Binary: Games, Food & Spirits

Holy sandwiches, how have I been away from Unilocal long enough that I haven’t reviewed Binary???
I want to state up front that I L-​O-​V-​E that you can actually hear yourself think inside Binary. I do not miss the blasting, thumping loud-​as-​hell music that a lot of other bars think they need to have on. (I’m looking at you in particular, Brewski’s.) If you think it’s too quiet and can’t stand to be alone with your own thoughts, or those of your companions, well… there ain’t no shortage of watering holes in West Allis, bro.
This is my go-​to place, folks. I’m not even that big into games or nerd culture, but I love it. I was here for Halloween, and I was here for New Year’s. This is the place that’s the easy answer to «What should we do tonight?». They have something for everyone. Not only that, but you will never be bored, and the staff is communicative, friendly and gracious. They put so much love into this place, and it really shows. I’m going there tomorrow night, actually! And I can’t wait. This is the cool place where I bring my new-​in-​town buddies to impress them.
Whether you just want to play darts, need to get involved in an hours-​long Magic tournament, or just want to play some Pictionary with a few drunken buddies, you’ll fit right in at Binary. I LOVE that they do karaōke, too, although I admit that the lighting in the basement leaves something to be desired. Always room for improvement!

Wonderful place! Lots of sci fi and fantasy memorabilia. People can play board games, pool, and darts. The food is great, as are the drinks, and it’s lovely to see geek culture.

I like this bar, but, it’s missing something. I can’t quite put my finger on it. The beer selection is okay, the bartenders are friendly, the game selection is great. You have to love a place where you can go, drink beers, and play Board games. I think the idea is to keep it chill. That being said the atmosphere is strangely… lacking.

This is a fun place to hang out with friends. I was here for a friends birthday and there was also karaōke on Monday when I went. This is a very casual and neighborhood feeling place to be. They have a wide variety of drinks as you can see in the pictures of their menu, everything is reasonably priced. I’ll be back for another night, since I didn’t get a chance to play any of their games. I would say come and check it out — definitely more to this place than what meets the eye.

Awesome place, tons of board games. Decent bar snack food. I loved the décor, spent about an hour gawking at it. I will definitely return, decent pricing for cocktails and beer.

Great place to hang out and drink. Limited parking on a busy night can be frustrating but whatever. The food is very reasonably priced for what it is. Really nothing to write home about, pretty standard bar food.

Fun environment and selection of board and video games. Food and drinks were a little pricey, especially for their wait time.

Fantastic selection of games! This is a cool place to hang out with a single friend of many of your friends. The bar is well stocked and there is a wide assortment of games to entertain anyone.
There is a suggested $ 1.00 donation for each game that you play to help fund more games and take suggestions for more games. The «donation box» is hidden in the corner.
We parked on the street, but wouldn’t park there again since it was a very dark corner with lots of glass in the street. It is next to the hospital, we might park there since it’s more well-​lit and walk over next time (only a block away).

They have sooo many games! Avalon, Dominion, ping pong, giant connect four… they could serve tins of plain sardines at $ 5 each and I’d still give them 5 stars! But the food is also very delicious and super reasonable! The hummus and naan bread, vegetarian chili, and roasted cabbage with fennel were all tasty enough (and only $ 3 – 4 each) that I would go for the food alone. But the main draw here is clearly the enormous game collection! I don’t live in mke anymore, but I hope this place stays in business.

Binary is an odd one. This place aesthetically is far better then it’s previous place «The Draft». That is where the praise ends.
There are a couple of things to know about Binary. The service seems intentionally bad. I have seen and have accompanied people that sat with drinks unattended by the staff. There is discussion that if you don’t fit a certain image (Geek/​Nerd/​Hipster) you won’t get much in terms of service. The person I was with sat for around 30 minutes with an empty drink while the bartender walked by ignoring us.
Binary is oddly quiet. This is one of the rare times that no sound via radio, jukebox or TV was playing. Atmospherically it was like being in a nursing home cafeteria.
I wish I could comment on the food. I was willing to spend money but since I was unattended I wasn’t able to dive through the menu.
I will go back to see if this is the norm and to investigate other claims made by many others I have met (Single Individuals cannot buy pitchers, patrons limited to 3 drinks, etc)
I am not certain how they are making money but at this rate I would assume this will fizzle out and be replaced by something else. Literally worst service I have experienced in years.

Freaks, geeks, and nerds UNITE at binary!!! It’s a cool, new restaurant/​bar catered to those people who like to drink while they game. I actually came here for a birthday dinner. A friend turned 21 and it was a great place to drink and hang out. The drinks are reasonably priced and there are tons of games to play. Outside it doesn’t look like much but inside is a treasure trove of geek culture with posters, displays, and games lined up all along the walls. Unfortunately, the space feels cold and uninviting. Maybe it’s the blue floors or the lighting, or maybe they can move some displays around to make it feel more like a restaurant instead of a converted warehouse. Otherwise, the place has potential and I like the concept. The food is standard American faire and just average so I deducted a star for that. But if you’re a freak, geek, or nerd, you aren’t coming here for the food; you come here to drink and play games. So, live long and prosper, and may the force be with you, for me to poop on.

went and had lunch as part of a work team outing. I can say I wouldn’t go back, it wasn’t bad or good as a matter of fact we were the only ones in the place. Two people working which I can understand as if we hadn’t been there you could’ve saved money and switched the sign to closed. Took 2 hours from time we ordered till time we were done eating. That’s all I got… wish this would’ve made you try it.

We decided to check out Binary because it’s a block from my house. The concept is neat, somewhat unique but I doubt I will ever return. Here is why…
The bartenders are pretty unexperienced, on my first visit, we waited 10 minutes for another beer while there was just 3 other people at the bar. She also was eating dinner while preparing our drinks. On our second visit, we were greeted promptly by a man. He got us our drinks quickly and played some card game with the 2 other people at the bar. They asked us to join and we did. Our second visit went down hill when we began asking questions about the bar. The bartender became very condescending as did the other patrons, clearly we were not the cool kids at the party. We are not gamers, just like to have drinks nearby so it was hurtful to be treated poorly because of that. We left shortly after a series of snide comments and a 10 minute lecture about how bar dice is bad for a bar. (Which as a bartender and manager, know is false)
The food we tried on our first visit, (nachos and a brownie) fell short but we weren’t there for food. The prices are cheap and there is definitely enough to keep you entertained. The lights are very bright all the time and the a/​c is kept on high. This is best described as a rec center for gamers, not a bar for the average person.

Great games, great food, great drinks and great prices. So much win! Totally worth the drive from Milwaukee.