Zulu's Shaka Bar & Plush (imo Malta's Best Hookah Spots)

[mathuv]

Well in Malta we dont really have hookah lounges, more like bars/clubs which also serve shisha. This is a review on two of them.


In Paceville (Malta's nightlife area) there are about 3 or four places that serve hookah. I only go to two personally (heard bad things about one and the other has no chairs) When I go to a hookah place first thing I do is have a chat with whoever is preparing the hookah (theyre usually all middle eastern. pretty nice guys) I find out what coal theyre using and what shisha. So here's my reviews.

Zulu's: Here they use nakhla tobacco and natural, bulk coal. A hookah is about $10 with a no person limit. Tables are small so I would suggest maybe 3 or 4, MAX 5, per hookah. The guys are pretty nice and you can talk to them about anything (one of them was even talking to me about his uhhh..."relationships" ) Their selection consists of pretty much the entire nakhla list of flavours. They use Egyptian 32'' (Large) hookahs. For no extra cost they'll put wine or whiskey in you vase. Water isnt changed often though, maybe once a night. If the smoke gets too thin or too harsh, you can ask them to come over and add/remove coals as nescessary however when theyre busy this could take up to 10 minutes. There is usually 1 or 2 guys packing hookahs there. One night, they were so busy he asked me to start up 3 hookahs, wash a hose and light my own coal (they were out of natural and using quicklights) some German tourists thought I worked there and kept asking me where they could sit and how much a hookah was Only downside about this place is that everyone has to buy drinks. So here's my final verdict;

Smoke: 7/10 (not too thin but pretty good)
Flavour: 6/10 (can get burnt)
Shisha: 5/10 (nakhla)
Coal: 7/10 (bulk wood charcoal, it could go out on you if they put coals that have been burning for a while)
Price: 9/10 (cheapest place in Paceville, not counting the drinks price)
Atmosphere: 8/10
Friendliness of staff: 9/10 (just make sure you're over 16 and buy your drinks at the bar as soon as you get there or youll have waitresses hassling you for drinks)
Overall: 7.5/10


Plush: This place is more of a nightclub than a hookah lounge but there are tables outside and some comfortable soft chairs slightly inside. I've recently started going to this place, since last summer I think. People are friendly, staff are always willing to give you tips and advice when you ask them. Drinks are a bit expensive though but they're optional. Again, there is no limit on the amount of people but I would suggest buying 2 hookahs if you're a group of more than 5, to make it fair on the place. They use nakhla tobacco too and quicklights. Their hookahs are large 32'' egyptians and some smaller 28'' syrians. The place is very strict on their hygene policy, they give you a mouthpiece in a sealed plastic bag and wont hand you the hose until its on. I wouldnt recommend taking it off. They use around 15-20g of shisha in their bowls, poke large (perfect) holes in the foil and use 2 quicklights per bowl. For the first 15-20 minutes the flavour is perfect but then it starts to get a bit harsh so I just purge it a bit, take a few small puffs and re-purge, that normally does it for me. in extreme cases,I take off the wind cover and blow the ashes into the tray and move the coals a bit with my keys.(I wouldn't recommend doing this unless the guy knows you well enough) What's really good about this place is if something breaks, you dont have to worry about replacing it (I wouldnt recommend breaking things though). The group I was with broke a hose once and we panicked and left. Next week he was annoyed at me because I didnt go tell him we broke it, he would have replaced it for free (my fault for not telling him) All in all this is a great place, only comments are the fact that they use nakhla only and that they use quicklites.

Smoke: 7/10 (for the first part theres some nice clouds)
Flavour: 5/10 (gets burnt after a bit)
Shisha: 5/10 (nakhla)
Coal: 5/10 (quicklights)
Price: 7/10 (forgot to mention a bowl here costs $13, no people limit)
Atmosphere: 9/10
Friendliness of staff: 9/10
Overall: 7/10

I think out of the two it really depends on personal preference. I usually go wherever my friends want to go. If anyone is coming down to Malta this summer I'd recommend trying both of them at least once. The nightlife in Malta is fantastic, in summer with all the foreign students who come to learn english Edited December 29, 2007 by mathuv