PLAY Arcade — Restaurant in New Bedford

Making a new review as of 1/17/23. Made one originally last year, but it has since been a bit outdated.

I’ll start off with the positives first! First off, the atmosphere is still great, with everyone seemingly enjoying themselves being there, including the staff. The presentation of everything looks great, and the variety of games available are pretty neat, with a few exceptions. Staff are super-friendly, and the owner Adam really shows that he cares for the people around him, even the guests. And most of the food was very good, again, with some exceptions applying to this. The building all around feels very roomy, with a lot of space for activities, and with the inclusion of the extended room, it really helps out with the influx of people coming in.

Onto the negatives. First things first, a lot of the food items they had were out of stock. I wanted to get the Surf and Turf Burgers, but was told that they ran out of the scallop Patties. My friend wanted to get the Garlic Knots, but they ran out of those as well. Once we got the food though, things didn’t go better. All of the burger that were ordered or very well done, and very charred. There was just no flavor to them at all, and it was very difficult to eat. Another thing as well that I wanted to point out (not a major thing, but something still to point out!), is that The PlayStation classic that they are using us very underwhelming to play, as most of the games are running the European version of the games instead of the American, which in turn makes games very choppy. There is a way to fix that, and to also add more fun games onto the list (which I would love to help out if need be!), but just something that I wanted to point out! Another thing I realized as well was that a lot of the favorite games among the crowd were gone. I don’t know why that is, but there was this own Japanese game they had, where you would flip a table onto people. That game has since been removed for some reason, which is very shocking. A lot of people seemed to enjoy that game!

All in all, PLAY has been doing okay with everything physically in the building, and keeping the atmosphere up for the enjoyment. But I feel as if internal things like food and gaming options are something they may...

Play Arcade NB is an amazing and awe inspiring establishment. Adam and his team of Professionals create a fun and enjoyable experience in a Bar / Arcade ,. From Family funtime and Birthday parties by day to eventful evenings , Play Arcade is the BEST place to be in New Bedford. Decorated with plenty of Personal Vintage collectibles, there is always something to see ,that you never saw before. Three Rooms of Token operated video games, pinball, a family style living room with TV and board games , plenty of sweets, treats and eats for all appetites... Complete with Cocktails, Mocktails , and more local brews than you know what to do with... Current Artist on display is @TheArcaneOracle ... During the month of June 2024 this artists works are featured on the walls of Play Arcade, come support this Artist , all works are available to be purchased for your own collection at home.. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays for Rest and Deep Cleaning, open Wednesday thru Sunday night. After 8 pm its 21+

Wednesday night 7-9 Trivia Thursday night 9- 12:30 Karaoke Saturday night DJ Sunday night Live Music

There is also an amazing Rooftop Deck, with Patio seating , you can look out and see the Top Masts of the Ernestinna.

Or look at the hustle and bustle of all the neighboring action on Union Street.

One tier down is another roof deck complete w lounge chairs and two person bench swings.

The most vibrant and upbeat...

Great place to hang in the middle of downtown New Bedford, and I'm excited to see the expansion

Drinks are fairly priced, food is amazing, staff even better, and theres a wonderful rooftop area that's good for smokers and to get away from the games and crowds if you need to.

My only gripe comes from the pricing of tokens. Some of those games cost over a dollar in tokens to run one game. I understand, inflation, everything is expensive in 2022. But there's a place in providence RI that is extremely similar called free play, and their games are free to play, no tokens required.

Now this isnt an apples to apples comparison, providence is the capital city of RI, and is much bigger than New Bedford. Meaning Free Play in Providence just gets more business, they can afford to not require tokens. It's a toss up depending on the night. Play in NB has most of what Free Play has, and it's got waaaaay better food than Free Play, but you play with tokens, and that can get pricey.

All in all, if you're looking for a chill night at an arcade and you're not trying to break the bank or do anything crazy, Play Arcade is a phenomenal place to go, 9/10 would recommend, and I'm super excited to see the place expand and accumulate more business, will absolutely be spending...