This Hookah Sandwich Lounge Is Redwood City’s Buzziest Late-Night Hotspot

The Midnight Diners is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist Thien Pham. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene.

I’m no hookah food-pairing expert, but I never would have guessed that a hot Dutch Crunch deli sandwich, dripping with garlic sauce, would be the perfect match for an hour-long session with the shisha pipe.

But that is the premise — and the genius — of The Sandwich Spot in downtown Redwood City, a deli chain outpost that stands apart from all of its sister locations in two important ways: 1) it’s open until at least midnight every night (1 a.m. on the weekend), and 2) the restaurant doubles as a vibey, slightly raucous hookah lounge in the evenings.

When we walked in at around 10:30 on a Friday night, it felt a little bit like we were pulling up to the club. On the left was a regular old sandwich counter, and there was a full bar on the right. But most of the real action was happening on the restaurant’s spacious covered patio, where the sound system blasted Kendrick Lamar and a mix of upbeat, danceable Arabic pop music while colorful disco lights made the floor and walls sparkle. Here, and in the long spillover tent on the sidewalk outside, big groups of twenty- and thirtysomethings sat around just kicking it — gossiping, talking shit and, of course, chomping down on some enormous sandwiches. Every once in a while, someone would take a deep drag on their hookah pipe and blow out a thick plume of smoke.

The place was so packed and boisterous, it felt like every single young(ish) person in Redwood City was there.

Truth be told, even just having the option to get a good, fresh sandwich — especially a hot one — at 11 o’clock at night feels nearly miraculous in the Bay Area. (Plenty of customers came through just to pick up takeout orders to bring home.) With 30 locations mostly spread around California, The Sandwich Spot belongs in the Ike’s-like genre of uniquely Northern Californian deli chains, with its unusual ingredient combinations; quirky, localized names (the “Bumgarner,” the “Smokin’ Sequoia”); variously zesty, spicy and garlicky sauces; and excellent Dutch Crunch bread.

A sandwich called The Hangover was like a slightly funkified Bay Area take on a club sandwich, with hot turkey, cream cheese, avocado, “Bomb” sauce (like a tangy hot sauce), garlicky Kassi sauce, and a lot of crispy bacon — extremely satisfying on warm Dutch Crunch. The equally tasty Purple Koosh, an original Redwood City creation available only on Fridays, was a smoky variation on a similarly saucy theme, featuring house-smoked chicken, fried onion strings and a tangle of purple coleslaw. To round out the meal, we had air-fried Cajun fries, which came out hot and crispy even if they didn’t seem particularly Cajun, with a side of toum-like garlic dipping sauce — a nod to the restaurant’s Lebanese ownership, perhaps — that made everything taste five times more delicious.

All the while we fiddled, like the total amateurs we were, with the hookah pipe we’d ordered — trying and failing and then finally succeeding at getting a decent puff of the mango mint flavored tobacco that we’d chosen, the little cubes of charcoal on top of the bowl glowing bright red as we got deeper into the night. The truth was, we felt a little bit out of place at first in this crowd of mostly college kids and recent college grads. Call it “Portrait of Two Lonely Middle-Aged Men at the Hookah Bar.”

But even if we’d started out a bit dubious about the hookah/sandwich concept, it didn’t take long for us to get caught up in the mood. I’ll leave it to the medical experts to pontificate on the health risks associated with long-term hookah use, but the water pipe’s efficacy as a social lubricant and builder of community and feel-good vibes seems self-evident — especially among the young Arab Americans and South Asians who made up a large chunk of The Sandwich Spot’s late-night crowd.

Sitting out on one of the sidewalk tables, with a cool breeze blowing through, we watched all those big groups of friends laughing and talking deep into the night, relaxed as can be, taking big bites of their sandwiches and blowing out even bigger puffs of smoke. Before long, we were already planning our return visit — because past 10 or 11 o’clock in Redwood City, what better way is there to pass a couple of pleasant hours with friends?

The Sandwich Spot is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.–midnight, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–1 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–midnight at 2420 Broadway in Redwood City. After 5 p.m., when the lounge starts serving hookah, it’s a 21-and-over-only venue, and the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. daily.