Been here several times, a solid Friday-night hang if you want to drink and mash buttons at the same time. The beer selection is the real strength: great craft and specialty options, way more thoughtful than your average bar, which tracks, since the bar is how these places actually pay the bills. Now the gripes, because I've got a few. The game selection could be deeper, and too many cabinets have broken buttons or dead joysticks. Nothing kills a round faster than a stick that won't cooperate. And here's my real beef: the token system. You have to buy Barcade coins to play, and I'll never understand why. Just take quarters like a normal arcade. I've got a pile of leftover tokens I'll probably never use, and I've absolutely tried to pay for a beer with them by mistake. Crowd skews undergrad with a scattering of millennials clinging to nostalgia (guilty as charged). Fun spot despite the nitpicks. Just don't expect every machine to be in fighting shape. read more

Went back for round two! Some new games were added, and the beer list is amazingly extensive. Such a great place to grab a beer and enjoy the good ole' days of an arcade . read more

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I came here for good vibes and met some pleasant friends while at the bar. I described my drink palate snd was recommended the Saint Marks Sour (unique to this location!) which was fantastic if you prefer tart/sour over sweet drinks. The bartender Aliyah was super personable and friendly throughout the night and made sure I was taken care of! Management was great; Javi handled any problems with the machines quickly. I enjoyed playing the multiplayer pacman and jaws pinball machine. Other games that stood out was crazy taxi and monkey ball. I have yet to play every game so i'll have to come back to test them out. All in all, this barcade is a good time, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it for couples interested in some light, competitive fun. read more

Love Barcade and this location is no exception! I appreciate all the little nooks to place our drinks, and was so happy to see they offered Bold Rock. The game selection here isn't as wide as some of their other locations, but is also tucked on a pretty busy street. Definitely fun to stop by with friends, and don't skip their phot booth! Really kind bartenders and security staff too. read more

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Casual spot, perfect for friends or a bigger group! Come for the drinks or the games, or both. Friendly but hands-off staff and makes fora great, relatively low-cost evening out. read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Cool retro bar with arcade games inside as well. There is ID check at the front and conveniently, a water bottle stand nearby too as outside liquids are not allowed. Prices are reasonable and the options are good. There is a quarter machine to exchange bills for the games. Lots of classic varieties from pinball to space wars and racing games. Fun place to hang with friends on a night out and play old school games. read more

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I usually don't leave reviews due to it not being that serious but whoever the pink haired woman is at this establishment left a sour taste upon walking in. I asked her for the pricing and she just kept staring at me as if I'm an inconvenience. She eventually gave me my tokens and is demanding to pay while I literally have my phone out to tap to pay, she snatches it, taps and scuffs off after giving me my phone and what I can only assume is them bickering about what happened to her co-workers left me bothered and unwanted. In the end, me and my guests kept ourselves to the ends of the arcade until it was time to go. Games are cool and responsive, staff is another thing. 100% try another location. read more

This is a great spot to hang out with friends and play some games. I believe each token is .25 and I love playing the vintage games. The pac man 4 player game was super fun and we all had a blast. read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Went here multiple times with my ex-boyfriend on dates and we always had a really good time but we had one instance where the bouncer wouldn't even look or scan his ID which we never had a problem before as we're both 25. Other than that, the drinks are always really good and the games are really fun and they have really good buffalo wings. read more

I came here just to play some games and grab some drinks and it was a decent spot! The interior of the place is pretty dark and filled with lots of old arcade games for you to have fun at as you grab some drinks. Loved the pin ball machines and the old fighting games. Overall, a great casual spot to stop by with friends or on a date! read more

Barcade - Interior - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Fun vibes! But this is a relatively small location, it gets cramped. They also don't have any driving games probably because of space constraints. Nice rotating beer selection too, but the food was a bit underwhelming. read more

Barcade - Cheeseburger Slider - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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A fun arcade bar tucked into the heart of East Village with tons of awesome, retro video games -- it was surprisingly large, albeit a bit narrow so it was hard to move to the back since both walls were lined with games. It was busy on a Saturday evening, but not so busy that you had to wait a long time for games. This location is closest to me, but would totally visit another one if the games are as plentiful -- they had so many of my favorites, including Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, Street Fighter and Donkey Kong, to name a few. You get a lot of value from the games, since most cost a quarter to play -- for $10 in tokens, we got a whole night of gameplay. I'll be back again soon! read more

Barcade - Galaga - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Went here after seeing a comedy show a couple places down. It was actually very fun my friends loved all the games, me included. Me and my friend got Moscow mules and they were very good not too sweet. We also ordered the fried pickles and oh my gosh they were amazing. Drinks are cheap, games are fun I definitely would recommend checking this place out!! read more

This place does not allow food or drink from outside so they will make you leave it by the door. They also check IDs and bags at the door I'm a little torn on this one. The place was way too crowded and a few of the games didn't work but they did take your money. The games are all retro arcade games & that was cool to see a bunch of games we never see elsewhere The drinks were not that great. I had a peach ish mocktail that was unbelievably sweet that I didn't end up finishing it but at least they had a couple non-alcoholic options other than water They have food but nowhere to eat at except the bar which was crowded all night so we didn't get any food Most games are $1-3 which was kinda pricey on some and a fine price on others. They have a token exchange machine to give you tokens for games We stayed about an hour and played a plethora of games like pacman and galaga and it was an interesting way to end our day but I probably wouldn't be hanging out there on the regular read more

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I really love the midtown Barcade but this location was a bit underwhelming. I was here a few weeks ago and all of our food was burnt. My friends and I ordered at two different times during that night and both orders were burnt. Fun selection of video games. The space is smaller than some of the other locations so they make it work with the space. Given the location I was expecting it to be a bit more crowded on a Friday night and was relieved that we were able to get seating. Service was a bit slow but the pacing was better as the night went on. read more

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Prefer the midtown location. More open space, and seemingly more games. Most arcades token operated...taking 1-2 tokens for most games. Tokens can be purchased from machines throughout the space at 0.25 cents each.. (4/$1, 20/$5...). Service at the bar and front door were good. Our ID's were checked upon entering at 3:30pm. Not sure if this was for all locations, or specfically for downtown as our ID's were NOT checked in midtown earlier that day. Great beer selection. Beer prices were fair (for NYC) at about $9. Pints for the more common weaker stuff (under 6% or so) and 10oz. pours for the stronger stuff. Given the average prices for beer and food, you'd definitely want to go there for the games...think of it is an arcade that serves beer and food...not a bar/restaurant with an arcade. A better happy hour special (currently it is $1 off beer) may attract bigger crowds. read more

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While I enjoy all other barcade locations, as a native new yorker there's no doubt that St. Marks is the only one I try to avoid. I don't know what it is about this location -- maybe the stoop crack kids that stress them out every other minute of the day -- but this is the ONLY one that treats its incomers like we missed out on the VIP guest list and need to jump through hoops. Making someone take out their state ID after giving you a US passport AND adding a line up of questions regarding the passport and ID details, despite belonging to the same person in front of you? none of that leads me to believe you turned them away for assuming they were high on weed. of a group of 3 loud ass women, and 6 men, they basically treated the only quiet one of us (naturally) like they were going through TSA and THEN got nasty with the women of the group and denied us access for asking why the bouncer felt the need to interview our friend and make him take our both forms of identification if he was under the assumption that he should deny our friend access. Just say you're at capacity if you're going to lie. read more

This is a great bar if you are interested in retro-arcade games. The service and bar-tending was great and accommodating. The main attraction is the large variety of arcade games, but they were slightly underwhelming. The games felt like a money grabbing machine, with each game requiring more coins after a minute. One quarter of NBA Jam requires a new set of tokens which felt disappointing. The music is great, and its a good time with friends and company. I wish they had more multi-player games, and its also a great place to meet new people. The drinks menu was very diverse and my friends loved it. Also I tried some of the strongest ginger ale I have ever had, and it was great. read more

Barcade - Indoors - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Wanna retro game and do some drinking in the East Village? Bam! Welcome to Barcade! Holy crap there's a lot of old school games here. 3 pinball machines, dozens of upright games including several shooting games like Terminator 2. A giant, 4-person pac-man tabletop game. There's even this super-bizarre torture game that's a shooter that was super disturbing! That said, bunch of classics here like millipede, dig dug, etc. crazy long hours and good drink prices, and most games took 1 token (.25$). I ended up donating almost 1/2 of mine because I couldn't use them fast enough. Great place! read more

Barcade - Doing it up old-school! - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Such a fun spot! My partner and I came early evening on a Saturday night and had a ton of fun playing the games. It was fun and nostalgic! Beer and tots were fairly reasonably priced, and the tots were among some of the best I've had in the city. SUPER large portion. I could see it getting crowded at times which would make it difficult to play the games you want to, but for the most part we had a minimal wait for the ones we were most interested in. read more

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3.5 / 5.0 - I came to Barcade with colleagues for our holiday party this year. If you want to go back in time to the 80's or love arcade games and are in the East Village, you should check this place out. They have cheap arcade games which you use tokens for and a good selection of drinks. The food was ok. I didn't love that the buns on the sliders weren't toasted. Also, if you're looking to hang out and play games, I recommend coming earlier, since space is small and it got quite crowded as the night went on. read more

Barcade - Bar counter - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

The food is incomprehensibly terrible and greasy; something that presents a harkening to undergraduate times, but which lacks any of the appeal or delivery with which to be romanticized. This makes the pricing all the more unforgivable, but for the possession of a discount, e.g. InKind voucher. Even then, however, the atmosphere is so dirty and unhygienic that I would still advise against consuming anything. I couldn't drink more than 2 sips of Diet Cokes I ordered due to the unique taste they had, nicely put. By far the most unclean filters I have encountered in my life; the sodas tasting not at all as intended. Likewise, the games are not particularly impressive in collection or diversity of type and period. It struck me as a bizarre, eclectic, random combination of offerings they haphazardly acquired; with no intent or cohesiveness. I also find the business model befuddling, as having to pay for both food, drinks, and games is outrageous; but I did not consider such in writing this review, as I consider that a personal matter of how I would run this business. Myself, however, I would limit profit to one stream and then seek to accommodate the customer on other fronts. read more

Love going to Barcade locations in NYC. Something rubbed me the wrong way this time. I went inside to play a few games when it opened at 2PM. Dead empty. I'm playing my game and this kid bartender comes up to me to ask for ID while I'm playing. I see that he isn't budging. Usually you ask for ID when buying a drink or after 8. I show my ID and forfeit the tokens that I just inserted. I never knew that you needed to show ID to play some arcade games. I inserted another two tokens, but the feeling was gone. I left right after. read more

A really fun bar to get some decent drinks and play some fun games! Games: the main attraction is the games. You have to get tokens to play. The most popular games get crowded but you can still get a turn! I loved the variety of games they had Drinks: I ordered the mezcal drink and it was really good! The mule is also very good! Prices: very reasonable and on par with other places. The games are also very fairly priced Service: quick despite the crowd read more

I went here last night for some fun and drinks with my friends to celebrate my birthday. It was pretty crowded but it was a Saturday night! Games costed between 1-3 tokens (25-75 cents a game). Drinks were good , I personally loved the blood orange beer. My friends all enjoyed the sweet chili wings. Fries were good too and came with multiple dipping sauces(just a bit salty) Employees were friendly and helpful. Some small cons: The bar service was a slower once the bartenders switched out which sucked but it's understandable. Also The bathroom lines were long! There are only two available bathrooms and the lines were so long it was crazy. There were about 16 people at one point waiting for the two bathrooms. They should definitely have stalls for the kind of traffic they get. Overall, it was a good time and affordable for the city. read more

This place is appropriately grungy and greasy. You definitely won't have the worst time, but don't go thinking you're gonna sip with your pinky finger up. Go when you're feeling most nostalgic about life, and you'll leave rejuvenated and optimistic. I'm wishing one of their bartenders a speedy recovery, as I heard he was viciously attacked by an employee from a neighboring bar. read more

5 stars it's so good it gets a bonus haiku! Buttons, Beers, Babes, Boys, Space Invade Pizza Turtles My joy for joysticks! Gosh golly gee do I love Barcade! I am THE target audience and all I can say is please take my fucking money, all of it. Barcade is delightfully consistent across their locations and it's truly been my pleasure watching them expand over the years from the Brooklyn dive bar to Astor Place, JC, and the more bougie almost midtown spot. What I love most is that I kept my brooklyn game tokens for 6 years and finally had a chance to use them tonight in Manhattan and the games did NOT go up in price! What a deal. They are always adding new machines, more drinks, AND more food! I was so impressed with how their menus have grown and continue to include a variety of food allergies. The bathrooms are gender neutral and the space is expansive and so well organized for being a St. Marks bar! Rarely are the games broken. It's such a chill spot. Stairs lead down to the game floor but otherwise accessible and maneuverable. Friendly for people of all ages but there is a bouncer so I don't know if that's for night time or all the time. You can rent out the space, seems like a killer spot for a bday party! Cowabunga dudes! read more

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Awesome place to revisit your inner child. Beer, cocktails, and old-school arcades are a perfect mix for fun in the East Village. I will admit that this location is a bit smaller and has fewer arcades than the other Barcades in the city. The place has a pretty chill, relaxed vibe which is perfect for the East Village, and most of the games are about 1-2 tokens. Also, if you want to raid your quarters that have been set aside for laundry, the arcades take both tokens and regular quarters. During our visit, we did not have a chance to try the food; however, I was very please with the wide variety of beers and cocktails. I think that I counted at least 25 different beers, so definitely come to Barcade thirsty. We came around 5 pm on a Sunday, and the place was pretty quiet, but it started to pick up around 6:30 pm. I definitely hope to return in the near future. read more

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Fun, no frills, dive bar in the east village with old school arcade games. We stopped while we were in town and had some time to kill on a rainy day. Lots of games to choose from and a fun walk down memory lane. Cheap drinks, full bar, lots of beers on tap and bar food available. read more

I've been coming here for years, and I'm never had any issue until yesterday on my birthday, I don't know what this Marc deal is, but she's obviously jealous of me, or doesn't like me for whatever reason, but refuse to serve me in a timely manner. I would get to the bar first, and she would serve 4 to 5. Other people that came after me acting like she was ignoring me multiple times throughout the night. She would add me waiting for 30 minutes. Just to order a drink and she seen me with my friends. I understand she's new, but that doesn't excuse her behavior of purposely ignoring me. I really like this place. Hopefully the owner finds a better employee that represents the business better. read more

Barcade - Employee that kept ignoring me - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

We all know that after my experience in Canada, that I have a very high bar set for barcades. That being said, this one is nice and met some essentials. They have drinks, they have food (which I didn't try as I was stuffed), and of course they have arcades! I had a couple hours to kill before my train departed the city, so I figured why not game for a bit?? So I showed my ID and vax card (at the time it was needed) and took in the environment. One thing I definitely appreciated is that there plenty of outlets around so I could charge my phone :). Anyways, I went to the token machine, got some coins, and got some cocktails -- I particularly enjoyed the rum / Campari-based Jungle Bird. Very tasty cocktail that washed down all that food I had prior. I found myself mainly playing the Pac-Mans. Millipede would've been a fun one, but it wasn't around! All in all though, Barcade is a good NYC staple and you'll enjoy yourself with friends for a couple of hours if you come through! read more

This is the second Barcade I have ever been to - the other one being the location on west 24th Street. This one is considerably smaller and is fairly narrow. Being in the East Village, it can also get fairly crowded on a Friday and Saturday night. However, overall it is still a good place to hang out. And despite having less machines, they have some games I did not see at the other location. Simpsons the Arcade Game, Splatterhouse, Jambo! Safari and Dynamite Cop are some of the ones that come to mind. Good selection of beers and decent quality bar food too. read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Went here for the first time with a girl friend years ago. I don't recall how I felt or what I did back then because we stumbled in after drinking all morning leading into the afternoon. Came here a few weeks ago with a guy and it was fine. We played a few games, stepped out and went back to play more games. It was fine for what it was since I liked my company at the time. The drinks are your standard bar drinks. Nothing extraordinary or fancy, but not the vibe they are going for. A good place if you like playing arcade games. Will go back here with guy friends since they are obsessed with video games and like St. Marks. read more

Went here once, had a good time. The barcade is in a good location. Upon entering, there was a security guard that checked Id before we entered. The drinks were good and the food was pretty good too. It wasn't crowded when we went (thank goodness because it's a small space). The other patrons were pretty friendly and the games were good, there were some games that were new to us which was fun. The bathroom was clean which is a plus! read more

9 dollar wine regardless of what time you walk in had me at hello. Old school arcade games held my attention. But the crowning glory is that Aaliyah or Alia or Leah behind the bar (I'm so sorry I do a lot of asking people's names so I can leave them nice reviews and sometimes I forget) was so so sweet to both me and the rowdier patrons at the bar that I won't hesitate to be back. I've heard from a few people on bumble that this bar has Mario kart but I have yet to see it. Besides Alia that's the main reason for this review, so I hope within a few weeks the Mario kart will rear its head and I'll be able to get a lap or two into rainbow road. Happy Nintendo-ing !!! read more

Place: This place is so fun! I love barcades!! Service: The service is great! There are machines where you can change you money into tokens and play the games. Usually each game is about 25 cent token or up to 4 tokens Food/price: I am not sure about the food but the drinks are around $8-9. I had a cider beer and it was $8 and they filled it up to the top top lol. Audience: Great for friends! WHOO Recommend/tips? I highly recommend this place. I went at 7:00 PM and honestly perfect time because it was pretty quiet so MORE GAMES TO PLAY. read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

I have heard about this spot for a long time, and finally came here last week to celebrate a friend's birthday! The vibe is super fun and definitely a step back in time. You have to be 21+ to enter and they card at the door. I loved all the retro games! The tokens go a long way so no need to get too many. My favorite games were the group Pac-Man game since you can compete with your friends and the good old pinball machines! I had the Brooklyn Mule cocktail for my first drink. Unfortunately it really fell flat. It lacked flavor and was definitely not worth the $14 price tag. I switched to one of their draft ciders for my second round and loved it! It was a blood orange hard cider and definitely unique. This is a super fun, retro spot that has a dive bar feel. It's casual and great for a gathering with friends! read more

The games are amazing here from Frogger to pinball to street fighter. Its a little small but well kept and a positive vibe. Everyone was nice. The bathrooms don't have any mirrors and as a girl we need mirrors lol but thats my only complaint. read more

Mixed feelings about Barcade. It's in my regular rotation and I missed it dearly during COVID -- but in the same breath, it's over crowded, overpriced, and the bartenders are usually assholes. The best time to come is in the afternoon, early -- maybe right at 5pm. There is no point in coming if you see a sea of heads once you walk down the ramp. (Even if you're looking to just use the restroom, the lines will be crazy long anyway.) This place is also kind of dirty all the time...lmao. Keep in mind, unlike the other Barcade, this one doesn't have it's liquor license. But the beer selection is updated a decent amount. The menus are easy to read and you can always find some high percentage pints. The games are great, of course. They're a decent amount, but in my 4/5 years of going here, there hasn't been any new additions. While the other location has had new games come in here and there. I get that it's small but hmmm... It's fun, it's a good gimmick. Who doesn't love a bar where you can do something besides take shots and talk? read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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In the area & figured why not come in here & kill some time. Drinks had some Beer & white wine not bad. The space is not very big so with all the games & bar area it's a bit cramped inside. What can u really say about this place? Not much more , old school type arcade games some are good, most are bad. Fun to drink & play games of course but wouldn't really last too long here since the games are ahhh. Decent music playing, drinks they do have a full bar good enough to kill about an hour or so can't say I would be here too much longer. read more

Barcade - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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