Temple of Ankh

I went here last night and had an awesome time! They just opened so they don't have their liquor license yet, but the mint tea is divine. The hookah flavors are really fresh, we tried 3 different kinds. The specialty hookahs have really fun names too. Those were made with Fanta instead of water, never had a hookah like that before and it was awesome!

Came here 2 different times! And both times were great! I have seen some bad reviews here but I have not experienced nothing wrong. Those people must've had bad energy before entering, or are boring and are just too picky!

Pros: Cheap Hookah prices in the area, great flavors, free 1x coal refill, great lighting makes you feel as if you were in a club, great service, cold beers, owner is welcoming, owner plays DJ role and knows how to play different genres of music. At times allows requests for music!

Cons: price changes for a hookah can be from $12.50 one night and then the next it was $14. Also the hostess needs to cheer up a bit and have a smile on her face because she looks bored doing her job!

I would recommend everyone to come here with a significant other for a nice one on one date and share some smoke together for a good time! I came here with a group of 12+ on a Saturday Night at around 12 am and turned it into our own little party. It was empty when we arrived which was perfect and ordered 3 hookas and some beers! The price was right! We ordered Fruit Cocktail Flavor and a Peach Flavor! Both were smooth and tasty! The music that was played was upto date and mixed it very well! We were a Spanish crowd so we got a litte Spanish music played for us which was great! Other people came during the night and seemed like they had a great time as well despite my large group having fun!

Thanks again Temple of Ankh, I will visit again soon!

I had the BEST time at temple of ankh The Staff were great. I went there with a few friends and family to celebrate my birthday and i had a blast. The "Fuck You" hookah was the best and it had me light headed. If you come with a bunch of your friends and know how to party then you will definitely have a blast. The only down side is that they do not have a liquor license yet but who needs a drink in order to have an awesome time?
The food there was delicious and made extremely fresh. It is a new place so it not packed at all but nonetheless it is a beautiful place that you would have to experience for yourself.

Came here late on a Saturday night after dinner, and the vibe was so chill (think b-boys chilling in the dark, smoky hookah bar with sunglasses on). Ridiculous? Yes. Cozy? Absolutely. We got the Temple of Ankh special which came with five mystery flavors and milk base for a smoother toke. They also placed a whole piece of fruit (my friend says it was a pear) underneath the coals to filter the smoke and add additional flavor. I've never used milk or fruit during my hookah smoking experience, but altogether, it was delicious!

Drinks were STRONG! My rum and Cokes were more like rum with a splash of Coke, and my friend's glasses of whiskey contained generous pours. That's the mark of a bartender who's looking out for his people. And the fellow patrons surrounding our table were friendly and very conversational. Walked in expecting to smoke hookah, and walked out with the address of a great Vietnamese pork place by the Fung Wah bus stop. Random, yes, but people were spreading the good vibes. Cool place, chill night, and a whole lot of mellow love pouring out into the LES.

I came here because the owners, Sam and Wally, opened up shop in Ridgewood first and then expanded into Manhattan with Temple of Ankh. After Wally sold it, I'm sure not to go back to my local spot in Ridgewood because this one is even BETTER!!!!

First off, when I order my hookah, I simply tell Sammy to surprise me. He NEVER fails. The hookah is always fresh, delightful, and Sammy even has a few hookah smoking tricks in his repertoire! It's an absolute MUST for hookah lovers everywhere. More importantly, you don't have a hazy feeling walking in because of a smell of burnt charcoal lingering in the air, like most Astoria hookah spots. Their air filtration system is on point!

Usually on weekend nights a DJ is present, spinning the latest hits of a variety of genres, including Top 40, Dance, Hip-Hop, R&B, Mambo, Bachata, Merengue and Reggaeton. Hell, you might even see a girl or two dancing on the bar, Coyote Ugly style!

The craft beers and the exquisite wines that they have are AWESOME, and when they get their full liquor license, this place will be even better!!!!!!!!

I STRONGLY recommend coming here for the best hookah that you'll ever have had in the city. Sammy and Wally KNOW what they are doing. The girls, Arleta and Hillary, are great waitresses and will cater to your every need. They will treat you well, so treat them well right back!

Everything was on track for a solid, 4-star experience. A hookah bar in the LES was just what we needed to fill the gap between happy hour, and the 10pm when everyone else was going to make it out.

Plus 1 star for hookah with a wine base. We hadn't seen that before, even though my buddy and I had just come back from Istanbul, where they're still apparently behind the times and using plain ole water.

Minus 2 stars for the fact that a half-hour into our visit, New York's finest raided the place looking for "a Mexican". I've been mistaken for being Mexican before, so I got worried for a bit, but apparently it was an employee they were looking for. Our server abruptly told us the place was shutting down. There was no "sorry, we're closing, we won't charge you for this". It was more like here's your check, get the fuck out.

I would still come back another time though. People make ill-thought out decisions when the heat's on.

This is the first hookah place i've been to in NYC . I've been to a few hookah places in other cities and they usually have a relaxed sitting arrangement. Temple of ankh has soft seating against the wall , but facing the wall is a hard stool with no backrest and i really didn't feel like spending more than an hour here. There appeared to be no proper ventilation as well . There was a medium smoke screen when we entered , given that there were only about 3-4 hookahs being used , i think the ventilation could be improved a lot.

The hookahs and tobacco were again not awesome but i thought they were OK.
The music and lights were okay but the sound system was very average.
The people themselves were friendly.

Not entirely sure why people are so keen on this place. I'm chalking it up to the general quality of people who hang out in this section of the lower east side. They probably don't know what a good hookah bar entails.

Marks against this place start with the seating arrangements. Now I'm going to throw in a caveat: if you're coming here with just two people or a small group, then you might be fine. But the ONLY comfortable seating in this place is the plush stuff against the wall. If you want to sit across from someone, you get hard stools with no backs or these weird wooden thrones that take up too much space.

Our group of 8 had to move seats because they literally could get past the people sitting in the aisle bit.

Also, there's no proper ventilation in the place, which is key for a hookah bar. They had to leave the front door open even though it was chilly outside because with the door closed the smoke just sat there. This is not a good sign -- what are they going to do when winter hits?

The waitresses were nice but very inattentive, which is kind of asinine for such a small place that wasn't even full. We had to ask for coal changes 5 times at one point.

The hookah flavors are good to fair -- nothing super exciting, but there's a decent selection. The fact that their special hookahs are "secret" and thus they can't tell you what flavors they mix is also asinine. Like, really, it's such a special combo of mango and mint and jasmine that if the secret got out all would be lost? Get over yourself.

Food was so-so, drinks were so-so.

Given that there are plenty of hookah choices in this general area, Temple of Ankh will have to do better to get me back in this place.

I love this place! Me and my friends were in NYC for vacation, we randomly ran into this place! The owner Sam and his staff were absolutely incredible!! Great customer service! The decors were nice! And the hookah are really good! The special hookahs have fun names...! Highly recommend the "f*** you" on the hookah menu! The prices were very reasonable for NYC or even cheaper!
Me and my friends highly recommend this place and we will def be back if we are in NYC next time!

During my visit to NYC I wanted to find a hookah bar before I left. My friends really like partying in the Lower East Side, so I "Yelped" hookah bars in the area and came across this place. The number one reason I chose this place was because of a 20% discount they give off of your bill if you "check-in" with yelp.

It was super slow that night. There was 1 couple a table away from us, and they left moments after we settled in. So during my 1 hour stay there we were the only people there for the night. The waitress was really nice, informing us about the crazy hookahs that they had (which we didn't try.) However, I felt she was a bit more concerned with chopping it up and smoking with the other staff members. She hardly checked in with us.

What I did like was the set-up of this place. If there was more of a crowd I'd feel the ambiance would be dead on for a great hookah bar. They did refill the hookah at no cost which is a plus given that it's rare to find places like that.

I wouldn't say I won't go back, but I think a different night would have been better.