# Dave & Buster's: Is The Food Any Good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065 "2011-11-06T16:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/1 "2011-11-06T16:29:42Z")
Massachsetts is about to get its first D&B restaurant (South Shore Plaza). My question: is D&B just another chain restaurant (e.g. Chilis, Olive Garden, etc.?). Or is the food actually stuff you want to eat? Opinions welcome! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/2 "2011-11-06T16:43:40Z")
Dave and Busters is a bar concept that combines video games and carnival games (skeeball, etc), a full service bar, and food. Yes, they have food, but I’m not sure where you got the idea it’s mainly or primarily a restaurant. The main reason you go there is to play air hockey and Spy Hunter with your bros in a relatively kid-free environment. I’m pretty sure their food is about the same as bar food anywhere - burgers, nachos, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/3 "2011-11-06T16:57:03Z")
The TV commercials make it look like a Chuck E. Cheese for semi-adults. You would have to kill and cremate me to get me into one, and even then my ashes would make a break for the door. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/4 "2011-11-06T17:03:36Z")
I haven’t been to D&B for nearly a decade. Middle-management loved it. They thought it was just the thing to treat the proles. (Well they didn’t actually ‘treat’ us; they just set up the luncheon and we had to pay for it.) The food struck me as similar in quality to other middle-management hotspots like TGIFriday’s. Good enough, over-priced. The games? Meh. I guess they’re OK if you want to go back to 1980 and hang out in an arcade. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/5 "2011-11-06T17:06:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The games? Meh. I guess they’re OK if you want to go back to 1980 and hang out in an arcade. That would be a _good_ thing. When I went they didn’t have any video game from before 1992 (and this was in 2000). I don’t even remember what the food was like frankly. At least it wasn’t actively bad like Applebees. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/6 "2011-11-06T17:11:53Z")
Went to a birthday party at one here about a year ago; the food was above-average to good, albeit overpriced, but there were some halfway decent games and we all had a good time. And I wasn’t even drinking! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/7 "2011-11-06T17:13:51Z")
It is a chain restaurant where the food is not the attraction. It is a great place to take your kids on their 21st birthday. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/8 "2011-11-06T17:49:41Z")
IMO, the food is pretty comparable to what you’d find at a casual dining restaurant, like TGI Friday’s, Chili’s, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/9 "2011-11-06T18:03:22Z")
The food is adequate enough but I’ve never hard anyone say “let’s go to B&B, I love their burgers!” D&B also has billiards, darts and other games of that stripe. It’s a place I enjoyed going to in my 20s but now that I’m in my 30s it doesn’t have the same attraction. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/10 "2011-11-06T18:07:12Z")
We used to go to D&B’s a lot in college because it was a clean place to play pool or snooker and it had a bunch of video games and semi-hot waitresses. But the food? Definitely, as some have said TGIFriday’s quality, only slightly more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/11 "2011-11-06T18:12:23Z")
It’s typical bar and grill style food, which is to say that Michelin-star cuisine it is not. But if fried mozzarella sticks and potato skins are your thing, then you won’t be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/12 "2011-11-06T18:45:38Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Definitely, as some have said TGIFriday’s quality, only slightly more expensive. Yeah…it’s pretty much a TGI Friday’s with pool tables and a video arcade. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/13 "2011-11-06T18:50:29Z")
IMHO the food at D&B is closer to Chuck-e-Cheese (horrible) than it is to Fridays or Chilis D&B is C-e-C with beer. Not a ringing endorsement in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/14 "2011-11-06T19:08:07Z")
I used to take my kids there when they were younger. The food is fine, nowhere near Chuck-e-Cheese level. Nowhere near. More like Chili’s, which is just fine for what it is. It isn’t that expensive, either. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/15 "2011-11-06T19:31:06Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > IMHO the food at D&B is closer to Chuck-e-Cheese (horrible) than it is to Fridays or Chilis > D&B is C-e-C with beer. Not a ringing endorsement in my mind. Chuck E. Cheese actually does serve beer. It’s likely the only way to keep the chaperones sane in that place. True story: we once tried to hold my friend’s (25th) birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, only to be told that we weren’t allowed to, since none of us were kids. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/16 "2011-11-06T19:38:37Z")
I had the misfortune of going to the D&B on 42nd st. in NYC. A martini was $15 and the chicken caesar salad would have been judged poorly had it been served in an elementary public school. All that plus the ambience of trailer park rec center. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/17 "2011-11-06T22:45:02Z")
My old D and Bs (Indianapolis) had fantastic food. Their double cheeseburger was always to die for. Their fondue dessert is also aces ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/18 "2011-11-07T00:31:27Z")
“…a Chuck E. Cheese for semi-adults…D&B is C-e-C with beer…The food is adequate enough…I don’t even remember what the food was like frankly. At least it wasn’t actively bad…the food is not the attraction…All that plus the ambience of trailer park rec center.” We have one in town. And with those fabulous endorsements, we’ve just gotta go next weekend!!\* \*I just haven’t been able to figure out what to do for fine dining since the Hooters shut down last month. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/19 "2011-11-07T04:05:37Z")
Not knowing what you consider good, it is hard to say. For my tastes, D&B was edible (it’s been awhile as the kids mostly grew out of it). CEC is inedible, and Chili’s is passable as long as margaritas are coming fast and furious, IMO, so you can use that for comparison. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to any other chains, like TGIFridays, Applebee’s, etc. (about as long since I’ve been to D&B), but I remember D&B as below that level (and I didn’t think too much of the chains). Just one person’s opinion. Of course, my opinion is indistinguishable from fact, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065/20 "2011-11-07T04:30:12Z")
I was only in it once, enjoyed it. I miss old style arcades and it had games like House of the Dead etc that I enjoyed playing. The slot machines etc were fun too but that old ticket racket is a load of bollocks. The food was good enough, not amazing, as someone above said it was roughly on a par with TGI’s. I think I’d like a bar/restaurant with lots of old arcade games, like Sega Rally, Daytona USA, shoot 'em ups, and classics from the '80s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-busters-is-the-food-any-good/602065.md?page=2)