Mumbai clearly loves its Hookah

History always repeats itself. We’ve seen retro coming back in vogue. Over sized glasses are uber cool, polka dots are in and so are funky shaped side-locks.

Hookah, too, is one such phenomenon.

Today, there is a hookah bar at every nook and corner of Mumbai. With so many options, how does one decide as to which is the best place to smoke a sheesha?

Well, some pointers:

1. Always ask which hookah brands are used. The two prominent ones in the market are Afzal and Al-Fakir. These are known to be of good quality

2. Some places always run out of mouth filters. This is a basic requirement, so avoid places that don’t have enough of  these

3. Insist that the server who will check your hookah for smoke is wearing a mouth filter

4. The concept of hookah is to comfortably enjoy your smoke for a good one or two hours. The place should be less cluttered and the music should ideally be soft, preferably Arabic. Avoid places playing loud Himesh music

In the end Hookah is all about comfortable seating, some amazing flavours, music, and a lot of conversation. Pick a place that allows you these.

And remember, anything in excess is harmful. So keep your hookah intake limited. This way, you’ll enjoy it longer. And remember, anything in excess is harmful. So keep your hookah intake limited. This way, you’ll enjoy it longer.

MumbaiCircle recommends the following hookah joins in Mumbai:

• Sheesha – Bandra
• Koylas- Colaba
• Mocha- Churchgate, Bandra, Lokhandwala
• U Turn- Bandra

P.S. If  you are game for experimenting, you can try some exotic flavours like Licorice or club any flavour of your choice with a base of milk, Red Bull, or even Vodka. A popular flavour is the pan-rasna. It gives you a taste of the Indian mouth-freshner, the paan (betel leaf preparation with exotic herbs and sweets).