Update; it has come to my attention the management of this place keeps the credit card tips of their workers. When workers decided to strike to address this illegal practice, all the employees were fired. Because of this, I cannot continue to support this business and encourage others not to do so.A great hangout place and DDR practice spot. The staff is nice and can help if you get too overwhelmed by tap options. It does get a bit crowded on weekends, so def consider that when planning a trip.
Amazing setup, insane games = super nostalgic for the 80s! and I love that the Star wars pinball is right next to the Star trek pinball #gameOn. Also, amazing beers and ciders to choose from, and cool self pour system! Girlfriend loved the skee ball and air hockey ( boomerang-style) Great date-night!
First time here and it was so fun! Everyone had on a mask. We only played games, but it was a fun way to spend the evening
So this place is.........not good. Having been to other arcade bars the layout here is jumbled and very cramped. The pour it yourself beer system is nothing but a gimmick and is incredibly annoying to use. Then when i went to leave the POS system automatically tries to add a 15% gratuity for staff. Despite the fact that all the staff is behind the counter functioning as cashiers more or less, not a tip based position which i thought was very odd. Come to find out this is because management did not pay the employees appropriately for their positions and treated them more like restaurant workers. And to boot management illegally withheld a portion of the credit card tips. When the staff staged a walk out to fight this practice they were summarily fired. Dont give this place your money.
Fun place! I had beer, games, fries and a fun night with friends for $30
Its so tasty. I had a cousin come into town and asked me to take him back here. The bill was good for what you get.
FUN SPOT TO TRY 50 BEERS ON DIGITAL TAPS AND ARCADE GAMES
I work nearby. After work this evening, around 10:00 PM, Friday night. I walked by - packed at pre-Covid levels with a line outside about 50 deep. Stuck my head in - no social distancing at all, not a mask being worn by anyone as far as I could see. Throngs of 20-somethings being as irresponsible as the day is long. Packed like sardines. This place is a super-spreader outbreak waiting to happen.
Visited in the beginning of Sept. 2020, and was super disappointed to find that half of all machines were unplugged/unavailable to play (was told it is due to social distancing). I had even checked online multiple sources and that was never mentioned. Super Bummer since we came to play the badass pinball machines and could only play on 4 of them. Couldnt play Mario Kart either. Otherwise, tokens arent too bad, 5 bucks for 20 i think.
Im not old enough to drink, but the games are pretty fun :)
Few decent beers on tap and good variety of old school arcade games
Staff was super friendly. Skeeball was great and I love the variety of games they had.
I had hosted an employee party at circuit and the staff there was BEYOND amazing. They really went out of their way to make sure everybody was enjoying the afternoon. I did have a ton of coins left over, (which is surprising considering almost every machine in there doesn’t read the coins properly) but after hearing about management stealing tips from their employees, most of which are college students, I decided the coins would serve better in the trash. You should want nothing but success and happiness from your team but instead you acted selfish, greedy, and evil. You deserve all the repugnant remarks that cover your reviews.
Friday evening, the entire staff of Slingshot and Circuit wrote up a list of concerns for the owners. These consisted of such things as: not requiring customers AND owners to wear regulated masks indoors, withholding staff TIPS and keeping those tips for the business, refusing to abide by covid precautions because its a conspiracy according to owners, holding an open meeting to discuss and resolve concerns, etc. As of today, just TWO days later, instead of speaking to employees they deleted staff emails for management, removed employees from the scheduling app, posted on Indeed hiring all positions, and have still not paid the wages earned (which go back for YEARS).Join us in boycotting these establishments and helping fellow service industry employees get the money they rightfully deserve. Report to the Labor Union, report to newscasters, share this post and many more youll be seeing shortly, if not already, and deny these bars your business.We are sick of barely being able to pay our rents in addition to subjecting ourselves to unsafe environments at the hands of ignorant and selfish business owners! There is strength in numbers”
Friday evening, the entire staff of Slingshot and Circuit wrote up a list of concerns for the owners. These consisted of such things as: not requiring customers AND owners to wear regulated masks indoors, withholding staff TIPS and keeping those tips for the business, refusing to abide by covid precautions because its a conspiracy according to owners, holding an open meeting to discuss and resolve concerns, etc. As of today, just TWO days later, instead of speaking to employees they deleted staff emails for management, removed employees from the scheduling app, posted on Indeed hiring all positions, and have still not paid the wages earned (which go back for YEARS).Join us in boycotting these establishments and helping fellow service industry employees get the money they rightfully deserve. Report to the Labor Union, report to newscasters, share this post and many more youll be seeing shortly, if not already, and deny these bars your business.We are sick of barely being able to pay our rents in addition to subjecting ourselves to unsafe environments at the hands of ignorant and selfish business owners! There is strength in numbers
Its a place where old school meets new school. My son just started playing the arcade box games and he fell in love so I figured I would surprise them and take them here. The reaction on their faces were priceless. My 11 year even calculated the expense of our trip and came to the conclusion it was so cheap in his words and he always want to go there. I was concern to bring them into an establishment that intended purpose was for 21 and up. However I was not the only parent that bought their children to join in the festivities. From the looks of it, the other families were having a ball as well and it did not interfere with the adults thats taking a moment out of their hard working day to be a kid again. The hours for children are 5-9 and if you get caught up in your games they give you gentle reminders throughout the night.
Pretty cool place. There are a ton of beers on tap. They also have several wines on tap. There is a decent food menu as well. The issue is that even though there are tons of games and what appears to be plenty of space it was very crowded. So if you plan on going here make sure you are ok with crowds and have a little patience.
This place was a lot of fun. They have so many old school games that are great. For older people they have an interesting way of getting beer. Its like a giant fountain machine, you click what you want from different categories and it pours into your cup. It is automatically added to your card which is given to you at the beginning. The place is visually pleasing and the staff are nice. You can also order food however, there are only like 7 things on the menu.
This is the best thing to happen to Scotts addition in ages. A great place for friends, people with kids, or if you want to just brush up solo on 80s and 90s aracade games. Great beer selection and responsive staff, definitely add it to your list if you are in the area!
Off the wall taps, video games, pinball machines oh my! What a great place to hang out! Crowded on a Saturday, some games broken but overall an awesome experience. Staff was amazing!
What a cool place! Great games, nice food, cheap prices! We had such a great time for cheap. Would recommend 100%! Cant wait to go back and play more digdug and DDR!
Very fun arcade! A lot of favorites from pinball machines, old school fighting games (though watch out on the 3 in 1 machine with Samurai Showdown, one of the sticks isnt very responsive), and a lot more for everyone. But good luck finding a place to sit, this place can get *busy*
Not a bad place. Good drinks, but its difficult to figure out what food they have. They dont seem to have a soda fountain either. The light gun games were busted, though they have a lot of traffic so that does tend to happen.Over all a lot of fun if you like old arcade games.
The staff truly make this place what it is.. they go above and beyond to make sure everyone has a good time! Game selection isnt half bad either- especially the pinball. One small note: the taps are CONSTANTLY rotating, so if you go two days in a row dont expect a beer to still be there! Makes for adventurous drinking.
Concept is very cool. However, theres a lot of people and it can be tough to get on the games. I overestimated the amount of tokens I could use and ended up giving them away. That was the general theme of it all. Otherwise, great self-serve tap selection and cool atmosphere. It was fun overall, great place to hangout.
This place is great! It’s a little different than most places. You get to pick and pour as much or as little your own drink which is really cool. To use it and pay, you just swipe the plastic card you load money on when you walk in. There is a decent variety of arcade games to play. There’s Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, skee ball, basketball, air hockey, several pinball machines, and many old time arcade games.
I will have to say it was awesome...but more the. omoany you bring than you meet
Been there many times...fun place. But then I learned they have hoarded tips from their employees. That is wage theft and therefore I will not be coming back.Anyway the skee ball machines would usually eat your coins...
We drove from DC to enjoy a few spots in Richmond, including this one. The second star is for the absolute stellar state in which the games and facility here are kept. If not for that, we would have reviewed at a single star because of two young gentlemen that work in this establishment.An attendant told us upon entry that if we bought extra tokens we could simply come back up and see him to return the extras. After spending over $20 on drinks and using about $9 of our $20 worth of tokens, we decided it was time to check out the next stop, so we returned to the counter only to be stopped by another attendant who did not follow suit with the original attendants notion of returning tokens. This is not a reason for a two-star review—the likes of which I hate posting—however, the second attendant felt the need to call my fiance and me liars, stating that he was pretty sure the first attendant wouldnt have said that to us, and we shouldnt try to convince him that this was ever said because hes worked there long enough to know the rules.Essentially, we had a lot of fun during our short stay. Unfortunately, it has been two weeks and this is still weighing on our minds, so it is likely the only real memory we will take away from The Circuit Arcade Bar. At the end of the night, we couldnt talk to a manager, and ended up giving $11 worth of tokens away to a younger couple. While were glad they were passed on: the treatment and deceit is unfair. We are not liars and were setup to be in the position we were left in. I am happy to change a review if I am ever able to correct the situation. There are plenty of positive reviews, likely from folks who werent told lies. We, as a fairly optimistic and fun-loving couple, would love to be a part of those positive reviews.We understand policy and respect the rules of an establishment. We simply dont and didnt know the rules there which is why I asked the attendant if we should buy less tokens or more before we purchased. I want the owners to know that we arent criticising their business model, and also want them to know that something needs done to ensure that patrons are not lied to and then belittled.
Coolest place Ive seen in awhile.
The place is pretty awesome. The beer selection and the prices are great. There are plenty of fun games for younger folks as well as a nostalgic older crowd. The place was packed all night and the staff was working their tails off with great attitude. Just be careful of the tipping options when you tab out. Will definitely recommend this establishment.
Could use some more space and games . Loved the retro games and pinball. Brings me back to hanging out in the arcade at the mall.
Lots of retro arcade games, including pinball. Sometimes some of them are out of commission. Arcade games have ever been thus, so no point in getting to upset about, most work fine. My big disappointment was the beer and wine selection. If youre not an IPA/Stout/W heat fan your choices are slim. And not particularly interesting. Fosters, Corona, Bud Light and PBR. Seriously? The one Cab wine I tried was equally unimpressive. Had a good time anyway!
A row of approximately 20 pinbell machines -- 10 percent broken -- some modern day classics, some new. Approximately 20 video games, mostly stand up shooters, if I recall correctly. I dont remember seeing any of the classics. We figured wed check it out on a Saturday night and planned to eat there, but their cook was out, so they only offered expensive bagged chips or brownies. The brownies turned out to be very good though. They were out of the only item on tap that I wanted -- a cider. The staff was helpful. Went to the temporary BBQ trailer across the street.
There is simply no excuse for keeping your employees tips or refusing to follow the most basic of COVID safety guidelines. Do not give these people your money. Terrible business.
Great fun! A good selection of games and beer. It would be better if some of the games were more functional. Several pinball machines were out of commission and I encountered multiple games with broken buttons and joysticks.
All I can say is this place is a new favorite spot of mine and if you havent gone yet you need to asap! Perfect first date spot, an excellent mix of old and new arcade games, with an interesting twist on some classics like air hockey and foose ball hockey. You get so many tokens for your money, and each game is 1 to 2 tokens, a couple are 3 so 20-30 bucks goes for hours of fun. Not to mention you get a card that allows you to pour your own of the many wine or beers on tap and pay at the end! Amazing and extremely quick and helpful staff, even when its busy. Awesome artwork too! Regardless if its a weekend go early to beat the crowd! This place is what Richmond is all about.
Love an 80s retro feel with 90s flavor? Pinballs, old school games, pouring beers from the wall that are actually priced reasonably? Than discover Circuit Arcade Bar like everyone else in Richmond is!!!
Its a fun place to go. I wasnt exactly blown away by the games, but there were plenty of classics to keep us entertained, and all pretty cheap to play. The beer system is fantastic and not really having to wait, while also just bring able to sample whatever you want, is probably the best part of the whole place.
Really cool place to get that nostalgic feel with your friends! Decent selection of beer on tap, Time Crisis 3, Super street Fighter 2, Crazy Taxi... Need I say more?
Fun Saturday Spot.The Beer selection is insanely huge and they had staff to helping you work the pay as you go system. Easy to see the price and your tab on the screens.Where I took a star off was on the games.Negatives:There was a few different games that were broken:Skee ball screen didn’t keep track of our scores at all or the screen didn’t light up and not all the basketball machines worked. The Jurassic park standup shooter machine didn’t guns didn’t work at all.Some stuff was a bit sticky from beer.Positives:The amount of money you paid for tokens was the right amount of hanging out and drinking a beer.They had a great selection of pinball.Also having a tapper standup machine is legit amazing!Definitely a Richmond Beer Trail Must!
Dont support businesses that take advantage of their workers during hard times
Overrated and they treat their staff pretty badly. A lot of the games are broken or not in decent condition. Lots of games that look like someone put a high powered magnet over the screen. 1/10 do not recommend.
I really enjoyed this bar. This place is everything that was great about the eighties. One thing that is unique is you serve yourself at the tap. When you check in you open a chab with your credit card and are given a card that unlocks the taps. You drop your card into the slot and serve your beer. The cool thing about this is you are charged by the ounce so if you only want a sample that is what you are charged for.They have 50 taps and various types of beer, wines, a spiked kombucha, and a few sours. The theme is very eighties and if you want to play the video games you have to use tokens. There retro games take one token, the pinball machines take 3 tokens as well as some of the newer games.The bar food menu is small, I had the chicken quesadillas and it wasnt too bad. Will definately go back! Why cant there be more places like this?
Totally radical! Time travel back to the 80s at this barcade. Beer and food is great.
This place is pretty fun and love the drinks and food here. Everything on the menu is priced reasonably too. And the service staff is pretty awesome too.
Stole from employees, then fired them when they found out! Garbage owners dont support this business!
Great place for distressing after a long day. Grab a beer and some tokens and your set to play some awesome retro games. My particular favorite is the attack on mars pin ball machine!
They have something for everyone... beer, wine, or cider. Multiple options in each major style. Prices seemed to range from 0.32 - 0.90 per ounce poured. Our favorite game was actually a japanese music game that has 9 large button that you play in a guitar hero style
A throw back to those of us that dug the Arcade all the 80s & 90s quarter games food, That largest selection of beer on tap and a great sense of family and fun an awesome memory long since gone Thanks Circuit yall Rock
We have been going here since they opened. Would have given 5 stars but lately more and more games are broken when we go. We will continue to go as it is a really cool concept and great beers on tap, but hopefully they can get their games repaired in a more timely manner.
Chill vibe, great beer options
Whats better than 40+ self served beer taps and retro arcade games?! This is the place to go for a fun date night that will bring you back to your video gaming days as a kid!
Got there right when they opened at 3pm within 39 minutes there wasnt a game to be had and the line was out the door. Prepare yourself accordingly. The menu says the sandwiches are paninis but they were actually quesadillas. Loved all the old school arcade games especially Atari. Would go again just be prepared to be packed in like sardines. This could just be because it is a new place.
Went on a Saturday night & it was wall-to-wall crowded, which is expected for that time/area. Cashier was great at explaining the process. Beer selection was fantastic, the concept is mind-blowing! So many have options & a nice lounge area. I didnt give 5 stars because a lot of the stemmed glasses had lipstick marks (I shuffled through them until I found clean ones & put the dirty ones in the dirty rack, at least every other one was dirty) & the ladies room was disgusting. No TP, 2 of 3 stalls are overflowed. One door had no lock, wouldnt stay closed & people kept walking in on me. Stall wall wasnt low enough & you were showing tail to the outside of the stall to the girls who were squatting to hold their bladders by the sink in line by the sink. A pinball machine was on the fritz but there was no indication on how to find an attendant & I felt like I was putting the poor girl selling tokens out when I told her. Im going back because it was a really crowded night and sometimes it all happens at once. I have a child who I cant often bring out with me due to Aspergers, Id love to bring him here so both his parents can get some respite and he can too! I look forward to another try on a less busy day.
Only rating on the games, not food or beer. Experience was.. ehhh. Games are OK but could be in a lot better shape, price to play is fair. Need a few hand sanitizer stations (unless I missed them) especially in this day and age. Just thinking about how many people have touched those machines...Not saying I wont go back, I just not in a hurry to do so.
An absolute blast! Tons of great beer options and great games!
Games and Booze how can you go wrong ? Get experience. You definitely get to let the inner kid in you out. And budget friendly awesome-sauce!
I love the concept of this place. Its really laid back and fun. The pour your own beer system allows you to try a lot of different types of beers and the games are a fun old school touch.
Edited after second visit. Went to the counter to see how to reauthorize our friends card after 32 oz, but wasnt sure what it was called. We explained that we were trying to check in after 32 oz and pointed at the sign. The employee, Andrew, acted like he had no idea what we were talking about and told us he wasnt selling the sign. He made a game of messing with us in a condescending way. Good place, but I dont know what this guys issue was. Not a friendly dude at all.---Fun place to visit. Great choice of beer and the arcade games are awesome!
The only place in Richmond of its kind! Great place to go with your friends on a fun night out. It does get super packed during certain times though.
Really cool place, great idea, but unfortunately a lot of the games dont work or partially dont work. For example, almost all of the skeeball machines scoreboards didnt work. If they can get more of the equipment fixed it will be a great place once again!
It was fun. There were a lot of broken machines but they fix them if you let them know. Would be cool if they had more arcade games. And some more of the popular ones.
Half the games dont work the other half work halfway, constantly had to go back and get refunds for tokens, oh yeah and the beer is very overpriced.
We took the family here when they were home from college over Christmas break. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with your family. We spent a lot of time playing skeeball. I’m proud to say that I was on the top of the leaderboard for Asteroids!!It’s fun to have a beer and play old school arcade games with your family. The food was pretty good as well. I definitely recommend The Circuit Arcade Bar for family fun!
A few of the games had some small flaws,. Like a lever not working right or the aim for shooting games being slightly off. But other than that it was a ton of fun even for a busy Saturday night ! Most games are 1-2 tokens and pin ball being 3 tokens. And its $10 for 20 tokens.We were there for about 2 hours and used all our tokens and had about $20 tab.This was honestly really affordable, we were expecting to spend way more !!Cant wait to try the Norfolk location next !
THIS SATURDAY THEY WAS OUT OF A LOT OF THEIR BEER..
The games are broken. If they accept your tokens the games still wont work. Except the pinball machines. All 20 of them. But guess what, nobody likes pinball that much. Also, completely crammed full of people. Theres no room to play when all their games are touching. The beers are expensive. This place sucks. Dont waste your money.
It just opened a few days ago, so expect long lines at least during October, but once youre in its very worth it. Streamlined food and drink service, and a fantastic game selection. Easily let 4 hours slip away here before I realized playing a bunch of my favorite cabinets. Eager to keep coming back.
Really cool spot for young people to congregate on weekends. While it can get crowded, the self pour functionality is really useful and time saving. The amount of games they have is plenty, and there are also TVs around if you want to catch some sports as well. The food is solid and nice compliment to all of the activities. I recommend if you’re looking for a fun date night or group activity!
Epic! Im from Portland, OR and Ive gotta say, this place made me feel like home. Awesome environment!
This is such a fun place! Lots of old games (they have Battletoads!) and a huge selection of beer and cider. They have some wines, too. Watch how much you pour though, as you control it and you’re charged by the ounce. Know that you’ll have to line up to get a drinking card with a starter amount on it and some gaming tokens before you can start having fun (and the wait can be a little long when it’s busy).
If you’re in Richmond and looking at reviews you probably like beer too! They have an awesome assortment of beer and wine in a serve-yourself wall of spouts! They’ve got skeeball, basketball, a wall of pinball machines, the classics, and my personal favorite: Time Crisis!It’s a great spot to spend time enjoying a few drinks and playing some great games!
Management abuses employees, doesnt follow COVID guidelines, and consistently steals tips from employees. When staff shared their concerns, they were all fired.
Awesome place.Not a great place for a meal, but snack type food is good. Good beer selection, and a good selection of games - something for everyone.They dont accept cash, credit or debit only.I like the way the bar and alcohol machines are run, I dont have to talk to or tip bar staff? Cool!
Very unique place. We go here as much as we can! Great selection of wine, ciders and, of course, games!
A great bar with a diverse variety of beers on tap and games from many years past. It’s often crowded on the weekend, but not unbearable. There’s usually a short 5 minute wait for every popular game, but there’s plenty to play! The games and beer are both fairly priced and the payment system couldn’t be simpler: coins for games (cheap!) and a personal card for beer (there’s also wine and cider) that can be closed out before you leave.
Self service taps were pretty cool. The arcade area can get pretty full since the bar is super fun. They have lots of new games and old classics. The flow of people from the moment you walk in the door is a little strange but you figure it out.
Friendly and helpful staff. Decent game selection, fun place to kill some time.
Cool place with arcades I havent played in years. Nice beer selection, but the food options, though good, is wanting in portion size. Tasty though. Its really all about the beer and games anyway though. You know Im right...
I love the concept of self serve. The atmosphere was up beat and live with a great mixture of music. If youre a person that love old school arcade games, then this the place is for you. No lines to get your beer or wine and the food didnt take long once you order. Prices was very reasonable. This is a great date night place with a grown up vibe to it.
You guys have such an awesome idea, yet its flawed by the fact that you dont do anything to maintain these games. Its mostly all 30 year old technology that can be upgraded easily on amazon and with someone who knows what theyre doing. I had to get about 15 extra tokens because light guns didnt work at all, or a slot ate my tokens, or joysticks didnt respond. Not to mention 30% of the screens need to be degaussed. Without the nostalgia and beer, youd be better off just downloading the roms online and getting a 6 pack.
Great place. Go when its not busy, it gets very busy. The beer was fun to pour but over priced. Games are reasonable and mainly classics, fun times!!
If you like pinball this place is for you. Amazing selection of games and pretty decent prices aswell. You can have a pretty fun time for just $10.
I went with my family and we had a good time. We were celebrating my birthday and my daughters birthday.I have to say though its just too loud in there and hot.I really enjoyed playing the pinball machines but its so loud in there you cant hear them.The music that they play is meh..I think classic rock would be more appropriate...You dont need really loud music because people are loud anyway... especially when theyre drinking.My opinion
It’s an amazing time it just gets packed and stays packedEdit: In reply to the reply from The CircuitThanks for taking the time to leave a review! Were sorry to see that being popular is deserving of losing two stars :( Give us try on weeknights when were less busy and see what you think!Its awesome that the place is popular but not for those that dont care for large crowds but love video games and beer. Its been so packed at times that you have push your way thought to get anywhere. Is it my problem for not liking places that are packed? 100% yes. Is it awesome to see a local business succeed? OH HELL YES! Do I enjoy myself when going there? Its hard just due to the number of people and having make an effort to get around and then wait and wait to play a game. Would I still take friends there? OH HELL YES!
Very cool fun unique I enjoyed the difference varieties of beer. I wish it was bigger with multiple floors and pool tables and maybe a nice restaurant. Im quite sure the owner is already taken a look at redesigning this whole concept, but I enjoyed myself
Had alot of fun here. The pinball machines are alot of fun. Though wuite a few were broken overall had a blast.
I loved everything about this place except the food. The menu could use improvement. Other than that it was an unusual birthday outing for me.
Lovely place. Brings back old memories of playing dig dug.
I LOVE this place. The atmosphere is great. The prices for games are affordable. I personally am not a fan of beer but they have a pineapple cider to die for. Their bathrooms are small and usually have a stall that is out of order so just pee before you go lol
Awesome set up with streamlined food and drink services and a wide variety of arcade games. -Madmax
Really fun bar-cade! Often runs out of really good beers so keg par levels could use an increase. Staff is very new-age service, not bad, just sometimes you have to hunt for help if a game gets stuck etc. Overall a good time, good variety of games, great for a date night or just fun with friends. Recommend!