Super clean. Helpful staff with the games and plenty of games too. The Slushies are super yummy but 5 dollars is a bit high.Most games are a dollar. They have pizza and some other foods as well.

Such a fun place to hang out. Great selection of both pinball and arcade games. Wide drink selection and fair prices on drinks. I personally LOVED the tigers blood. We spent about 5 hours there on $30 worth of play and had a blast. Perfect location for hanging out with friends in a low-key, but also fun setting.

Love this place. Friendly staff, CLEAN place especially during COVID they have been sanitizing everything and they DONT REQUIRE MASKS (THANK GOD) I had a blast we came here after our wedding too and it was just as fun. I like it better than updown it’s better lit.

I was in the area on business. Great bar with lots of games and tasty beverages. The bartenders and staff were awesome!!! Definitely recommended for a relaxing night with friends or some arcade action.

Celebrated my girlfriend’s forty something birthday. She is my girlfriend, not my wife, why would I know her age. Though my wife was invited and had a nice time. Play classic arcade video games while drinking amazing drinks. Or try some of their state fair worthy, greasy food. Yummm !!! Fun place to hang with friends or strangers. The staff is very friendly.

Arcade has a fair selection of games with good pricing for play (spent 20 bucks and was there for three hours or so). Bar section looked fairly stocked and the selection of alcoholic slushes (and one non alcoholic, tigers blood) was impressive. The reason for four stars, the food was alright, daughter had a burger and fries which she rates burger as decent, fries great, I had the jalapeno popper grilled cheese (it was alright, served with prepackaged smuckers sugar free jam).TL;DR: Well definitely go back, it was fun just dont expect amazing food.

Waiter and waitress did not recognize me while they were taking care of the rest of the people.

Fantastic selection of pinball machines!!! Kind and fun peeps working! Highly recommended

We had a work event at The Operating Room and it was the perfect venue! Lots of space, delicious food and drinks and so many fun games for our guests to play.T staff was so helpful, friendly and very accommodating to all our needs! I would definitely recommend.

Super fun!!! The service was good and the fellow gamers were all respectful of other people waiting. Awesome atmosphere and really fun place to spend the day!

We had heard about this place so stopped by for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Bar food menu had some good choices- we shared a calzone and some wings-the wings were good sized and crispy and the calzone was just right! They have a dozen beers on tap with some good local craft beer choices. There are a couple different game rooms with a good variety of old school pinball and some newer games. Good for families or a night out with friends. We will definitely be back!

Awesome arcade bar! Lots of pinball machines a lot of which you can even buy but be prepared to fork out a lot of cash for one though! Some big multiplayer games also!

Cool place to play!

They had some fun games to play, but the prices where now clear. Spent $10 but all the games where marked by points. I think 25 points is 50¢ but I could be wrong.Anyway I went but to the bar to get a drink, but the guy behind the bar told me he couldnt serve me for some reason was hard to hear why though. I then went to play the Halo game with my friend. As we where playing that dude behind the bar decided it was a good time to clean the game as we where playing. I asked if he could wait till we was done, and he said okay. Not even 10 minutes later he came back and started cleaning, so we gave up on the game and looked around. As more people came in they where getting served by the guy that told me no. I decided to get a little bit loud hinting that it would be nice to get a drink, but got nowhere. Decided to leave with my friend. Ill stick to going to up/down since the staff was pretty rude to me for no reason.

Another fun place to take the kids to burn some time. You just have to be there before 6 pm for anyone younger than 21 years old. My kids had a blast, from Mario Kart, 4 player pac man to skee ball and pinball.Not a huge selection of tap beers but good enough to drink and play some games.

Completely enjoyed my experience here today with my fourteen year old son. Typical bar food, but done well. We ordered a pizza and chicken wings. It came out hot and fresh and tasted very good. Staff was very friendly and genuinely happy to serve and make sure we where having a good time. It was a little chilly in the building so if you are going durring the day when there are not a lot if people I would suggest a hoodie or something if you tend to get cold like I do. The game selection was good and we had a lot of fun playing games with each other. Will be going back for sure.

Fun place. Not to crowded for a Sunday Afternoon. Nice selection of games. Really liked that they had so many Pinball Machines, cause thats my jam!

Fun time! Havent been to arcades, played video games in years! They have a bar also.The staff actually wear surgical scrubs! Lol

This was terrible it cost nearly 30 dollars for 5 games, and as a dad there is a terrible price when you have to pay for 5 kids, would not recommend.

Killer staff, great games, and good times all around

I am so glad we found this place. We just walked by on our way somewhere else and ended up spending over two hours here and loved it!The place is very clean, unlike a similar arcade bar downtown. Staff were very nice. There were a lot of different games, all worked great and a nice mix of modern and retro games.Lots of pinball, ski ball, a huge Pac man game, several shooting games, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, Asteroids, Tron, a Pac Man themed air hockey, Cruising USA, the list goes on.Prices for the games are between 50 cents and $1. Drinks are typical upscale bar prices. I would gladly pay these prices for a cool, modern, and clean barcade like this.The decor is so awesome too. The walls are covered in chalk writing of different science and medical drawings and info. There were plenty of seats too. We will certainly make this a regular hang out place!

Super fun place! Cool games and even cooler drinks! You should definitely stop by and try their craft slushees! Perfect place for a date night

I came here a couple of months ago with a group of friends and had a really good time. I got a cinnamon slushy drink which was pretty good but also pretty expensive for the amount of alcohol in it. They do have drink specials. There are some pretty cool arcade games here but it does get expensive as expected with newer arcade games. The Pac-Man air hockey game was my favorite.

My friend was denied drinks because he put his arms around me and my friend jokingly because it was my friends birthday. Even though one of the employees tried to explain that we were good, this uptight owner wouldn’t understand. Glad i wasted money on a game card I’ll never use because apparently this place can’t listen to reason. Back to Updown!

Loved it! Great food, atmosphere, and games...was impressed! For pinball fans like me a must stop. Some of the newest tables too

Fun bar with good service! They got a lot of good arcades.

I went there with my two kids (3 and 5yo) and all three of us had a BLAST!!!! There are soooooo many options for games, plus tons of fun drink concoctions for adults. :) And fair prices!!!

The staff gave us a little extra time to spend our money, but wouldn’t let us spend all of our money. They had some fun games, but the place was very loud and crowded. The place also wasn’t pleasant smelling. It was an okay arcade but the manager kicked us out because we were to young. They also had their 21+ sign in the smallest font on the door. I would spend my money in a better arcade where you can spend all of it.

Super friendly staff and a very clean establishment.... theres a good selection of pinball tables and a good amount of multiplayer games with a small splash of the classics like Donkey Kong and ice cold beer. Also a few racing games and they now have prizes definitely should try the syringe shots super tasty

Had a fun time here on a weeknight. I imagine if this place gets busy it might suffer a bit due to its small size. The no tokens idea is clean and it keeps it lightweight by charging and recharging your plastic card.Personally had the most fun playing the mini disc air hockey and the carnival throw. Its definitely a fun place to throw in the rotation of your normal routine.

Good place to get beer and play games. Selection is really meant for group play so if you go bring some friends. Gets a bit crowded at night but still an enjoyable time. Drinks are pricey but still worth the price. They have shots at the bar that are in actual syringes. Recommend them all except the for the clear green one...dont know whats in it but dont taste good.

My boyfriend and I came here after a bit of a disappointing visit to another similar establishment and realized we should have came here first!!!! We had the BEST time ever and have since dubbed it our spot for Date Day!!!! Only complaint is that it isn’t bigger we had a rally good time and the staff was super friendly!!!!

Great place to take the kids for an hour. Ski ball, basketball, Mario kart are great for kids. I stay interested with the pinball games which are mostly brand new and in great shape.

Lots of fun, good games, music and food.

Great atmosphere! The specialty slushies are very good, but prepare to fork over some greenbacks. Almost all machines are operational and work well, with a few older machines having the expected wear and tear. Machines rotate at a good pace, not too fast nor slow. All in all a great barcade, and I would recommend.

First off, I never take the time to review things but I felt compelled to after several awesome experiences here. My wife and I absolutely love, The Operating Room. Ive been to many pinball/arcade establishments that serve alcohol in the past... but this place is exceptional! You can tell that the owner is a true lover of the arcade experience. The space itself is absolutely immaculate! It is intimate but not undersized by any means. Ill admit that I didnt quite understand the name until I started glancing around at the subtle details and theme throughout the bar. When you stop in look toward the ceiling and youll see all sorts of cool medical quotes and anatomical drawings. One of the bartenders filled me in that the owner is a surgeon and he invited his friends in the medical field to draw each of them. As far as the drinks go my wife is a huge fan of their frozen cocktails. They arent over-sugared or syrupy like most bars. The flavors are interesting and extremely well thought out. You can buy a flight and sample several of them at once. We liked the Key Lime Pie best but they were all excellent. I could go on all day about it but in short, IT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING DES MOINES HAS BEEN MISSING... SO DONT MISS OUT!

Great place to hang out! Just had my sons birthday here. My son had a blast here and so did his friends. Make sure kids are out by 3 or so, the larger drinking crowd starts coming in around then.

I love the staff and the atmosphere. Ive had two corporate events here and they were both wonderful. You can rent the space in the early afternoon or co-mingle with the public after 3pm. They will either 1) have food available through their space 2) have a food truck or 3) have it catered through Taste of New York. Its an easy team building event to plan.I also come here on my own time to enjoy the slushies and beer while playing their pinball or co-op games. The artwork on the walls is fun and imaginative. I highly recommend this place for a fun date night, an outing with friends, or work functions.

Fun, if its not over crowded. - but pricey

Just had my 10 year old sons birthday party there. It was amazing! Awesome staff, awesome games, awesome everything! They even noticed that I am an Arkansas Razorback fan and turned the game on! My son loved it, we loved it. Thanks for the awesome experience! We will be back time and time again.5☆s isnt enough ☆s! CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!!!!Thanks for reading.

Awesome place to grab a drink and play various kinds of arcade games! I went here for the first time the other day and see myself returning soon.

We were here last Saturday and brought our friends from my husbands hometown. We had the absolute best time. The bartenders were fabulous, the syringe shots were soooo tasty and the games took me back to a simpler time, pretty nostalgic. We are definitely looking forward to going back.

Good games. But not nerdy enough. Still had a blast

Awesome service and games. Drink prices are a little high.

Fun place to go to and they have some good slushies, they also have a lot of pinball machines and a good sized arcade that gives out tickets. i will say there prizes for tickets are not the best but its still something.

Terrible staff, manager was awful, would not let minors spend there last $50 at quick prize machine (each attempt was 3 dollars and took less than 5 seconds) manager got mad and forcibly removed 6 members who were already by door. Smell is terrible of cat and piss. 0/10 would go again.

Its a fun place to kill some time. It really isnt that big so I spent a majority of the time waiting for the game I wanted to play to open up. There also wasnt that many good games. Im more likely to try out other arcades than to return to this one.

Had a lot of fun with my friends here, but after about 25 minutes it felt like we ran through all the games. Would definitely like a bigger variation of games.

Its a very clean and fun place. The prices are not bad either.

This place in clean, the natural light is nice during the day, the people were friendly, and its a fun place for a family with teenagers to go in the afternoons. There are lots of games you can play together but also plenty of games for some solo time. Oh an we loved the art on the walls.

Love the environment and the games. HATE how OVERPRICED their drinks and food are. Literally can go anywhere and get an alcoholic beverage thats more than 6.5oz for $4-6 rather than paying $8 for one drink and $13 for I believe an 8oz drink. I may be wrong but still overpriced in my opinion.

Great selection of games. Tons of Pinball machines (my favorite) and even for a Saturday night it didnt feel horribly cramped. The old school arcade machines feeling practically brand new was absolutely incredible also compared to other Barcades Ive visited. The convenience of using a mobile app on nearly every machine in addition to quarters is a significant quality of life lacking at other ones Ive visited. If I had one gripe, its the overall floor area could be double the size to give a more open feeling and more games. Ill definitely stop back from time to time after work to enjoy the selection.

Its a lot of fun. Bit more modern. The staff kept checking up to make sure we didnt need anymore food plus they were really nice overall.

I was there with my wife, the servers were rude and when trying to close a tab, the bartender said hold on and then proceeded to serve guests that came up to the bar after me. I also won an iPad on the KeyMaster machine and they refused to pay it out “due to a malfunction”

Super fun place! Ive been there multiple times and I have not had a bad experience!

The main thing I remember is that its too loud to think, much less to have a conversation with the people youre hanging out with. Pretty solid selection of games though.

Not enough room or machines for the amount of people in there. Seemed to have a good atmosphere, and the people were nice, but too few machines and not enough room, time to expand? ;-)

Id never been here before but a super fun place. Food was good and so were the drinks.

The drinks were on the pricier side. The game selection and decor is really epic though and worth checking out.

So Ive been looking for a barcade on my side of town for a while. I love Up-Down, but parking can be a nightmare, and my fiancee gets freaked out by downtown traffic, plus the crowding can be bad for her (she has a topical allergy to alcohol). So, I decided to check out The Operating Room on a slow night, to see what its aboutI love the place. The aesthetic is both somewhat nostalgic and grown up, leaving a lot of room for different kinds of people. Theyve got 19 or so pinball machines, all in great condition. There are a limited number of classic stand up arcade machines (and the ones they have are remarkably dated; think Defender and Donky Kong) but are more than compensated for with sit down and stand up shooters like Tomb Raider Arcade and Halo Raven. They also have prize and token pusher games, with rewards as well, bring to mind Chuck E. Cheese or a much smaller D&B offering.Table games and classic carnival machines are there as well. Theyve got basketball, skeeball, air hockey, electronic beer pong(!), and a really unique Connect 4 basketball game thats apparently a regular favorite. They also have a set of NES and SNES multi in one game consoles attached to the left and right TVs at the bar, so you can get your classic on.The bar is well maintained and have a number of uncommon domestic labels and local draws, plus seasonals. Theyve also got a line of alcoholic slush machines that reminds me of a lot of bars in NOLA. The flavors are all excellent, and at least when I was there offered slush flights so you can find a favorite, mine are Purple People Eater and Shark Bite. They have a full menu with appetizers and entrees, but I did not try them, although I will next time Im in.All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and will be going back often in the future now.

My favorite bar. I normally go here to drink with my best friend. Never a bad time, and their staff is always friendly and helpful.

Good games, love the coin pushers. Beer is decent price too. A lot of kids during the day time.

Neat place. Game selection is limited due to how small the venue is, but there is a little something for everyone. Being able to habe some alcohol while playing is fun.

The Best Bar I have ever been to. Arcade+Drinking=Great Times

What a fun time and great place for the family. Fun video games

This place is amazing. Old school arcade and new as well.

Space is decent! Games are not right on top of each other! Love the anatomy on the walls! Totally geeked out!

Last time I came here was super fun, and it was just as enjoyable this time around!

This place is fun. Just wish it wouldnt get so busy on weekends. Not as enjoyable. But go outside of peak hours and you are to have a great time!

I had so much fun at the operating room! The drinks were all so good and the games were so much fun. They have old fashion Mario ghost hunters, Pacman, a huge space invaders game, basketball, Mario kart, skee ball, pin ball machines, a walking dead game, and a few more. I was able to try nearly every game with a $10 card. Its also nice that you dont need quarters, it is just a refillable card

I personally did not get the chance to enjoy myself since i was kicked out while just sitting at a table for and I quote being too intoxicated when i literally only had one drink and was playing games. I was not loud, bothering anyone, trying to start fights or anything.

Bartender was very friendly and helpful. Nice clean atmosphere and selection of pinball was excellent.

What a fun place to check out, with some very interesting decorations and games

Fun atmosphere with great drinks

Great place for a drink and fun games to play for a reasonable price, definently going back soon

Great place, machines are very well taken care of as well.

Such a cool place. Great games.

The pizza is awful and the tables are tiny. Games were fine.

Why are you closed at 9:30 on a Monday with the staff just drinking inside? Thats not a bar.I cant reply so Im just editing my review. You were closed for training 4 hours before you were supposed to close. You dont open till 3 so I really dont understand why you couldnt do your sitting at the bar drinking training before or after business hours. We drove 20 minutes just for you to be closed so of course you get 1 star.

Great place to drink beer and play games. Classic arcade machines look straight from the factory. All pinball machines play flawlessly.

Nice variety of games. Really enjoyed checking this place out

A nice addition to West Glen. I like the specialty drinks they have. Also they have a really great selection of pinball machines and some vintage video games mixed in with skee ball basketball beer pong and some newer games as well.

Im only giving two stars because it looked colorful from the outside. How are you closed at midnight (doors locked when I got there), yet you advertise you are open until 1am? This makes your operation look really unreliable.

It was great. Old school games.

They werent open during posted business hours. After I posted this we went back to our vehicles and while we were out front, someone came out and said they were closed for employee training. Apparently employee training means all of the employees drinking at the bar.

Really cool place 20 bucks went a long time ..

A game of pinball here is 4x more expensive than at Up Down. It is a really cool place but makes me feel like Im getting ripped off, thats WDM for ya.

Fun place, cool games and atmosphere. Really expensive games though, Id love to come more often as I live in the area but the prices are killer. Several of the games are $1, when competitors will charge 25 cents.

It was a fun place. The only really bad experience I had was actually tonight. We still had drinks left inside and we were outside vaping and we told the girl we had drinks left inside and we were ready to head back inside to finish up. As my girlfriend was about to head back in the girl literally shut the door right at her face. Super rude. I dont know what her problem was. I hope they dont treat all their costumers like that.

Great pinball and new arcade games. A bit loud, but you stop noticing it when youre playing.

Lots of great games and tons of pinball machines to choose from

Fun place. Friendly staff, very clean, but not overly bright, like most places. The walls are fabulous!

Had a great time! Only wish it was bigger!

Always have fun playing pinball here! No coins needed it is all on a game card you can fill with credit!

Really enjoy the mix of games and the adult beverages. Definitely a gem to have in Des Moines.

I gave this place 4 stars based off of its competition. While it is nice to have an arcade bar in WDM, I think its worth it to drive an extra 10-15 minutes to its competitor downtown.Pros: clean, modern, friendly staff, and I like the overall OR theme of the bar. They even purchased OR lights for over the top of the bar. They do have some more modern games, and quite a few 2 player driving/shooting games.Cons: overpriced drinks: they are known for their slushies drinks which are $8 for a 6.5 oz and $12 for a 12 oz. Beers are decently priced, I paid $6.50 for a cider which is about average for West Glen, but cheaper at most bars across town/dive bars. Games are definitely overpriced. All games are .50 cents to $1+, with the .50 games being select pinball machines. Whereas the competitors charge .25 for EVERY game, and some are even free (Nintendo, Jenga, etc.) There also isnt a large selection of games, most likely due to the size of the games in a small area.Did I have fun? Yeah, I had a decent time. Would I come back? Eh, probably not. I personally enjoy the dive bar/ moms basement feel that doesnt break the bank. But if you prefer a more modern (and cleaner) experience, its going to cost you more but probably worth it for you.

Sat at the bar without being acknowledged or even greeted by either of the bartenders for 15 minutes. Very unprofessional and rude. Not somewhere I would spend my money again

We hd such a great date night here! The slushie flight was perfect! 50c/game for pinball. Well be back... Waiting on an Ankeny franchise ;)

Nice selection of pinball and select video games. Allot of fun and will be returning soon.

Not impressed at all. A cheap ripp off of Up Down.