I'm shocked at the low reviews. Me and my partner visited during Salem rush (Halloween) and I had an absolute BLAST here. We had to wait which I didn't mind as Salem was slammed. The drinks on the menu were cute and original and I LOVED THE LAVENDER TOWN drink!!! It was so weird and delicious! The bartenders were ALL super nice. Everyone seemed to be having an amazing time and the atmosphere was very happy! As for our food, we had an awkwardly long wait to order once we got seated. But honestly, I don't even care because it seemed like their waiters were short staffed (some places still are, cause COVID and again packed Salem). Once we did order our food didn't take too long and was very delicious! Even my partner who couldn't care less about food said it was good, high praise from him. Only one pinball machine was down which being as they're older and under extreme use I expect they do go down periodically. Overall I'd definitely go again and had intended to the next day but other plans prevented us. All hail that Lavender Town drink! read more

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New favorite arcade! They had a ton of fun game options (I was very happy they had air hockey) and the space felt open and clean, especially compared to most other arcades I've been to. They had a large drink selection which was also super fun, I got the Ms. Pac Man and it was delicious. The bartenders were super nice and service was fast! Wandered in here randomly on a late night and super happy we did. read more

Avoid This Place Like the Plague I can't believe I even have to write this, but here we go. The disaster began when I went to use the restroom shortly after arriving, and on my way back, I stepped in someone's vomit. Disgusting. I asked a staff member for some water to clean off my shoe, and instead of offering any assistance, I was directed to a "water station around the corner" like I was at a self-service cafeteria. When I finally sat down, I ordered chicken quesadillas, which were clearly listed on the menu as being served on flour tortillas. What arrived? Corn tortillas. It wasn't that I had a special request; they just couldn't be bothered to get it right. My server, Barbara, didn't seem to care in the slightest when I pointed out the mistake, acting as if incorrect orders were perfectly acceptable. To make matters worse, I paid an extra four dollars for guacamole that never showed up. When I mentioned this to Barbara, she casually offered to "just bring it out now." When I asked if the charge could be removed from the bill, she kept insisting it would take forever to find a manager and that it would be a hassle to get it taken off. Apparently, good customer service was too much to ask for. Honestly, I don't know what was worse--the service, the food, or the vomit incident. If you value your money, taste buds, or just basic hygiene, do yourself a favor and eat literally anywhere else. As for the arcade portion of the bar, I have no idea if it's any good--I didn't even have time for it. read more

Quick Tip! Don't eat food here, just drinks and games. When researching Salem, I saw a barcade. Going with our nerdy, cheap friends, I figured this could be a decent place to dine with them and enjoy some old-school games. One of the first things I packed was my quarters. Didn't even use them here. This place messed up and kept throwing tokens at us. Everyone at our table was accepting the tokens in exchange for more incompetence. When we were seated, the table was dirty and they cleaned it off for us. Our server was heavily medicated, probably not prescribed by a physician, and we knew everything would be messed up. We were semi-seriously joking that nothing was going to be right. The server couldn't even work the computer to take our order. So she forgot drinks, food didn't come out as ordered. A child at our table ordered chicken fingers and my wife ordered double-fried Korean chicken. Neither chicken option was Korean, but my wife felt the child got her chicken pieces. They seemed double cooked. I went with fish and chips, burnt to a crisp, but still a delicious crisp. The fish was the most overcooked fish I've ever had in my life. We expected pub-style food but just got I don't even know what. The worst food I've had in years. As for the games, the TMNT pinball game was by far my favorite. I loved that game. Other games needed maintenance and I'm not talking about the games that were out of order. Working games had joystick or paddle issues. Still, was somewhat fun there. Get drinks, play games, and have fun. Don't get a table and order from the bar. You'll thank me later unless this place closes next week. I feel they'd save money by not having a kitchen and just focussing on drinks. read more

Cute bar in Salem. Great for kids or adults. Game themed drinks and food. I couldn't resist the Tetris tater tots. I had fun eating them. Nothing too special but just nostalgic. Typical themed bar food. Lots of old school games Pinball games are 75 cents each Regular old arcade games such as Tetris, donkey Kong, q*bert all 25 cents. Table Pac-Man Shooter games We noticed there was a groupon for $5 for $10 worth of tokens. Could be worth it if you plan to stay long or with a group Looks like they host trivia and karaoke nights too. Fun fact: it's inside an old Salem jail and looks like condos around there too. read more

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fun place sometimes but usually there's something not so fun about it. Sometimes it's a loud show with massive amounts of people standing everywhere blocking the best games while they watch the show. Often the front room games are all blocked off for a private party, or randomly there's a stiff cover charge just to get in. last time I brought my stepdaughter to play games and I had to shrug off $40 in cover charges just so we could play DDR. you'll go there thinking it's a just cool bar with lots of fun retro games, but then you get there and without warning you find yourself in a loud, jampacked, expensive night club. Just know what you're getting into. I realize now that this place is not my jam, though i was misled by the retro game marketing pitch. read more

I love the vibes here and the staff is very friendly. I was able to bring my service dog without a problem. This place is very family friendly and they had some of the coolest pinball machines that I've seen in a while. They have a great selection of beer and there appetizers are just the right amount for sharing read more

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Such a fun time! This spot is pretty cool, with tons of arcade games and a variety of craft beers. It's like an adults only Dave and busters with better music lol read more

Bit Bar Salem - a person holding a glass of beer - Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Fantastic atmosphere, some really great arcades (I love me some arcades!), but the surprising highlight is the unexpected apps and dishes. I'm a huge fan of their tots and giant pretzels. Damn good burgers and tons of other stuff to order. And they always have great beer on tap and super creative and original drinks. A must-visit if you come to Salem. And it's definitely worth repeat visits. I do suppose I wish they had a few more arcades, but that's just because I obsess a bit over games. read more

But Bar has always been one of my favorite places, but yesterday was the first time I was able to visit their new space. It was incredible! The layout is spacious, the patio is lovely and the food was soooo good. 1) Elk Burger. 2) Loaded Tetris Tots. 3) Pulled Pork Plate. 4) Ecto Chaser. Not pictured is the utter bliss on my face when all of this came out to the table. Totally recommend! Come for the delicious food and stay for the games (or vice versa). read more

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Fun place to get drunk and our waitress was great, but there are way too many machines that eat your tokens. Pinball machines alone, my party had tokens eaten by Demolition Man, Super Mario Bros, Dr Who, and the Adams Family machines. read more

This was a fun place in historic Salem. I found a Groupon for $10 worth of tokens for $5. We lucked out and Tuesday had a special for tokens as well. We got the Tetris shapes tater tots because DUH! The draft and drink list was pretty decent. There were a lot of different arcade, shooter, and pinball games to choose from. read more

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Honestly had a great time here for a friend's birthday on a Saturday night! It was packed but not too busy that you couldn't get in any game you wanted within 5 minutes. Trivia happening was fun, and even better was the animal fundraiser. Good staff and drink selection read more

As far as arcade bars go, this one is a must visit. There are some great games in here, including a DDR machine, skeeball, a cabinet that contains several mario games, lots of pinball machines, and many more. A great place to visit while in Salem. read more

If anyone from like their late 30's to early 50's want to relive an important piece of their childhood or teenage years, look no further than BB satisfying that urge of throwing hard earned quarters into an 8-bit video game machine that will give you minutes of fun at a time. We've been here for a breakfast bar as well as dinner and have been very happy with the experience at all times of the day. I just feel like they have a small identity crisis related to the amount of space they have to work with. Some people are going to want to come in and just play video games but these surround the dining space. Just about every customer that walks in has to be asked a variety of questions. Are you eating? Are you drinking? Are you here to just play video games? It gets....confusing. I wanted to get up while we were waiting for our food last night and play a few games, is that weird? They were literally two feet from me. The execution on dinner was even better than expected. My peanut noodle dish was full of a plethora of fresh vegetables and even came with chopsticks without asking, a nice touch. It was well sauced and proportionate, I would have just made it a bit more peanut buttery. My wife's po boy had the perfect amount of shrimp to fill the sandwich and one of the best remoulades I've had this side of the French Quarter. The tetris shaped tots are very cute and likely made in house, given their shape....perfectly crispy and potato-y. The beer selection is GREAT, with a bunch of local breweries featured from Lynn to Cambridge. They even have some of them on draft. I think my biggest beef of BB is, what can I do and when? Will it confuse you if I get up after an appetizer to play a pinball machine in the back and you won't assume that I just left? Can I play the Sega Dreamcast along the wall? Does it cost extra money? What about the Paperboy being projected on the wall outside, how does that work? I'll gladly drop a little extra money to play any of these but it was never explained to us how it works, so we just stuck to the quarter games in the front as well as in the back. There is also a bar near the pinball machines but it never seems to be open, maybe it is at busier times of the night. Service was above average, very attentive and satisfying in all ways one would want a waiter or waitress to be. I will continue to go back because the games are well maintained and ALL were working when we go, a true feat given some of these are approaching 40 years old. I'd suggest the server give a little spiel about how everything works within the compounds and give us the ok that we can take our beer from the table and play games while we wait. It's always the little things like this that make it a perfect experience. read more

Bit Bar Salem - House Noodle Salad - Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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Good food and good games at this establishment. The wait safe was really nice as well.

Fun place to bring your in laws or a tame group of friends. Not quite the place to bring your college buddies. Food and drinks were quirky but generally well received by the group. Games were fun and weird, cool different stuff. Bring your kids or nieces/nephews read more

There's definitely food and drinks here but they're not amazing. There's arcade games too but pretty overpriced. If you come on a weekend night it's unlikely you'll get very good service. It's also very loud and often the cops are outside for some reason. I think this is more for tourists than locals. read more

Worst service I ever experienced, I believe the server Melissa, (if I recall correctly)spit into my drink. Stay away from Bit Bar unless you like that kind of thing. read more

We drove 3 hours to salem for fall fun and ended up in front of Bit Bar with car trouble stuck and struggling. The owner was outside working with his tools on something and came over with his tools fixed us up and got out family fun back on track. To pay it forward we stopped in ate and played video games with the kids for hours. I can't explain how much we appreciate this kind man and his willingness to help!!! We will be back read more

So my wife and I went here twice while visiting Salem over Halloween weekend. Came at opening time on a Saturday (was a line to get in, but it was Halloween weekend so was expected), and came for dinner around 7pm on Sunday - we were seated within 15min. Saturday we ordered: Bavarian Pretzels with beer cheese sauce (5/5) Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese (4/5) Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (3/5) - would have gotten higher score but it wasn't what I expected... most of the time buffalo mac and cheese has the blue cheese crumbles or something like that to balance the flavors... didn't have that. It wasn't bad, just wasn't anything special. Sunday (we were starving, boxed up a little bit for hotel): Angry Birds (the wings) - (4/5) - I enjoyed them a lot, they were a little too spicy for wife... I didn't think they were that spicy, dry rub so they weren't so messy, we got a side of ranch and blue cheese. Tender, good portion. Caesar Salad (4/5) - BEWARE - huge portion... you could legit eat this and the wings and be good... wife enjoyed it. Double Smash burger (2x) - should have gotten the single, was bigger than I thought it would be. Very good burger though, exceeded my middle of the pack expectations. (4/5) Games: NFL Blitz was out of order so I was little disappointed but NBA Jam and Ninja Turtles games kept me occupied. Played a few other shooter games as well, very nostalgic. Wife enjoyed the vast selection of pinball machines (like 14 or 15 pinball machines). Drinks we tried: Butterbeer (Vanilla Vodka, Fireball, Butterscotch, Cream, and Root Beer) 3/5... to be fair, i never tried any Butterbeer recipes so I really can't compare it to anything... just wasn't for me. But it was recommended to me by a friend... so maybe you'll like it. MS. PAC-MAN (Malibu, vodka, pineapple, and grenadine) 5/5 - simple drink, hit the mark for my wife though. On Sunday night it was a bit chilly outside so I decided to get bold... ordered: HEADLESS HORSEMAN (Hot Apple Cider, Jameson, and Apple Cinnamon Simple) - 5/5 - really hit the spot for me before dinner. Beer: If you're a beer person, they have something for everyone. A large selection of taps and cans/bottles. I tried: Riverwalk IPA 4/5 Guinness 5/5 - good pour I can't remember the name of this other beer I tried, I just know it was a red ale... was quite refreshing. 5/5 I would recommend this for anyone. Be mindful that if you have children, bring them for lunch or an early dinner. It's adults only after 8pm read more

Having only been once, mid-pandemic, I can offer just a few thoughts. We were seated on their patio midday, with an obvious amount of thought being put into table spacing/patron seating/employee safety/etc., which I appreciated. We sampled some drinks, and while it's tough to go for the craft cocktail vibe in plastic disposable cups, bitbar did a great job of offering a variety of classics with a twist (see: my pH-sensitive/color-changing gin sour, which lent some whimsy and benefitted from the plastic cup). The next time we're in the area, I'd definitely look to return to sample some food and enjoy a laid-back spot away from the main gimmicky areas. Thanks bitbar! read more

Bit Bar Salem - Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Visiting Salem, we had a few friends show us their favorite places for the day. I am so happy that they took us to Bit Bar. I wish I had something like this locally because we had a wonderful time here. All four of us went to the bar immediately upon arrival, and we perused the adorably-themed menu! We ordered several drinks (which were all great, btw) and we all ordered food. I ordered the Korean fried chicken dish. Although this isn't your authentic typical KFC, I can't deny that this dish was delicious! I finished absolutely every bite (I might have had the drunchies by that point). The atmosphere was wonderful as well. The bar had this hilarious video playing that seemed like a mash up of everything nerdy, all these fictional characters fighting each other and going through different stages. It even had a huge crowd of the bar-goers watching the video behind us! Friendly staff, great drinks and food. I would love to come back! read more

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This place was so fun we came back the following night. I'm not a big drinker but you don't need to be to enjoy this place. The games are so fun. Great date night spot! read more

Great beer list, fun time! If you love retro games, this is 5 stars. Lively late night spot.

Went during a random Saturday. Service was slow. Food was meh. Absolutely nothing special and dramatically overpriced for the food quality and service. Theming was fun, but that was the only positive. Better to spend your money elsewhere. (honestly they took what should have been a delicious burger and made it "meh" - how do you do that?) read more

Michelle was a heavenly angel to us. We were in town over night and she took wonderful care of us and made us the best drinks our mouths have ever tasted- Michelle if you read this know you are perfect and precious. The ambiance was super cool and super fun. read more

Incredibly fun and reasonably priced. Supportive of the queer community creating opportunities for local drag performers which are amazing shows. read more

Dined here on October 1st and was so excited to see gluten-free items on the menu. In fact most the menu was gluten free. I got the clam chowder, buffalo mac and cheese, and Korean fried wings. Everything was incredible. The mac and cheese was my favorite and something I thought I could never eat out again due to being celiac. My server was accommodating and always made sure we had what we needed and went above and beyond. The whole staff was friendly and doing a great job. We sat outside and enjoyed the nightlife of Salem and it was pretty awesome. Who went inside to video games to check them out it was pretty cool, really great vibes! read more

This update was an accident. Yelp's guidelines won't let me post a review that short so I need to type some more.

I've tried to go come here 3 times in the last week and all 3 times they have closed earlier than they described. 10:30 on a Saturday???? When it says 1 online and I called earlier in the day to confirm their hours. Pathetic * This a edit to respond to the business' comment. Nice try but there were 4 employees at the bar doing the throat slash that they were closed at 10:41. read more

For those who can't tell, these are supposed to be mozzarella sticks. This is not cute or creative - this is gross. Take these off the menu. read more

Bit Bar Salem - Mozzarella sticks - Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Bit Bar has become a recent favorite in my friend group, and there are plenty of reasons why! If you are looking for a fun and affordable night out, especially when it is too cold to do anything else, this is your spot. They have tons of old school arcade games, newer pinball machines, and events going on all the time. The tokens are cheap enough that you can play all night long, and they often have specials on Groupon and other sites for discounts (look it up before you come!). The best (and most shocking) part of Bit Bar honestly is their food. For such a grungy, gamer-centric spot, they actually have AMAZING food. The tater tots are worth every calorie, and their vegetarian chili and noodle bowl are seriously so good. Don't forget to check out the drink menu - the cocktail names are worth the trip alone! read more

Really great place. I loved Skee Ball and Time Crisis 2 the most. I did not order any food or drinks, but I did get a bucket of tokens to play Mortal Kombat 2 several times over, only to be beat by the computer opponent. Check this place out. I had no issues with parking and you get the tokens at the bar. I did have to wait almost 30 minutes, but there was only one bartender for 20 people, so I get it, and it was not her fault. Please hire more bartenders, it will help with business immensely. read more

Service was good. Considering how busy it was, things moved pretty quick. Waiters were very friendly. This is a nice lil hang out spot,especially for old school gamers! Lots of nostalgia. Highly recommend! BTW the pulled pork was amazing ! read more

Max Clark, a guy who calls himself an owner, sits there miserable all night on a laptop in a mask. He is extremely rude to customers and staff. Multiple staff members complained about him directly to me. I made a simple request and he couldn't be bothered, or explain to me why it couldn't be fulfilled - just shrugged and walked away. Asked later about my request and the guy basically flipped out because he had to get off his laptop for a second. I said I was leaving wasn't coming back and he made it a point to follow me out of the building as if I did something wrong. I again had multiple staff come up to me and apologize to me for his behavior. They are suffering from this guy too. Employees apologizing for "the owner" - good grief. read more

Review from 7.11 year old daughter: this place is amazing! We are definitely coming back. (And later...) I am in love with these tater tots! The Tetris cubes at the table are cool (the kids liked them) Great selection of games including skee-ball and air hockey. The poutine was great as was the pulled pork. Decent beer list. Will try the cocktails sometime. I think it's so cool that there's a four player Nintendo at the bar where you could play Mario kart 64. read more

Tetris tots!!! Need I say more?! How freaking cute! Lots of fun throwback video games here to play and dont cost you a arm and a leg to play. Bonus: you get $3 worth of tokens with each kids meal. Fantastic craft beer list as well as full bar and wine. A super fun spot to come with friends and family for a couple of drinks and friendly gaming. Aside from the super cool tetris tots, lots of typical bar food (burgers/wings/tenders, etc). A wicked fun atmosphere and also outdoor seating. We will be back! read more

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Nice place-the food is great, service is friendly. Has great entertainment for the kids (older not babies) while the adults can play and enjoy a nice local beers, and game themed drinks! Ms. Pac-Man does not disappoint! read more

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First time here and it was amazing! Amazing food and drinks so many old games that took me back to being a kid. read more

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