Recess Arcade Bar

Meh, I guess if you want to play some video games then come here. which I do. but not here per say. Kind of blasting electronic dance music, but never too full, doesn’t have a dance floor, so overall just doesn’t seem to come together.

Went here for my brother’s celebration at 6^th after graduating from UT Austin as well as with family and friends. Turned out to be a frat after party and the restrooms were full of retching pledges hovering over the trash can and sorority girls gossiping with vomit in the corner chilling. The games were good though (beer pong, Mario Kart, etc) but that was the only thing. Never going here again.

This place is pretty good… The music here is too loud for me at times (it’s done by a DJ), but it’s a nice bar loaded with arcade games of various sorts that nobody ever seems to play. What I really really like here are the 2 dollar draft specials they have here on Zeigerbocks (I probably butchered the beer’s name, I apologize). Have yet to encounter a cheaper draft special so far. The space itself is nice… and the staff have all been very nice to me so far, and not to mention they’re «easy on the eyes» ;). I would give this place a 5 stars, but the last few times I went there the draft taps have been broken and I’m not sure if they fixed them yet. This place is not a 5 star bar without the draft taps working.

I’m a HUGE Eagles fan so when I was in Austin for work, I was just hoping to find a sports bar that would show the game, let alone an entire bar dedicated to them. I love the rec-​room look in the front of the bar, with comfy couches, bleachers, and arcade games. Tons of TVs, which you obviously need in a sports bar! Nothing beats being in the middle of TX and getting to yell out the Eagles fight song with a packed bar after a victory :)

I dont know why people be hating this place! Now I walked up and down 6^th to experience what this scene was all about. The longest lines were for edm clubs and I am definitely not feeling those. I kept my ears open and bam… this place lured me in. I heard allll my goody hip hop songs ranging from Chris and other current artists to some of the 90s. YUMMM. They have a small open area I guess is the dance floor in front of the DJ. I was hesitant to request my song since this wasnt my turf but the DJ was cool and play Too Close for me :) Yay. There are some arcade games you can play like Skeeball and bball which are fun. Bring some bills for those. Entrance is free. What a chill fun place to hang :)

I’m not sure why this place has so many bad reviews; I had a blast. Between the bf being occupied nerding out hard on video games and me listening to some awesome music and playing drunk jenga, we spent a good chunk of the night here. I had never heard of barcades before, so I don’t really have much to compare this to. Although it wasn’t too busy early in the night when we first went, it got pretty packed when we went back and checked it out later. I can’t wait to check out more barcades!

This place was a nice little stop on the normal Dirty 6^th Street Crawl. My friend and I stopped in on Friday ⁸⁄₂₁ and had a few drinks and played some games. The music was a combination of 80’s and modern and the games were all fun.
We had a great bartender who was helpful for my friend in choosing a flavored vodka and he also answered all of our «First Timer» questions with no attitude and a great friendly demeanor.
We will most likely return again next year. It was laid back and easy to have a good time here with no issues. If you like playing games and just hanging out, then this is a good option.

Looked like a fun bar with tons of arcade game, old and new.
Unfortunately, the guy at the door made homophobic comments to me and my gf so it ruined it for us. It was hurtful and uncomfortable.

Was bar hopping last night and decided to stop by Recess to see a friend who was DJing there Bouncer let two girls into the bar. I presented my ID. Said that he couldn’t let me in because it was 12:30./ Being polite I nodded and was on my way. Then I checked my phone. It was 12:17.
So why was I turned away? Because I was fat? Because I’m gay? Because both?
You get a star for making it clear you don’t want my money though. So there’s that going for ya.

It gets very crowded in here, real quickly

To Josh C,
You need more than words in your response to the overwhelmingly negative reviews on Unilocal.Please, take a moment to scroll down the reviews and see how many times you apologize. Are you not getting the picture here?
I’ve gone back and sad to say your business was worse than before. No longer are games set to free play, we are now asked to pay for machines that do not work, are unkempt, and a failure. Still no where to put my drink with the added bonus of wanting to touch less in your establishment. Would you take that couch and put it in your house? Probably not,
When trying to talk to a bartender about the problems he was nice enough to be honest about how bad he thinks the place is doing and how often the machines are broke.
So, Josh, lets see the apology train here (the following are direct quotes from you):
Words!!!
Josh: «We try to keep everything up and running, but some of our older games do have problems sometime»
Josh: «we’re sorry that some of our games were on the fritz»
Josh: «Thanks for letting us know one of the joysticks was broken»
Josh: «SXSW was a little hectic and it was tough to make sure everything was running perfectly»
Josh: «we do everything we can to make sure that they’re in great shape. It seems that we fell short the day you visited»
Josh: «we need to check in with our team about our drinks, appearance and games»
Action:
Chris: Now that you charge for games this is unacceptable — hire shift techs
Words!!!
Josh: «We’d never want to seem grimy»
Josh: We want every inch of our bar to be in tip-​top shape, so I’m sorry our restrooms fell short.
Josh: «The condition of the floor and furniture is simply unacceptable»
Josh: «I’m sorry if our appearance wasn’t up to your standard»
Josh: «No matter how busy we are, we should always be clean and welcoming for our guests»
Action:
Chris: Overall it sounds like you need a trained staff member that focuses on janitorial issues, as well around the clock cleaning, wiping, and unsticky proofing the place.
And for fun:
Josh: «X-​men and Simpsons games — they’re just so popular it makes them hard to get»
Chris: Popular yes, hard to get — no. The honest answer here is that you don’t want to spend the money.
This is clear to me because you do not spend money for techs, preventive maintenance, and cleaning (of the games and of the overall business).
I challenge you to do better sir,
–Chris

My boyfriend and I are all about Barcades. We have one close to where we live that we go to all the time. When we saw this, we had to go in. At first glance, the place looks great. Filled with arcade games in the front, left side and back. But when you take a closer look, you’ll start to notice the flaws. A lot of the machines were broken when we went, like the Mario kart one so I couldn’t race my boyfriend. Another big one was how dingy the back room looked. The floor was covered in beer and you can feel your shoes stick to the ground every time you wake a step. Ick! Plus, the games aren’t cheap either. A lot of the ones we played ended up being $ 1 per game.
Overall, we had fun and it was a nice experience as a part of visiting Austin. If I lived in the area, I’m not sure I would come back often. Maybe every once in a while to get my arcade game fix.

Overpriced beer. Arcade games cost too much. Nothing offered that I would want to come back for.

Kind of a cool place. Not for dancing. More for chilling with friends. Had some good drinks and cool games. Also tons of screens playing music videos. Not mu favorite place on sixth.

This place is so cool! A very chill atmosphere amongst the chaos of east 6^th street. They have tons of arcade games, ski ball, pin ball, and a small stage for live music. They have an ATM machine and change machine so you have no excuse not to play! Most of the games were under a dollar to play. They have a full bar, and our bartender was so friendly!

Stopped by here so my boyfriend could play some games. They had some that he liked including Street Fighter II. The games aren’t pricey which is a plus. I just wish there were more. Also, we tried to play one other game and the joystick was broken sadly.
Also, the day we went, sadly the bathrooms were broken downstairs and caused the bar to smell. The one bartender heard I had to use the facilities and was nice enough to show me how to find a bathroom upstairs (which was a bit dark/​scary but I managed).
The staff seems friendly and that’s the perk. Also, no minimum for cards at least.

What I’ve learned from walking up and down 6^th Street and hitting up bars along the way is that I should stick to beer or wine. Mixed drinks or shots are weak.
Recess Arcade Bar is on a street corner. They had a variety of games– arcade, pinball, these big block jenga pieces, foosball. They had TVs where the bar is. All and all, it was fine.

You had ONE (well TWO) JOB (S)!
#1
Classic arcade games. Yes, but no X-​Men or Simpsons Arcade?! Unacceptable. But really they fail here because there’s one coin machine and it was out of order.
#2
Upscale drink prices for a very not upscale joint. Nobody should have to pay that much for just a Lonestar.
Given the wealth of choice in Austin and on 6^th Street, why waste your money here? Don’t.

This place is much improved from the previous times I’ve been here.
A couple months ago this place was a mess. There were very few games and most of the games they did have were broken. The music was way too loud and the place was always pretty much empty.
Last night the place was alive! The place was packed and they had finally gotten some good games! There were 4 sets of giant jenga, a basketball shooting game, a pong game, a boxing game, a racing game and many more! Only the fooseball was broken. Games were pretty reasonably priced — anywhere from $ 0.50-$ 1.00 per game. Our party got $ 10 in quarters and was able to spend a couple of fun hours here. Definitely more fun with a group than with just 2 people!
There’s definitely still some things that need improvement though. The music is still way too loud. The drinks are definitely over priced for the vibe ($ 8 for a tequila shot), and they didn’t make some of the drinks correctly (a jäger bomb is NOT a shot of jäger with some monster on top). But they’ve definitely made improvements and I would come back!

Honestly I rarely come here unless competition is involved. It’s great for finally proving that yes woman can play skeeball but no they are not better than some or most men. Js.
I predominantly attend this establishment to play Buck Hunter HD tournaments. Some times to find out after inputting money that the games not connected online and hence my new high scores won’t save to my profile.
Prices seem reasonable.
Staff is cool, attentive, and always there.
Last time I was in I met and competed against the manager and a game owner. The manager can shoot some hoops, on a Small moving target, which is apparent that he’s had some significant practice with. No wonder the high score is 98.
Not a bad bar, unless it’s relays. Then I avoid it. And all dirty sixth with it.