Hey everyone, Blake here with another fun review for The Virtual Reviewer, this time of the new Dave & Buster’s that opened a couple of years ago in Kirkland. For those who don’t know me or my family, I’m a 35-year-old tech guy working at Meta Platforms Inc. (the parent company formerly known as Facebook), married to my wonderful wife Patty, with two great kids, John, who’s 14, and Jenette who’s 12. We’re a pretty nerdy bunch who love video games, VR, comics, Legos, and action movies.
For those not familiar with the chain, Dave & Buster’s is an entertainment complex with a full-service restaurant combined with a huge modern arcade. We’ve been to some of their other locations before. You can check out the reviews of Dave & Buster’s Austin, Dave & Buster’s Houston, and Dave & Buster’s Las Vegas.
I’ll break the experience down into a few key sections in this review: Food & Drink, Games/Arcade, Staff & Service, Atmosphere, and Overall Impressions. Hopefully, it gives you a good feel for what to expect should you decide to visit the new Kirkland Dave & Buster’s yourself. I’ll try to keep my normal, wry sense of humor in check (no promises) and give an honest assessment from our family’s perspective. Let’s jump in!
Food & Drink
We arrived pretty hungry at around 12:30 pm on Saturday since John and Jenette made us skip breakfast in anticipation of a big Dave & Buster’s feast. The place was decently crowded already, with a 30-minute wait for a table, so we put our name in and browsed the menu while we waited. If you do plan on eating, keep in mind it functions just like a normal restaurant, so you’ll want to put your name down right away, even if you plan on playing games while you wait.
Dave & Buster’s menu is much bigger now than I remember from our last visits, with a lot more variety across apps, entrees, and desserts. I’ll break down what we got into tasty and not-so-tasty categories:
Tasty:
- Black Angus Bacon & Cheddar Burger: Nice thick patty cooked medium with crispy bacon and cheddar. Served with bottomless fries, which were hot, crispy, and salty.
- Voodoo Pasta: Penne with blackened chicken, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and cajun cream sauce. Very rich and flavorful.
- Molten Chocolate Cake: Warm-flowing chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. A must-order dessert!
Not-so-Tasty:
- Philly Cheesesteak Rolls: Expected crispy egg rolls filled with steak & cheese, but the filling was just mushy and bland.
- Chicken Tender Basket: overcooked dried-out tenders that tasted pre-frozen. Needed sauce to make it edible.
For drinks, the kids enjoyed neon-colored sweet cocktails while Patty and I shared a flight of local craft beers. They have a great rotating tap list with 12+ options. Prices overall were a bit above typical bar & grill fare but reasonable given the location and entertainment factor. Plan to spend $15-$25 per entree.
Games & Arcade
The main attraction at any Dave & Buster’s, of course, is the huge modern arcade section, which at the Kirkland location occupies about 50% of the massive venue. As soon as we got our pager for our table, the kids dragged us straight to the games to load up our Power Cards with credits.
We started together trying out a brand new 4-player Men in Black alien blasting game that was a lot of fun with the cool light gun controllers. It brought me back to playing Area 51 as a kid in the arcades. We didn’t last too long, unfortunately, getting overwhelmed by the alien hordes, but I still gave it a thumbs up for frantic multiplayer action.
After that, we split up to try out different games individually and meet back up later. Games are sorted by genre sections, including Racing, Shooting, Sports, Ticket/Prize, VR, and Redemption. I’ll break down some of my favorites and least favorites:
Favorites:
- Halo: Fireteam Raven: An epic co-op light gun arcade shooter that lets you blast through levels from the Halo universe. Great gun controllers and graphics.
- Willy Crash Bandicoot: A modern take on the classic 3D platformer with great cartoony graphics. Challenging but fun levels bring back nostalgia.
- Down the Clown: A ticket redemption game where you throw balls to knock down clowns. Simple but addicting to try to get max tickets.
My Least Favorite:
- Star Trek Battle Escape: Glitchy broken slow motion where we couldn’t get past the first enemies after 4 tries. Bummer for a cool cabinet design. Hopefully fixed soon!
- Giant Operation: Cool giant version of the classic toy, but sensors were hit or miss in removing organs without buzzing.
In the redemption prize area, we traded in our hard-earned tickets for some silly fun gifts like finger traps, temporary tattoos, sticky hand toys, as well as some candy to snack on.
The game library overall is impressive though, with all the latest releases. Expect to spend $5-$10 to play for 30-60 mins, depending on your skill level. Bring plenty of dollar bills and load up those Power Cards!
Staff & Service
Having been to quite a few Dave & Buster’s locations over the years, the staff friendliness and service can vary a lot, so I wanted to call that aspect out specifically. I’m happy to report the Kirkland location gets high marks from us in first impressions.
The hostess who took down our name was very friendly. We were seated by our requested table within 25 minutes, which was entirely reasonable for the busy Saturday lunch rush we saw. Our waiter, Rob, was super personable, making menu recommendations for the kids and checking in frequently without being overbearing.
The manager, Shaun, also came by after, introducing himself and leaving behind cards in case we had any issues or feedback. They make customer service a strong focus here, even amidst all the chaos, which I appreciate.
We also encountered several floor attendants in the arcade area who were happy to explain certain games or help with card or machine issues. Having that roaming support to resolve problems quickly so you’re not out of money due to broken games is key. Some minor quibbles were certain games like Star Trek seemed unplayable, so quality testing could still use improvement. But in general, we felt they are doing a good job so far on service aspects, considering the size and complexity of the operation.
Atmosphere
Walking through the signature entry area framed by neon-lit Hollywood-style signs into the massive dark warehouse-like space, pulsating with flashing lights, pumping music, and the ambient sounds of games and crowds – it’s quite a unique overwhelming atmosphere Dave & Buster’s provides that kids and kid-at-heart adults like us love!
There are clearly defined spaces for everything, which makes it feel less chaotic than it otherwise would. The restaurant area is like any modern sports pub, with nice decor and lighting apart from the chaos. The bar area is a vibrant party scene for the 21+ crowd, with tons of screens to watch games. The arcade/prize/dining stations make up the rest in darkened pockets surrounded by games or seating eating stations.
The high ceilings make everything feel grander and mysterious in scale despite the crowd density while maintaining a comfortable cool temperature. There’s also a nice outdoor patio area we only briefly checked out on our way in that I could see being pleasant when the weather allows. The decor and music are well-themed to the food/sports bar/big arcade concept.
Overall Impressions
To wrap up this review, I’d give the new Kirkland Dave & Buster’s high marks overall as a prime destination for family-friendly fun in the Seattle metro area. Between the variety of delicious comfort food options, extensive modern arcade selection with the latest releases, very good customer service so far, vibrant cosmic atmosphere, and prime location just off the 405 – it fires on all cylinders.
Having visited Dave & Buster’s many times over the past decade and watching the gradual improvements over iterations and locations, this version feels like their most polished execution yet. It addressed nearly all of my typical complaints around food miss-quality, spotty service, and outdated arcade selection. Pricing remains a little premium but feels merited for the exceptional entertainment value across age groups that would otherwise cost you way more per hour a la carte.
In terms of specific areas of improvement, I’d suggest continuing to focus on quality control around newly released games, minimizing issues with broken machines, which can quickly sour experiences. Certain games were clearly rushed to launch and frustratingly unplayable in spots despite the best intentions.
I’d also suggest expanding food options a bit more for healthier alternatives – maybe some custom salad/bowl bar where you select ingredients and bases. More variety could better accommodate families with restrictive diets beyond typical fried bar food fare. A few more non-alcoholic specialty drink options could also appeal to kids with sophisticated palettes or those abstaining for health/religious reasons.
But generally, our family (including picky teen judges) gives Dave & Buster’s Kirkland a big thumbs up! We had a blast together across all ages without breaking the bank, which is tough to pull off.