Arcadia National Bar

Visited last weekend on a trip to Portland. Very crowded, service was not great, but fun vibe. Too many pinball machines vs arcade games IMO. They had Pliny on draft, which was awesome.

 

Visited this place at around 10 PM on a Saturday. It was really busy in there, but I still got served pretty quickly. As others have noted, there are not many taps, but what was there was quality local stuff. They also had tall boys of Gansett, etc for those drinking on a budget. The selection of vids and pinball was impressive. Patrons and staff all seemed pretty laid back and friendly, which was really nice too.

 

Fun spot! Few higher end beers on draught and a few tall boy cans for 3$. I think Wednesdays were 'free play' day which is always a plus. Im not really sure about the food (they do like grilled cheese or something). Videogame and beer have been going together for years now. Now we all get to enjoy together!

In Portland, again, less than a month since, well, last time up and out, as it is. My previous visit here cut short, as Ed just wasn’t feeling it; jammed weekend night it was. So revisited; a hand slab across the street for eats and now back rolling past the guy ID’ing ‘cause he certainly ain’t lookin’ my way…

‘L’ shaped wood laminate topped bar with a worn trim and panel base; my feet left to dangle box and barless. Seating for 9 on swivel chairs. Barback holds a boxed unit with booze countered, and more below with glassware shelved. A glowrope wrapped unit lies mounted above with glassware & bitters, and stemmed glassware from the underside. Boards lining the topside listing tap selections in alt colored chalk, plus wine, shot, & punch specials. Boxed piece to the right with canned selections priced in chalk above, and a Kegerator to the right with 8 taps and a flatscreen above. A dozen and a half ceramic (what I can only assume are) mug club mugs hooked on the end, a stack of board games for the play, and a Sega set up on the corner of the bar.

Barback wall is brick, the far wall done with a mural, the room to the rear done in gray scale with arcade game figures, and brown with events. Large logo’d front window with bubble glass pieces above. Wood slat floors throughout and a light ceiling with blended ductwork. Track event spots on the bar and another row on the seating. Hightops down rear center, a shorty table off the bar, and some Allagash barrels riddled about.

2 dozen+ pinball & arcade games, and some oddball, I don’t know whats, in rows and onesies and twosies. Table Frogger, a knockoff Asian Simpsons game, some couchside play, and they’ve got a ‘Taito ice cold beer’ arcade game. What the fuck is that? Small blackboards listing high scores on different games.

8 taps; 7 beers from the state of Maine (Marshall Wharf Tug Pale Ale, Allagash White, Gneiss Oyster Stout, Bunker Dark Wave Baltic Porter, Foundation Coffee Burnside Brown Ale, SoMe Sweet Solstice Blonde, Banded Horn Barchen Berliner Weisse), and a regional cider (Bantam Rojo Cider). + cans (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Brooklyn EIPA, Rogue Amber Ale, Narragansett, Live Pursuit, Old Milwaukee, Ricker’s Mainiac Gold Cider)

Marshall Wharf Tug Pale Ale was all butter, and the Bunker Dark Wave Baltic Porter a mess, but the Geneiss Oyster was good. I commented to the bartender that the Marshall Wharf Tug Pale Ale was off and she was indifferent as kids are and even a bit argumentative (Do you not see me writing here? Do I need to break out the red pen on your ass?) Chief Brophy has pointed out that the crowd seems to be all about the ‘cade and not so much the bar.

It’s no Barcade. Good tunes, anyway, but we’re one and done. Much better to see when in Portland.

 

 

I love it here! Great "rumpus room" vibe. Consoles, cabinets, pinball, board games.

My personal favorite is the multiple console emulator box. Lots of old school cartridges and native controllers. Have 2 beers and beat Mega Man 2 -- what's not to like?

The only food is grilled cheese sandwiches. If there's only going to be one food, this is a great choice.

Great taps. Mostly interesting Maine stuff. Fun cocktails too, like Falcon Punch.

Terrific video game bar in Portland. Typically has eight craft offerings on tap, focusing on Maine stuff. Also about eight cans.

The video game selection is great - lots of pinball, NBA Jam, classics like Burger Time, etc. Great place to play some great old games and have a good beer.