Aagh Hookah Lounge — Restaurant in Maryland

DO NOT GO HERE! I have never been so disrespected in an establishment in my entire life. I had not gone to Aagh since pre-covid. I was a very avid customer - ever since their initial opening before & after it burned down. I walked in with my friend & both the manager & another employee were seated & both did not even greet us. I saw a sign at the front & a QR code & was a little confused. It took the manager a while to realize a little help/instruction would be appreciated. He finally got up & told us that we had to scan the QR code to fill out a form regarding covid. This is the FIRST time I had ever done this at any establishment, as I frequent MANY hookah lounges in the DMV area. I have had my temperature checked, & been asked questions about covid, but that’s it. So establishments shouldn’t assume everyone walking in will understand & know their procedures. We walked in & I was surprised to find the back room with the swings closed - I asked the other employee why it was closed & he scornfully said “we’re cleaning it”. I was taken aback by his tone. I went to use the bathroom, only to find feces in the toilet. Didn’t you say you were CLEANING? We ordered, smoked & got up to leave. Shocked to find the total for one hookah came out to $40! Apparently, they charged an extra person's fee of $20 because my friend & I shared a hookah. I asked the employee about the fee & why nobody informed us & he started lecturing me on the waiver we signed at the entrance, saying we would be paying this amount for the hookah. He continued, in the most demeaning tone, that I didn’t read the form & I should know better about reading things before signing them. He then started comparing this situation to a stop sign saying “you know how a stop sign works right”? He absolutely belittled me & I am not one to tell people my profession, however I am a PhD student, a professor & a Fed. To be belittled by a man on probation working at a hookah lounge that doesn’t hold their employees accountable for any of their actions was absolutely foul. I proceeded to tell him that the waiver said absolutely NOTHING about paying $40 for a shared hookah. I asked him to show it to me. He goes back & scans the waiver & begins looking, lo & BEHOLD - it’s not anywhere on the waiver. He goes on to tell me “well it’s written on the menu”. Excuse me? Who reads the menu at the hookah bar. They don’t offer food, so there was no reason for me to look at the menu. He proceeds to scold me by saying I should have read the menu. Seriously? He tried to then tell me how this was a covid practice & that I don’t keep up with the laws & regulations. Funny because my field is in public health & I have been studying public health since 2010- don’t teach me about public health regulations especially when he wasn’t even wearing a mask. I told him you’re not wearing a mask & he said “I’m standing six feet away”. I asked what his problem was with us the second we walked in here. He just walked away. oh, HE SAID HE WAS THE BOSS! I found out later was a flat-out lie. I left the hookah bar & got in contact with the manager. He informed me that this wasn’t the first time this employee has gotten complaints. If you have gotten this many complaints - so why is he still there? At first, I really thought the manager was on our side & he insisted on inviting & arranging for us to come back in to speak to the owners with him. I went & picked up my friend from DC. She came & slept over & we got ready to head over. I texted Tay the manager to make sure everything was in order - come to find out the employee was there & the owners weren’t!! Are you kidding me? How on earth did he think it would be appropriate for us to go in & have this conversation about the problematic employee while he was there. I told him that we changed our entire plans to come in & have this discussion & be heard. He promised that the owner would contact us that night- nothing. I got a call from the owners very late in the evening the following day. At that...

Great prices and atmosphere but I was disappointed. When we walked in we were not greeted . We did not know you could sit any where . Staff recommended the blueberry mint and I would not get it honestly we had swapped it out asap . All the chairs in the back lounge need to be cleaned all the velvet chairs and sofas were stationed. The lighting allows you to not notice a lot but close up you can see it Ahs not been cleaned or even deep cleaned . The walls need new paint and to be cleaned. Most of the tables wobbled bad and the glass on the table moved. The lower setting area was nicer but most the couches were ripped. I did like that they used disposable hookah tubes but all night I saw staff throwing trash into the trash can and pushing it down with their bare hands . I would go back if changes were made . If it was cleaned more often I would highly recommend. Also liquor stores around there close early so keep that in mind , it is byob and no cover but it a lot of parking and...

The hookah itself was not bad. The ambience was not bad up up until a loud television was turned on when a large group appeared. However, the service left you feeling you were not wanted there. They were supposed to close at midnight, but they allowed 2 groups of people (one of the groups was mentioned earlier) to stay later and prepared the rest of the patrons to leave by coming over and removing our hoses. The people working clearly favored these groups and largely "forgot" our requests until requested again. I can only assume these people probably knew the owner or the owner was among them or they paid more, but it definitely wasn't a good look to show that kind of preferential treatment. At least another group noticed as well and they discussed their displeasure outside the...