew right away what I was going to order for dinner. The appetizer offerings were ok, but not a lot of what I like (as we know I am the finicky one), so we ordered the hummus. I am meh on hummus most of the time, but when we ordered it I mentioned that I liked the oil they put on it, and so they brought it to us and it was amazing. Best hummus I have ever had. The pita were on the toasty side, which went well for it - but makes them harder to eat once cooled, however they will bring you more pita, so all is well. It is also a great value at only $4, if I recall correctly.

The shawarma was excellent. Sliced chicken, garlic sauce, tomato and pickle (I asked them to hold the lettuce because I don't like hot lettuce) and the flavors blended nicely. Thomas got a different chicken pita sandwich, which was tasty, but I liked the shawarma better. It was a good price, and we added french fries because we weren't in the mood for rice. The fries were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. They were a bit on the salty side, but since the sandwiches were not salty it worked well together.

We enjoyed some Turkish coffee with our meal, only downside is it is served unsweetened, and so it took me a small cup or two to figure out how much sugar to add to get it where I like it - not a big problem, I was just used to getting it pre-sweetened elsewhere.

The hookah was interesting, as we decided to blend something different - jasmine and rose - very fragrant, but the jasmine is just a bit astringent and the rose couldn't balance it - so next we tried grape and rose on the recommendation of Cecelia, and it was...good, but not what I was expecting - I thought it would be more of a concord grape type flavor, but it was a muscat flavor - once over the surprised taste buds, it rapidly grew on us - I still prefer rose and raspberry - but the muscat grape offers some possibilities.

The Service:

The staff at Amore is focused on customer service. Jeanette was our waitress, and she was very polite and attentive. Brought out everything exactly as we ordered it, and kept our water glasses full. Frequently a staff member would drop by the table and see if we needed anything - sometimes that can be annoying at places, but they have managed to balance availability with respecting patron's space and privacy, and manage to ask in a non-needy non-intrusive way. Just a quick "How is everything? Can I get you anything?" and then they are off, and you are back to your conversation like nothing happened. We really like that - at the busiest point, we had at most a few minutes to wait in trying to get a staff members attention to get more coals, which is excellent.

Josh is pretty cool.

Overall:

We had a good time, and not just because our friend Josh works here. The other manager and the owner both came to chat with us and they are open-minded, friendly, and eager to provide an excellent experience for their guests. This place under the new ownership has a LOT of potential to be an outstanding chill place to hang out in the evening or late evening, and their plans for improvement are exciting. I recommend this place.

He Said:

Amore is the Hookah Cafe that Could....

The decor is nice and alters well with just lighting changes. Almost all of the tables are separated by gorgeous hardwood screens and it has a very tasteful contemporary feels that includes elements of Older Middle Eastern culture with just a touch of "hipness."

The couches were comfy and there were plenty of pillows to prop or adjust for personal comfort. The music was all over the map. American 80's and 90's when we showed up to "classic" Eastern music with a few modern sounding tracks. Till the belly dancer showed up and then it was just alternating too loud and then not loud enough. A suggestion to the staff was all it took to settle it down. They were very responsive to patron feed back.

2 big screen TV's dominated the room and even with the sound off were very distracting.

The crowd was a mix of slightly older middle aged folks to frat boys/sorority girls. Nobody made too much of a disturbing scene as you might expect with that kind of diversity.

Overall, it felt like a cool place that was just fighting to find it's own identity.

The food was really nice and in good portions for the price. I had the grilled chicken tawooka pita and Val got the Chicken shawarma. Both were very tasty and flavouful without being too alien in spices and texture.

We tried a blend of Rose and Jasmine in the hookah and it was a little harsh at first due to a combination of our inattentiveness and the staff's inexperience. A helpful young lady got our hookah all sorted out and everything was smooth.

Once again, in regards to the hookahs, a nice blend of contemporary and old school. The hookahs were just as nice as other hookah cafes I'd been to but had modern elements like no engraving or paint on the vases but the pipe part was very tasteful and modern. The Coal Guy was a little overzelous a couple times with our hookah but was quickly fixed.

Overall, Amore looks to have a good future. Being right in the middle of several clubs it offers an oasis of relaxation and if it decides to stay open late would make an excellent after hours meetup spot.

First it needs to settle into what it wants to be.

We'll be going back.

Naara Cafe

Greetings readers! Val here, hoping everyone is having a great Friday night. I am posting live from Naara Cafe. Thomas is not much for new-fangled data phones, so he will post his review later.

So here goes our first installment of "And that is what he/she said"

She said:
Tonight Thomas and I decided to go to Naara.  It is one of the places we go to relax.
I tend to enjoy Naara because it has the crucial combination of friendly wait staff, good food, and excellent beverages.

Naara is an excellent place to go when you want a light meal, to enjoy hookah, or just hang out with some of your friends.  They have board games, appetizers, pizza, sandwiches, meals, desserts, and a wide variety of drinks.

One of the things I find most interesting about Naara is that the atmosphere is always a little different. It is a great place to people watch, and has probably the most diverse clientele of any restaurant we go to. It is almost always busy, with people of all ages, walks of life, and ethnicity. Conversation can be heard in at least three different languages, and the crowd is always congenial. The only downide for me is that sometimes they are playing some great traditional or modern Middle Eastern music, and at other times they play pop/r&b like you can hear on almost any radio station. I prefer the Middle Eastern music by far. The patio is gorgeous, tastefully decorated in rich earth tones, with live plants and a merrily bubbling fountain. People gather, laughing and talking and playing games.

When we go to Naara, we are usually greeted by Sol Maz, the wife of the manager, Shayan.  They are usually omnipresent during weekend evenings, greeting guests enthusiastically and making sure every one has a great time.

Thomas sitting on the couch outside at Naara

Tonight we weren't very hungry, so we split a Combination Kabob Plate: four skewers of marinated lamb and chicken, served with Basmati rice, hummus, bread and house salad.

Thomas ordred black tea, I prefer sweetened Turkish coffee.  For shisha, we chose a mix of the house rose and raspberry.  This is one of my favorite blends, though next time we return we will choose something different.

In my opinion, the chicken was sublime.  It was very well seasoned, moist and tender.  Usually I prefer lamb, but tonight it was a bit tougher.  Still, it was well flavored and we enjoyed everything.

Akbar Mash-Dee (Persian Ice Cream) and Turkish Coffee

 The Turkish coffee tonight is incredible as ever, rich and sweet, without being cloying or bitter. The black tea is excellent too, full bodied and perfectly brewed.







Update:

Dessert tonight was wonderful.  We both shared Sweet Rolls, described as filo dough wrapped around cashews & walnuts and baked to golden brown.  They were delicious.  Crunchy without being messy to eat, lightly sweet, and richly flavored with just the right amount of honey.  We also shared Akbar Mash-Dee (Traditional Persian ice cream, with rose water, real cream, saffron, and ground pistachio.) This by and far is my absolute favorite dish at Naara.  There is not an easy way to describe this ice cream. It is floral due to the saffron and rose water, lightly sweet, with just a bit of earthiness from the pistachio.

 






He Said:
It was a long week at work. I was chained to a desk most of the week and really needed to blow off some steam. We decided to go to Naara. One of our favourite places to have dinner and hookah.

We were seated at one of the curved, padded benches that has a low table. There are regular tables inside and patio tables out side as well. This one affords some of the best people watching. We always sit on the patio. Everything is so relaxed and inviting out there. Stucco walls painted earth tones, black wrought iron ornaments, ceiling fans, and lights that blend to make the perfect ambiance for an evening relaxing. There is always a good cross section of people there. From the young soldiers trying to "out manly" each other (Been there and done that myself) all the way to multi-generational families (grandfather and grandson playing chess while everyone else eats and chats) they all blend in to make a rich tapestry of interactions.

Neither one of us was really hungry so we decided to split a combo kabob plate. It has very generous portions of marinated chicken and lamb char broiled to perfection with a fresh salad (lettuce and greens with a light vinaigrette. Garnished with crumbled white cheese and sliced green olives), Perfectly cooked basmati rice, tasty hummus, and fresh grilled pita.

She said the lamb wasn't up to par, I didn't see it. Tasty, moist, with perfect char marks and not over done. The chicken was the same. The hummus was fresh and full flavored without any one of the spices overpowering the earthiness of the chickpeas. Fresh. Grilled. Pita... 'nuff said there. What really stood out for me tonight was the perfect balance of flavours in the salad. I usually don't like olives, but decided to try them out with the salad. Whoa! They fit in and made an incredible balance to the greens. The whole meal was a balance of flavours that fit so well. If you usually eat your food one thing at a time, try mixing it up with this plate. You will taste new things with every combination.

I usually get the Turkish coffee, but on a lark decided to get the plain black tea.(they have a variety of flavoured teas available) It is served in a utilitarian stainless steel pot with a side bowl of rough sugar "cubes". (real lump sugar) The pot came with 2 attractive glass cups to serve into. I was hooked at the first sip. This was excellent tea. Last time I had tea this flavourful by itself was years ago at the Richmond Arms in Houston. Matter o' Fact: I even ordered a second pot. The glass cups are a great touch because of how beautiful of a color the tea is.

On to the hookah. All the hookahs at Naara are works of art. They even sell them up front. As well as coals and shisha. We got a blend that is a favourite of us both: rose and raspberry. The floral notes of the rose and the slight astringency of the raspberry ( it is real raspberry flavour, not at all "cool-aid-ie") makes a well balanced flavour that is enjoyable for the 3 or so hours we stay and hang out here. There is a separate menu for the varieties of shisha flavours they have. If you are unsure, ask the waitstaff. They are all very knowledgeable and can provide guidance. If you don't want to futz with your coals or just don't know what to do, they have guys walking back and forth every few minutes with baskets of hot coals to help or show you the process.

For dessert we got the Sweet rolls and Val got her usual Persian Ice Cream. The sweet rolls were great tonight, as usual. Each one a few hundred layers of tissue thin pastry with nuts and honey rolled inside. Each a little smaller around than my little finger and slightly crunchy. Val really likes the Persian Ice Cream, but I have to really be in the mood for it. It is very sweet and floral (being made with rose water and such) and can be a little overpowering. (But I don't like some Belgian ales for the extreme floral notes as well.) But their desserts are a great finisher for the meal because they are just the right size so you don't feel all "After dinner mint , sir?" finishing them.

All through the night the Manager Shayan and his Wife Sol Maz circle like a hawks (with smiles plastered on their faces). Their sharp eyes making sure that everything is perfect for their customers and ready to answer any questions or provide for your needs. The wait staff satellite from them so there is never a time you have to wait very long to get more of anything or have questions answered. You can tell that they derive great joy from making sure their customers have a good time.


As an aside:
We bought a hookah from there a couple months ago and are having some issues getting it to smoke right. Shayan overheard us asking one of the staff for pointers and he swooped over and said to bring it in with us next time and he will make sure all is right or fix whatever is wrong. Himself.



Great Food, Great Service, Great Place.
Naara Cafe and Hookah