I will begin by stating that I have not dined in this location, so this review will be for our arcade visit and bar service. Dave and Busters is a fun place to visit at the Irvine Spectrum. We often my bring my 2 year old during the less popular time and he always has a blast playing the the age appropriate games. This place is super loud, even when it is not crowded. On the nights that my husband and I have date night at one of the restaurants at the spectrum, we usually stop by for a drink and games. The bartenders here have always been polite and quick. Drinks can be a hit or miss, depending on what you get. Overall, a great place to visit. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - BlackBerry Smash with vodka. - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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This is the type of place that everyone always ends up some time for another for an event. The eating area is nice but the massive TVs are distracting if you aren't into the sport thats playing. Food is actually much better than I thought it would be. Got a flatbread and a pasta and both were pretty good. Their pizza flatbread had a unique taste and the cornmeal on the bottom gave it a nice texture. The gaming area however had quite a few games that were just broken but still accepted your money. Its kind of what you expect I guess... read more

My kid absolutely loves D&B. Great energy, good music, and games that reliably work (looking at you, Chuck E. Cheese). We've been here a few times and have had really good experiences. I'd say the games are geared towards maybe 10yo+, but my 5yo is able to play quite a bit. I like how the cards can be used in quick succession for multiplayer games. There's a lot of variety including shooters, air hockey, carnival-style games, dodgeball...there are also VR games, but we haven't tried them yet. Prizes are alright - I'd like a bit more variety, but they're secondary to having a great time. We've also eaten here a couple of times. Service is friendly, and we've never had issues finding seats during lunch. Easy parking in the Spectrum structure or parking lots. Pro tip: download the app and take advantage of deals and Groupons! read more

Not bad! Stopped by for a quick drink and to watch the MLB Playoffs and there was ample seating and good energy. The servers were really nice and brought out our drinks really quickly. We sat by the bar area which was We had a few rounds of the Hawaiian Punch and I thought that it was quite sweet (and maybe could use a little more alcohol) but overall we enjoyed our drinks. The only thing I didn't like about this D&B was the layout. I didn't love how the arcade was separated from the bar area and you couldn't see beyond the room you were in. read more

This is absolutely not the closest Dave and Busters to me, in fact I recently moved and its even farther than before, but I have been coming to this location weekly for years for a very specific reason. The food is great, the games are fun and they're always getting new ones, but the biggest reason I drive an hour every week to come here is the staff. In the 8 years I've been coming I've had the same bartender, Ally. She is personable, friendly and fast and in all the time I've come here she's always made it a wonderful experience for myself and my friends and family. She always takes great care of us and any guests I bring and makes them feel welcome. The servers bar backs and managers are always so sweet and make sure to check in and help when they can. Thank you so much to the D&B team! read more

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Terrible experience. After waiting an hour for our cocktails. The server never returned so we placed our food order at the bar being told they would bring the food to our table. When the check was presented I added a 20% tip and totaled it. Now, after leaving I realize the total on the bill included an 18% tip which means I left a 38% tip! This was for two people. Earlier at the bar when ordering a beer we were served a 22 oz instead of 16 oz without being asked our preference. After twenty-five years of patronage, we will not return. read more

What in the world happened?! Corporate, you're doing your customers dirty and your staff! We are regulars, went tonight and once we got our bill, we noticed that my glass of wine was $14.99... for Markstone!! Markstone is $7-9 a BOTTLE. Each side of dipping sauce we ordered, a.k.a. ranch was $.59 each, McDonald's doesn't even do that!!! Not to mention there's zero pricing on the menu so you are even more blind sided. I ordered a pino grigio... only one in the menu, and that's what I was gifted. She even told us that corporate now doesn't even let them order off the menu for employees. That they aren't allowed to order steak or even kids menu items. Disgusted to see what corporate has done to its employees and customers. What was once our go to place is now a joke read more

The vibe is killing it, but the only thing I could say is the service is very slow for me and my family. We expect some sort of service. I know it's really busy on the weekend, but not a single person came to check on us. We had to get up and find someone for our table to order food... even though the food area (tables) were largely empty. What made it a "better" experience was what may have been a supervisor, named Xiu. Xiu ordered for us and we got our food about 10-15 minutes later. Room for Improvement for sure, but generally a nice place to hang out. read more

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Terrible Service and Unprofessional Management My phone was taken and handed to the bar, but when I returned to inquire, Natalie, the staff member , claimed no one had turned it in and was extremely unhelpful. After going back and forth, the manager, Justin Movzon, also failed to assist and instead escalated the situation by kicking us out. The lack of communication among staff and the rude response from both Natalie and Justin was shocking. This is not how a business should handle customers. read more

My wife decided on date night and wanted to have some adult fun and suggested this place. Upon arriving a girl in the front with 16 piercings in her mouth greeted us. Was kind but scary at the same time as I'm trying remain without judgment. Anybody there you would talk to as kind however the service seemed a little disjointed. As for the playroom, half of all of the machines were out of order or missing balls or whatever it was you needed to play the game, so we wasted many game credits, not knowing the game wouldn't work. And there is nobody roaming around the floor to help service. It was overly deflating. People just standing around. I would not recommend. You're better off just walking Spectrum. But the beer was good. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - Error on all screens - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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This was the best Dave & busters I have been to! Our waitress Trish was so attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. Special shout out to the bartender Marcus for making the best margarita Iv ever had!!!! Ducky the manager even came by to ask how everything was, that has never happened to me at a Dave & busters, this staff was amazing read more

Went to a work holiday party at Dave & Buster's, but it felt more like a corporate event at a glorified food court. No games, no alcohol--just a whole lot of iced tea and sliders that could've been made by a vending machine. Honestly, why pick a place known for games and bars, then strip away both? I won't blame D&B for my work's questionable choices but.... This place isn't known for the food (sorry) and that's all we were provided. A buffet of chicken strips, sliders, chips with a cheesy sauce... I mean, I guess it was nice hanging out with my colleagues but... I can see those fools anytime. read more

We've been coming to this location for over 5 years now, and we love it. The staff is always so friendly, the whole place is super clean, and food is always great and reasonably priced. As a mom of two boys, this place is great to get away from the Cali heat, especially in Irvine. I've ever once had a bad experiences here. As my kids play, I get myself a beer, and the bartenders, over the 5 years, have always been so great, even the new ones, are super sweet and attentive. We've been to the one in Orange and other places. But this one is the best!!! read more

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Dave & Buster's has a great, affordable bar. They have happy hour here on weekdays, so we came by before our Friday night dinner at the Cheesecake. The service at the bar was literally better than what we had at dinner, and that says a lot. 5$ drinks on happy hour, you cannot beat that in today's economy. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

I've been to this location a few times over the years but yesterday is our first time with my toddlers. Definitely highly recommend it! Our server Jonathan R is one of the reasons we have such a nice experience. If you happen to be at the spectrum, especially with a big group, stop by D&Bs, such an easy choice, there's something for everyone. Oh and say hi to Jonathan, he'll take good care of you. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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I'll just say you have some weird customers who come here, but that doesn't reflect on my review. The service here goes from good to bad rather quickly, just because they often take too long. We've ordered food (wings, mozzarella sticks, fries, nachos, pizza, etc.) but depending on who you're getting the order from, the service can be extremely slow. Regular nights it can be something simple (when there's nobody around) but the waiter we had really needs to find other work. Our group wanted drinks (alcoholic) and the waiter took forever to even greet us, which bothered me. I actually got better service in the gaming room when some lady absolutely treated me kindly, but the thing was we were seated near the bar. Those weird customers were seated at some bench looking area behind the bar, we kept away from them. Whatever, no judgement. She still gave me drinks, but we ended up wanting to order nachos and the stupid waiter wasn't around. We had to go into the gaming room and the same lady was able to serve us right away. The area near the bar sucks, only the bartender does his job. I caught our waiter talking bad about us, like we didn't order the most expensive junk and weren't going to tip him well, that just made us leave to the loud gaming room instead of dealing with him. When we get a waiter and expect our party to show up, you need to treat everyone with respect. You also have to get us our drinks and food, just because we took 10 minutes to all arrive doesn't mean I have to wait 30 minutes to order a drink. Plus it's loud and crowded in the gaming room, but it's only how we could get a drink because our waiter sucked. The games are expensive as well, you have to order a $70+ card or you won't have fun. That's more than buying a new video game, and the prizes are cheap carnival prizes, nothing fun there. It just sounds like a waste of time unless you're playing pool and watching a fun sporting event. But that could be replaced with going to a bar or bowling alley instead of this place, just saying that after the poor service. It's just rude how your waiter was to us, and we tipped that girl pretty well so I don't know what we did wrong and why he was so rude to us. We all spent about $200 that night (each), just on drinks, games and food that night so we weren't cheapskates. I wish I wrote down the guy's name down, but he was some skinny looking guy with a stupid haircut. This place isn't fun. read more

I wanted to write this review to congratulate the staff that is working today (July 22, 2023) at this location. Usually the bar service here has been kind of a pain in the past couple years, but I am pleasantly surprised to see new bartender faces and even better: nice attitude and FAST service to the customers, adults and kids included! The drinks were great and the music also! Also the staff that helps with the machines was very friendly and helpful and faster. Taking into consideration it was a Saturday, summer and evening hours (and the place was packed!) I am very pleased to see how this store has improved. Seems the bad post-covid times are behind us and we are back to the good ol' D&B awesome service! read more

Staff: Edwin who was very nice. He was so helpful and allowed us to use the $25 game card with the purchase of $25 game card. We came for the games so little staff interaction. The girl in the prize area was okay. Quality: Lots of great games most work fine. Always annoying when machines are down but wasn't an issue here. Value: $28 for a $25 card X 2 for the deal we had and you get about 40 games. Overall: Love this spot. Will be back for sure. We did not order any food have previously eaten in the restaurant and enjoyed. read more

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Great location but the bar service does need work. Some people are nicer than others but our tender was mediocre. The games were great but some seemed to function slowly or have missing balls. I definitely prefer the Orange location. Drinks were great and you're able to carry them around which is a plus. The game attendants do seem to walk around and keep an eye on the premises, ensuring cleanliness. read more

Extremely disappointing experience. I understand why this location has such low ratings--this was by far the worst service I've ever encountered. It's hard to believe this place is still in business with how poorly it's managed. At the first bar, the bartender made me feel like I was a nuisance. The longer I stayed, the more uncomfortable I felt, to the point where I just had to leave. We decided to move to the main bar in the arcade. Thankfully, the bartender there was much more attentive and friendly. Unfortunately, the experience went downhill again when I visited the prize area. The staff working there seemed uninterested in helping. One leaned against the table and turned away when I tried to get his attention, while the other looked annoyed that I interrupted their conversation. Their dismissive behavior was not only rude but left me shaking with frustration. I reported the incident to two employees who looked like managers. They spoke to the staff in front of me, making the situation even more awkward as they stared back at me. To make things worse, just as I was updating my family about what happened, my sister found a fly *inside* an ice cube in her water. When I brought this to the manager's attention, they casually mentioned the ice machine had been cleaned earlier that day. Between the staff's rude attitude and the unsanitary conditions, I was completely fed up and had to leave. This place needs serious improvement." read more

Been at this location many times but went Saturday valentines night and was really disappointed, didn't eat there just went to play games and I've never seen so many games not working , i think for now on we will try another Dave and Busters like in Orange ! read more

I have been helped by tree several weeks in a row and she truly is a prime example on how customer service should be! She is always friendly and always trying to help the customers to are absolute best ability. I wish more businesses would have employees like tree.!! A++ read more

worst service ever! do better and don't hire trash employees who don't want to work there. don't know but today around 11am i was treated horribly by the girl server don't know her name but she's fully tatted even her neck is tattooed. dave and busters do better ! read more

The positives: The arcade is fun and has a wide variety of games--everything from classics to newer ones. It's a great place to hang out with friends, grab a drink, and blow off some steam. The atmosphere is lively, and if you like a loud, energetic vibe, this place delivers. The not-so-great: The food was just okay. Nothing terrible, but definitely not worth the price point. The service was hit or misS -our server was friendly but took a long time to check back with us, so refills and extra napkins were a wait. Also, the games are fun, but you'll go through your credits fast, and it can get pricey. Overall, Dave & Buster's is entertaining if you're looking for an arcade/bar experience, but it's not somewhere I'd rush back to regularly. Worth a visit once in a while, especially if you're in the mood for games over food. read more

Stopped in for a quick drink. Bobby at the bar is awesome. Very personable and professional. Bar is extremely clean and well set up. Bobby is definitely an asset to the company. We'll stop by again the next time we r in town. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - Ketel One Rocks. - American Near Me - Irvine, California

Always a good time here, unexpectedly. You don't always plan to end up at Dave & Busters but I had a great time with friends recently and I appreciate the way things are here. Lisa is an exceptional manager, David is cool , Andy is always moving. Skips is the best Barback to ever exist (promote him !!!). read more

I have been coming here for many years and I love the games here. Cocktails here are also my favorite.

We held our small high school end-of-year celebration in one of the event rooms this past saturday. What was supposed to be a fun-filled night for our students turned into a complete disappointment. D&B does not cater to their guests as initially it was a red flag when they informed me I wouldn't be able to set up until 30 min prior to event start. 30 min only? To set up for a 20 person event? Up to the night of the event, my main contact was Kaitlynn. Not once did she mention I would be taken care of another party manager day of. The two staff members in charge of our event was Katie and Steve, an event manager. Prior to arrival, I had called and emailed to ensure that the room would allow me to play music from our aux. Kaitlynn assured me it would. This would be the nightmare that lasted a full hour and made our event a complete disaster. Whatever outdated equipment was in the room, even when connected properly to my laptop, was not operating correctly. We couldn't play music...at our own prom. Steve was unhelpful, while my team and I were standing there sweating bullets trying to figure out how to make this work with our students standing outside for 30 min, waiting, he watches us panic and says, "I'm really sorry this happened." No action or assistance whatsoever. I also could not get him to stay in the room while we figured this shenanigan out. I had to send one of my own GUESTS to purchase an adapter that would allow me to play from my phone, and even with this option, it still didn't work. It honestly seemed as though this was Steve's first week on the job. Our server, Katie checked up on us a lot. She seemed completely helpless and unhappy the entire night. The look on her face and vibe I got from her the whole night was that she was most likely disappointed she had to work with such an incompetent team. For working in hospitality myself for over 15 years, I definitely say this was one of the worst event set ups I've ever seen. D&B, I am disappointed in you. There was no offer of remediation there besides a single cocktail. How do you go on operating events if none of your tech equipment actually works? If you're considering hosting an event here, go somewhere else. read more

I came here for a work recognition event and had lunch in one of their private conference rooms. It was during the day so the place was pretty empty but that didn't bother me since we were also given game cards. Our server was amazing and attentive, he made sure we had everything we needed. The food I'm assuming was from their catering menu since we were in a room and was very good. I especially liked the rice, it came with corn almost like an esquite. The game room was spacious with tons of game. I had a great time and enjoyed the entire experience!! read more

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This was a one-and-done experience. Decided to take the family and two boys to experience the arcade games and get a bite to eat and left sorely disappointed in both. We were given the option to purchase an "unlimited play" card for $60 which comes with an entree. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?! First, the food: to say it is below average bar food would be gratuitous. We ordered nachos, calamari, wings. Everything was over-fried, there were more onion rings in the calamari than there were squid. The chicken wings were dry and tasted like something you'd find in the clearance frozen food section of a cheap grocery store. Costco has far better nachos. So now about the "unlimited" arcade card for $50.Turns out that not all arcade games are included. It lasts for 90 min. We were told it comes with 1,500 points which can be redeemed for prizes afterwards. So after playing for 90 min and racking up an additional 3,000 points, when we tried to redeem the prizes we were told that 1,500 is the max that can be earned. Not 1,500+1,500, just 1,500. And what can you get for 1,500?! Cheap and ridiculous "toys" the 99¢ Store would be embarrassed to stock. A total rip off. The only reason i gave it 2-stars instead of 1 is because our server was actually decent and kinda felt bad for this corporate entity to rip people off. Like i said, one and done. You got me once- shame on you. If you get me twice- shame on me. Never again read more

My sisters and I went there on a Sunday afternoon and only ordered drinks there. I could barely taste any alcohol in our drinks. The bar service was okay and the place is spacious and clean. Their pool table was only $8 before 5pm, a pretty good deal! read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

anthony/not tony/tony the tiger was literally the best server ever. goat. He even gave us his origin story. He was very friendly and funny and bubbly and gave us rock candy but shhh. We also liked his hair. his performance was top tier we had a party of 14 and we all got our drinks instantly! whenever we needed something he got it super fast. best reliability ever. he got all the drinks right all the food to the right person and was delivered at 1000 miles per hour! i would give him 10 starts but it doesn't go that high. #lovetigers #givehimaraise #baddie #curly hair club read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - anthony!! - American Near Me - Irvine, California

Honestly, I have no complaints about this place and I love the arcades so much that Dave & Buster's will always be a 5/5 in my heart. I've been here at least 5+ times over the years and the staff members have always been kind and accomodating. You can find a multitude of arcade games and they continue to update and add more games each time that I visit. My favorite games include: - Basketball - Red Ball Throwing Clown Face Game (lol for lack of a better name) - Beer Pong - Connect 4 Basketball - DDR - Fruit Ninja - Rampage - Piano Keys - Speed Of Light - Frogger You definitely can't go wrong with a date night or quality time with friends/family at Dave & Buster's! read more

Had a bad experience here June 11th 2025 11pm. Asked a bartender for a water politely at the bar and a middle aged woman by the name of "Ally or Allie" responds back to me in a rude demeanor saying "if you can say please first" as she rolls her eyes at me and walks away. She then proceeds to help other customers and ignore my request for the next couple of minutes while I wait at the bar puzzled with the level of service received. I wait for a couple of minutes for her to come back to me and with a dramatic and confused look she asks me in a sarcastic manner "water?". This level of service at the bar is unnecessary and completely unacceptable. Staff had let me know this is not the first time customers have had an issue with this bartender and the manager mentioned that he would "have a talk with her". I come here nearly every week and have spent over 10,000 chips while never encountering any kind of issue before, but this is where it stops. I refuse to come back to this location after this rude service and hope management takes action after reading some of the other reviews here on yelp. On the other hand I was helped by Diana and she was super nice. She helped me pick out an entree to order and walked over the takeout order to me while sitting at the bar. Great customer service and attitude from her, unlike her fellow coworker. Hope to see a change here at this location and potentially be back in the future because this store has lost my business at the moment. read more

Extremely slow service. Food was just ok. Took over 20 minutes to get our receipt. Server was a little ditsy

Dave & Buster's is always a blasttttttttt :) What a great place for adults to have fun. This place has it all. Pool, alcohol, good food, games etc. Came here with a friend for some fun. We started off by playing some pool. The pool tables at this location are off to the side and almost in a separate area. It was kind of nice because it was more mellow there in the pool table area. So it wasn't loud like other areas. We played for about an hour or so. I'm terrible at pool so it wasn't much of a challenge for my friend. I think he got bored of winning lol We went over to the arcade games and started having fun. The zombie game was surprisingly scary lol The big spiders got me! lol I regret to admit I screamed every time like a little girl lol That game also tracks your heartbeat and it was funny to see my heartbeat racing like crazy and my friend's heartbeat was more normal lol The game definitely puts you on blast lol Overall, amazing place to have some fun! read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - Games - American Near Me - Irvine, California

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The good: I've always had tasty food here. The burgers are as good as Red Robin, and today, I had their Philly Cheesesteak for the second time with their Brussel Sprouts, which were probably the best Brussel Sprouts I've ever had. Compliments to the chef! The bad: Unfortunately, I've been here enough times to conclude that the service is usually slow. Doesn't matter who the waiter or waitress is. To be fair, I've only had one server in the past who wasn't friendly, but for whatever reason, they take longer than they should to refill drinks, check in on you, or give you the receipt after you check out. I'm giving this Dave & Busters 4 stars anyway because I rate restaurants by their food quality first, but yeah, expect a visit here to be in the 45-60 minute range between sit down and check out. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - Philly Cheesesteak. Garlic Parm Brussels Sprouts - American Near Me - Irvine, California

My boyfriend and I were sitting at the bar, ordering drinks, when Colette asked if we wanted to keep our tab open or closed. We requested to keep the tab open, and she asked if we had a card to leave on file. Since we do not carry physical credit cards and use Apple Wallet instead, we offered our phones, hoping she could scan our cards that way. While she explained that she needed a physical card, she agreed to keep the tab open. However, she then made the comment, "Whatever you do, don't run away." I was completely taken aback by this remark, especially since the bar was crowded, and we were the only African American customers present. Her tone was serious, and there was no indication that she was joking. This comment made us feel singled out and uncomfortable, particularly because other customers overheard it. It raised the question: why would she assume that we would run away? This experience left me feeling embarrassed and offended, which is far from the level of service I expected from this establisment. There are other bad reviews about Colette mentioning that she could possibly be racist and I ABSOLUTELY agree. She definitely is not someone that I would want representing my company. read more

Dave and Busters is a fun place to hang out with family and friends. This location is spacious and has a lot to offer. It gets really busy on weekends so plan accordingly. Prices have gone up a bit but it's not news anymore, everywhere you go prices are up and service is low. read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - American Near Me - Irvine, California

I decided to celebrate my son's 13th birthday here just this past Wednesday and I can't wait to tell you how flawless and amazing this process was. First, special events coordinator, Monique, made it ridiculously easy to book a last minute semi-private event. I have really bad anxiety and it was more than semi-private. It was PERFECT! When we first got there the first couple of employees were not the most helpful but when I finally got to our section... perfection!!! They had the tables set up perfectly (including a cake and gift table). Our waiter, Ron, was BEYOND amazing and so was Jacob (the manager). They were so catering and made me feel like a valued customer. Food was DELICIOUS! Price was well worth the experience and most importantly, my son had an awesome time. Thank you Jacob and Ron for making this day so special for my baby! Night and day compared to the horrible service at the Dave and Buster's in Ontario (closer to my home). We had the legendary birthday package which included pizza, chicken nuggets, pretzel bites, pigs in a blanket, and fries. I also added the chicken pasta for only $5 more and it was delicious!! read more

Dave & Buster's Irvine - Very private area - American Near Me - Irvine, California