F1 Arcade Washington, D.C. — Restaurant in Washington

I made a reservation on Halloween to celebrate my husband's birthday, hoping it would be the ideal venue given his passion for video games and F1, which he shares with his friends. Regrettably, the experience was deeply disappointing from the very start.

I booked for 5 pm, expecting it to be busy due to the holiday. However, by 9 pm, the venue was barely at 50% capacity. Despite the availability, some staff members ' attitude was consistently unwelcoming, bordering on hostile.

Firstly, I had hoped to decorate the table with a few items but was promptly told this was not allowed, so I removed them immediately. Following this, I was informed that I couldn’t place a cake on the table, not even nearby or close, due to concerns about food safety and in-house cake offerings. While I understand certain policies, I find it contradictory given your primary business is simulator experiences, not food service. If the cake issue is so critical, an uncorking fee for outside desserts could address it simply. It’s concerning when even fine dining establishments in DC manage a better balance of rules and flexibility -a core principle of customer service. Honestly, it was my first time hearing that in this city.

The situation escalated when a manager approached us. This individual, a tall African-American man, spoke to us in an unprofessional and dismissive manner, even turning his back mid-conversation and walking away. This lack of basic respect left us feeling unheard and disrespected.

Shortly afterward, the GM intervened, attempting to smooth things over by offering complimentary cupcakes (which we declined, as we weren't looking for anything for free). However, her remark, “I don’t understand why a cake is important to you,” felt dismissive of our efforts to celebrate meaningfully, besides ridiculing me. She also mentioned that a more personalized setup would have required a reserved space; yet, in both phone calls and in-person visits, I was told that tables were first-come, first-served, the reason why I came that early. I didn't get information either through the staff or the website clarifying this.

Regarding the experience with the host stand was particularly frustrating. The young woman managing our reservation was notably unfriendly, and her communication regarding timing and logistics was unclear at best. She delayed our booking to accommodate late arrivals but failed to inform us that we would be restricted to using only two simulators at a time, rather than the six we expected. When we inquired about this, the staff bluntly emphasized that “giving six simulators at once wasn’t profitable.” This focus on profit over guest experience was glaring, especially since many simulators remained open throughout the evening (the space was barely full), leaving our group disappointed and disengaged.

As someone who works in the video game industry, I urge you to reconsider the experience you’re offering. Video games are meant to foster enjoyment and social connection, but restrictive protocols and inattentive staff diminish this. The concept has potential, but it’s undermined by poor execution and a lack of understanding of what makes gaming spaces inviting and fun.

We made the mistake of staying, despite all the mistreatment. We played, drank, and ate, hoping the celebration would improve. In hindsight, we should have left the moment the issues began. This decision only deepened our disappointment with an evening that should have been fun and celebratory.

I genuinely hope you can improve, as you’re new in town. However, you’ve lost ten enthusiastic customers who arrived excited for a memorable evening only to have it spoiled by your rigid and dull policies, and total disregard for customer experience. Hopefully you will take into consideration that not all publicity is better than bad word of mouth.

On a positive note, cheers for Brandon, who showed genuine kindness throughout. At least one team member...

I wasn’t planning to write this review after leaving F1 Arcade tonight, but my last encounter with the security/bouncer at the door pushed me over the edge. I attended their New Year’s Eve party and honestly, it wasn’t worth the $52/person ticket price.

First, the advertised “included drink” doesn’t cover cocktails, and the wine/beer selection is extremely limited, offering only cheap options. They claimed we’d get unlimited play time on the simulators, but people were hogging them. Most considerate guests likely managed only 4-5 rounds at most; I personally got to play just twice.

The New Year’s Eve event itself was incredibly underwhelming. The website promised a “Vegas-style celebration” full of surprises, but there were no decorations, props, or confetti—nothing festive to mark the occasion. The only “surprise” was the chance to win $27 Lego McLaren set through contests. While there were two ladies in Vegas-style costumes offering mobile photo booth services (a nice touch), that was the extent of the themed entertainment. The website also mentioned dancing, but there was no dance floor or even space for it, and unsurprisingly, no one danced.

Food Review: The food arrived quickly, which we appreciated, but the quality was disappointing. • Seared scallops & pork belly: The scallops were underseasoned, and the pork belly consisted entirely of fat with no meat. This dish was dropped off to our table without any cutlery, and we had to specifically request it. • Dynamite fried chicken: Also underseasoned, with little flavor unless drenched in the dipping sauce. • Ahi tuna tostadas: Tasty but overpriced at $21 for three small tostadas with minimal tuna. • F1 Arcade classic burger: Ordered medium-well, but it came out past well done with no pink at all. • The National fried chicken sandwich: This was so flavorless and soggy (due to the slaw) that the bottom bun fell apart after two bites. I sent it back.

The only standout item was the truffle fries, which we all enjoyed.

The chicken sandwich I sent back never returned. After waiting for nearly an hour, I spoke with a manager, who graciously refunded the item. Her professionalism was the reason I initially decided against writing this review.

When the event ended, I realized I’d left my phone on an arcade machine. My partner and I tried to re-enter to retrieve it, but the door was locked from the outside. I tapped on the glass door to get the bouncer’s attention, and although we made eye contact, he ignored me. Meanwhile, half my friend group was still inside, and guests were still exiting.

Another guest eventually opened the door, allowing me to explain the situation. I quickly ran in to grab my phone, only to find out my partner was held at the entrance by the bouncer, who refused to let him accompany me. While the friendly staff inside helped me retrieve my phone swiftly, this interaction with the bouncer plus all things I mentioned above left a sour taste in my mouth.

TLDR: Between the overpriced, overly promised and severely under-delivered event, the underwhelming food, and the frustrating interaction with security, I most likely would not come back. This experience was far from worth the price...

For the cost of 2, anyone with an xbox, pc, or ps4 could buy an F1 game and a decent wheel and peddle rig for the same amount.

Difficulty settings make 0 sense. If you want to drive in manual you have to drive with no assists, not a problem, but critically no racing line. I’ve played hundreds of hours of the F1 games on a wheel and peddle rig and found it still absurdly difficult because the breaking points are so different. The other people in my group who really wanted to race on manual to use the cool paddle shifters on the wheel there found it incredibly difficult and had very little fun. Even minor tweaks that would require zero effort would make it infinitely more enjoyable.

The cars themselves feel terrible to drive with legitimately the worst understeer I have ever felt. The understeer encourages you to ride the curbs but they will absolutely launch you upside down if you look at one the wrong way.

The ai are legitimately challenged and will steer into you and or crash directly in front of you before letting you pass and there isn’t any ghosting so if one of your friends in front of you makes any little mistake like most people will and crash welcome to an unavoidable 10 car pile up that may or may not break your game and make you go find a person to help you and give you another race because the game wont work like what happened to me.

My largest issue however is with the settings. The issue is so obvious to everybody even my friends I went with who dont race, who wanted to use the cool bumper shifters but who hadnt taken the tens of hours it would take to memorize every breaking point on every turn on the tracks they had. The issue is right there and would take 5 minutes to logically think through and fix. Even the F1 games that you can buy for less than it costs you to go have the proper difficulty settings for assists. Someone had to make an actively bad decision with this game to not copy the system that has worked well since I started playing in 2019. It is an issue that was solved at minimum 6 years ago and someone made an actively terrible choice not to use the already functional system.

Food was...