Continues Arcade

Have been wanting to come here since they opened and finally had a chance this evening with my family for my birthday. My wife made reservations and they had an awesome area reserved for us with our own TV w/ a Dreamcast, Genesis, and a dedicated Defender arcade machine with a crispy fresh CRT monitor. Our waitress and entire staff were excellent and our food came very quickly. Nachos, wings, and burgers were all on point. SPLURGE FOR THE ICE CREAM SANDWICH. My main compliment is the absolute attention to detail of this establishment. -the “ratings” stamp when you enter -fresh looking CRTs in every arcade machine. -perfectly leveled pins that were clean and had Insider Connecged hooked up. -Sony Trinitron CRT TVs to compliment the game consoles. -authentic cabinets with a bit of patina -excellent beers and food quality. -A Galaxian just hangin in the kitchen (how cool) -the analog sign board If you’re going to open a Barcade establishment, this one is done right. I can’t fathom the amount of work the family put into opening Continues. SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS!

Had a great brunch at Continues Arcade in Alexandria. Seen below is a fluffy, mushroom and spinach omelet with a super dank Nutella latte. They have a fun assortment of video games from different eras and and assortment of pinball games. Protip: if you're an veteran gamer like me, ask to see the secret collection. MIND 🤯. That place is a proper vibe.

Great fun! Food was AMAZING, servers were very nice. Arcade games are great fun and reasonably priced with tokens. Even got lucky enough to check out the secret museum! Will be back. Though note tables have a 60 min limit which is a tad short due in part to the servers being a bit overwhelmed with the crowd/private parties and forgot to bring us a to go box or our check after asking multiple times.

Fun place, friendly staff and super delicious food. I’m vegan and did not have high expectations for the food… usually at bars, I have to stick to french fries and beer. But they had this very delicious all vegan sandwich called the playdate. I completely cleared my plate and all of the tater tots. So good. My husband had a non-vegan sandwich and he also liked it. Something with gochujang. They also offered a birthday treat since it was his birthday… very sweet. They have a great selection of games - definitely coming back!

Fun experience! Food was superb, kudos to the Chef (checkout his bio on their website). Playing the arcade games and pinball games was a blast down memory lane. Highly recommended. Reservations are suggested. Garage parking basically next door.

Continues is a totally awesome throwback gaming experience with an upscale, yet approachable restaurant vibe. My husband and I stopped by on a Saturday night and were glad we had a reservation because this place is definitely popular. The menu is clearly inspired by a professional chef and they also offer a full bar. We enjoyed the food and cocktails. The gaming experience is so fun. The nostalgia is in full effect, to include two mock living room corners with game consoles and couches. We met the owner and he mentioned that are planning to expand the arcade games area in the future. There is also a parking garage conveniently located next door. We will definitely be back. Thanks!

An absolute stellar experience to see for yourself. Originally went to celebrate a birthday, and found ourselves in a home-y, familiar, and nostalgic atmosphere with like-minds and childhood enjoyment. Be assured, if you are at all curious to step in, check it out, it will surprise you. Shout out to Alex for incredible service and knowledge of the facilities and their owners. I dont know when I will find myself back, but I had a great time. To the kitchen, management, and staff, thank you so much. We loved it!

This place exceeded expectations! The games were decent, the food was actually quite good and so was the atmosphere. We happened to come in on a Wednesday and they had trivia night!! Which was a nice surprise….We’ll definitely be back.

The food was great and the vibes are even better! Love the selection of games and the price for them. The Atari Lynx (short rib grilled cheese) was tasty and our server Ryan was super kind and helpful. Can't wait to return

Such a fun time, Dougie was such great conversation. The wall of pinball machines was a highlight!

Food was a full plate of delicious. Well seasoned well cooked food. Service member was TAE he was a bomb server. He was handling everything, he was going above and beyond. He was almost like a family member taking care of our party, and all his recommendations were delicious and accurate. Ambience it was fun.

Fun drinks, good food and lots of fun Would come back again Lots of classic games to play

As an experienced barcade-goer with favorites in both NYC and Chicago, I was seriously underwhelmed. This establishment is unfortunately at the very bottom of my list. I was so excited for this place. Stepping inside, it felt like little more than a random warehouse that someone tossed some games into. There was absolutely no atmosphere or "vibe" to speak of...just bright, unflattering lights and a general sense of disorganization. It was also unbearably hot inside, making it hard to enjoy the games. The games are tucked in the back with not enough space for people to even walk around you. I kept getting bumped into while playing. Speaking of which, the game selection was fine, but nothing special or unique. Skeeball machine was done along with a few other games. The lack of attention to detail was apparent everywhere, right down to the sticky, liquid-stained menu. This barcade needs to establish a clear identity and clean up its act.

We hit up Continues last weekend for their grand opening. We could tell they are still working on some tweaks. But, overall we had a great time! We sat down for dinner at one of their high top tables. There was a band playing on the stage near us, so it was very loud. It was super hard to hear our friends. We could hardly hear our waiter as well. We ordered the fried pickles and they were mostly breading, very little pickle. I had the short rib grilled cheese and really enjoyed it. The short rib was tender and flavorful. It was super cheesy with crispy edges. The au jus dipping sauce was also flavorful. It was so crave-able for sure! My husband and friends enjoyed their food too. They had the patty melt and fried chicken sandwich. We got 40 tokens each for $10 to play some games. The arcade was a bit smaller than we'd hoped and mostly pinball machines. But, we had fun playing the retro games!! The Pac-Man was our favorite. Thanks for a fun retro evening!

Went here for lunch with friends on a Sunday and it was fun! I thought the food was pretty good but the nice thing is you have a table and can leave your coat etc there while you go play the games. Our waitress checked on us for drinks while we were playing the games and that was cool too. It is a bit expensive - for 2 lunches and 4 beers with tip it was $100 (not counting what we paid for the tokens). But I would definitely come back for drinks and games.

Continues is a totally awesome throwback gaming experience with an upscale, yet approachable restaurant vibe. My husband and I stopped by on a Saturday night and were glad we had a reservation because this place is definitely popular. The menu is clearly inspired by a professional chef and they also offer a full bar. We enjoyed the food and cocktails. The gaming experience is so fun. The nostalgia is in full effect, to include two mock living room corners with game consoles and couches. We met the owner and he mentioned that are planning to expand the arcade games area in the future. There is also a parking garage conveniently located next door. We will definitely be back. Thanks!

It's been said old shopping malls should be converted into retirement communities for Generation X. Anyone considering that advice should use Continues Arcade as a template for making the idea work. Imagine some kids from the 8-Bit Era playing games in their room talking about building the ultimate game room and what that might look like: Lots of then-current (now classic) stand up arcade games, plenty of couches and other seating with console games, a section with good food, and another area in the back with even more games. Those kids grew up and made that a well-executed passion project here. As an example, wanting to stay on theme, I wore a T-shirt with the C64 startup screen. One of the owner's was there, saw it, told me he still has his Commodore in the back room, and gave me some tokens! Continues drips with classic gaming easter eggs, from the menu names to items displayed in the bar top. I lost count how many times I thought, "I haven't seen this in forever!" Beyond the nostalgia, Continues is a legit bar and grill. The Black Materia will appeal to anyone liking a good Manhattan or smoked cocktails; Great Fairy Fountain is as fragrant and attractive as refreshing; Polybius is summer in a glass - and, despite the name, not hallucination inducing. The food options are top-end gastropub classics. Even someone that doesn't like video games (if such a person exists...) would still find Continues worth a visit. To top it off, all the staff are very friendly and there's a covered garage for parking right next door.

Visited here for the first time tonight. It was a 45-minute wait, but we got some tokens and played games until our table was ready. It was the best time I've ever had waiting for a table! There was a good variety of games, and the cost was very reasonable. My expectations for the food and service were low since I thought the games were supposed to be the main draw, but both blew me away! The kale asian peanut salad was perfectly portioned and well dressed. The short rib grilled cheese was done to perfection and really flavorful. The only dish that was not a 10 out of 10 was the fried pickles. They use sandwich stackers instead of spears, which makes the pickle to breading ratio off. Other than that small note, I thought everything else was fantastic. Our server, Nicki, was welcoming, knowledgeable, and attentive. We will definitely be back!

The food, service, and vibes were amazing. I definitely reccomend to come visit them for a fun date night, or a get together with the friends!

We visited the Warp Zone breakfast window and it was great! I enjoyed the butterscotch latte and he enjoyed the cortado. They have Swing's coffee here which is awesome, and the service was fast and friendly. Will return to try the breakfast burrito sometime!

Didn't get the chance to try the food or games! We waited in line to enter and went to the bar due to the wait for a table. Bar staff were inattentive and rude. We took our business elsewhere. If service is important to you, I wouldn't recommend.

The staff was super friendly. The food was decent. And the games are ok. Many of the pinball machines weren't working or weren't working well. It's loud in here so be prepared for that. There's a lot of high tables and some low arcade tables to eat at. The low tables have couches to sit at. There's elevated areas on the corners with retro TVs and game systems which could be rented out for parties. My mushroom burger was very hard to eat, it kept sliding when I bit into it.

The food is good, the games are awesome and the service will get better! Extra sauce should not be extra charge, just saying. Can't wait for the Grand Opening!

Continues Arcade is an arcade, restaurant, and bar, all in one - Are you a lover of old-school arcade games? You've found the place! They have Ms. Pac-Man, Gauntlet, Donkey Kong, and Mortal Kombat! YAS! The food is pretty solid, too - the menu includes shareables, salads, and burgers & sandwiches. We started off with: +Sheet Tray Nachos - tortilla chips topped with house queso, shredded cheese, BBQ crema, pickled red onions, radishes, black beans, and jalapenos; we opted out of the cilantro; you can also add cauliflower or chicken tinga, too +the Bob-Omb Shrimp - shrimp dressed with sriracha sweet chili sauce and chili crunch, topped with daikon, papaya, peppers, Kewpie mayo, and crushed peanuts +Blanka's Pickles - battered dill slices with horesradish mayo and dill ranch For our mains, we ordered: +the Atari Lynx - short rib and mozzarella in between sourdough +the PS Vita - 1/4 lb patty topped with bordelaise braised mushrooms, caramelized onions, tomatoes, bibb lettuce, and truffle mayo the space is pretty spacious with ample seating - loved the tufted leather couches! The staff are friendly and attentive; food came out piping hot, which is a total plus! Such a great time to be had here - great for get-togethers or a date night; pretty awesome for gamers! There's garage and street parking available. +old-school arcade games! +shareables and eats! +friendly staff & service +garage and street parking available

- Amazingly friendly staff; so many people came up and spoke with us and checked in to see if we needed anything throughout our time. - Setup has real cool vibe, and there's plenty of space, comfy seating, and just cool things to look at all over. - The mix of games is pretty perfect. Some great really old-school stuff, and some stuff I recognize from the '90s like X-Men and Turtles and so much more. A great blend of fighters, shooters, pinball, and more. - The food is tasty. It leans in the bar food direction, and I do wish there were a few more healthful options. Unfortunately they were out of the shrimp salad and the other salad doesn't have meat. (Gotta hit those protein macros!) I gave in and got the bacon cheeseburger though, and it was cooked to perfection (I ordered it medium), and the crinkle cut fries definitely brought back childhood Ore Ida memories. - The feeling of using real tokens (custom, shiny gold ones at that) is just a blast; haven't experienced that in years due to everywhere using tap-to-play cards nowadays. - There's still a few little kinks to work out, like a couple machines didn't work when we put tokens in, but that's to be expected during a soft opening! - I do wish there was a way to see the Polybius room (apparently there's some cool stuff in there?) without booking a party; the idea of a hidden door is really cool. I thought maybe there were clues in the arcade for the code and we tried for like 20 minutes trying to get it open, then I finally asked a guy, and he was like, "Oh no, there's no clues, we give out the code if you book a birthday party." One cool thing though is they can customize the sound that plays when the door opens if your party is, say, Zelda themed. Overall -- super awesome addition to the northern Virginia community, and I'm very appreciative of the owner and his hospitality as well. Excited to come back soon.

I came by today for lunch on a whim. The burger and fries were great but I was really blown away by the Black Materia cocktail. The bartender was very nice and attentive. I also love the idea of the cameras and screens above the pinball machines so you can see someone's game as they're playing. Can't wait to come back!

Definitely a great new spot in the area! The staff were all kind and helpful, especially our server Ryan. The menu was small but good. We got the sheet tray nachos, the Game and Watch patty melt with a veggie patty, and the Atari Lynx. The nachos were tasty but could've used a little more toppings for the amount of chips they provide. My patty melt was great, even with the veggie patty. Ryan recommend the Tucher Pilsner and it went great with my sandwich. The design of the space fit the theme perfectly and the have a great selection of games. I'll be returning!

Incredible food and great service! Ryan was so helpful, answered all of our questions, and tended to all our needs. The ambience was a great balance of fun, family-friendly, and chill. Great place for a fun date night or to get together with friends.

Before commencing my review, I caveat by saying that this was their soft opening and that it seems like management is serious about improvement as they become more established. Visited during their "Beta Test" with a friend and was delighted warmly greeted and seated. What became apparent was how much effort they were putting into the retro video game theme; from the menu items to the "Rated M" hand stamps for adults attendees, to the gamerization of corporate terms like "Beta Test" for soft opening, it's clear how much effort they were putting in. The dining area floorspace had a bar with TV's playing both sports as well as episodes of classic animes like Yu-Gi-Oh, and little lounge areas set up like parlors with mock game consoles set up and console gameplay clips playing on analog TVs. The arcade was mostly in the back, save for a handful of games in the dining area. Being from Buffalo, NY myself, I ordered the Pilotwings and a local porter. The eight wings were dredged in a homemade buffalo sauce which was spicy and flavorful, although it was begging for some blue cheese which I was told they didn't have yet, and that they only had ranch dressing. They were topped with pickled carrots/celery which wasn't a bad addition. My biggest grievance was how expensive my order was. Between the beer ($10), wings ($18) and tax/tip, the total came out to almost $35. Alexandria isn't a cheap city, and all for spending a few dollars more to support a small business that house makes its own fare, but over two dollars per wing without blue cheese (which I was told would be extra once they had it), and $10 for a beer that retails at $3 per bottle seems a bit extortionate. As for the arcade: A system glitch meant that we had to reschedule for a later date, and they gave us some complimentary game tokens as compensation, which was greatly appreciated. I was impressed by the initial selection they had, including almost a dozen retro pinball games, Skee-ball, Pac-Man, space shooters, classic beat 'em ups, a few driving games (Crazy Taxi, my love! *All I Want by The Offspring blares internally*), and a number of light gun shooters as well. And holy hell, was I humbled remembering how difficult many of them were. Granted, not all of the promised titles are in-house yet, so I hope they'll have able to add some more driving, FPS, and other retro titles like Dance Dance Revolution soon. I am a bit concerned if/how they intend to expand their game selection or floorspace, given that the current layout is rather compact and it doesn't look like they have the room to add much more. Overall, this place certainly has potential, and you can see the love and passion behind its conception and execution. I just hope management is willing to address some of the growing pains this soft opening is bringing to light. Hopeful to have the chance to stop by again soon.

Zero stars if I could...Phone didn't work as they let the battery die. Had called multiple times today. Arrived and was informed kitchen was closing in 1 minute but we could order now. Then they changed their mind and said no to food ordering. Apparently they do not care about customer service whatsoever. Spoke to the owner's son, the manager, and lead waitress - response was horrible and do we even want to try another time? Hours didn't match Resy or Yelp either.

Great vibes! Definitely a gamers paradise. Nicki was our waitress and took care of us. We ordered Neo-Geo Pocket (Chicken Paillard Club) and Atari Lynx (Short Rib Grilled Cheese). We also ordered drinks the Red Potion Sangria; it was a twist on a sangria not bad but not my fav.

Never left a review in my life of attending bars as a 40 year old, but need to leave one. DO NOT GO HERE. I reserved the "lounge" from 5-7 and were told we can ask for any game from "the vault"... after asking repeatedly for games from said vault, no one seemed to know where mysterious games were. Knowing that we had 20 mins left on our reservation, one member in the party asked a little more forcefully (yet super nicely - 5 people heard his tone) to have access to these games we had asked for an hour to get. Said friend was then kicked out for being "rude" to the server - same friend that is a server himself and would never be rude to servers . This place was beyond rude to us, from the moment we walked in, and we are all literally in shock that this happened. Good luck to a business that cannot handle a polite ask without kicking the paying patron out.

Super fun place! Since it has opened, my wife and I have been several times, and it's always a blast. We live at Platform, right next door, so it's literally the closest bar to where we live. The hospitality is top notch, we have met the owners a few times, and they are really nice guys. Their food is great- think elevated bar food. I have tried several different things at this point, and it's all been good. The game selection is great, it reminds me of the arcade games I played as a kid.

We went there for my daughter's birthday and it had a good collection of games but kinda cramped in space

Good Game!! We were SO excited that an arcade was opening in old town! There are definitely some glitches to work out, but they are still new and worth a visit! Just might need to blow on the cartridge a few more times. Food: we had the nachos, burger, and chicken sandwich. Everything was good, but overall we felt it was overpriced by a few dollars even for the area. The high score of the three was the chicken sandwich by far (coming in at $19) although between the gochujang AND sriracha aioli the spice was OP! Drinks: we had the Donkey Kong, Hadouken, and Polybius. These all felt like they needed a service patch for an upgrade. Polybius was very minty and Hadouken was just hot with little underlying flavor, the best was the Donkey Kong. Let's be honest though, you aren't here for the cocktails, you are gonna get a beer and play! The beer selection was great! Atmosphere: Could use a buff, but getting there! The tables were amazing, but i do hope those walls are covered in giant murals soon! There was a great selection of games, but over all they were too close together. It's hard to get into the game when your neighbor's elbow is up in your controllers. There was also nowhere to put drinks, small tables between the games would give that space and also a place to safely store drinks while you play. Some games ate coins, but the staff was quick to restock your loot and fix the game. Also, if you are of a certain age, bring your earplugs, it gets loud! Overall, check this place out!!! It was nostalgic, fun, and a great way to spend a Friday night. We will respawn there in the future!

Im assuming most of these great reviews are from people who have never really been to a true arcade bar. I have been to many arcade bars in the DMV and other states. This is bar far the worst one I have been to. The space is not properly utilized at all. This is a restaurant/bar that happens to have a few arcade games instead of an actual arcade that happens to have food and drinks. There are only a few arcade games and majority of the space is dedicated to seating for eating and drinking. Most arcade bars have tons of games and only a bar area for drinks and maybe a tiny area for food. But majority of the space is usually utilized for the games. That is not the case here. Not only that, but there is not much variety when it comes to the games. The drinks are good and the customer service was great. But I was very disappointed with the lack of games and the utilization of the huge space that could've easily been used to focus on more games.

Love going to arcades and this one has great food, great service, and fun games. Would definitely come again.

Not great arcade. Over priced, over crowded, not great games. Meh. Nothing that will definitely get us back again.

The food service was fantastic. My Game and Watch party melt came super fast and was yummy! My server Nicki was great at making sure that I had everything that I needed while handling many other orders. I came to Continues for the DC Gaming Group for an event, and got to experience the arcade games in a really interesting way which taught me both about the gameplay and the history/trivia of the games. Will definitely be coming back with some friends!

Ryan tha goat recommended good drinks. There were plenty of games and I have a blast. C

Great service & atmosphere! Amazing aesthetic. But the volume for music & karaoke was way too loud for my preference to enjoy the company of my friend sitting right next to me.

The food is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Service is grade A!!! And the ambiance is definitely reminiscent of a good old fashioned 90's arcade!!! Definitely coming back!!! Highly recommend!!!

I loved the food and staff. I laughed all night long and loved the food. Rashad, Him, and Alex were fantastic.

loved being able to play arcade games. food was good. Service was a little slow getting to the table but they were very busy and still getting through growing pains so I'm not mad about it. Place was cool but because it was so busy we really had to yell to talk because it was so loud. I want to go back but might try on a weekday when it's not so hectic

Everyone was so friendly from the host, to the server, the owner, and other workers who would walk by! The food was incredible especially for a "barcade" with legit vegetarian and vegan options (not just a sad salad and fries). And of course the games were so fun, and I loved the traditional token way of doing things. We had an amazing time!

The service was great and we got great recommendations from the staff about what to order when we told them it was our first time here. We had an issue with a drink and they addressed it right away. Food was so good - definitely recommend the pickles and the short rib grilled cheese.

The concept of Connections is amazing. The execution was mixed. The food was generally pretty good, although expensive, even for Old Town. However, the cocktails could definitely use work - although credit for their clever names. Of the three that we got, only the Donkey Kong was one we'd consider getting again. Despite being in a group of cocktail fans, we switched to beer after the first round as a result. The games were the highlight of - with lots of classics. My main recommendation here though is to space them through the restaurant more so it feels more integrated rather than being a restaurant that just has a game room in the back.

Fantastic decision to check this place out! Came for my birthday, everybody was warm and welcoming. I had the Neo-Geo Pocket, perfectly fried chicken Korean inspired sandwich, my wife had the Play Date vegan burger and it's the only vegan bar burger she's actually finished because it was actually good. They have all my favorite arcade games from my childhood. Definitely recommend

Such a great place! Our server Ryan was very helpful with accommodating my gluten intolerance and the food was delicious! Excellent happy hour too!

Awesome food, awesome games, and awesome service from Ryan! Will be coming again with friends and family.

Nikki was so sweet! I recommend the chicken sandwich it's spicy with a good crunch! All the staff are great. Also the matcha in the morning is great, it's not too sweet a which is what I look for in a matcha.

Rockin' the past with good eats and rad vids. From Skeeball to pinball and Donkey Kong something for everyone. Easy parking and yummy nachos.

Great food, yummy drinks, good vibes, fun experience! Love that they use tokens for the games. Friendly staff and (older) kid friendly environment

I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a beautifully crafted throwback, full of friends and fun. The burger sliders tasted like heaven and the sauce blew me away. The short rib grilled cheese was the best grilled cheese I ever had. The fries seasoning was delicious. The service was phenomenal, the servers were super nice and friendly! Elliot and Liam were very professional even though they are young. The overall vibe/ambiance was fantastic, the handmade tables and counters were amazing. The games were super fun! I can't wait to come back to continues arcade to continue the fun!!!!

The service was amazing as well as the food, I specifically loved the perfectly seasoned French fries and the deliciously crafted sliders with many toppings for different tastes. The overall ambiance/vibe was welcoming and fun with loads of arcade games to play. Elliot and Liam may have been young but definitely gave amazing service, looked happy to be working and were very professional. Overall 10/10 had such a good time can't wait to come back.

This place is a 90s baby heaven! They're so nice, host fun events, food is good and has fun gaming names and they have all the games my childhood self desires. I definitely will be coming back here more

Rayn was awesome!!! The food was great atmosphere was amazing !!! Highly recommended ....the bar staff is the best