Sam Cafe and Market

I was craving bubble tea and was happy to see the neon sign in front of this store advertising that they sell bubble tea. I had the taro milk tea. I though it was good and the tapioca balls were chewy and had plenty of flavor. The sweetness in the taro milk was just right for me. The service that I received was good.

Ive rarely had a bad experience at sams. Ive ordered food, smoked hookah, and shopped at the market. Food is great, hookah is good at happy hour and the market is nice. I buy all of my hookah needs here. They have everything hookah and hookah pen here

I recently discovered this place and its become one of my lunch time staples. Obsessed with their Zaban Sandwich. The cow tongue is always cooked to perfection. I usually get two because i skip the bread, its too dry and crusty for me but the tongue portion still fills me up. Ive had some other dishes too, the lamb shank is yummy and lamb kebabs were good as well.

Great food… really great food!

Yana is the greatest. Every time we go and she is there she always takes good care of us. Always nice and takes the time to talk to us.

Being a creature of comfort and familiarity, this place is perfect.
The staff in the grocery section of the store is always super nice and helpful. They have large selections of Middle Eastern breads, spices, rice, canned goods.
The food they serve is tasty! Always a lot. The Mac and Cheese bites they have are just… mouthwatering to think about. The specialty French fries are… mmmm amazing too! The wait staff is always on point and they remember good customers and greet everyone with a smile.
The hookah is excellent. If you aren’t happy, they’ll replace it with a new flavor. Natural coals available and quicklites. They’re younger wait staff and they enjoy seeing everyone have a good time.
I cannot rave enough about this place. It may look dingy to some but, that’s what makes it awesome. Hopefully one day they may find a bit larger of a place, but overall… I will be a repeat customer for as long as they’re in business!

Fifth visit in past couple of years. Be sure to try the gelato made in house. You will NOT go wrong with the Persian vanilla (infused with rose). Best evvveeerrrr. Better gelato than Mykonos, Greece. Really unique and eclectic array of foods, household items. Appears to cater to Iranian culture. Love it !
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I came here for the hookah bar at night. It was really small and cramped in here with people constantly opening the main door, messing in my fun with blowing smoke rings.

Very cool store. Pretty good gelato that they make themselves.
Walked around a bit, and looks like I can get my sumac here too, along with Asadur’s.
The spices and meat counter were enticing, and I’m still torn on giving a kabob a try.
I’ll be back. For what? I dunno yet.

This review is for market only. We went looking for turkish and bulgarian cheese that comes in a tin in refrigerator. They all looked rusty, and we asked the young man at front if they had newer ones. He said they only have what’s out so we decided to check expiration dates… they expired in 2012 and 2013… its August 2014 now. Scary… very scary. He didn’t remove them all! The prepackaged Turkish sausages had no expiration date, so I ran, not walked, away.

They seriously have everything here.
You can find seasonings, tea (the selection is huge, especially their Ahmad teas), spices, teapots, kettles, hookahs, shisha, bread, rose water, and various desserts. This is just a few of their items. The prices are extremely reasonable, to the point where you may wonder if they’re marked incorrectly.
They also have fresh gelato (try the Persian vanilla and/​or pistachio, you won’t be disappointed) and bubble tea!
The owner is a complete sweetheart and very helpful when it comes to picking out items.
Whenever I’m in Rockville, I make it a point to stop here and stock up on the necessities. It’s usually rose water and tea, but at some point I’ll cave and replace the douchebag Ed Hardy hookah I own.
Some point. :)

Umm no. Just buy ur own hookah and smoke at home. Definitely the worst seating worst tables worst layout ever! Went and came back.

Wide selection of many middle eastern/​mediterranean treats, but quality is only ok.

I thought it was a solid experience, I’m not a bigtime hookah bar goer, but the prices seemed much better than DC, the actual mechanics of the hookah operated well, my friends picked a good flavor, and the ambience was nice. This was on a Sunday night, so just the right amount of people. We tried on Friday, forget it, way, way too crowded. I thought the service was outstanding, they even comped me a beverage after they forgot to bring it to me, which I thought was great.

One of the very few Shisha/​Hookah spots in Rockville and probably the best. They have a myriad of flavors and use Fumari, al fakeer, starbuzz among others with the option to bring your own.
Their service is great and if the hookah isn’t hitting, they will simply replace it. The staff is quite knowledgeable and very social. We go quite often with a few self proclaimed hookah canisours so it’s nice that the place lives up to everyone’s standards.
Pros:
— In the summer months their outdoor patio is wonderful, although it is in a strip mall you don’t really notice.
— Service is quick, polite and the staff is very knowledgeable
Con’s:
— in the summer and fall months the place gets very packed very quick so finding a table can be hard — and like wise they sometimes cramp the place very tight

This review is for the hookah mostly–
By far the best place I have been to to enjoy Hookah. They have indoor seating for those cooler nights and outdoor seating for the nice summer days.
It is a bit awkward at first because if you have never been before, you seem confused about where to sit. I usually just find a place that is open. I have come with a group and as a date night and I usually never have a long wait. I have also come different times of the night. Of course earlier in the night calls for a better selection of seating but I have shown up at 11:30 at night and there is still a table open for my boyfriend and I to enjoy hookah.
I usually go on Saturday nights, where one server is absolutely the best. He always comes by to check on the coal, make sure we are good on drinks, and has great suggestions for shisha. He has even given me pointers on some of the add-​ons the use such as the ice tips. Since I own a hookah, I always like to talk to others who can give me pointers. Sometimes it is nice for someone else to set up the hookah and do all of the messy work with the shisha, and I would prefer that person to know the ins and outs to it all.
Their feel good tea is always my favorite drink there. It is a bit sweet but the sweetener is honey and not sugar. From what food I have ordered, it has been pretty good. I have had the shawarma a few times as well as hummus.
I also enjoy this place because music isn’t always blaring to the point where I can’t hear the person across from me talking. I like to listen to the music, and it is still loud enough to Shazaam if it is a catchy tune, but I like to talk to everyone around me still because it is smoking hookah! It should be a social time with friends.
One other thing I enjoy is that they card for the hookah. I know that it could be an annoyance but I can’t stand the young kids who obviously aren’t 18 taking up the space for people who actually are of age and want to smoke. I have seen groups of 6 or more come in and try to smoke even though not a single person was 18. They can just order one online like the rest of us did at their age.

Excellent place to enjoy hookah /​shisha, tea, and Persian food. It’s basically split into three sections:
1) the indoors store with all kinds of Persian food, beverage, and dessert products
2) the indoor, smoking only (no eating, because of local laws) area
3) the outdoor (covered by an awning) smoking and eating area.
My uncle and I enjoyed the Kabob-​e-​joojeh (skewer-​grilled boneless chicken breast chunks) with rice, Kabob-​e-​kubideh (skewer-​grilled ground beef) with bread, grape/​mint hookah, and hot tea. Everything tasted really good, and our server was VERY attentive. Replaced our coal 2 or 3 times; and stopped by other times to shift the coal around the shisha (and make sure that it was being evenly smoked).

I am just basing this review on the market section NOT the café. My mom buys her pumpkin seeds from here and she seems to buy them in bulk so Sam’s must got something going on. We have also bought other goods such as their cookies and baklovah as well as other pastries. The only issue with the pastry items here is you don’t know how long they have been on the shelf so they may be in good condition or stale. For this I would give them two stars but because of their gelato I give them an extra star. The gelato is creamy and not overly sweet. Majority of the flavors are good but some can be overpowering such as the pumpkin or the chocolate. The prices for the gelato are also expensive the small will run you $ 3.00 and is in a pretty small container.
I plan to try their café side so I can add on this review. Until next time Sam…

We had dinner here tonight, and it was a pleasant experience all around. The place is in a great location on the Pike, just a short hop from the Metro, and it’s nice inside.
We had the hummus, chicken kabob, and chicken kobideh sandwich. All were delightful. The hummus was among the best I’ve had in the area, and I’ve been searching for some good hummus for awhile. The pita it is served with was slightly toasted, which was something different, but it was warm and soft on the inside, so it was a plus.
Both entrees were tasty as well. I didn’t like that the sandwich came on a sub roll. It was a bit too thick/​bready. However, the meat was really good, as was the rest of the filling. I love a Middle Eastern sandwich with pickle in it.
We finished it off with some gelato. Both the chocolate and butterscotch were good. We’ll have to go back for the hookah and bubble tea, we’ll be there to try it soon!

Sadly I did not eat here, but the market was pretty awesome and I really liked the «Blue Mist» hookah flavor!!!
I will be back for food and gelato!