Three Lives — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

I'm always hyper critical of bars and typically only rate bars on amazing experiences or terrible experiences. I'm a huge speakeasy, prohibition era, whiskey bar kind of guy. I love the classic cocktails as they never fail when made right. I'm also a huge mixology fan, though most places miss the mark. That being said, this bar does everything you can do right, and I'll break my review down into multiple sections, as one paragraph is not enough to describe how great of an experience I had here.

Atmosphere: The moment I walked in with friends, I knew it was going to be a great spot. They have a lot of classic video game references and old arcade machines. The name "Three Lives" references that as well. It's a small establishment that does so much with the room they have. All of the food and drinks are references to video games, which makes it a better experience.

Staff: Every staff member was friendly and welcoming. My group had great conversations with them all about our favorite video games, series, and consoles. It was like talking to people who you grew up playing the same games with. It was a very nostalgic experience to reminisce over the great games created. They were professional the entire time, joked with us, made us laugh, and carried great conversations. I have to give the bartender/mixologist her own highlight. She was an absolute artist with her craft of creating cocktails. She was able to make most of the classics with ease and created her own cocktails that had amazing flavor profiles and spunk towards the bars theme. She was super knowledgeable about mixology as well, which thoroughly impressed me. Like I said previously, she has mastered her craft, and I'm excited to try more of her cocktail creations.

Mixology Ingredients: The bar has an average selection of ingredients and spirits, yet they maximize the creativity they can with those ingredients. All of the cocktails are video game based and actually look like what they are referencing. It's such a niche experience you have to experience firsthand. I asked the aforementioned bartender if they had green chartreuse (a rare spirit that I love), and even though they did not, she knew what it was, and we had a great conversation about it. There's some off the menu items you can ask for that make the experience even better.

Food: The food is also video game themed and creative as well. I enjoyed my tater tot appetizer. It enhanced the bar experience for me. I can't say too much as I only had the one appetizer, but I'd love to try more items.

Events: The bartender invited us to a future emo night event that me and my friends and I will attend. She let us try the cocktails on the list for that night, and they were amazing. Can't wait to have them again. They also have a "Roll for a shot" that is a great experience overall. I enjoyed all the creative shots I rolled for, as did my friends. The shots are just as well thought out as the cocktails and taste great.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. I can't wait to go back. I wish I lived...

Can't say enough good things about this place...we (my husband, my cousin and her husband and I) came to Syracuse for a fun weekend. Our first stop was a quick dinner here before a concert. Our server Alex was superb in every way; funny, knowledgeable, and kind. A great guy. Our food was excellent and creative, the atmosphere will put a smile on your face, and the music playing made us really happy. We had several varieties of wings, chicken sandwiches, awesome desserts, delicious mac and cheese, perfectly seasoned fries, and really creative cocktails. The experience was so fun, we went back for more food and drinks after the concert. Alex served us again after 11pm, and was just as fun and friendly. The next day, we just had to come back again for more great food and drinks. There are dozens of bars in the area, but this one really made us want to visit 3 times in 24 hours. I can't speak too much about the video games, as I haven't played in decades, but my husband said they had some really awesome ones. In addition to the food and drinks being fantastic, the servers and bartenders really friendly and hard-working, I have to say the menu is very reasonably priced. This is a must visit the next time we're in Syracuse, or anywhere in the vicinity. ...

Three Lives was an interesting experience. I didn't know what to expect going in with its gaming theme and what it would be like. My initial picture of it was a more gaming focused experience vs a restaurant first experience. I was very wrong. It is a restaurant first with a gaming theme and some arcade games to play if you wish.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this but hopefully this review helps everyone understand what they are walking into. The food and drinks themselves our party had were great! The sliders were very good, the tots were fantastic and the drinks were well made. They have a large variety of dipping sauces to choose from as well which I always appreciate.

This is certainly not a place for a wide variety of vegan options or someone more health conscious but they certainly appeared willing to do whatever they could to accommodate my party's requests.

The staff was incredibly kind and service was great. The game theming was really fun and well done. If you do play any games they will show off if you earned the high score! The place is actually much smaller than I would have imagined but there are a few tables and a bar for seating.

It's an easy place to recommend and I look forward to going back. And if you decide...