8 Bit Arcade Bar

January 8, 2025: Really cool bar AND arcade. TONS of beer (150+ beers). Didn't get to try the food but impeccable vibe. Will be back, when next in the area.

This place has changed a lot since I visited several years ago. It's expanded into a larger room (it's the old Rhodell's) and seems to have likewise expanded its game selection. Seems like there's a game from every era of arcades, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, TMNT, Street Fighter, Rampage, and more. All the games are free as long as you purchase something from the bar. I think it's way more fun than an average bar.

Really good time they've got all kinds of beer and even thc drinks. There weren't many machines down and the majority of them were a trip down memory lane. Went with a group of friends and had a really nice time.

A really neat place to have fun! All the video games except Skee Ball are free play. Skee ball is $1 per game and takes singles only - the bartender was able to give us singles for larger bills so we could play. Enjoyed a few throwbacks like Mortal Kombat, Turtles, Golden Tee and NFL Blitz 99 as well. The beer was cold and not expensive, they had a good draft list here too. Bartender was attentive and friendly. Definitely a fun place to hang out and be entertained for an hour or two!

We didn't try any of the food but the drinks were delicious. I highly recommend the princess peach. The atmosphere was chill. There are a ton of arcade games to play. Lots of childhood favorites! All games are free with a purchase, doesn't matter what it is. Only game that cost is Skee ball and it's $1 a game. A total of 5 drinks was under $30. We had a good time and look forward to going back in the future.

I was visiting Peoria from California and stopped in here on a Monday night at the suggestion of some locals. Boy am I glad I listened! Bartender was the sweetest woman, and all the drinks were great. I also love that 99% of the games are free to play, and there's a great variety! I had a lot of fun here and recommend it.

Review Date: July 24th, 2016 Beer, arcade games and friends. My kind of place. Growing up, I got involved in playing video games thanks to my father and friends. Everything from Atari to Sega Genesis to Super Nintendo to Gameboy; everything in-between and everything after. Once I was legally allowed to enjoy adult beverages, I grew to enjoy beer a few years later. Shortly after, 8 Bit opened up. Having a lifelong love for video games and a recently acquired taste for beer, I gathered a few of my nerdy fri

It was my first time visiting since I was passing through Peoria. I wish there was more parking for the businesses in that area. 8 Bit has a great variety of games in different sections. They also offer a large variety of beer.

We visited here Saturday night and are extremely disappointed from our last visit about a year ago. Most of the games were out of order. Skee ball is one of my favorites and it wasn't working correctly as it did not keep correct score. Due to a lot of games being out of order the crowd was harder to space out. It took us 15 minute wait at the bar to cash out our tab to leave as the place was busy and they only had one bartender. I don't think we will be back.

Great THC drinks. Fun was had

Food is frozen pizzas and breadsticks re heated, not the best. Drinks were good and games and atmosphere was good. I'll come back.

A true gem. One of the coolest places to hang out and have a drink in downtown Peoria. Great for playing arcade games but even better if you're a fan of craft beer. Awesome rotating options on tap and a killer line up of cans and bottles available as well. Do yourself a favor and check this place out if you find yourself in the area.

We just happened in here after a show at the Civic Center and had the best service we had all weekend.

Half the machines don't work. They kick you out close to closing, whoops. If I wanted to be managed by old people then ok, it is what it is.

Love this place! Such a fun concept with the arcade and console games ?? with wide variety of menu options makes this place one of a kind! Bartenders are very friendly and quick with service! Gave food a 5 even though I didn't eat.

Good lord, for a hidden place the beer selection is phenomenal! Looked up and there was eagle rare, eh taylor and blantons bottles behind the bar.... you will NOT be disappointed with the pour or the price for quality Bourbon. Bartender was awesome! Gotta love the arcade games and then are free

Had a great time playing old school arcades for free at 8 Bit Arcade. All I had to do is have a couple of drinks. Lol

Relive your childhood through a variety of videogames. More importantly see if you can get better at those said games with alcohol. Love that the games are play all you want and the beer selection is fantastic. Highly recommend

This is such a cool place. I am shocked more folks don't come here. All you have to do is buy a drink and you can play all the games for free. Yes some did not work and others did not work properly but they are all old games. I played them in my youth and spent a lot of money to do so. I highly recommend a blue MFer. So good and goes down way to easy. My husband loved the purple drink so much he wants to go back and get some for home. The bartender was beyond amazing. She was nice and had good drink suggest

It's a pretty cool place. I love the games, wish they had Jim Beam behind the bar the night we went. The bartender was attentive, the pizza was pretty good. We found roaches outside the bar which was concerning but we don't know where they came from. I believe this place would thrive more if they had a more open space rather than the cramped area that is their bar. It was cool tho, might go back.

Fun, clean enough, and great staff. Felt welcome and was left alone when we wanted to take in the area. Made our weekend Peoria visit a little nicer. Thank you!

Had a great time here. The arcade games are free when you buy drinks. A couple of them are not in perfect condition, buttons or joysticks might not work 100% or the screens are fading, but most of them work great. If you are a kid who grew up in the 80s/early 90s it's like going to the arcade in the mall with unlimited quarters.

This is one of Peoria's gems. They have amazing beers on tap, amazing staff, and an unbeatable nostalgic atmosphere. It's a bummer that there are usually a few games that aren't working but the majority do and I imagine it takes a lot of maintenance keeping the games running so I'm not bothered

Honestly the most game for your buck, and you don't have to pay to play since all games are set to free play! Great place to with friends or on a date. Good drinks, great kind staff, amazing place overall. You get a great view of the concerts put on next door from the beer garden as well! I'll never stop loving coming here.

Fun little bar with several arcade games including pacman, buck hunter, dungeons and dragons, burger time, mortal combat, and so on. Excellent beer selection including a few from local central IL breweries. The arcade games are free and the beer is reasonably priced. Not a ton of sitting room, but does have a few tables and booths. Worth checking out for sure!

Really good place to go to play some 80's and 90's arcade games. Fun atmosphere and the drinks are good and reasonably priced. All the machines are free play as long as you are drinking. The only downside to this place is a lot of the games are not in the best of condition. Joysticks barely work, buttons don't respond, etc... A little more upkeep on the games and this place would be 5 stars.

Interesting dive bar vibe in an arcade bar. They had a great beer list with a lot of unique options. Frozen pizza was perfect for midnight snack.

A fun place with an excellent selection of beers, ciders, and other drinks. Nearly all the video games were free to play, though some didn't have credits left on them. The beer prices were reasonable and in line with other bars & restaurants. Didn't get to check out the biergarten due to rainy weather. I'll be back again next time I'm in Peoria.

There was only one girl working the bar tonight, but the service was fast. She was really friendly! I recommend going here. They had a wide selection of arcade games. Even 3 player games! I played a Buck Shooter game, Burger Time, Ultimate Mortal Combat, Pac-Man, and a couple others. If you have time, make the stop!

I found this place when I was exploring downtown. It is a very unassuming spot, but it packs a solid beer punch. Over 160 beers are available, both tap and bottle/can. The bar staff is friendly and informative. I would strongly recommend taking a stop by this place if you like beer. In addition to the beers, they do have liquor drinks. Also, they have video games to have fun. The arcade games are free to play. They also have an emulator behind the bar to play. The bar is in a great location too. It is near

Neat place and a cool vibe. A nice alternative to the usual Peoria night scene. The games are free, which is great! Not too crowded: we went on a Friday night and had no problem playing games that we wanted. They do have a $10 minimum purchase though, so plan on staying for a couple drinks.

This is the most awesome bar, the arcade games were so much fun to play...all in free play mode! The beer list is insane, if they don't have something you'd like there is something wrong with your taste preference for beer. The bartender was fun and we all had a blast.

I absolutely love this place. Get a drink and play games to your heart's desire. A variety of games (all free to play) and a variety of drink options ranging from tap beers, cans, bottles, and many liquor varieties. The staff is great and informing. The games are fun (and free). Everyone should come at least once for the experience. I have been to this place many times and I will be back!

5 Stars! The beer selection is enormous. The games are free. And the bartenders are chill. Thanks 8bit for a fun night in Peoria!

A little crowded, but a great time, arcades are free, so you miss out on the joys of putting your coin on the device to claim next, so sometime people will just hog a game! Also you miss the joy of picking the exact game you want to play due to every thing being free, you just go from game to game. Great beer selection, great games, a must visit if you love in Peoria! This place is fun fun fun!

Fun little spot to play some long forgotten video games. Wide selection of beer and pretty good variety of hard liquor. Prices are reasonable and the people are friendly. Best of all, leave your quarters at home. The games are free! Stop by and enjoy.

8 Bit is such a fun and unique time. You can basically just go and grab a beer and play games all night for free (as long as you're drinking). The arcade bars I've been to in other cities require you to buy tokens, and it can be a pricey night. I love that this is just apart of the experience of the bar and not an extra cost. It would be fun to have more things like ski-ball, but I get it's mostly arcade games. The beer is really great and always changing too!

Great place to meet up at and spend some time. Can get a bit crowded on the weekends, but very good beer and drink selection! A wide variety of free video games, all free, are attractive to a wide age group.

The venue itself is a bit small and old but it is a fun place to hang out when you're out on the town with friends. There is no cost to play any of the many arcade games they have, but their one requirement is that you purchase at least one drink. Which is quite reasonable considering they'd just be a free mini arcade otherwise. There is no food here so make sure you eat beforehand.

Great selection of beer! All the classic arcade games are free to play, and the bartenders were cool. It's a bit of a tight squeeze at times but it wasn't elbow-to-elbow crowded so it wasn't a big deal.

Such a fun place! With the arcade games free, there's more beer money in my pocket. When you're having a great time kicking friends' butts on Golden Tee you want the night to last! 8 Bit is our go-to when we want a casual, unpretentious night out.

A nice throwback to arcade gaming. The place is has 3 small rooms so it gets crowded real fast but all in all it is a nice place to hangout with friends. They have great beer selection. Food wise, they don't offer anything besides frozen pizza, so keep that in mind if you're planning to eat there.

8 Bit Arcade has a lot of fun old arcade games. Sometimes a few are closed due to repairs, but for the most part they are all up and running. The beer and liquor selection is great. The drinks are good, the games are free, but just remember you must be 21 to play.

Went there for the first time tonight. The bartender was extremely rude. Just as someone else posted, I also finished my beer and left quickly. My beer was cold and there were arcade cabinets, so that's worth two stars. I personally will never go to this bar again. The bartender can be thanked for the loss of a potential returning customer. Perhaps more effort should be put into correcting the poor customer service that people are pointing out rather than posting witty, passive aggressive rebuttals to nega

As per usual the place was busy on a Saturday but the polite bar tender could keep up on her own while providing excellent service. The drink selection is amazing and if you can't find something to drink it means you ain't reading the menu enough.

I always bring friends who come to visit to 8 Bit. The games themselves are sometimes a bit interestingly off the beaten path but if you want an opportunity to experience C-list games on their machines, you won't get it at a better place. The cocktails are delightfully cavity-inducing, and they have a great selection of beer. Hours on Fridays seem to depend on the employee running the place, so make sure to swing by and check.

Fun place. Good variety of old arcade games that are free to play as you sip an adult beverage. Great beer selection. Sadly limited on non standard games like shooter or sports and no pin ball machines.

I really enjoyed this place. It was like walking into my childhood with the free games. The drink and beer selection was amazing and at a reasonable price. I'll be back.

Free games for a drink. What more could anyone want

Perfect place for a date night or just hanging out with the boys. Buy a drink and play tons of old school arcade games FOR FREE. Sure drinks are a little pricey but for very good reason. Definitely a must see if you're in Peoria.

Cozy dive bar with Classic Arcade Games! Games are free as long as your drinking! Drink selection was diverse, and although I would've liked a little more Beer Knowledge from our Bartender, he was very friendly and engaging in conversation!

Usually crowded and had a different variety of drinks compared to surrounding haunts. Games are kinda a mix bag. Lots of non working ones but ones that are working are a great hit for nostalgia. Would like to see improvements but is a decent stop during a night out.

Owner is very good at carding and proving a well established, legit environment. Bartender is awesome and drinks are good. Plus you can't beat free games : ) I diddn't rate 5 stars only because this seamed more like "prep kids dressed up for looks" instead of coming for drink and video games wich is what I personally feel it should solely be.

The environment was amazing but the bartender obviously wanted us out starting about 45 minutes before closing. This was very rude and they didn't close till 1am. She started shutting everything off and down at 12:15 am.

Very cool. Free Video games if your drinking, what could go wrong? Lots of cool old games. Went on a weekend evening and it was not overly crowded. Nice. Not high class by any means, but comfortable and friendly.

Was in here a little while ago and while the premise and themed drinks are really cool the building is incredibly cramped and the doorman that was working was surprisingly rude to most coming in (very gruff in asking for IDs and making fun of people as they walked by). He also wasn't wearing anything to indicate that he worked there so he kinda came off like some rando wanting to look at people's IDs. Might give it a chance again but hope it'll go over better next time.

Tons of beer options, free arcade games of every variety. Can it get much better? Nope. Not really. Be aware though, due to the insane amount of arcade games, it's standing room only throughout most of this bar. But if you're here, you really should be playing games and not sitting around amirite?! There's something for everyone!

The new location is great, lots more room and games, too. Pinball would be a great addition. In the running for best beer bar in Peoria, always amazing options.

This place is super fun. If you drink and like old school arcade games this place is a must visit. Games are free if you're drinking and they have a large array of beers and booze to consume.

Drove from Springfield with a buddy to enjoy the arcade bar, was denied service because the license I'm using for identification is an old one since my current one was stolen with my wallet. Anywhere else Ive been has been understanding as we've been in a pandemic and the dmv has been closed until recently. The bar was empty, I guess the bartender would rather not have customers.

Hadn't been to the new location yet. Took me back to the arcade at the mall (yup, I'm that old). Played the TMNT game and I warped back in time. Lots of drink selections.

Love having this kind of place in Peoria. Definitely worth a visit. Gets a little warm in there with all the video games and people in tight quarters. But the games are free and the beers are great... totally worth it.

Pretty unique with a nice selection of craft/domestic/import beers. Good mix of cabinets with an emphasis on fighters. Machines are showing some wear and a few get circulated. Street fighter cabinet is nice and rampage is set up with central il locations :)

Good beers and good games! It's a smaller establishment with some, but not all, the classic arcade games. Would love to see more early 80's favorites like defender, tempest, donkey Kong, qbert, joust, etc.

Great game selection and awesome service from Jason. We told him things that we enjoyed drinking in the past and his recommendations were spot on. We will definitely be back in the future!

Walked in tonight. The bar tender carded my brother, sister and I, then walked over to the TV after handing us back our ID's. He stood there until we called him back over. My brother asked him what his favorite IPA was. He responded "I don't drink IPA's." And just stared at him. So my brother asked what his favorite beer was and the bar tender responded "I don't drink beer." The bartender stared at him for a couple of seconds then walked back over to the TV. We immediately called him back and he sighed. Whe

One of our favorites because you get a play old school video games while you enjoy your beverages. A great place for friends to hang out and have a lot of fun. By the way, the games are free.

Great bar concept, but they could benefit from some customer service "soft-skills" training, and simple maintenance on the games. My experience went from "Wow!" to "unwelcome" in under 2 minutes. Walked in excited, with every intention of ordering beers and bar food. Started looking around in their rooms at the games, but was quickly, sternly, and unnecessarily greeted with: "You need to buy something to play the games." OK... So I ordered a beer and played 3-4 games, but these are not "restored" games. Th

Fun bar tenders, light hearted atmosphere, great shots specials! Games were old and needed updating though. Some worked to a minimal extent. Overall nice experience.

Awesome beer selection if you like craft beer. The arcade is fun. Discovered some old favs and some new games I would have loved as a kid.

Awesome place to go eat and place some cool pinball machines and great communication. Friendly staff and clean and well kept and wonderful service and I would highly recommend this place to anyone who would like to go to a place to have a great time and have fun playing pinball and fun axe throwing.

Classic stand up arcades games and beer? Yes please. These people know their beer so ask them for a suggestion, and then play some free games. Last time I went in that had an N64 set up playing GoldenEye 007.

8-bit is my favorite spot in Peoria, great classic games and an outdoor area to enjoy with friends! Good drinks and great atmosphere! Only miss the touch tunes

Fantastic place. The selection of games is right up the alley of my youth. The beer selection is also top notch. I only wish I had more occasion to go.

This is a place to go for drinks and fun! They serve some typical bar food like hot pretzels but their drinks and arcade games are the draw!

Great atmosphere, fun arcade games, and great selection of beers. Space is cramped so I recommend going during the week instead of the weekend and they don't really serve food so don't go hungry!!

Drinks were good. Service was great even with how busy it was. Only 4 stars because a decent amount of the games were down or under repair.

Amazing beer selection! Great place to go after a stressful day at the office. What's better than a craft beer and a classic video game to get your mind off spreadsheets and TPS reports!

Love the beer selection previous times I've been there, but disappointed my wife and I were denied in one early evening because we had our two year old daughter. Staff was not very nice about it either.

So many games! Looks like they have 3 rooms of them, so don't miss those as at first we thought there was only one room. The beer selection was good too

Fun, retro games, all free to play! Awesome beer selection and great service. Wish I could drink when I played them when I was 16!

Really fun place to kick back and relax. Lots of cool old school arcade games, and tons of different drinks ok the menu! Excellent!

OMG, I couldn't believe all the games they have! great selection of Beers. Games are free when you buy a drink

It's ridiculous I've been going on dates here for YEARS & now its MANDATORY to purchase a drink before playing a FREE game ???? I wouldn't recommend this place to a fly .

Huge bottled beer selection plus eight or ten drafts to drink while you play vintage arcade games, for free! Or sit outside on the patio, a great place when there are bands on Water Street.

Best bar in Peoria, hands down. Drinks and old retro games for free? I could spend all day and night drinking here.

Love this place, great beer selection. Full bar. Nice People, unlimited free game plays with the purchase of drinks.

Fantastic place. Friendly staff. Great place to play retro video games and drink craft beers from their generous selection of both.