10 Best Shisha in Penang: Exciting Island Hookah Experience

I spent a week working my way through Penang’s shisha scene, from Arabic restaurants in George Town to beachfront bars in Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bunga.

Penang after dark smells like sea air, hawker food, and apple-scented smoke. The island has quietly built one of the best shisha scenes in Malaysia, and it splits into two worlds.

In George Town, a wave of superb Arabic restaurants pairs proper Middle Eastern food with hookah until the early hours. Out on the coast, beach bars and rooftops hand you a pipe with your sunset. I ate and smoked my way across the island to find the spots worth your evening, and these ten are the ones I would send anyone to.

From a UFO-themed rooftop to a beach bar with a fire show, here is where to go for shisha in Penang.

Table of Contents

Levant Restaurant By The Sea

Levant takes the George Town Arabic formula and puts it directly on the sand at Batu Ferringhi. Eating mezze with your feet near the beach, lanterns overhead and the sea a few metres away, is one of the more memorable shisha settings on the island.

The beachfront location does a lot of the work, but the kitchen holds up its end with a broad Middle Eastern menu, and there is a fireplace and private dining room for cooler evenings or bigger groups. Order shisha after dinner and let the sound of the waves take over.

Address: Ground Floor, B1G2, Ferringhi Bay, Jalan Batu Ferringhi
Opening hours: 11 am–2 am
Price: around RM40 to RM160 per person
Best for: beachfront dinner and shisha at Batu Ferringhi

Halab Penang Arabic Restaurant

Halab is where I would send a first-timer. This George Town Arabic restaurant on Lebuh Chulia has become one of the most popular Middle Eastern spots on the island, and walking in you understand why: the room glows, the grills are stacked with mezze and meat, and the shisha menu is long and properly done.

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The food alone justifies the trip, generous plates of grilled meats, hummus, and fresh bread, and the shisha is smooth and well-packed. It is polished enough for a special dinner but relaxed enough to linger over a pipe for hours. Reservations are worth making, since it fills up fast.

This vibrant lounge easily ranks as one of the best recommendations for shisha in Penang if you want a premium evening vibe.

Address: 381, Lebuh Chulia, George Town
Opening hours: 9 am–3 am
Price: around RM40 to RM120 per person
Best for: a full Arabic feast followed by a long shisha

Damas Penang Arabic Restaurant

Damas, on Jalan Burma, is the one to book when you are hungry and travelling in a group. It runs an all-you-can-eat format alongside its à la carte menu, and reservations are recommended, so it rewards planning ahead.

The spread is generous and the room is handsome, all warm lighting and Middle Eastern detail. With shisha added on, it turns a meal into a full evening. It is the kind of place where a group can settle in, order too much food, and stay late over the pipe. The spread is generous and the room is handsome, all warm lighting and Middle Eastern detail.

With shisha added on, it turns a meal into a full evening. It is the kind of place where a group can settle in, order too much food, and stay late over the pipe. You will find that pulling up a chair here perfectly answers the question of which spots offer the smoothest shisha in Penang.

Address: 114, Jalan Burma, George Town
Opening hours: 11 am–1 am
Price: around RM20 to RM120 per person
Best for: an all-you-can-eat Arabic feast with shisha

ASALA Arabic Restaurant & Shisha Lounge

ASALA puts shisha right in its name, and it earns it. Over in Pulau Tikus, it strikes a lighter, more lounge-like note than the grand George Town restaurants, with live music, happy-hour food, and even vegan options on the menu.

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This is my pick for a mid-week, low-key session. The prices are the gentlest on this list, the vibe is relaxed, and the live music gives it an easy energy without tipping into a full club night. A solid all-rounder for food, drinks, and a good pipe. Unwinding at this venue is one of the best ways to experience quality shisha in Penang without dealing with overly chaotic crowds.

Address: 370, Lebuhraya Maktab, Pulau Tikus
Opening hours: 3 pm–1 am
Price: around RM20 to RM40 per person
Best for: an easy, affordable shisha night with live music

Zalqa Penang Arabic Restaurant

Zalqa, tucked into Penang Times Square off Jalan Dato Keramat, is a reliable all-day option, opening from mid-morning for those who like their shisha with a long, lazy runway. Outdoor seating, a private dining room, and high chairs make it flexible for families and groups alike.

The Arabic grills and rice dishes are hearty and satisfying, and the outdoor seating is the spot to settle in with a pipe. It is unpretentious and consistent, the sort of place you end up returning to without quite planning to.

Address: Penang Times Square, Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town
Opening hours: 10 am–3 am
Price: around RM20 to RM60 per person
Best for: a relaxed, all-day Arabic meal and shisha

Sphere Rooftop Bar

For shisha with a view and a sense of theatre, Sphere is unlike anywhere else on the island. Penang’s first UFO-themed rooftop bar sits atop Chulia Mansion Hotel, all cosmic blue lighting and moon-surface decor, and it serves premium shisha alongside its famously inventive cocktails.

The drinks list is a showpiece, with cocktails built from wasabi, Chinese tea, and wild mushroom, and the open-air rooftop is a genuinely fun place to smoke as the George Town lights spread out below. Come for the cocktails and the cosmos, stay for a pipe under the stars. The unique ambiance and extensive flavor menu found here capture exactly what makes up the ultimate list for shisha in Penang.

Address: 403, Lebuh Chulia (rooftop of Chulia Mansion Hotel), George Town
Opening hours: 6 pm–2 am
Best for: shisha, creative cocktails, and rooftop city views

Cocktail Society X Tipsy Tea

This George Town cocktail bar is the choice for a livelier, drinks-led night. It pairs a strong original cocktail list with shisha and karaoke, and it lets you bring your own outside food, which quietly makes it one of the more flexible hangouts in town.

The cocktails are the star, genuinely creative and keenly priced, and the shisha slots neatly into a fun, social evening rather than a formal dinner. Round up a group, take over a corner, and let the karaoke do the rest.

Address: 72, Lebuh Presgrave, George Town
Opening hours: 5 pm–1 am
Price: around RM40 to RM60 per person
Best for: cocktails, karaoke, and shisha with a group

Beer Lab

Beer Lab brings shisha into a craft-beer and live-music setting. Set in Wisma Boon Siew on Jalan Penang, it leans into an outdoor, band-driven atmosphere, with a bar menu to keep you fed while you drink and smoke.

If your ideal night is cold beer, live music, and a pipe rather than a formal meal, this is your spot. The outdoor seating and rotating live acts give it an easy, unfussy energy, and shisha is there on the menu when you want it.

Address: Ground Floor, Wisma Boon Siew, Jalan Penang, George Town
Opening hours: 5 pm–2 am
Price: around RM20 to RM100 per person
Best for: craft beer, live music, and a casual shisha

Laguna Bay Beach Bar

Down on the sand at Tanjung Bunga, Laguna Bay is the beach-bar answer to a shisha night, and it markets itself, fairly, as premium shisha by the beach. Bean bags, a classic 70s-to-90s soundtrack, and a nightly fire show set the mood.

The setting sells it: ocean breeze, sundowner cocktails, and a fire performance that is genuinely one of the best on the island. The food leans Italian and the drinks menu covers cocktails, beer, and fresh coconuts. Grab a bean bag, order a pipe, and let the sunset and the fire dancers do the rest.

Address: 527, Jalan Tanjung Bunga, George Town
Opening hours: 4 pm–12 am, closed on Monday
Best for: beachfront shisha with a sunset and a fire show

Chulia Court

Chulia Court closes the list as the most central and one of the longest-running venues on it. Set in a 100-year-old shophouse facing the Love Lane junction, it works as bistro, bar, and George Town’s most central late-night club, with good shisha in the mix.

The Peranakan-meets-retro interior is a joy, the happy-hour draft beer is a bargain at around RM10, and as the night goes on the lights dim and the place turns into a dance floor. Start with a pipe and a cocktail early, and you are perfectly placed for wherever the night goes next.

Address: 355 Lebuh Chulia, George Town
Opening hours: 4 pm–12 am
Best for: central shisha that rolls into a late night out

Top Rated Shisha in Penang

For a proper Arabic feast with your shisha, it is Halab, Damas, or Zalqa in George Town. For the beach, Levant at Batu Ferringhi or Laguna Bay at Tanjung Bunga, both with the sea at your feet. For a view, the cosmic rooftop at Sphere. For a drinks-led night, Cocktail Society or Beer Lab. And for an easy, affordable session, ASALA in Pulau Tikus.

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A word on doing it sensibly: shisha carries real health risks, and the healthiest approach is an occasional, shared one rather than a habit. Many of these venues run late and serve alcohol, so plan a ride home in advance, and tip the staff who keep the coals turning all night.

Penang’s nightlife runs on a lot of small, family-run spots, so spreading your custom around keeps the scene as varied as it is.

ROLLING GRACE

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