Barcade

So years ago (at least close to like 5 – 7 years ago) I went to a friend’s birthday party at Barcade in Williamsburg — this is also known as being the «original» one. It was all sorts of awesomeness — it’s in a warehouse/​parking garage type of building and was full of fantastic, nostalgia-​inducing arcade video games, a pool table, cool people and even cooler beers.
Fast forward to 2016, now there are plenty of Barcades and lots of people who aren’t into video games are learning about what they’ve been missing out on. I’ve been into video games my whole life — but even more do now that my fiancé is a (cool) nerd who’s really into the old-​school games of yore. I’m insanely into craft beers so Barcade is really the marriage of our passions into one awesome place. The problem lies in the fact that it always feels very crowded in here unless it’s early or pre-​happy hour. But still, Barcade is generally a really fun way to begin your night.
There is a certain, «if you’ve been to one Barcade, you’ve seen em’ all» vibe — but my personal faves are this one and the one in Chelsea.

I visited the barcade with my best friend over the summer, and we were very nostalgic here. They have a wonderful variety of retro games that you can play, but you best bring a lot of quarters. It is a cute little venue, and the food is pretty good. Average pricing, staff is pretty friendly, and it wasn’t crowded when we went. I imagine on a friday night that it would be filled up with people, but I can’t say. I enjoyed the atmosphere when it was pretty empty. It’s a great place for adults to be brought back to childhood favorites. When we went a few games were broken though which was the only downfall in my opinion.

Come here during the weekday. You will thank the heavens and the stars for how spacious it is as opposed to a weekend. I came here during a freezing cold day. It was almost empty besides us and 4 other people. The drinks are good and reasonably priced. The games are cheap. We came here as a date. It was amazing!

Avis aux fans de jeux vidéo et j’eux d’arcades des années 80 ! Ici, vous trouverez tout ce qu’il vous faut, à un prix abordable (1 quarter la partie), pour passer une soirée dans le plus pure esprit geek branché ! Le choix de bières est très correct, et quelques tables vous permettrons de, au choix, vous assoir pour célébrer vos victoires, ou noyer vos échecs !

It’s where adulthood meets childhood. With a great selection of beer and a variety of video games, you cannot go wrong. It is Brooklyn’s very own Disney World. The prices on drinks are decent and the games are a quarter each. It’s a spacious yet cozy place to meet up with a group of friends who share the same love for arcade games and alcohol :)

Great bar ! First time to this bar and I fell in love with it. My girlfriend and I had a blast. Great games and great drinks. I definitely be returning again

decent concept, but heavily tilted towards the games of the 80s. While I recognize this was the heyday of the arcade game, the games of the early 90s are just nicer versions of the same concept, and just a tad bit more functional. Or i’d accept more old games, but a glut of 80s business seemed like pretty narrow targeting.
Great beer selection. Nice bartender.

Great selection of beers! The arcade games make this venue even better, loved the 4-​player pac-​man game!

Snarkade Alert.
Came here on a very slow Thursday night. One of the machines was broke and ate my money. I didn’t even want my money back, hell its only a quarter. Tried to inform bartender the game was not working so other people wouldn’t lose their money too. This skinny dark haired female bartender starts yelling at me to «just play another game ok!!!»
Whoa. No thanks. This place must be for kiddies. Later Snarkade :)

Props to Barcade for being one of few places in Brooklyn where I can perfectly marry the games of my youth with the drinking privileges of adulthood. With rows of vintage quarter games, sporting colorful joysticks and absurdly simple ‘kick’ and ‘punch’ buttons, Barcade is a time warp of sorts, allowing grown men and women to rediscover a love affair with Atari and Street Fighter. I am not so prideful that I wouldn’t admit to spending many nights trying to defeat the high scores on Tetris, with plenty of cheap well drinks fueling me through the more intense levels. A decent selection of beers are on tap (including one hard cider that tasted just like fizzy apple juice, just the way I like it) are made all the more attractive by the $ 1 off happy hour prices and simple bar snacks are available, though be forewarned — oily potato chip fingers present a slip risk when trying to furiously tap the button that pulls a character’s special hadouken move.
Recent trips have revealed some new developments, such as a token system (so no more using the change machines for your next day’s trip to the laundromat) and a number of new games, such as Star Wars and a multi-​player touchscreen PacMan game. Some nights are busier than others, which might mean queueing up for your game of choice, but there are plenty of other things to occupy your wait time. Besides tons of other games, there are large, rustic picnic-​style tables scattered throughout the bar where you can strategize with your playmate about how to finally defeat the enemies on Final Fight, and even a trip to the bathroom promises ample entertainment as you read the hundreds of handwritten messages left behind in the stall (or maybe that’s just the women’s room).
Even when it’s crowded, Barcade is a guaranteed good time for anyone who tires of the typical bar scene and it’s a great place for anyone — from singles to first dates to married couples (in fact, I’ve made trips out to Barcade during every stage of life, enjoying myself thoroughly every time).

Rotating drafts, rotating games.
thank
you
based
god

Classic arcade games, with a solid bar… enough said

What a great place to get people together. Decided to use this place for my birthday and we reserved tables in advance. The set up was perfect. Drinks were easy with the staff staying on top of things. Very quick, friendly and on top of everything. Thought the music was perfect. The vintage games around were awesome. I was expecting them to be run down but they were perfect. Made it alot of fun and I recommend anyone looking for a fun place to chill to look into barcade.

So after eating da steak at Peter Luger’s in Great Neck, moi and the missus wanted to checkout Barcade. Well, to tell the truth, I wanted to checkout Barcade, she just agreed to hangout at the cost of some future debt. Yikes. So first off, the bar is quiet from the outside and I remember the crazy of the crazy during my days in Alphabet city and the 00s club scene. I got carded and I am sure they do it to everyone because I am 39. Second, you can just go and play games. I am sure the purveyors would encourage your partaking of their beers, but I only played games which rocked. I heard they dont have liquor, but I really didnt check. I played Frogger, Dig dug, Asteroids, Robocop, Ms Pacman, Punch out, Ikari Warriors, Crossbow, and Donkey Kong. Most of the games are set at moderate or low difficulty, but DK wasnt and it ripped me a new bunghole. The joysticks on some games werent as responsive, but Im sure its from wear and tear. They are hipster heavy, but its Broooooklyn, so fuggit about it! Game on!

Drunken nostalgia!!! Is there any kind of nostalgia that’s better!!!
The Barcade on Union Ave is basically everything a child from the 90s dreamed what bars as an adult SHOULD be like– booze & arcade games. It’s this special quality that makes you think you’ve just walked into an adult version of Wreck It Ralph (Side Note: They have basically every real game referenced in Wreck It Ralph– including Tapper, Q*Bert, Ms. Pac Man and more).
The happy hour deals are on point, and despite the rising cost of arcades games since my childhood (I’m looking at you Dave & Busters!), the cost to play each game here is still only around $ 0.25. This fantastic affordability meant me and 2 friends could beat the entire Aero Fighters game for under $ 4.
Truthfully, the beer selection was only above average, but this inebriated sentimental value I received here is almost priceless. Good Shit Barcade, good shit indeed.

Good drafts selection.
Plenty of games to be entertained.
Mixed funky crowd.
Yes, I’m fan. :-)

Its small, narrow, and super crowded. I truly did have fun here, but its hard to enjoy it on a weekend night. NOt as bad as the st marks place crowd though. However, odds are if someone isnt playing a game –theres a reason why. Myself and my date lost many quarters to machinese that no one was playing on, they just ate our money. And clearly we now know why they werent being played on. Beer selection is alright, but i feel other locations have more to choose from. Also there werent many too exciting games here. The one that stood out the most in my book, was the 4 player Pac Man game. That was unique, never seen it before, and was actually alot of fun.

I love me some video games !
super cool spot that just takes you back to when you were a kid bugging your parents for change as you mindlessly plunked down quarters down the coin slots.
they have a whole assortment of games that will take you back to those days, except those fun loving games can now be had with a cool crafted IPA! I am pleased to say that between my and my best friend, we plunked down about $ 5 to beat FINAL FIGHT and left Barcade totally feeling accomplished for the day. We even had a chance to play turtles in time which was a throw back to how fun video games were when all you had to do was press buttons and mash away.
Surprised they didnt have street fighter in the house but they did have Rampage & WWF Superstarrs which def made up for it :)

This place is super fun. Tons of old school arcade games and booze. Not sure how anyone would not have fun here. Ms. Pac Man, Centipede, Rampage, Paperboy, Punch Out, Galaga, Ninja Turtles, Tapper, Timber, Alien, etc. They have switched to tokens since I have been here last, but it’s not really a big deal to me. I rarely get to come here so not a deal breaker for me.

What a cool idea! My husband and I had so much fun here, it was like returning to our youth playing on all the old school games. The bar area was nice, considering you are essentially in a warehouse with concrete floors, and they have lots of beer choices.
They sell Barcade branded clothing and memorabilia. Games are cheap at either 25c or 50c a game. If you are looking for some nostalgic fun pop in and play some 2 player games for a laugh. Racing on Sega Daytona was such a laugh!

This is the original Barcade. If you’re looking for a night to have good craft brews, and also play some throwback arcade games, come here.
Pro-​tip: even though this is the original barcade, the one in Chelsea is a little bigger of a space, has more games and varieties, and has a little more of a polished feel.

It’s a pretty smart idea. There are a lot of games lining the whole bar and a decent amount of benches with seats. This could possibly be a method of meeting new people by competing but it’s a hit or miss. It wasn’t as crowded as I expected it to be. This place is great for gamers!
The bathrooms are gross. One stall had no toilet paper and the other was clogged with pee collecting. Remember it’s a bar so you can’t really expect much.

I’ve been to all of the Barcade locations and this one is definitely my favorite. It’s the most spacious, first of all, so you don’t have to worry about bumping elbows with others while busting your best Streetfighter moves or waiting an hour to jump on Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Second, while the other locations seemed to be your typical loud, young (read: fratty) bars with some arcade games thrown in as an afterthought, this one seems to attract those who actually want to play games. Finally, I believe some of the other locations don’t serve liquor, just beer and wine, so there’s that.
As for me, all I really care about is Tetris. It’s pretty much the only video game I’ve ever enjoyed. So while there’s occasionally a short wait for the Tetris machine, I have found that I can indulge my Tetris addiction without too much interruption. I also like that they have little stands set up next to each game so you can rest your drink while you play. It’s all in the details, people!

Happy hour until 800pm?!
Sold…
I love this spot. Right of the L /​G trains. Super clean and I would say a little hipster. The bartenders are pretty nice. They have a variety of beer options. And you can play VERY old lady pac man, ninja turtles and more.
It’s a great spot to check out on a Friday after work, want to pre game.

Que dire. Des pressions (plus d’une dizaine) qui changent souvent et qui sont toutes à tomber. Des bornes d’arcade avec des parties à un quarter. Et quelles bornes. Berzeker, Ikari Warrios, Gautnlet (et on peut jouer à 4 !!), Frog, Ghosts’n Goblins, etc …
Si je pouvais j’habiterais dans ce bar.
Si vous passez à Brooklyn, vous devez y aller. ABSOLUMENT !

hermoso lugar

Erst kürzlich hatte der New Yorker eine Karikatur in der sich Menschen auf der Upper East Side fragen: undwann ziehen Sie nach Brooklyn?
Brooklyn wird cool. Gut, die Brooklyn Heights haben schon länger so Leute wie Woody Allen, Spike Lee und Barbara Streisand auf der Promi-​Liste. Aber Williamsburg?
Ein Berlin-​Vergleich: Williamsburg zu Brooklyn Heights verhält sich ungefähr so wie Berlin-​Friedrichshain zu Berlin-​Friedrichstraße.
Studis, Künstler, ein bisschen ranzig (selbst geraucht wird in W.B.).
Immer mehr Geschäfte, Lokale und Belebung.
Leider immer noch Taxifahrer, die sich weigern hierher zu fahren. Was allerdings eher mit mangelnder Orientierung zu tun zu haben scheint, als mit Sicherheitsbedenken.
Wir betreten eine ehemalige Autoreparaturwerkstatt und. hurra: ich werde nach meinem Ausweis gefragt. Das ist mir seit 15 Jahren nicht mehr passiert!
Ich darf rein!
Am Tresen fordert das Studium der Bierauswahl heraus. Das Besondere hier: man widmet sich den Kleinstbrauereien in riesiger Auswahl. Ca. 20 – 25 gibt es vom Faß.
Leider ist es nur schwer möglich, sie alle zu probieren. Aber fast alle machen neugierig, alleine schon durch Namen wie Harpoon U.F.O. Hefeweizen; Magic Hat No.9; Southampton Espresso Stout etc.
Das war der Bar Teil. Jetzt zu Arcade! Der Tresen ist in der Mitte. Aussen an den Wänden stehen ungefähr 40 Spielautomaten der 1980er Jahre. Alle funktionieren. Für 25 ct. pro Spiel kann man Klassiker wie Pac Man, Frogger, Zaxxon und mehr spielen. Eine Zeitreise.
Aber auch die versammelten skurrilen Gestalten zu betrachten ist ein Abenteuer.
Hin und wieder (allerdings eher selten) finden Themenabende mit Bierverkostungen statt. Z.B. He Brew Night mit koscheren Bieren.
Sensationell schräg! Wenn in Brooklyn: unbedingt hin.