A regular here and it's great! They have so many events and space. Sometimes it ma get really loud when there's an event happening. There's a quieter parlor on one side (where the PC's are) that's usually quieter. The staff is always friendly and helpful. The snacks are good (the pretzel is HUGE) and drinks are pretty unique. read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Cool place for gamers to hang out. They have a shelf full of boardgames or you can bring your own. It looks like you can rent consoles but we didn't do that this time around. Fun cocktails but limited food items. read more

Guildhouse is a gaming lounge in downtown San Jose. They have both PC games and traditional board games. I came here last night for a game night that one of my friends hosted. All in all, a neat space with a good bar! Fun place to spent a Saturday night. Bartenders were friendly. I wanted to play chess, so turns out you can "rent" it from them (leave your ID there). The closest parking is the convention center garage, which is $1 for 15 minutes. About a 5 minute walk from there down 1st Street. I am not really a gamer, but would return to Guildhouse if my friends hosted another game night. Overall, a fun concept for a gaming lounge! read more

Guildhouse - Bar area - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Amazing place to hang out and game! There are tournaments of people who are experts in esports. The food and snacks are fire. I ended up ordering a calzone, and it was substantially better than I expected. It had a mini salad to go with it that tasted great. 10$. They also serve tater tots and fries for about 7$. I enjoyed the flavor. However, there wasn't any marinara sauce with mine. It was mainly cheese, pepperoni, and bread. The service was good. The lady smiled and was happy to serve me. They also sell beer. The people are usually young, nerdy students who play video games more than they should. Tournaments like League of Legends, street fighter, super smash bros. And overwatch, to name a few. I watch them sometimes, but it's too geeky for me. A lot of alienware and razer blade computers and laptops are in the side room and upstairs area. It's a great place to hang out and enjoy some snacks. No arcade games, though. The other arcade uproar is across the street, but it's dead every time I go there. I played a few games there, but it is pricey compared to miniboss. The best part about this place is that it is huge. There are a ton of people and yet there is still alot of space to sit, game or stand. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing to me especially at night when everyone is out partying or walking around. It's also in a safe area without any loitering and crime. read more

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This spot is cool. Good drinks from the bartender and lots of game to play from board games to computer and PlayStation stuff. read more

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Cool location, very chill vibes, LOTS of space with something for everyone. They have a full bar, to include mocktail options, as well as small bites available. Food and beverages are all walkup, so there intent any servers. But there is a variety of tables big and small to accommodate groups of any size. They have everything from card and board games to consoles that you can rent by the hour in your own semi private area. Very cool spot to hangout with friends and it's walkable to a decent number of other bars in the area. read more

Pretty cool place for this area. Friday night and this place is very large that it wasn't crowded. Lots of seats. Vibe is pretty chill. Bar is located at the entrance. Large selection of drinks. A small "cafe" next to the bar to order food. Small menu. Ordered tater tart and pretzel and both are bussin'. They have board games and large tvs. street parking. read more

As a video game and board game fanatic, I absolutely LOVE the vibes at Guildhouse! Tried one of their drinks and it was a bit too sweet for me, but hey, I'm all about the vibes here! I went with two friends on a weekday late afternoon and there is a LOT of space and activities to do - it wasn't too crowded at this time either. We ended up renting an hour of Mario Party on the Switch at our own sofa/TV and it was so much fun! Eventually, more people came in (it was never overly crowded) and others would play Catan, various board games, play PC games, and more. Also, they host epic tournaments where people can compete for a cash prize! read more

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I always love coming here with my friends, the soju cocktails are so good and they have plenty of seating. The bartenders are so nice as well and they have a ton of board games to choose from. If you want to play on their Switch, it's around $20 an hour! read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Fun spot for big crowds. Love that there's a big range of games (tabletop games all the way to modern PCs) for different folks.

Came here with a party of eight around 8 PM on a Friday night. I have only passed by once before when there was a rave/music event going on, so I wasn't sure how well-lit the place would be. The area is so spacious! I was surprised at how many people it could hold. We didn't have any issues, finding a place to sit, although towards the end of our time, there around 10 PM, there was so much more people. Esports games played on the walls and the noise level was pretty good for how much people there were. There's an abundance of board games on the wall for you to play with your friends. Be mindful of how sticky/dirty the games can be though, as I feel like there were probably drinks poured on some of them. The service to get drinks was quick and friendly They had an array of cocktails and Red Bull-based drinks. We also got two shooters which tasted like candy. I wouldn't recommend the food besides the pretzels. It's expensive and subpar. I recommend filling up somewhere else or bringing your own snacks if you could. The drinks are decently priced though. Overall I'm glad there's a space like this downtown! I feel like it's a great gathering place. read more

Great little spot with areas where you can host a group. Tiny bar but some beers, cocktails, and mocktails. The video games playing everywhere was really cool. And it's in the middle of downtown close to the climbing gym. read more

This is the coolest place ever. Wish there were more places like this. Great atmosphere, nice people, good food with affordable prices. This place is a e-sports gamers heaven but theres board games and outlets for you to just hang out. I come here to work on weekends for a change of scenery. Awesome place! They even have a bar too. read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

I really love the idea of Guild House -- a board game café combined with a bar and restaurant is such a cool concept, and it's exactly the kind of place I want to spend time at. Unfortunately, during my visit, there were several issues that made the experience disappointing. Board games: Every game we played -- and we tried several -- was in poor condition. Cards were sticky, greasy, and felt unhygienic. It seemed like none of the sets had been cleaned or replaced in a very long time. For a place centered around gaming, this really took away from the fun. Bathrooms: I went to wash my hands multiple times throughout the evening, and each time, the soap dispensers were empty. Someone had even filled them with water, which is ineffective and frankly gross. With so many shared games and surfaces, basic hygiene should be a higher priority. Water and cups: The self-serve water station was another disappointment. The tap water itself looked bubbly and off, and the reusable cups had a strong chemical/bleach smell. When I asked about this, the staff member working (tall guy, with hair tied back) was dismissive and rude -- he even blamed me for "sniffing the cups" rather than addressing the concern. I asked multiple times for a disposable cup and was ignored each time, so I gave up on getting water altogether. Food & drinks: I ordered a beer (I think it was the 530) and a pretzel. The beer was fine, but the pretzel was extremely salty -- not in a tasty way, just unpleasant and hard to enjoy. Overall, I still like the concept of Guild House, and I think it has a lot of potential. But the combination of the described issues above made this visit frustrating. I hope management takes these issues seriously, because with better upkeep and attention to customer experience, this could be an amazing spot. read more

Went here with a couple of friends. Nice spacious area with plenty of tables and sitting areas for a group of friends to grab some drinks and play some fun games. The bar line can get pretty long. They drinks are quite sweet for my liking. Overall it was a fun night that I wouldn't mind coming back to enjoy more board games or even video games. read more

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The Guildhouse is a downtown San Jose classic filled with so many events and free board games to be used inside the establishment. As a game bar, it's filled with so many tables that's usable for any tabletop games imaginable. Their drink options are also great and diverse, as someone who loves sweet drinks, the Sarangbae is my go to. The workers are always nice and helpful and there's really a feeling of nerdy community around here that I love. read more

Guildhouse - Chicken Apple Brie Sandwich - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Great drinks, welcoming environment, and fun activities. You can rent video games for $20 an hour. I was accidentally overcharged for a rental and the staff member (I think his name was Sergio!) was very nice about offering me a refund. I this is a great place for dates, large groups, and even coming alone! read more

Super fun place! Very surprised to see such a large, lively, and aesthetic space with so many things to do! There are free boardgames to play and consoles + pc's to rent out, along with bar with fun, game-themed cocktails and snacks as well! There's a nice promotion where if you buy a drink (cocktails are ~$12), you can get one hour free of pc time! The PC area was pretty busy, so it took a while for our group of 3 to find seats for us to sit together. I stupidly forgot my ID, so I couldn't get a cocktail. However, the bartender was super nice and made me a custom mocktail since I mentioned I didn't like the listed mocktails. I'm honestly very surprised and, of course, grateful! And the mocktail was very delicious! I definitely will be coming back here again and trying to get more of my friends to come too :) read more

10/10 vibes!! Very open space with plentiful seating, modern aesthetic with wooden tables. Surprised to find that board games are free to play for patrons. You only have to pay for the PC gaming which is a separate area in the back. We came on a Sunday night before Halloween and there weren't that many people - so service was good and we found seats to sit at (first come first serve). They also had a maid cafe on the day we went. They do host events so you can check their website to see when they're closed for those events or even register for them! I was also surprised to find that the drinks were delicious and decently priced in my opinion as it came in a tall glass. This time we got the Emerald Dream - melon soju cocktail. Menu has cute creative names related to gaming or anime too! Would definitely come back here and even bring my own board games too. read more

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Friday night was lit! It's a big social space with different gaming sections-- one with computers, one with dj like a small rave venue, majority of the space is lined with lots of tables for board games and socializing. They have a bar that serves cocktail and draft beer and I liked the beer, though the service was meh. I didn't come here for the service anyways but this place was a great place to hangout !! read more

We were in the gaming room. Staff was really attentive to our party. I will be back as well as people in my party

Very clean and great for group settings. Lots of seating and areas to game and they also have a lot of table top/board games to use and a cute big connect four. Had lots of fun and would be back. Drinks were yummy and foods are simple and get the job done. Service was sweet and complimented cosplay read more

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This is a great place to hang out with friends or go on a date! My bf and I have been coming here for almost a year now and it never fails to not be an amazing time. For their drinks, it's amazing. The diversity is so great and they change it up pretty often. You can even ask them to customize a drink for you. The cocktails are priced well AND they are tasty. Though, I think they did recently change the cup size for their drinks to be a little smaller For their food, it's okay. They have some small snacks but not really any meal food, so I'd recommend eating BEFORE coming here. The taste is okay. For activities, they have soooo much and they do a great job of changing things up! I have been to their mechanical keyboard convention, their trivia night, their smash tournament, and regular nights are super fun too. They have a ton of great board games to choose from. The staff there is great, everyone is pretty nice and I have never had a bad experience. The restrooms and amenities are always pretty clean and the atmosphere is super chill. I'd HIGHLY recommend coming here!! read more

My sister and I stopped by Guildhouse on a Saturday night around 9:30pm. I've seen the place in passing but never thought to stop by and check it out. To my surprise I found a big communal gathering space for all types of gamers. It appeared that there was even a streaming event earlier in the day. There were shelves full of board games, tables for LAN parties, and lounge areas where you could join multi-player games like Mario Party. Guildhouse was where we capped our night with a couple of soju cocktails. I couldn't tell you the name of the drinks, but I remember mine being a bright highlight blue color. It was sweet and didn't taste like alcohol, but it certainly crept up on me, The bartending staff was great! Our bartender was so friendly and funny. In general, the bartender staff was personable, attentive, and efficient. read more

If you're an avid PC gamer, this is the place for you! But if you're not and you'd still like to have some fun, they have board games, Nintendo Switch, and a PS5 as well. This unique bar offers a variety of gaming experiences for a group of friends for a reasonable price. The building is quite clean and spacious with multiple gaming PCs, a diversity of board games, and comfortable seats and sofas. Along with non-rowdy crowds, this bar captures a perfect ambiance for a chill night out with friends. They also host a few events such as tournaments and viewing parties, as well as reservations for corporate companies, gaming clubs, etc. They have a diverse selection of cocktails and beer to spice up your gaming experience. I've tried the Mana Potion which I thought was a bit strong (not complaining). The hot pockets, especially their pizza hot pocket, are my group's favorite. I personally thought it was a little salty, but it paired really well with the salad side. The food did take a while to be ready, so I suggest ordering food first before your drinks. read more

Guildhouse - Pizza Hot Pocket, Mana Potion - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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shots are $11 beware. but otherwise a fun and unique place. I think the free drink for 1 hour gaming is worth it but $11 a shot was kinda craaaazy read more

Walked in and walked right out when we went to the bar. We wanted to see what the bartender would recommend us and she was not having it. She was not trying to help us at all. Gave so much attitude and even lifted her hands like she was over it. And then she just said "uh soju cocktails". We just said never mind and left. read more

Service was terrible. In the short interactions I had with two separate team members, I was disappointed by their idgaf, lackluster customer service. Won't go back, the afternoon staff were a bunch of rude, bored kids. read more

I came here for the first time with some friends this past weekend and it's such a vibe! They have one large open room with a bar, rows of computers, board games, screens for console games, and lots of tables + other more private rooms for computer games as well. Very chill space to hang out with friends; they stream on the large projectors as well and blast fun music. They have quite a large selection of board games + giant jenga. We were here from around 8 pm - midnight and it got really busy & fun which is a good sign read more

Guildhouse - Board game selection - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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It is absolutely insane how chill this place is. I came here during Fanime, and pandemic or not, DTSJ is buzzing during Fanime, but Guildhouse remained the same level of chill throughout the entire weekend. It's a huge space with eSports and random video game streaming going on with board and tabletop games to keep you from being bored and on top of that the food simple and decent and the drinks are fantastic. The fact that the bartenders are both chill and nerdy (they know their video games) just adds to the overall appeal of this place. I've only gone here once but I see myself coming more often, and being 33, I hate downtown. I'm thinking about spending my birthday here if that's even possible. read more

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Super spacious space to hang out with friends! I enjoyed my time at the Guildhouse by sippin' on my Cali Creamin beer (vanilla cream ale). It was one of the best beers I've had. The venue is lit with lots of bistro lights and gives a rustic vibe. There were lots of board games to play with friends as well. All of the board games are free, so definitely come here if you're in downtown and want something to do that doesn't cost money. In addition to the board games, they have console games and desktop games that you can pay to play by the hour. Nice place to visit if you're bored of San Pedro and looking for somewhere else to go. read more

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Lively, friendly, and fun! Great venue for fun events like the SJ Made's Friend Fest & BTS event I attended. Everyone here is so nice and friendly. Recently went here to play boardgames with my crush, but a lot of 2-player games were missing pieces :( It was hard to find a game to play. Still, a place for groups to just lounge and play boardgames, PC games, and nintendo games is such a vibe. I love the existence of Guildhouse and am very thankful for it. Definitely going to call up my friends to play some boardgames here (we'll bring our own just in case... BYOBoardgame). The tables are very long and there are plentiful so it's just perfect for groups! read more

Drinks and menu is expensive for what you get but the amount of entertainment is great. There's twitch streams going on on tons of different TVs, a separate room for PCs, Super Smash on the back, and other cute Switch games happening. read more

This place was great! The ambience was very trendy and lots of lighting. Monitors had games playing on them, and there were PCs available for use. They also had a nice board game selection, where I sat down with friends and tried a new game out, as well as had some drinks. Staff was also helpful in picking out a drink and were friendly! Would come here again possibly for the game nights :) read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Affordable drinks, spacious inside, fun activities for friends to do, AND they have very friendly staff! I was first exposed to this place when they hosted a BTS K-pop event here. When I saw how cool it was inside, I knew I had to come back to drink with my friends! This is a unique place to check out in DTSJ. Great place to just chill and drink a few cocktails. Not only does it have a bar with $11-$14 cocktails and affordable beers... they are also a PC bang! $6 to use the gaming computer for an hour OR get a free hour with the purchase of a drink at the bar. They also have a few gaming consoles to play! Anyone up for some tipsy Mario Kart? There's lots of board games and card games to play! So many to choose from! They also have a giant Jenga in the middle of the place. Tons of Twitch streams playing on their projectors too, which is cool! read more

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Came here to attend a Cosplay Comedy event on a Saturday evening. The venue is super large and spacious inside, like a giant warehouse space, but it's pretty much a gaming spot with plenty of tables and seating, lots of TV's and screens, and even boardgames (a whole shelf stacked to the top). The place was clean and inviting, and the show we attended was cool. The comedy was interesting because the comedians/performers did jokes related the the characters they were dressed up as, while staying in character. It's exactly what you would expect of cheap comedy... no well known comedians here, but most of the characters in costume were known... maybe.... at least for all the nerds out there. There were a lot of puns and plays on words, and lots of corny jokes, which I appreciated, but I'll laugh at anything. And some dirty jokes too in a weird, coming from Raggedy Ann and Freddy Krueger, kinda way. One of the performers/musicians, Ben, even played songs on the keyboard about needing therapy, and about his dating profile and stuff like that, the lyrics were good for a laugh, but not super impressive. Overall I had fun. Even though the show was in a separate room (the Parlor), you had to buy drinks from the main Guildhouse bar. Bartenders were slow and distracted. And the Phoenix Rising beverage had good flavor, but low on alcohol. On this night, the SubZERO art festival was taking place outside, so parking was unavailable out front. But here in the SoFA district, it's your typical street parking situation, with few free parking options in downtown SJ. read more

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The crowds here are pretty lively! It's a pretty cool and chill spot to hang out and casually get drinks from the bar. They have a lot of board game options and PCs you can rent out for a certain amount of time. Seems pretty average priced for everything. They also have pretty clean bathrooms and the place itself is wellkept. They host a lot of different events that you can check out on their website. I came on MAR10 Day and the workers wore Mario-themed hats and mustaches. They played old-school Mario and streamed it for everyone to watch. :] There's limited street parking and a bunch of parking lots around the area. I paid around $15.50 for a parking lot but my coworker paid $14 for the same one.. the parking lots might be inconsistent for pricing. The only con of this is the wait time for food. They provide a buzzer to let you know when the food is ready but it took around 20-30 minutes to receive our one order of pretzel. My coworker ordered a hot dish and it took around 30-40 minutes to get it. By that time, most of us forgot we even ordered food! Overall, I would definitely come back here for a casual but fun hangout! Note: I really liked how the workers asked if we were comfortable with getting photographed and recorded. read more

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I came here on a Thursday night with friends and it was slow at first, but once the night rolls on it gets super popping here! The bard enters and servers are very helpful, and there are so many games and good drinks to try (my personal favorite was the strawberry beer)! It was such an interesting experience, I'll definitely come again when I get the chance. read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Came here last Saturday for a smash tournament my boyfriend was playing in! The tourney had about 300 people attending, so the afternoon definitely started out packed. It was also pretty fun to watch the smash games on the big screens- all the setups felt super up to date and smooth functioning. The space is really nice, large and open, well lit and welcoming feeling. Definitely feels more approachable than some of the dimly lit or more cramped bars in downtown sj. My only complaints are that the bathroom seemed a little unattended to (stalls out of order/unclean), and the water from the h2o tap tasted a little funny.... both me and my boyfriend didn't like the taste it had. I ordered a soju cocktail, the Lych King, which tasted great, and also had me feeling nice but not overly tipsy! Also got a side of tater tots which came with a cheese dip and bbq sauce for dipping. They were nice and crispy, and a good pairing with the cocktail. Guildhouse has a bunch of board games on a shelf for customers to play which is nice too! They have both popular games and some more obscure ones it seems- we considered playing a tabletop rpg game that seemed dnd like. Would love to come back for another drink and a good time :) read more

Guildhouse - The Lych King soju cocktail, buzzer for the tater tots i ordered! - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Been out here a couple times and I feel like I got a good read on this place now. Really enjoyable environment especially for large groups. Pro Tip: JUST CLOSE YOUR TAB EVERYTIME AT THE BAR I don't know any other place that has a wide selection of gaming in table top format, desktop format and console format. So it's nice you get the option depending on what you're feeling in the moment. What's cool too for the table tops you're able to play a new game whenever you visit. (At least what I've noticed) I haven't touched the computers but everyone I've seen use them really seem to enjoy themselves. Along with the console games and you're able to lounge and play on a couch like you were at home. Food selection is very limited and small, catered mostly to big individual meals that you can cut to share. It would be nice if they could have more options that are more sharable like, fries, tots, nuggets etc. Beer/Cocktail Selection - AMAZING forsure, Beer Taps at the ready and very witty cocktail names that's fitting for the gaming community. HOWEVER, every time I've gotten a drink with a tab. Trying to close it out is just inefficient. I have to wait in line behind people who are still ordering drinks. I'm pretty sure I spent 10 minutes just trying to close the tab just by waiting. There were 3 bar tenders, 1 of which was making drinks and the other two were just cleaning up or just standing. It would be nice if one of them could announce if they could help anyone next in line OR a designated area with a sign for paying/closing tabs. TAKEAWAYS: AMAZING SPACE, GAMES, ALCH SELECTION read more

Guildhouse - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California