Hookah Lounges in Des Moines

Des Moines is the largest city in Iowa and the one with the deepest nightlife, from the Court Avenue bars to the East Village, but its hookah lounge sits just outside the city line. Chicha Shack at 5954 Ashworth Road in West Des Moines, near Jordan Creek and about ten miles west of downtown, is the metro's one dedicated hookah room and has been trading since 2004. It is rated 4.1 across 168 reviews, opens at 6 PM every night, closes at midnight from Sunday to Thursday and 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, and prices sessions at $20 to $30. It runs coffee, tea, cold drinks and snacks alongside the pipe rather than a bar. Nothing else is listed inside Des Moines itself, and the reason is Iowa's Smokefree Air Act, which has banned smoking in almost every enclosed public place and workplace since 2008 and leaves very little room for indoor hookah anywhere in the state. The other Iowa rooms are a long drive: The HaZy HideAway in Cedar Rapids, about two hours east on I-80, Ayshah's Hookah Lounge in Sioux City, about three hours north-west, and Habano Hookah Lounge in downtown Davenport. Iowa's tobacco purchase age has been 21 since July 2020.

A Chicha Shack session is an evening one: the room does not open until 6 PM and it serves coffee, tea and soft drinks rather than alcohol, so plan it as the night's destination rather than a stop on the way somewhere. Mint, double apple and grape lead the menu, a bowl runs 45 to 60 minutes, coal service is included and tipping the attendant is customary. Go as a group: a shared pipe is the norm and $20 to $30 splits well four ways. Iowa's smoking rules mean there is no bar-with-hookah option in the metro, so this is the room, and it is worth the drive from Court Avenue.