(Photo: Nicole Disser)
Barcade officially opened just a few hours ago on St. Marks, and by 5 p.m. the place was already bumping and bleeping. The new location is nothing short of brilliant —Â Barcade is directly (and irresistibly) in view of the stoners finishing their dogs at Papaya King, and will likely scoop up Kenka’s clientele as well. It caters to a rare breed of people who like to have “fun” while drinking.
We stopped in today and spoke to the owner, Pete Langway. The place struck us as a remarkably on-point reproduction of an old-school arcade, but Langway said that wasn’t intentional. “We’re not trying to recreate an arcade, we’re just trying to have a cool bar,” he said.
(Photo: Nicole Disser)
Though smaller than the other locations (there are five in all), Barcade St. Marks still has “plenty of games,” a manager assured (see the list below). Regardless, the beer selection is just as extensive at this location, with 24 taps to choose from. Langway explained there was fat chance he would’ve been able to get a new license to serve hard liquor in this neighborhood. “But we were happy to get the beer and wine license at all,” he said. “Which is fine, given our focus on craft beer.”
Starting next week, the kitchen will be fully operational and will be run by Langway’s Chelsea location chef. “It’ll be mostly sandwiches,” Langway said. “But the menu is similar to the Chelsea location.”
We perused the game selection and found tons of combat games (Tekken 3, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat II and III, X-Men), classic games (Marvel super heroes, Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Super Mario) and others including Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk. Here’s the full list, courtesy of the bar’s website.
Art of FightingÂ
Baseball StarsÂ
BloodStormÂ
CentipedeÂ
DaiohÂ
Die HardÂ
Dig DugÂ
Donkey KongÂ
Fatal Fury: King of FightersÂ
Fatal Fury SpecialÂ
Fighters History DynamiteÂ
Galaxy fight: Universal WarriorsÂ
GyrussÂ
Jungle HuntÂ
Killer InstinctÂ
King of Fighters ’95Â
Knights of Valour 2: Nine DragonsÂ
Marvel Super HeroesÂ
Metal SlugÂ
Michael Jackson’s MoonwalkerÂ
MillipedeÂ
Mortal Kombat IIÂ
Ms. PacmanÂ
Mutant FighterÂ
Out RunÂ
PiranhaÂ
Pit-FighterÂ
Punch-Out!!Â
Puzzle BobbleÂ
Rambo IIIÂ
Rampage World TourÂ
Red ClashÂ
Samurai Shodown IIÂ
Speed BuggyÂ
Street FighterÂ
Street Fighter 3: New GenerationÂ
Strider 2Â
Super Mario Bros.Â
Tekken 3Â
TetrisÂ
Toobin’Â
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3Â
Virtua FighterÂ
X-Men: Children of the Atom
Barcade, 6 St. Marks Pl., nr. Third Ave.; open every day from noon-2 am.Â