Oakland Cafe — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Best Hookah Spot I've ever been to!! I live in Chicago and will literally drive up to Milwaukee just to come here. The owners are by far some of the greatest people I've ever met (Note: I did not know them prior to coming to Oakland Cafe).

In my opinion, the key factors that make a great hookah lounge include: hookah flavor, music, ambiance, seat comfortability, coffees/extras, and friendliness of owners. Here's how Oakland Cafe stacks up:

Hookah Flavor / Smoothness: (5/5) -By far the smoothest shisha I've ever had. Ever. Props for keeping the hookah extra clean.

Music: (5/5) -Personal preference here, but I tend to like a mix of hip hop and middle-eastern music. That's exactly what they play, and it's always fantastic.

Ambiance (5/5) -Great lighting, dimly lit/lounge feel, great ventilation and an incredible crowd. Mix of many different cultures which is fantastic, and can double as a great place to work or study as well as meeting with friends.

Seat Comfortability: (5/5) -Very comfortable chairs and couches. LOVE the chairs. Kick your feet up and chill.

Coffees/Extras: (5/5) -Great selection of fresh teas, coffee (including Turkish, collectivo coffee and espresso) as well as small food items. And they might be adding breakfast soon 😉

Friendliness of Owners: (5/5) -Arguably the most important on this list, and these guys are the best of the best. Audey is incredibly friendly and welcoming, and makes everyone feel like family. Genuinely great people here.

Overall: 5/5 -...

I started coming here in 2016 and always felt comfortable and safe, the hours are perfect, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to work here alone and the prices are good. Although, the balding middle aged man thats worked here the past 1.5 years is blatantly rude and a misogynist. I gave him the benefit of the doubt the first 4-5 visits because we all have bad days. I also kindly, casually mentioned I meant him no harm, and we exchanged names and I thought we had a nice chat. But he also treated me this way the next time as well to the point I had a panic attack and was in the bathroom for a long time breathing to calm down and took my meds. I have PTSD and my visits were actually the only times I had been out of the house that year except to go to the store, and that’s why it was that much more disappointing to me because now I don’t feel safe here anymore and when I park here I’ve decided not to go in anymore, I love the business but am taking one star off due to his poor treatment, lack of accountability and cultural...

I waited to review this place till I came back to Milwaukee. Over summer I was recommended this place by a cousin. I was highly dissatisfied when I watched a man with a ponytail (who I now know is the owner) sit outside and throw a football across oakland with bunch of college kids who looked under 21 and almost hitting passing vehicles. I decided a 2nd chance cause I liked the hookah. On this recent visit i overheard the owner with a group of men talking about people in and around this business. extremely disrespectful and unprofessional. The owner seemed very off putting to any non Arabs who came into the business and wasnt very involved with running the shop more so sitting with his friends and having fun. As for the environment it is nice inside but the music is unnecessarily loud you cant hear anything. I really wanted to like this place as it's close to where I stay when I visit mke and has good hookah. But the owner and his disrespect and lack of concern for others ruins it. Save time and go to...