Arcade Bar

This place is my all-​time favorite bar in Dallas. A «Cheers» of sorts, indeed. Karaōke, trivia, and a mixed crowd from which the staff tolerates no douchebags. This is a rare gem of Dallas nightlife. I no longer live in Dallas, but many Saturday nights I long for a Crown & diet waiting for me at the end of the bar upon walking in (Thanks, Aubrey — truly my all-​time favorite bartender, hands down) before handing Dan a stack of karaōke songs and hunkering down to enjoy what was always a great time.

Stiff drinks, good music, and great people watching when you sit out front. This is a great place to just unwind a little. Not uncommon to be walking through and get grabbed by a stranger to dance to a great song.
Staff is cool and friendly. Bathrooms are clean and never a very long wait. If you find yourself in the area just stop in for a drink and have some fun– you will be glad you did.

Seriously, $ 6 wells? I’m not drinking crown, I’m drinking well. Not coming back.

Arcade Bar has its own strange magic that can only be truly felt in the throes of its Saturday night glow stick Katy Perry karaōke dance party. If that doesn’t sound like fun to you (A) don’t come here and (B) we probably wouldn’t be friends.
It’s become a Lakewood staple that feels more like a house party where everyone is comfortable and excited to meet each other. The bartenders/​owners are in on the fun and make sure everyone is taken care of. Killer selection of free salty bar snacks (a very underrated feature in a bar) plus karaōke every Wednesday and Saturday.
I personally guarantee a fun, potentially life changing, night here.

Secret hidden dive underneath the Balcony Club. Cheap drinks, no cover, great DJs, live music and diverse laid back crowd. It’s the perfect place to go to when you want to dance or just unwind over drinks with a friend or date. My boyfriend and I met another couple here and it was the perfect place to grab a seat and chat, and then later get up and dance a bit (no one was watching thank god). Great place for a night out minus any frou-​frou. A causal fun good time.

This is my «Cheers» the place, everybody knows my name. That sounds kind of bad and perhaps my review may not really be relevant as I’ve been going to this place since it opened so I’m kind of more of a fixture than a customer. Occasionally it seems as though the drinks get a little pricey but it all works out in the end as the drinks are always strong and occasionally one of the world class bartenders will throw you a bone. Dan runs the very best karaōke on Thursdays and Saturdays in all of the world and I’ve had the time of my life there. Come join the fun. at some point you will probably see me there.

A cute little bar with cheap drinks, friendly bartenders and friendly regulars. Gets crowded late on weekend nights. Karaōke on Fridays (maybe other days?). Very laid back place.

What can I say about this bar? It is not only a Dallas staple, but it is really a great place to hang out. It is unassuming with nice bartenders, and it is an easy place to have real conversations with your friends without having to yell over people. Even better, the clientele isn’t made of douchebags. The non-​douchebag factor is a really big deal to me. The only downside I find to this location is that the parking can get a bit annoying when there are big events at the Lakewood. Other than that, you should have a blast.

There are several bars in this little area by the Lakewood Theater. Arcade Bar is one of my favorites. It’s very dive-​ish and chill, with karaōke on Saturdays (and I think Thursdays, but I’ve only ever been on Saturdays). It’s a small, narrow space, with the bar on one side, and some tables along the other. It’s pretty dimly lit, and drinks are served not in glasses, but plastic cups.
I’ve been only on Saturdays, but it’s never been too crowded. The bartenders have always been nice, one even made a signature drink for a friend of mine that night. The crowd there is very chill, and not the type of people to make fun of anyone brave enough to sing their favorite 90’s jams on karaōke night.
There are a couple of tables just outside the door for those who want to have a cigarette — as long as you stay on the patio, you can have your drinks with you as well!

Nice little bar next to the Lakewood Theater. Very chill vibe. Great place to hang out. A little cramped, but that adds to its charm. Cool free popcorn in the back and nice staff.

Is it weird I want to come here for the popcorn? Walk to the back of the bar and you’ll see the old school popcorn popper on the left – help yourself! Arcade Bar is within walking/​biking distance from me, so I pop in from time to time. They have trivia and karaōke nights, but I enjoy sitting outside to people watch and listen to the overflowing tunes from The Balcony Club.

Jazz Blues in One… Freaking Awesome… love this place! My new favorite Place… awesome staff and go when Club Wood is playing… HORNS ARE NEEDED! Strong drinks and the popcorn is salty… just dance!

Decent bar, not really worth visiting on non-​karaōke nights. $ 6 wells is a bit on the pricey side for my taste when there’s nothing else going on in the bar.

Amazing bar! We celebrated my husband’s 30^th birthday there, they were very accommodating, the bar tender and dj were fantastic, drinks were strong, the karaōke was fun, the entire night was a blast. Plus as a bonus it is a clean bar with really clean bathrooms!

Went here on Saturday night for a friend’s going away party and had a great time. The karaōke was awesome and there is a very diverse crowd which made for a fun evening. The drinks were hit or miss though…

One of my favorite little dives in the WORLD! Great sound system! The best Karaōke DJ, Dan, (.sigh/​drool) in town and über-​strong drinks! Keep the theater on your radar, eclectic mix of burlesque, music, one-​man shows, and comedy, etc! Great little pearl in East Dallas!!!

I’ve been to the Arcade Bar a couple of times now, it’s about time I review it! It’s a quaint little dive bar with a layout similar to that of the Balcony Club located upstairs (long, narrow and dimly lit). I’ve been on both Friday and Saturday nights and it’s never been overly crowded.
This past Saturday I was privy to possibly the worst karaōke I’ve heard in Dallas or maybe I was just slightly more sober than those braving the stage. Either way, this was the kind of crowd that you want to karaōke for, especially if you’re not a budding American Idol contestant. The praises abound for drunkies butchering classics while showing up Freddy Mercury with their dazzling stage presence, or so their booze-​hazed imaginations would lead them to believe.
Lucky for me, the friendly bartenders serve some pretty strong drinks and never leave you waiting long for a refill. Had I stayed any longer (and continued with social lubrication), I might very well have ended up on that stage myself belting out some tortuous Beatles tunes or a mind blowingly awesome rendition of «Tiny Dancer.»
Note to the ladies: Familiarize yourself with the restroom signage before you get your buzz on. Staring at a door with nothing but the word «BUSH» on it can be somewhat confusing after 4 cocktails (no, it is not supposed to say «push»).

Came here last night with D completely by mistake. We were actually headed to the Balcony Club to see some friends perform, but strolled into Arcade Bar instead. Its kind of hard not to do this seeing as the sign for the Balcony Club is directly above the entrance for Arcade. As we were getting ready to leave the bartender told us to come back down whenever we wanted stiff, cheap drinks. We were instantly convinced to stay for a drink. Gin and tonic and whiskey on the rocks for $ 5 flat! And they were REALLY stiff drinks. The bartender filled up a cup with some snacks for me to munch on and chatted with us briefly. There are cups full of Trivial pursuit question cards on the bar, and I now remember why I always hated that game! Why are the questions so freaking obscure and hard? Anywho… there were literally five people in the bar (including the bartender) but then again it was Easter Sunday. Karaōke every Saturday night and a pretty eclectic mix of music otherwise. The bartender basically just hooked up his Ipod to the sound system… always fun. I will definitely check this place out again soon for cheap drinks that are within walking/​stumbling distance from my house! This is the kind of bar where regulars come in for a drink and nice conversation. This is not a place to be seen or expect to find the love of your life. AB is a tiny dive that doesn’t try to do anything but serve its purpose… getting people hammered!

I have found myself at the Arcade bar a couple of times in the past few weeks and felt that I should update my review after spending a bit more time there. First off the bartender — whatever his name is — he keeps the drinks flowing and they are pretty strong. Maybe if they were weaker I’d remember his name… The people there are all over the board and I think it changes based on what show just let out of the Lakewood theater. They do have one of those new jukeboxes on the wall. But perhaps the most interesting thing is that they seem to hook up karaōke on a moment’s notice. Is this scheduled karaōke night? I have no idea… one night there was just us and a small group of people that knew the bartender… so they preempted the jukebox and started up karaōke. Then this past Saturday night they cued up the karaōke as well. I am not sure if there is rhyme or reason to it, but I love it!

I do not know if they would call themselves a dive bar. My fiancée and I went in on Friday night and we had a couple of drinks. It was not very crowded, which is just what we looking for. This place is definitely going to give The Dallasite a run for its money in terms of the cleanest bathroom in Dallas. The staff was friendly and attentive and it is definitely a place I will be going back to.