ID check at the door. Was not busy in the early evening during a street festival, but it was a Friday and I don't know the dynamics of this town. You get 4 tokens for a dollar. The pinball machines I played took 2 tokens for 3 plays. I played The Shadow (fun!) and Stargate (also fun!). We stayed maybe 10 minutes. I did not order a beverage. read more

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I've been here a few times. Always a good time. All token plays. Lots of great pinball machines. The classic video games like pac man. 2 Ski ball games. Air hockey. All the best games. A few pool tables when you walk in. Nice bar with friendly staff. It is quite loud with music blasting. Don't come here to visit & catch up with friends. Play games & drink. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is such a fun concept for a bar! We came right after it opened, so it wasn't too busy. But looking forward to coming back on a Saturday night. My favorite game was the pinball, and my wife's favorite was skee ball. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A tough one to rate. As a bar experience, it is great. Staff is very friendly, and the beer list is surprisingly solid. Lots of options. I had a great Pigeon Porter on draft with some bourbon that I enjoyed very much. The atmosphere is also great. It's all dim lighting, neon, and fun video game themed artwork plastered all over the walls. The problem is - as an arcade experience, it falls flat. During our recent visit, probably 30-40% of the games were out of service, including their only skee ball lanes. And of the ones that are working, several are nearing the ends of their useful lives, and it shows with joysticks that only work in certain directions, or get stuck. It was hard to find games that operated correctly. It's a shame because the collection isn't bad, if the games were all working. They do have pool tables out front, though, if you like your gaming a bit more analog. read more

This place is so much fun. Pool, pinball, skeeball! Always rocking awesome music and a good beer selection! Weekday specials are pretty good! And just service is so friendly! Def worth check out. Only thing keeping it from a 5 star is the other locations are slightly better! All worth check out tho! read more

Such a refreshing and entertaining spot with a really creative vibe. The space blends classic arcade energy with a modern bar atmosphere, making it easy to relax and have fun at the same time. There's a great mix of games that bring out a playful, nostalgic feel while still keeping things lively and social. Everything felt well organized, and the environment was welcoming from the moment we walked in. It's the kind of place that works just as well for a casual outing as it does for a more upbeat night. Definitely looking forward to coming back again and spending more time here. read more

The employees at the bar were very attentive, but the menu and marketing could use some updates.

We went in on a Thursday night ngl they vibes were sad. They were playing elevator music or like jazz around 8pm further into the night Dj ACE Spade showed up to rock the places with hits. It definitely made things better. You can bring your own food in. PRO TIP HAROLDS IS ACROSS THE STREET! so it's a win win. They bar doesn't have food so their super accommodating on that gesture. I'll definitely return. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Lively atmosphere with bumping music and loads of retro games. I loved having a drink and enjoying the art painted on the walls. I was there on a Friday and there was a live DJ. The drinks were reasonably priced and they even had a cheap beer special. The games cost about one or two tokens. I think it shakes out to be about 25 cents per token. I used $5 and was able to play as many as I wanted. I especially loved all the pinball machines. I would definitely come back for some late night fun! read more

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What a fun time!!! Great friendly service from the security and bartenders. Love the beer selection!!! They have a lot nice craft beers. I hated the paper straws lol it closed up on me with my slushee LOL luckily he gave me a new straw. Most of the pinball machines were broken, got to play pool, skee ball and basketball. Everything gets taken asap but just wait by it and wait until it's open. Overall very fun spot. read more

Was not allowed to enter because a white guy at the door said my id was "not valid" meanwhile it was an "under 21" id which is why it was horizontal ... even when I explained that they were not trying to hear nothing of what I was saying. I assume it was because I'm black and I didn't want to assume that but there is no other reason as to why me and my group was turned around. Completely disappointed. read more

I've been here a few times to play arcade games. It is clean and service is fairly quick to get a drink. It is free to get in and there usually isn't a line to play games. It's a cute date night or place to go with friends or coworkers. They don't have food. I'll go back. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was a fun bar to check out. I love arcade bars! My friends and I came to kill some time before our table was ready at a nearby restaurant. I got a can of Juneshine (hard kombucha). They have Miss Pac Man and Galaga! You have to purchase tokens to play. There aren't that many spots to sit. There's some seating at the front by the pool tables and some tables in the back. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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very cool little arcade! enjoyed playing air hockey and NBA Jam as well as Mortal Kombat. loved the options for THC beverages for the 420 friendly crowd that may not drink alcohol, very cool. only thing that would make this place better would be Dance Dance Revolution! read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Stupid Soda Blue Razz - THC soda - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A bar and arcade hybrid, Emporium is truly such a unique and fun place. This is the type of bar I'd recommend to people traveling to Chicago to get that real Chicago feel! My friends and I spent like 2 hours here. We came after brunch around 3:15 and there was very minimal people. They're very Covid compliant and you can smell the cleanliness right when you walk in. Hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere! The drinks here are very standard, but then again we got basic mixed drinks like vodka cranberries and vodka soda limes. They had cool cocktails and 2 alcoholic slushee machines. The bartender was soooo nice, as well! My friends and I played almost all the games - our favorite was skeeball. I know they have other locations, but I really liked this Wicker Park location and would totally recommend it! read more

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Love the Ambiance, atmosphere and games! Travelers beware they tow in this area!!! I ordered the peachloma which was great and variety of games are great and the music selection was good! Wish I could have played a little longer! read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Peachloma - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Manager was very rude! I think his name was Andy? Idk I was just uncomfortable. Not a good vibe.

This place was packed beyond belief. Couldn't even enjoy ourselves cause we couldn't move. Drinks were overpriced they didn't serve food.

Just popped in because the logo looked cool while walking, but I think this is a cute little date spot to check out esp on a Monday since it's FREE POOL all night long! (Also read for funny story) Walked in and it's got the cutest ambiance with pink neon light and spray painted walls with different arcade game characters all over. There were a few long tables available and I saw a cute Photo Booth (in pictures). I asked the bartender for the sweetest cocktail/"drafttails" and got the Rumedy Slushee which was actually very fruity and summer-y. I loved it since it was essentially a cocktail Icee and cooled me down from walking around the city. And I was by myself and some rando started acting up and called me a b-- for not giving him attention. And even held up the chair for a second. But the bartender immediately called for the bouncer and kicked him out. Felt very safe because of her. Definitely will be checking this place out with my bf for game night and pool (specifically on Mondays!) & sending my thanks to the bartender! read more

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The emporium was one of my favorite things I did in Chicago despite a few hiccups! I wish they had these in LA. Emporium has a ton of old arcade games which made it such an experience. This is a great place to meet friends or to have a date. We got there around opening and had the place to ourselves for a while, which was fun because we could try all the games! The reason this was not as great as it could have been was many of the games were broken. We paid for tokens and ended up leaving most of them because half the games were out of service. In addition to this, the service was pretty unfriendly and bad. The bouncer was really really rude- we went inside and walked to the bar because we didn't think he was an employee; he was eating and going on his phone at the bar. He acted like we were trying to sneak in, despite it being super empty and us being clearly over 21. The bartender was also pretty standoffish and did not explain the tokens very well. My partner asked a few questions about the drinks available and she seemed genuinely annoyed by them. If they fixed up their games a bit and trained their staff, this would easily be 5 stars! Love this idea. read more

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TLDR: Awesome bar with great selection of retro games and stiff cocktails. Perfect place to hang with a group. Vibe: 5/5. Very cool decor from floor to ceiling. Anime murals on the walls with blacklight accent lighting in both rooms gives it a retro arcade feel. On the night we went they had several electronic DJs playing until close. The selection of retro arcade games is impressive. They have all the 90s fan favorites such as Lethal Enforcer, Rampage, Mortal Kombat etc. The classics like skeeball, free throw and air hockey are also present. Service: 5/5. The bartenders at the Emporium are excellent. Attentive and professional, they kept the drinks flowing all night long even during peak hours. Drinks: 4/5. Offering your basic cocktails and decent beer selection. All drinks were made stiff and well concocted. Had a decent draft selection of about a dozen or so local brews. Prices were very reasonable. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Love this bar! Been to a few locations. This one is huge which is great for lots of games and room to hang out. Huge bar. Good drink deals.

While in Chicago for our staff retreat, we were looking for a fun place for team bonding and drinks. The Emporium was by far the perfect spot! The bartenders were extremely nice and had fun pouring us drinks all night long. The tokens are cheap and our big group of 20 were able to stay for hours, having fun the whole time! Highly recommend for anyone looking for a fun night out! One item to note is they don't have food at the Emporium but allow you to bring it outside food. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a good place for adults who like arcade games and for a first date because it's somewhat interactive and have a good vibe to get to know someone. However, I was not too impressed by the place in terms of the games. You have to buy tokens to play the games, but the day I went, most of the games were broke. It would have been good if the staff would have told the patrons that the machines were not working or had signs on the broken machines. Besides not having the best game experience, I really liked the vibe of the arcade. They have a full bar and an array of craft beers. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Arcade - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

4 stars for great location, cheap drinks, awesome games, and a good old time! This place is located in Wicker Park amongst awesome restaurants and bars. I came on a Saturday night and they had a live DJ playing top 40s and old school hip hop and R&B. A good mix for everyone main stream. There are tons of arcade games, pinball machines, basketball, ski ball, and so much more! My personal fave is the 1990s Mortal Kombat arcade. It takes me back =). The games cost between $.25-$.50 each, but you'll need tokens. Easy peasy to get. The drinks are super cheap! Although they only had one bar open, the wait was still not bad. The DJ plays all kinds of music and there's a small dance floor if you wanna get jiggy with it (cheese galore)! They will check for vax card or a negative covid test plus you have to enter with a mask, although, you can take it off the minute you step foot in the door. This place is sooooo fun. I can't wait to go back. read more

I been to the Logan Square Emporium more often as I only came to the Wicker Park location once. It had a similar feel, the only difference for me was that the I liked the Logan Square location better because of the open space and the Wicker Park location has a partition between the two sides. The biggest difference though with the Wicker Park Location is that the DJ Stage was much bigger which I did like. Although the Wicker Park Location felt a little too dark for me compared to the Logan Square location which I still like much better. Other than that, it had the same general feeling. read more

Super cool and fun barcade! You can get 4 tokens for $1 and drinks are relatively inexpensive for the area. My friend brought me here and we had a great time playing through all the games. Some of them were out of order but had signs saying so. The staff were kind and people respected each other taking turns on the games. They offered some free samples while we were there as well. I would recommend for a nice game night out read more

Had a great time playing various pinball games and skeeball. Definitely worth a stop if you're nearby.

Fun place to be! The space is big enough to still be roomy on a busy Friday night and each wall houses a game that's great to play with friends. We successfully engineered a dance floor in the middle of a raised seating area and for an hour or so, strangers came to dance with us! Emporium is the kind of place chill enough to let you create a dance floor even though the music is old soul records from the 60s and 70s. Definitely would come again. read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Ski ball machines to show off your mad skillz - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So much fun!!! Best bar in Chicago. If bartender Dave is there, you're in for a great time! Great service, great environment, all around great time! 5 stars! read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Did not realize this place was a chain with spots in different cities so it was cool to stop in and check out. Solid beer selection and a limited (but still fun) assortment of games to keep you entertained. At the end of the day it's a just bar with some pinball machines but still a good spot to stop if you need to kill some time. Be prepared to show your vaccination card! read more

I went over there with a fellow Boricua brother and his colleague to talk a little business and about education in Chicago. My friend's colleague is also an instructor. I teach Geography at city colleges of Chicago and I haven't been that area for a while by choice. Let's just as as an Urban Geographer and Puerto Rican, I understandably do not like when our communities gentrify but they offered to buy be a drink so what the hell. It's a good chance for some sweet socialogical observations. I also have arthritis, early 50s, and am technically disabled so I limp a bit. Mind you I rarely drink and don't spend money in these types of "hipster" bars. I was sober as can be but a free drink and a quick build seemed cool with me. When we started to walk in, the bouncers let 2 of us in but denied me saying "we can't allow you in because the owner saw you stumbling". He obviously tried to imply that I was a dunk trouble maker when I was the total opposite. Nothing new here. I told him that this is racist and discriminatory considering who I was and how the area is on the last stage of gentrification. Btw gentrification first happened in England to Anglo folks before y'all think I am intentionally making this about race. In fact, the bouncer said he was Puerto Rican too and that "it's not racism". I said it is still discrimination based on perception of appearance. Then the other goofy bouncer said "you can't come into a private establishment" . I then said , "It's cool, I prefer the public. " to which I received blank stares and averting eye contact. A sure sign of lying and decent. I just said whatever, I need to go anyway because I had real work do the next day. You see, I do real work for the community and not post up as an attack dog for an establishment that takes away from whatever community is left. They gave me a police vibe or a wanna be police vibe. This is interesting because I had fail many wanna be cops because they couldn't understand basic social and spatial concepts so would be a sure danger to communities and the working poor in the city. Plus they couldn't even write a paper with their own thoughts or find any relevant research. Thanks for nothing. Very typical of these times. read more

You guys need new bouncers. I'm 29 years old and have no reason to have a fake ID. Your bouncers denied me at the door because they thought my ID was fake because the blue in the background was light? If you put a flashlight under the ID you can see the Illinois and the two eyes light up. I've been in that bar countless times with the same ID. I still have tokens from the last time I was in there. Your bouncers are cucks and your bar sucks. read more

This place is epic! Free live music while you play games. The highlight was definitely pool for only 50 cents a game. Where else can you find pool that cheap. Tons of fun at this late night hot spot! read more

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Service is great and some of the games are fun. Unfortunately about 30% of the games are out of order and the lines get pretty long on the weekends. Women's bathroom was acceptable but the men's was something out of a horror film. Feces everywhere. When we told the staff the manager told us "yeah, I'm honestly not going to deal with that". I can't blame him. It was pretty sick and after all he wasn't the animal whose a** blew out onto the walls of the men's room (or was he? We'll never know ). read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Really fun barcade in Chicago! They have many arcade games, pool tables, and a dance floor. It was pretty packed on a Saturday night. I loved the beer selection and the unique names. Overall highly recommend checking out if you're in the area and are looking for something fun to do! read more

Ugh. Another reason why I say that the DMV needs more arcade bars!! I go in, they're playing 80s and 90s music the entire time. Arcade machines, pinball machines, and even skee ball is everywhere! The bar is spacious and they have a tasty gin & tonic on draft. How cool is that? What I really liked is the fact that even though the bar was completely full, the bartenders didn't act overwhelmed or take a while to flag at all. That's how bartenders are supposed to be and I respect that! Bar aside, I found myself playing Ms. Pac Man and Galaga and reliving some glory days. Maybe they could use another token machine on the other end where the pinball machines are, but other than that, I really don't have criticisms of this place. They make a good use of the space in the fact that even when it gets crowded the layout allows for you to breathe. Shout out to 25 cent games, I'll be back! read more

This arcade bar was a blast with several games to choose from and great music the whole night!

This was my 1st visit to Emporium and it was amazing! The decor is pretty great with colorful graffiti art. The night we were there they featured a live band called Low Down Brass Band and the music was awesome and really got the crowd going! The band had a New Orleans blues feel mixed with hip hop, please check tjem out! I left my bar tab open and my bartender was the best because every time he saw me he poured my absolute favorite stout which was Hunter by 18th Street Brewery which is a sweet milk stout and it reminds me of neapolitan ice cream! They have a great selection of beers. And if all that isn't enough to get you to visit Emporium, the best part are all the games! There's table games, pinball and old school arcade games...my favorite and seemingly most popular game was Super Mario Brothers and Paperboy, talk about childhood memories! Go to Emporium already it's like an adult playground! read more

Emporium Arcade Bar - Arcade games - Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The coolest retro arcade bar for grownups. Lots of throwback old school arcade games and pinball machines. Super Fun. You can stop by the bar and order yourself a nice cold beer or cocktail. This place has over 50 arcade games, pinball machines and skee balling. Emporium host a lot of events for you to enjoy that features live music shows and game tournaments. You can even book companies parties or host your next birthday party. Decent Area that is within walking distances from other bars and restaurants. It can get jammed pack and super noisy on the weekends and also during the week. I have been here a few times and I have always had a wonderful time. Nice laid back vibe, decent music playing and drinks. It's a decent place to come and hang out with friends for a few hours. Some of games needs a little maintenance on them and tidy up the washrooms. read more

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