That aromatic Middle Eastern tobacco smoking tradition has taken the city by storm
d ore, abound in Kyiv and they cater to every taste imaginable. While Egyptians in Cairo and Turks in Istanbul may feel very much at home smoking simple apple tobacco from a water-based pipe, that’s hardly enough to sate folks around here.
A Rose by Any Other Name
Like “A Thousand and One Arabian Nights,” Hookah has a thousand names: Nargile, Shishah, Hubbly Bubbly and Hookah to name just a few. By whatever name, it’s the Middle Eastern tradition of smoking perfumed or scented tobacco through a tall, ornate pipe filled with water, which serves to cool the smoke and makes it all a pleasant, if not sublime, experience. Hookah, which originated in what is now Turkey some 500 years ago, involves smoking apple, apricot, pineapple, or one of many other varieties of scented tobacco from a large water pipe. The bulbous glass base of the pipe contains water, or other liquid mediums (like champagne, vodka, fruit juices, or even cognac), to cool the smoke. The tradition quickly spread throughout the Middle East as a great social mixer, and many cultures now claim Hookah, Nargile or Shisha as their own. What makes Hookah so interesting? Well, for starters, that tall glass and polished metal pipe from which people smoke is pretty cool. The tobacco to be smoked is mixed with a fruit-flavored molasses atop the pipe then placed under a small sheet of tin foil with holes poked in it. Atop this sits a fiery red piece of coal to heat and burn the tobacco as you inhale. Long smoking hoses extend from the pipe just above the water basin, where tubes stick down into the chamber just above the water where the sweet white smoke cools before it’s inhaled. Another interesting facet of Hookah is that it simply must be shared; it’s a very social experience. You pass the nozzle around and around during any given Hookah session and typically you smoke as much as you feel like before passing it on – there’s just no hurrying this time-honored tradition. With Hookah all the rage in Kyiv as elsewhere, more and more restaurants are investing in dazzlingly colorful pipes and fruity tobaccos to sweeten the appeal of their respective establishments. Hookah smoking can now be found all over the city, though some places are definitely better than others. Whatever your level of curiosity, check out this leisure form whether to talk politics or business, or just relax with some easy conversation. Hookah’s a fine and elegant way to end off – or begin – any night.
Smoker’s Delight
Of the many Kyiv restaurants offering Hookah, there are only a few that will give you a good sense of the true smoker’s atmosphere. While cost is a factor in town – making it seem somewhat expensive – the overall experience is what you’re really going for, no matter the cost. And session typically lasts for hours. So bring along a small crew everywhere you go to attain the proper social atmosphere that is necessary to truly experience Hookah. A cool environment plus good people and Hookah equal one lazy evening of posh living.Marokana, Kyiv’s plush Middle Eastern-themed restaurant in Pechersk, is a popular evening destination for people dining out or just wanting a cocktail, but it also happens to be, naturally, a great place to smoke Hookah. My companions and I decide to try apple flavored tobacco with champagne over water (Hr 120). Champagne is one of the most expensive mediums through which to smoke Hookah, topped only by fresh exotic fruit juices or old cognacs. The seating options at Marokana include recessed corners away from other diners, and the gilded plush red upholstery along with the dim lighting make you think of some hidden corner of Morocco that Bogart never had time for. If you don’t mind on-lookers, Marokana makes for a great Hookah experience. Karavan, an Uzbek restaurant located on a residential street not far from Bessarabska, definitely captures the Middle Eastern atmosphere. The wall mosaics and furnishings, not to mention the ornate restrooms, are absolutely beautiful. Some small rooms also well decorated offer a nice degree of privacy, but the patio is much more inviting.The outside patio is a series of benches with a myriad of cushions and pillows with which to prop yourself up or to recline. The wooden framed windows are covered in soft curtains that hang low, but allow views of the street below. The effect is a more private outside sitting area than you would find in other most Kyiv restaurants. We choose apple tobacco again, but we went with vodka in the cooling chamber (Hr 80). After a short trial we peppered the waiter with questions. He revealed that it is not all vodka in the pipe, but a watered down mix of the national drink. Our suspicions confirmed, we sat back to enjoy a nice Hookah experience while beautiful belly dancers strolled casually by our table. We found Karavan to be more comfortable and spacious than Marokana, though the prices are very similar. When the Hookah pipe expired before the evening did, we ordered another piece of coal to enjoy our tobacco a little bit longer for an additional Hr 30. Other excellent spots to enjoy great Hookah include Middle Eastern-themed Marrakesh (24 Sahaidachnoho) in Podil and Opium Dance Club (1G Saksahanskoho) near Olympic Stadium. Recently closed Turkish restaurants Bosphor-Istanbul and Antalya once offered the city’s cheapest Hookah and the most casual settings for Hookah smokers. Let’s hope they reopen soon.
Up in Smoke
Modabar, located at Slip #6 on the river along Naberezhno-Kreshchatetska in Podil, is definitely not a Middle Eastern themed restaurant. This almost forgotten night club features a flashy electronic setting, a catwalk and a large, though often empty dance floor. However, if a night of dancing to funky live music with lots of elbow room followed by a relaxing smoke around the Hookah with friends sounds good, then Modabar might just be your ticket. Located at the back of this barge on the Dnipro is a two deck party platform with two full-service bars, a sushi bar and Hookah service to boot. The tables are just out of range of the pounding music – enough to relax and have a good conversation without having to yell at your friends. My group of Hookah smokers and I enjoyed apple-flavored tobacco again, not because it is the only option for purists’ (hardly), but because we wanted to have that taste consistent against the myriad taste differences between the water, champagne, vodka and then the cognac we decided to try here. The difference involving cognac for Hookah aficionados is slight in terms of taste (champagne, as alternate to water, was our most preferred coolant), but was easily the most costly. A Hookah pipe at Modabar filled with cognac will run about Hr 180, the most expensive smoke we had, but we never went for Marokana’s fresh-pressed pineapple juice (Hr 214) either.
Talk of the Town
Hookah can be found all over the city these days. Just look around at almost any club and quite a few restaurants, including 44, Shooters and 111 all offering the chance to smoke. The prices across the board seem to be fairly consistent, with water and juice being the cheapest ways to smoke Hookah followed by the vodka, champagne and cognac. So if you are out with a group of friends and are thinking of sitting around a Hookah discussing politics or just the daily grind here in Kyiv, try one of the above options for a good Hookah experience. Remember though that like anything popular, a Hookah pipe in a Kyiv restaurant or bar today means it might be hard to come by, depending on where you go and when. You might find yourself waiting up to an hour to get one. One trick is to come in for dinner and make your server aware that you would like a Hookah when you are finished. This could save you some time. Otherwise, just be patient, sit back with the Hookah and relax again.
Marokana
26 Lesi Ukrainky, 254-4999.Open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.English menu: Yes.English-speaking staff: Yes.
Karavan
5 Klovsky Uzviz, 290-9577.Open daily from noon till midnight.English menu: Yes.English-speaking staff: Yes.
Modabar
Slip #6, Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska, 416-7388.Open daily from 10 p.m. till the last customer.English menu: Yes.English-speaking staff: No.
