BA Start

647 Higuera St, San Luis Obispo
(650) 336-4083

Recent Reviews

Cilla Ruiz

Turned me and my family down on my birthday at 7:00 because the guy with the long hair said it was 21 and over after 7. When there was a bunch of kids playing but he didnt kick them out only me and my family...

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Josiah H.

This places is great! I taught my fiance how to play pool here and she's getting better and better! I enjoy the games but I don't get to play them often. Employees are sweet. I make sure to visit a business at different hours just to make sure the staff is friendly across the board before reviewing. No complaints! Sure it's a bit dirty but nothing a quick scrub cant fix. It is an arcade so you can't expect it to be polished. Maybe add another member to the cleaning staff and this place would be perfect!

daniel rey

Great food,staff and games! So much

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Kylie Horenberger

Such a fun little spot. Grab a beer and play some old arcade games. Food is nothing to write home about, but it's decent bar good. Gotta love the air hockey and giant jenga in the back too!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Jacob Strong

atmosphere was great. employees were friendly and helpful, and owner personally helped us jumpstart our car. all the machines were fun and in great condition, overall fantastic experience.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Skyler B.

If you want to deal with belligerent adults and an unsafe environment for children, this seems to be the place! Came into play pool and within 5 minutes was being threatened and accosted by some random dude at the pool tables. I came here to teach my girlfriend how to play pool and really regret thinking this was a business where staff would actually step up and help when an altercation or argument occurs inside. He simply walked up and started claiming I was "talking s***" when we had quite literally just entered and got change to play pool. His demeanor got more aggressive and he would not leave us alone. This random guy, who continuously yelled and threatened both of us and attempted to taunt me into a street fight, was able to stand at the front door of the business for almost 5 minutes, yelling and cussing. This is not an exaggeration. He stood in the doorway while slinging threats and insults for as long as he enjoyed, since there was no staff response he knew he could just continue to do so with zero repercussions. This was at 7 pm on a Saturday night and apparently the business finds no need to have floor staff available at this time. Children were still present and running around the arcade at the time as well. Staff didn't seem to care about them either given their non-response. I eventually had to start yelling "Leave us alone!" "You need to leave!" "I'll call the cops right now!" The only person to come and even help was one random patron. Once this guy spoke up and started almost pushing him out, he finally gave up and left. No staff attempted to come over or help, even while I was yelling for help and waving my hands to get their attention. They continued to stand behind the bar and just watch as my girlfriend and I were being accosted by someone who clearly shouldn't have been there. They did not come over or attempt to rectify the situation. I had to be on high alert for the rest of our game, not knowing if he would just come right back inside to threaten us again, since there was no staff attending the door. Imagine this happening to your child or your child witnessing a belligerent man just threatening and trying to fight actual customers/patrons, while staff sits idly by. Does that sound like a kid-friendly environment? There was a definite "bystander effect" going on until one other person decided to jump in and help, since there was no staff stepping up. Its not the job of other customers to have to step up. All it takes is one person who works there to come over and tell them to leave and ask what is happening and it could help ALOT. Not a single word was spoken to us by staff afterward either. Was hoping to like the place but feel extremely letdown by the lack of care from the staff and the lack of security, which should be available when adults are drinking for extended periods of time in an establishment. Wouldn't be surprised if this business got dinged in the future for overserving their customers since they seem to have poor control of their premises and staff. Edit: This was not a month ago, as the owner has tried to assume. This occurred on January 6th (Saturday) around 730 PM. I quickly made a review within a couple days so that the details would still be fresh in my mind and was hoping for a more respectful response. Instead, I am being told a completely different story from another date (how often is this happening that you are mixing up my bad experience with another?). To reiterate, I was only with one other person (my girlfriend), not a group. I specifically asked the one random patron that helped us "Do you work here?" to which he shook his head, said no, and told us he just saw what was happening and decided to help. I am disappointed that instead of being inquisitive and concerned, the owner seems to not want to take any responsibility for the attempted battery that very nearly occurred inside the establishment. This person was clearly intoxicated or waiting to pick a fight, and had been hanging out insi

Zach Roper

I have enjoyed this place every time I've been. Not only do they have a large selection of arcade games, but they also have some non-typical games like a giant Jenga set. They've got a decent selection of bar food. The music is kept pretty loud but not painfully so unless you're right next to the speakers. The staff is pretty nice and helpful. If you have questions. I'd say the only thing that could be improved with this location is if they got some canned cocktails to put on the menu. Outside of that I like going here with friends and I'll definitely be back soon.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Ben Toussaint

Great little gaming spot. 4 pool tables, lots of arcade, a stage (I guess there is music here and there) and a ping pong table. Nothing amazing or fancy but it is perfect for what it’s meant to be.

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 5

Andrew D.

My wife and I escaped the kids for a few hours on my birthday (they're too young for an arcade, I'm not *that* mean) and went here. I love pinball, but even growing up in the late eighties and nineties working machines were few and far between. This place has a big row of them, all but one working. Game prices are very reasonable given inflation (most pinball games are $1, one is 50 cents). They have a ton of other great old arcade games too (I didn't see Gauntlet, police trainer, or Area 51, but I didn't look very hard and they do have the star wars trilogy, metal slug, some Atari classics, several other shooter classics; but really with so much pinball everything else is gravy. The bar has great prices, but beer selection skews towards ipas, alcoholic seltzers, etc., but that's unfortunately pretty standard for California (I'm a Porter and sours guy). They stock tin city cider and alcoholic kombucha which is a win, though. Great fun all around!

Alyssa Akiko

Lovely atmosphere, if a bit loud (it's an arcade bar, that's par for the course). Very friendly staff. Hit it off with Ashley and Rob - highly recommend chatting up the barkeep. Absolutely recommend if you're looking for a chill vibe and friendly people. Great place to bring friends and an intriguing drink selection worth sampling!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

J Valdez

I love this place. We started taking my toddler there. He loves all the lights and sounds. He wants to play games with Mom and dad. Because of this my son gets excited so much when we go here. He has such a wonderful time! There simplistic menu of gamer pizza bagels, chips and salsa/dip, chicken wings. Perfect. I also love that they have gamer events. I feel they should have days for specific console or computer days. Karaoke on Saturdays for adults after 8 would be amazing. Honestly would also be pretty cheap to set up if done right.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Lisa D.

We found ourselves here on a trivia night by accident. Now, we weren't confident, but the gal orchestrating the thing convinced us to join in. We scored pretty horribly, but managed to get the bonus question correct, which resulted in us getting a voucher for a free beer! We'll take it lol!

A Google User

I love this place. We started taking my toddler there. He loves all the lights and sounds. He wants to play games with Mom and dad. Because of this my son gets excited so much when we go here. He has such a wonderful time! There simplistic menu of gamer pizza bagels, chips and salsa/dip, chicken wings. Perfect. I also love that they have gamer events. I feel they should have days for specific console or computer days. Karaoke on Saturdays for adults after 8 would be amazing. Honestly would also be pretty cheap to set up if done right.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

mabaumga !

So, I have been to many arcade bars across the country and this is by far one of the best. It’s the only one that has a combination of retro and modern games, but still offering that retro vibe. If over 21, definitely go at night, the atmosphere transforms.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Frito Boat, Loaded Nachos, Modelo Especial

Annessa Brock

We came here and ended up doing some trivia which was super fun. Lots of fun game options and the owner was really nice. Good drinks and non alcoholic options.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

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