A new arcade opened up near my house last year; they have about 250 games, mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Alas, no beer or hot food there, but it is a fun way to spend an evening.
I’ve thought of it as fairly standard chain restaurant food. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not bad either. The real fun is getting a group of friends together, grab a bite, then drink and play video games for hours.
Re: Dave & Buster’s
Q: Is the food any good?
A: No.
Q: Well, is the food terrible?
A: No more than any other chain “bar/pub/wacky shit on the wall” joint
I’ve had a good time at a D&B’s, but that was in playing air hockey and skeeball with friends. For the food, think Chili’s, BW3 or Friday’s. Maybe half a step down, because they have to spend some on the games and whatnot.
It’s nothing terrible, but it’s not “good”. That said, after a few beers, you can still have a good time. There are games, after all.
Yeah I’m hoping that trend hits these shores (with beer and eats!)
I think they’re fine, but then I also think places like Applebee’s/Olive garden/Chili’s are also ok. (I have a FANTASTIC bartender* at my Chili’s, which goes a long way.) In addition to regular “bar” food (Chicken strips, sliders, nachos, etc.) they also have stuff like steak dinners and pasta dishes and whatnot. I’m sure you’ll find SOMETHING to your liking. I don’t find their prices that high, but I live in the San Francisco area and am numb to sticker shock at this point. I don’t recall anything NEAR as expensive as a $15 martini. I usually get Long Islands and they run 7-8 dollars, which is the going rate at the other chain restaurants I frequent.
*I usually order an “Adios Motherfucker”, which is essentially a Long Island but fruitier. He once made me one that was an entire pint glass of alcohol with a splash of sweet & sour on top. Lawd a mercy! (Then he tried to hook me up with a busboy half my age. HA!)
We go to D&B a couple of times a year to shoot pool. We always get chow there while we’re shooting and it’s always good.
I was first introduced to D&B in Cincinnati when I was in Grad school. All the staff (including me) at the dorm where I worked was treated to D&B at the end of the year. Fun place and good food and decent prices.
I moved to San Diego a while later and shortly after that a new D&B opened up in town. Great games, great facilities, great waitresses (waiters too, I suppose) and very good food. Food prices weren’t any different from other mid-range restaurants in the area – Outback, some sports bars, etcetera. Realize, though, that it’s not Top-of-the-Cove or Bullies and certainly not The Belgian Lion.
I visited San Diego a few months back and visited D&B with a gift card someone had given me (c.f. gift card thread on IMHO). It’s still the same, from ceiling to floor and front door to kitchen. That was actually a bit disappoining, actually. I realized on my way out that the target market is the college crowd – and since San Diego has four major colleges right there and a half-dozen junior colleges pretty close, there’s a lot of young adults eager to spend their money and/or work there – but, while the eye-candy was nice to see, I’m no longer college-aged and didn’t feel like I fit in all that well. D&B thrives in San Diego just on the college crowd alone – plus you’ll get some older people with and without kids in tow for parties. But it’s really not for the young kids, and the adults-only hours reinforce that pretty strongly. As for the games, D&B does a good job of providing stuff that, for the most part, can’t be emulated on a home computer. That generally means stuff to give you more physical ‘immersion’ into the game, like driving games with force sensors or motion-transmitters or shoot-em-ups with gun controls (and the WII is nibbling at that market).
–G!
“Games people play
You can take it or you leave it!”
. --Alan Parsons
. Games People Play
The restaurant is squandered away from the bar, the bar games (darts, pool, etc.) are at the opposite end of the arcade, with the food/bar in the middle and it’s fucking loud no matter where you’re at.
However, I’ve actually found a couple dishes that are pretty good. In particular “Lucy’s Chicken”. But again, it’s better than an Applebee’s, but no better than any other above-average chain. Because, really, that’s exactly what it is. Some pretty good dishes, then a bunch of meh and over the top appetizers/desserts.
It’s not a place you go to because of the food. It is a place you go to play games and you can get something to eat while you are there. The food quality reflects this.
I’ve been to a few Dave and Buster’s and I can’t think of even one that is designed like you’re saying. Each of the ones I’ve been to has the restaurant portion tucked off in a corner and the bar in the middle of the arcade floor. My point being: I imagine the layout is location dependent.
Definitely agree that the food isn’t anything to write home about, but perfectly passable. Decent enough burgers and sandwiches at a not awful price-- definitely along the lines of an Applebee’s type place. The drinks aren’t bad and I half remember them having a decent enough happy hour.
Is it high class? Of course not. But hey, it’s fun to sometimes get drunk and play skee ball with your friends.
This, though I’d say the food isn’t awful or anything. It’d be like going to a bowling alley and complaining that they weren’t serving coq au vin.
People have variously commented on the high-ish food prices. I’d like to note that I found the games fairly expensive – a lot more expensive for pool than at my neighborhood billiards joints.