Café Layal

UPDATE: Looks like this place is not as packed as it used to be a few years ago. The food is not so bad anymore. The Burger and fries is pretty good. The garlic sauce that goes with it is a must. The soda here is very flat with no zing. 11/2007: people only go here for the hookah! food is mediocre. service is pathetic and the crowd is C-grade teenagers!

Not all bad, they did have decent Haloumi cheese and lovely Persian tea. However, I have to offer blunt criticism on the following points: my wife jokes that the reason the establishment is open late is because once seated the less than mediocre service staff forget that you are even there. That underscores the point that a gratuity of 15% is already added on to the check. I would rate the service among the poorest I have experienced. My spouse claims that I have been hooked to a Zabiha-o-meter which essentially she refers to a medical condition I have called edema. This condition is triggered by high sodium intake and, the main culprit being, non-handslaughtered meats. We have experienced this many many times; my face will swell up if the day/night before we have salty or non-handslaughtered foods. Suffice to say, the meat was very tough, a tell tale sign that the animal was not slaughtered by hand. I am sure the meats are HALAL. Poor atmosphere (lighting) and horrible air circulation mixed with grungy aesthetics earn this rating of POOR. Sorry, Cafe Layal, expect that you have lost at least 2 customers.

Could be a decent place to hangout but service is HORRIBLE. Servers are rude and they have no problem walking by you and pretend you are not even there! I made a mistake of taking some out of town guests over there...That was embarrassing to say the least!

I've gone to this place a total of 4 times, and I've finally decided to boycott it for good. PROS: The place is open late i.e. 2am, which means you sometimes have no choice but to end up here. The shisha/hookah prices are good for those interested. The kefta kebab plate is a decent entree CONS: The halal status of this place is very suspicious; there is no apparent mention of halal anywhere on the menu nor restaurant. Moreover, there is alcohol served The atmosphere is sub-par, and like everyone's been saying, it's an ideal lounge spot for teens. Not a family atmosphere at all. The food is very average. Hummus is mostly stale. Don't ever try the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Serving is prompt, and the place is almost always packed I have friends who love this place because of the "chicks," but frankly, even that comment hasn't been vindicated

I don't like this place: the food, environment...nothing is good. P.S. Hookah is haram and gross.

i don't know if people realize that hookah is not halal and is worse than cigarettes. this place shouldn't even be on zabihah.com. also its just a high school/teen hangout place

Halal food in an un halal environment. Makes lots of sense. Do not waste your time, dont go here.

The burgers are amazing but the rest of the food is average. Not a very family friendly place. It is usually packed with teenagers smokin it up. Service isnt very good. Basically hookah lounge.

Halal Foodie

Apr 16, 2008•52 reviews

2

This is basically a hookah lounge, not a place to take your family. The service is very bad, sometimes we dont even get service, and have to get up and go ask for service. The place is always packed, but with teenagers just smoking. The food is nothing great. I have stopped eating there, because I heard it wasnt halal. First time, we asked the owner if it was halal, and then he said yes, and asked where he got his meat from, and he refused to tell us and gave us very bad attitude. The second time, we had the waiter ask him if it was halal, and he said it was, and claimed he gets his meat from Amanah meat market, I dont know if it exists, but its still doubtful.

pretty much a hookah bar. Good food but extremely slow service.

Salem, I will be honest, I have never been there but I planned to be there once. However, I have seen on some websites that they have women dancers there from time to time. I will not invest in such mediocrity. Who will go there to consume halal food and see women dancers! Does not seem consistent to my mind. Will never go or recommend somebody to go.

Clean place. But different items had the same taste. Not impressed.

great hookahs and at a great price

Good food, good desert. They have some interesting fruit drinks. They also have hookah if that's your thing. They have open wifi for your laptop. All their food is halal according to the staff. They do not serve alcohol from what I could see.