Hannah’s Lounge and Grill

This was our first visit to Hannah’s Lounge and Grill (not to be confused with the long-​gone Hannah’s Bistro that had been in Boca Park). This Hannah’s has been open only about six weeks.
It’s located in a strip mall on W. Tropicana, right off the 215, so it’s very easy to get to. The restaurant fronts on Tropicana, and is directly across from the Sears/​JC Penney/​Target mall.
We found it on
, and six of us (three couples) went for dinner last night.
As you enter, turn left and you’ll find the bar and Hookah Lounge. Because of the hookahs, smoking is allowed, but not in the dining room, which is to the right of the entrance.
The dining room is a huge room, nicely, but not lavishly decorated. Tables have white linen cloths. There’s a full bar menu — the martinis and mixed drinks are the standard prices, but the beers are CHEAP ($ 1 – 2!!!), and a glass of house wine is $ 5.
We were dismayed to find that we were the only customers in the place, and didn’t know whether that was because it’s so new, because the food sucks, or because it was 114 degrees outside and nobody wanted to leave their homes! Happily, it wasn’t the second reason.
Our server was Tresa, a young, pretty Egyptian. Our party gave her a very hard time — some of our friends are brutally demanding — but she was unflappable. She was terrific.
John, the bartender, was equally accommodating, and kind of acted like the manager in the absence of the owner.
The food is Lebanese, and cooked to order. We started with a couple of plates of hummus, which we loved. The pita was unusually thin, and could have been a little warmer.
My husband and I both ordered the chicken in cilantro sauce, which Tresa said was people’s favorite dish. Most of the entrees are priced on the high side of moderate — the chicken was $ 18.99. It came with soup or salad, and rice or vegetables. One of our group had the lentil soup and said it was fabulous. Another had the vegetables. They had an unusual Middle Eastern seasoning on them, and they were truly spectacular. Our Cilantro Chicken was very spicy, which wasn’t noted on the menu; we loved it, but our friend, who ordered it, too, had to send it back, since she doesn’t do spice. But I was glad that I had ordered rice, because the sauce and the spice needed the rice to absorb the flavors. The rice was a large portion of pilaf, with slivered almonds, very tasty and not overcooked.
Another friend ordered the Kafta Kebab, and that was the best dish of all. Even though I loved the Cilantro Chicken, I’ll have the meat the next time — it was that good!
The friend who sent back her spicy chicken had it replaced with plain grilled chicken to go with her dinner salad. The salad, by the way, was a nice portion of fresh romaine, cuke, and chopped tomatoes, with a flavorful dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and mid-​East seasonings. Her chicken was well-​seasoned, juicy, and cooked just right. But another friend, who ordered the same thing from the start, had chicken that was overcooked and dried out.
One of the non-​drinkers ordered decaf coffee and raved about it. Turned out it was made fresh by the bartender in an espresso machine!
One disappointment was that there was no belly dancing performance, which was advertised for Friday and Saturday nights. I hope when we return, which we will, that it won’t be 114 degrees and that there will be more customers. The restaurant has no website yet, so it’s not showing up on any Google searches. And the phone number listed for the place on
is wrong! If you want to go and need to call, get the number from directory assistance. Also, the hours listed have changed, and they are open for dinner only.
All in all, we really enjoyed our evening at Hannah’s, and hope that people find out about it, so that it’ll be there when we want to go back.