Pixel Lounge

Pixel Lounge is the jekyll and hyde of Ithaca bars. Before 11:30pm it is super chill with cool mixed drinks, friendly bar tenders, and hipster movies playing in the background (unfortunately the video games have disappeared). But at the strike of midnight the werewolves howl and this bar becomes a sloppy mess of undergrads engaging in what David Attenborough might describe as an exotic pre-​mating ritual. Just avoid at all cost, unless you’re into that sort of thing … I won’t judge.
They even have a «yelp» shot — named after the Unilocal crew that comes once a year to the Cornell career fair. It’s fireball whiskey (think whiskey mixed with mashed up red hots), apple schnaps, and five small drops of Frank’s hot sauce to form the Unilocal five leaf clover that sinks to the bottom. Yahoo’s career fair team was unsuccessful getting their shot on the menu (peach snaps, fruit punch vodka, and blue curacao … gross!)
Also ask about their pumpkin pie cocktail. RumChata mixed with spiced pumpkin sauce. It’s a heavenly desert cocktail if you like creamy mixed drinks. If you never had RumChata, think of it as the milk at the bottom of the bowl of Cinnamon toast crunch.

The place has changed ownership a couple of times in the last year, and gone rapidly downhill. Although, if you want to drink pitchers of PBR while dancing on a never-​cleaned-​anymore sticky floor surrounded by annoying ululating sorority chicks, this is still the place for you.
Older reviews will mention the free arcade games. Gone. (Well, gone would be better. They’re actually still there, just nonfunctional decaying doorstops) The excellent liquor selection. Gone. The mixed drinks. Gone. The comfy sofas. Gone. The ATM. Gone. Even most of the beer selection. Gone. You can have PBR and a small selection of downlabel booze. I finally decided never to go back when the current owner walked away from me in the middle of a drink order to tend to someone louder. It is no longer a «lounge;» it’s an undergrad bar, and a crappy, smelly one at that.
My wife and I once announced our engagement here, with rounds of champagne for everyone in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. That could never happen now.

Used to be a fun place for grad students and one of the best bars in town despite the fact that it was a toss-​up whether or not the place would be very lively on any given night. Since the old manager left in 2011 and the place got taken over by a pretty douchey new manager — at the same time that several nearby, turbo-​fratty, Collegetown bars closed — the place has been overrun by bros and has become just another crap bar for undergrads with fake IDs. I used to go here fairly often, but I haven’t been back since shortly after the new management took over and I have no plans to try again during the rest of my time in Ithaca. It’s really too bad — I had some really fun times here when it was still good.

This place used to be a cool and weird place for grad students to hang out in. Its weird because they would show random animé on the screen and nobody knew what that was about.
Since the other bars with dance floors closed down, Pixel is the new dance floor, the new cool thing aka the new mosh pit.
Ever been to a mosh pit? Look no further. The music was good though, they had a decent shirtless DJ who played pretty good music. These drunks college girls better learn how to balance their drink better. (I used to be like that but I’ve mastered the art of standing in heels + balancing my drink perfectly). One girl was such a sloppy mess, she kept spilling her drink on everyone that she had almost nothing left in it… she might as well not have bought her drink since there was nothing left in it. I got pretty disgustingly wet from all the drinks spilled on me, and from becoming sweaty in the mosh pit.
If you are a short asian girl like me, I would highly recommend you to wear some metal armor to protect yourself so that you don’t get trampled over, or find a big guy friend to protect you.

Currently housing the largest dancefloor among the bars in Collegetown, Pixel offers excellent drinks and the best eye candy. I seriously wish the bathrooms were cleaned and maintained because they always look destroyed. Unfortunately, the music is hit or miss but no place in Ithaca is truly consistent. I highly recommend trying the «Pixel Select!»

Like the reviewer below me, I share in the sentiment that Pixel has changed, and mostly for the worst. No longer has a laid back atmosphere, it’s become another typical crowded, sweaty college bar.
If the new owner (s?) wanted this, then I can’t blame them. Miss the old vibe (and yes, the awesome deaf dog). I brought two friends here a few months ago and we ended up leaving early since it was nothing like I described it to them. Still had a decent beer selection, at least. Just hard to enjoy it!

Pixel has gone down the tubes. Once one of the best lounges in Ithaca, it’s undergone a complete transformation since two of the sketchiest Collegetown bars closed and they acquired the overflow clientele. The old, awesome manager with the deaf dog? Gone. Chill grad students drinking cocktails and playing NES? Gone. In their place, we have a line, bouncers with «Pixel Security Team» shirts and more bros inside than in an unconscious sorority girl on SlopeDay.

One of the best bars in Ithaca. Good beer selection, good music. They have retro movies playing on one of the walls and old video games in the corners. A great place to dance or go for a trivia night. One of the gems of collegetown.

Good Stuff: Huge Draft Beer Variety
Unique drinks — and easy to read projection menu on the wall.
Fast bar service.
good music… DJs nightly.
Its down an alley –so it seems like a speakeasy place that i visit in the Bowery.
Not so good Stuff:
Disorganized Chaos trying to get into this bar… no line just a mass.
Its a college bar… so
Sweaty Guys with no shirts on
drunk girls, possibly they were 21, stepping on my feet with their heels and spilling theire drinks or flipping their sweat drenched hair on me.
Smells like BO, except I think this was mostly due to the crowd, because the A/​C appeared to be on, just insufficient.
Cups all around and sticky-​ish floor.
Restroom nice, but… college.

A small and plainly decorated that played decent music. It was a relatively quiet night when I had gone (a Monday night during move in week), so it’s hard to give a real good review. I could see it being a good place to go to if you’re looking for a break from the surrounding bars & looking for a lounge/​club scene.

Best dance bar in Ithaca. Great DJs, good atmosphere and delicious drinks (try the Dr. No!) I wish there was a Pixel in NYC.

Yay!
This place is interesting. I gave it 3 stars though because it’s sort of in a shady alleyway that made me uneasy sometimes and because it’s sort of just sticky and grimey inside.
They have an awesome selection of beers, and the bar menu is shown on tv screens above the bar. The drinks aren’t any cheaper or more expensive than the average Collegetown price.
They’re usually projecting some movie on the back wall. I guess they’re trying to make this place more hipster-​y and indie-​ish or something.
Sometimes this place can get super busy, often with an «odd» crowd that show up in random costumes, crazy hairstyles, clown suits (I think it’s the AAP crowd — Art students — and I’m not being prejudiced, as I was once an AAP student… that transferred to Engineering) but overall it’s a fun time. People are usually not too shy to dance and mingle.
They have some arcade games (Ms. Pac-​Man!) that I think you can play for free (if my memory serves me correctly) and if you go often enough and buy enough drinks, you can get tokens that say «Next Drink Half off» or something like that.

Actually I’m between giving it a 3.5 and a 4, but leaning toward the 4. I’ve been here many, many times and I have rarely left disappointed.
Pros: Stiff drinks, relatively open space when you get there early enough and not on a some school bar tab, yummy and surprisingly encompassing beer selection, pretty tasty cocktails… Just make sure that you’re pretty specific about what you want in your drink. otherwise they’ll use the cheapest stuff and you can SERIOUSLY taste it because of how stiff these puppies are made (ex: Kettle One Tonic turned into a Rubbing-​Alcohol with ice). Oh, and on quieter nights, I feel that the bartenders are really nice (whereas, when it’s busier, they are much more brusque, but I guess that is to be expected). Oh, and something a lot of people don’t think about, the bathroom here is vastly superior to every other bar in Ithaca, minus maybe Level B. That’s gotta be a plus. Note: there is also a small TV by the couches where you can play Super Mario. Just sayin’. Sweeet.
Cons: this place can be slow when it is crowded, and the music can be WAY WAY WAAAAY too loud… lounges are places to sit and mingle, not places where i have to scream into my friends’ eardrums to make myself (not really) heard.
Overall, go, buy drinks, get drunk, enjoy. And the best part? Conveniently located so no driving is necessary!

One of my favorite bars in a town full of great bars. But it is the bartender James that makes it the best. He is a true artist at what he does!

This place has an interesting feel to it that says «yeah, I like comics and animé, but I’m still fun and know how to have a good time.» The beer and mixed drink selection is great. Actually, I don’t like comics or animé, but I do like good booze and some old school Nintendo games. It does have a pretty strong Cornell feel to me (whether that’s good or bad is for you to decide) and has a comfortable atmosphere.
Bottom line– it’s worth checking out and be adventurous while ordering a drink and you won’t be disappointed.

This may just be my favorite bar in Ithaca (also see Chapter House, the Bar at the Statler, and Stella’s).
I think this bar just knows whats good. They have the best selection of Belgian Beer in town, good rotation of other beers, + other drinks but I primarily drink beer here so i cant comment as to the quality of the mixing, tho i suspect it is good.
Having a great beer list makes a bar good but i can drink at home, in my closet. What makes this bar great is its character and this bar has character like British Teeth. That is to say its character cup runnith over, not that the bar badly needs a dentist. A: they have an NES that plays Mario 3, surrounded by couches, for free. Plus a bunch of old school arcade machines like Street Fighter 2, Ms. Pac Man, etc. Then on top of that they play great movies in the background, were talking spaghetti westerns, Japanese Horror movies, cheesy 80’s action. Then there is the manager James, the one with the tats. He can talk endlessly about obscure films all night and is generally a pretty chill guy.
If there is a negative it is sometimes not too full. But thats kind of a good thing. Bring a group play some NES have a conversation, walk right up to the bar and get great service.
Highly Recommended.

I was just at Pixel last night. Alumni Weekend — so the place was about as packed as normal except it was full of people who used to be undergrads here instead of people who still are. I love the place, especially for the beer list. My friends and I often stop by earlier in the night for a couple beers and some free Dr. Mario — before the DJ comes on and the place slowly morphs from a kitschy beer bar into a dance club. I very rarely dance, but I do it at Pixel occasionally. Including last night. And now I have a headache this morning, haha.

I may be a sucker for bars with lounge in the title, and pixel immediately appealed to the closeted geek in me… it turns out it pretty much hits the mark on both counts. It’s a great place to lounge around in a laid-​back, non-​intimidating atmosphere, surrounded by old Atari paraphernalia and actual video and pinball games. Woo! The clientèle is often equally mellow and geeky, which I also love, tho I’ve been there when there was dancing too. Plays host to a fun (and not-​too-​difficult) trivia on Wednesday nights.

I have mixed feelings about pixels. They have different music themes on different nights of the week and they have different crowds of students that show up. It is definitely a loungy type of feel. The drinks are very pricey and not made very well. I have been there about ten times and noticed that everyone has there own groups of friends just sitting around sometimes dancing, The outside is cool because its all graffiti and its kinda hidden in its own little alley way, they also have a projector screen that they play movies on. I would definitely choose other hang out spots over Pixels, like Blue Stone or Stella’s, but if you pick the right music night then it is pretty fun.

Pixel Lounge is a great bar.
Now, I often don’t call things «great», because I believe compliments are unhealthy and encourage a mindset wherein people have to be given thorough dressing-​downs and then proper de-​corkings to get all the smoke out of all their asses.
However, the Pixel does deserve the praise. The bartender, who I believe was named James Dean, was a rather spectacularly understanding chap when it came to me and one of my friends slightly inebriated antics, and the drink selection was a marvelous little stroll through sci-​fi in-​references.
I believe the highlight of my time at the Pixel Lounge was inciting a rather raucous laugh from everyone there when I became convinced of which Charlton Heston film was being projected onto one of the walls, only to see a starship and exclaim «I don’t recall their being that many space-​ships in Ben-​Hur!». Quite the memory.
Also, last place I hung out in Ithaca before I departed. I’ve still got one of their «next drink half-​off» tokens on my wall, as a personal memento.
So I’ll recommend the Pixel lounge to any nerd who wants to get shitfaced and play Ms. Pac-​Man for free.
Oh, I didn’t mention that part?