IH: Tell me a little bit about the lounge.

BG: Zeeba means beautiful in Farsi and we have done our best to provide a beautiful experience.
 

IH: How did the lounge get started?
BG: I'm originally from Iran. Hookah is common in that part of the world, but the idea didn't really take off for me until I saw how well received hookah lounges were in my travels around the world.
 

BG: I'm most proud of creating a friendly environment for people from different backgrounds to get together. I knew we were successful in our goal as I saw so many different groups sitting and enjoying hookah together.

After spending a Saturday night there I agree completely. What I found was a diverse blend of people enjoying a quality lounge experience, belly dancing, and light appetizers while talking with friends both old and new. Weekends at Zeeba's might not appeal to everyone however. As the lounge continued to fill with people, it became less of a lounge and more of a club. The music became louder and some of the local college students demonstrated that it’s possible to break-dance to Persian music.
Zeeba's has a thorough menu including soups, salads, appetizers, and a variety of drinks. Which brings me to the only real downfall of Zeeba's, the food. Portions are small, overpriced, and bland. When spending nine dollars on Kabobe-e-Jujeh (two small portions of kabob chicken), I expect it to be amazing, sadly it wasn't. This is offset in part by a reasonable BYOB policy. A dollar uncapping fee per beer or eight dollars per bottle of liquor helps to offset some of the concerns with the food. The downside to this is that any any extra drinks are stored in the kitchen, making you very dependent on the wait staff.
Service is hit and miss. During slower times waitresses are very attentive but as the lounge fills up you will find yourself continually waiting for service. After requesting the bill for four people on a Saturday, it was a full thirty minutes before we received the bill for one hookah and two appetizers.
In short, Zeeba's is a mixed bag. I wouldn’t make it my first stop of the the evening, but it seems like the perfect spot to end in. The staff is friendly, the shisha is tasty, and the hookahs are well maintained. When I am in Baltimore for the evening with friends we usually spend the end of our evening at Zeeba's catching up with friends old and new getting ready to head home.