The Coliseum

Honestly, I love this place for there reasonable bowling & beer prices. The wings are pretty good, personal fave is the Thai chili. I’m not fond of the game area upstairs … In my opinion it’s not as kid friendly as they may have you believe. It’s a bit pricy on the games, and you may possibly break the bank. The restaurant leaves a lot to be desired and yes I am speaking from a chefs POV.

I’ve given this place a few chances, but they really can’t deliver a great experience.
The first time I visited, my friend and I decided to bowl for a little while. I looked around and saw that half of the lanes were out of order (never a good sign). We played for a bit, all of a sudden out lane started setting 1 – 2 pins at a time, and eventually stopped setting them. We waited around 10 minutes at most for the attendant to fix it, and finished our game. During the game we had ordered nachos, which took about 20 – 25 minutes to come out. We then moved up to the arcade, spent about $ 25 on a game card, which lasted about 2 seconds. The cost to play games is ridiculous, here. We played a light gun game for a bit, a basketball game, and a racing game. That card drained quick, and we left.
The next time, we decided to bowl again, and play some pool. Bowling was fine, and our server was fast and courteous. The pool tables are super close together, so forget about playing comfortably on a Friday night. They appeared to have 1 rack for four tables, as well.
This place just isn’t worth it. Central PA needs a real entertainment center, not a third rate Dave and Busters.

Horrid. Plz stay away at all costs. Im from out of town and wish I hasn’t gone.
Scam — free $ 5 card is a lie. NO fine print, so coupons are taken at face value. Free means free. Well no. $ 1 activation fee lol. ok whatever. I paid n got $ 4 card. Woohoo.
Games — I was in a time warp. from the 90s. Games are dated. Shooting games aren’t calibrated correctly. Screens mostly off center n not colored right. I grew up in 80s n this was just a weird arcade.
Cost — I asked the idiotic cashier who lied to me ‘most games cost 5′. Its a lie. Most are 8+. And all of them are way way over priced! Omg… so over priced.
Cleanliness — carpet was new and no trash found anywhere. It wqs saturday midday and kinda empty nut it was super clean.
Prizes — whoa. So over priced. and I go to save n busters as well as to the beach several times a year n this was just a rip off with price costs. And the prize qualities were beyond chincy. Mind blown how word hasn’t gotten out.
This reviewer knows his arcades, ticket games, prizes n etc… just avoid this place.

Total let down. Got to the alley today with the wife and son for a little birthday bowling action. We arrived to 4 of the 12 lanes open. Guy at the counter told me there were no league games and should be 10 mins. Gave me an Applebee’s-style pager and we grabbed a drink in the bar area. 20 mins past and same 4 lanes are open with 2 more joining them. Guy at the counter working on shoe cleanup. Did not see anyone else standing around waiting when we got here or join us since. 15 more mins, same 6 lanes open. Went up to counter with pager. Counter guy looked at me then went back to doing some busywork. Guess he wasn’t interested in waiting on customers. I set down my pager on the counter and turned to leave. As we walked up the stairs, he grabbed it and put it away. What kind of company allows 1/3−½ of its tables/​lanes/​whatever sit idle and customers leave?
Not impressed. Will find elsewhere to give my money.

Quick, friendly service. No wait on a Saturday afternoon. Great beer selection and surprisingly fresh and delicious menu options for a sports bar/​bowling alley!

I would have given this place a higher rating, but we waited for nearly a half hour for a table even though there were empty tables. Then, after our table was clear, a bunch of people sat down at it without a hostess. Instead of making those people move, The staff had us sit at a different table way In the corner. We saw two tables around us get served and turnover before we got our entrees. It took two hours to get everything. It was also quite cold and dark in our corner of the sports bar. I understand that things happen, but a free bowling game or appetizer would have been comforting. They should also get a sign that says please wait to be seated so people don’t wander in and take tables. Service was slow but the servers were nice.

Went here with parents after we weren’t able to go to Johnny Joe’s cuz of smoking there. Beer prices are slighly more than Aroogas. We ordered loaded nachos which were pretty good. I used to come here much more often before ‘roogies opened on Pike.

My husband and I were having a fun time playing arcade games. (After a day of a skiing where I managed to severely sprain my ankle.) I had ordered 2 drinks from the bar on the lower floor and when I went to order my third (and last) drink I was told that the manager told the bartender not to serve me anymore. I have NEVER had that happen before and I was NOT drunk. Due to my ankle I had a boot on, maybe that caused them to judge me? My husband and I had taken a cab from our hotel and I know that next time we go to Roundtop to ski we will NOT go to the Coliseum ever again.

Had a few drinks here last night, and played a couple games. Little pricey but cool place to hang out.

What a difference 6 months makes! Wings were great! Beer was cold and good. Salads were fantastic made with romaine lettuce… go figure! Ashley did a great job as server. Food was out quick and hot. I’ll be back!!!

The food isn’t bad and the happy hour specials start at 5pm. You should get her around then to get a decent seat. Catch a game on the screen, bowl, or play the arcade upstairs.

It looks promising from the outside and the inside, the bar and the «What if… West» café looked clean and inviting. The café is sectioned and closed off so your ears don’t have to be subjected to the arcade and bar chaos. The café and the bar aren’t close to each other they are actually on different levels of the building.
The arcade. The only reason we came here was to play games… too bad about 35% of the 20 games were broken. Womp womp. In order to play the games you have purchase a game card which has a $ 1 activation charge. Just to give an idea of pricing 20 tokens were $ 5 and 150 tokens were $ 25. The card is plastic and reusable so it’s great if you plan to return.
We went on a Friday night after 8:30. There were approx. 8 people in the arcade section including a me and my boyfriend and a family of three, 7 people inside the café including the staff approx. 5 lost souls outside smoking and about 5 people at the bar. This might be ‘poppin’ for this area but it seemed empty to me. Considering all the options this isn’t bad for a one stop shop if you are looking for something to do.

This is a happy hour review! Food is now served by the What If café here and what a difference it has made.½ price appetizers during happy hr (5 – 7)were awesome. Got the bruschetta and black bean marguerita with chips. Both were served with flair and wonderful. The two of us never ordered dinner because the apps were so wonderful and filling. A great addition to the west shore.

Went on a Sunday to watch a football game, and expected there to be some crowd… but nothing. We sat in the restaurant while the kids played in the arcade. Service was sooooo incredibly slow. Our waitress barely checked on us, and when we ordered a drink, it took forever because the waitress had to go downstairs to get it (which she was very open with when we ordered a beer). Food came pretty slow, when all we ordered were 2 sandwiches and 2 kids pizzas. The sandwiches were great, but the kids said the pizza was terrible. The service was just awful, very slow and practically non-​existent. We asked for the wifi password because it was protected, and the waitress had no idea what it was… then she said it was ‘iffy’ upstairs, which turned into non-​existent as well. Also, don’t plan on a good football experience… the tvs are all so high, you’ll have a cramp in your neck from watching it. The place has potential, but they need to step it up. There’s absolutely no reason why this place couldn’t turn into an adult or child’s fun spot if they get it together!

Sad Boring Bar Food, Wings are OK!
Doesn’t even come close to a Dave & Buster’s & Dave & Buster’s isn’t great!

Central PA’s sad version of Dave and Buster’s. As if Dave and Buster’s wasn’t bad enough as is — Harrisburg has their own version.
Lots of beer on tap, the prices are not great, and most of the beer on tap are things you can find anywhere/​everywhere else. Steep liquor prices.
The food, average at best. It had been about 10 hours since my last meal and even then I considered the food average at best. This place truly did very little for me and unless another event with some friends is going on, I doubt I’ll return.

Mix a bar, bowling alley, arcade, and a restaurant together and the Coliseum is what you end up with. The place is pretty huge but they have the different areas split up pretty well. The bar prices seemed pretty reasonable, especially the drafts for $ 1 since they were half off on a Saturday night. The one disappointing thing was the waitress. She was not very attentive to our table yet seemed to have plenty of time to chat with the other waitresses standing near the bar. I think this place could be pretty fun if you go with the right people. If given the chance, I might check it out again.

Since my first review, the company has changed owners, and struggled waiting for almost a year to regain it’s liquor license. I am happy to say they are back to full operation, and starting to recover their reputation which faltered over the struggling time. Perhaps the days of renting them tents is behind us, but I am sure we will bring a dance floor and other special items over time

Last night was our 3^rd visit here. Our first was in July of 08 and we couldn’t have been happier with everything about The Coliseum. Great menu and a nice equivalent to a Dave and Busters without the drive. Shoot forward to Oct. of 09 and the place looks the same but that’s where everything else stopped. A once 4 page menu is down to a single sheet of paper with some pretty terrible selections on it. Our server was terrible, no bartender on staff in the restaurant, and slow service even though we were one of three tables in the entire place.
One more try last night led to more of the same, this time one of two tables, forgotten food, and at 8 p.m. the manager closed the main doors and roped off the entrance. Talk about feeling rushed. Our waitress decided to add a 18% gratuity to our check for good measure as well? Classy.
I’ll be going in again but simply because I spent money on a game card that now has $ 20 on it, I’ll take my daughter for some games, but we’ll be skipping any dinner at what once was a nice place to eat.

So the beers are no longer all $ 2 a pint, but they do still have a decent selection. They have a lot of food deals going on now, one of which I can vouch for is the 10 cent wing Thursdays, amazing! Food is improving, and I still enjoy the bowling and arcade. This is a fun place that in my opinion is a great alternative to the downtown scene.