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December 2023 by Maggie B.
Despite Up Down being a chain, I always have a lot of fun here. People are cool, drinks are great, the games are fun and only 1 token (25¢) to play. The pizza is good when you've had a bit to drink and trivia night is fun too.
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November 2023 by Teresa T.
Just had my bday outing at this place. If your a gamer of all games this is the perfect bday spot! We played skee ball, pin ball, arcades, and so much more. I beat my husband in basketball as I summoned my shooting skills. Then I learned a new game called killer Queen and awesome strategically competitive game with up to 10 players. For the hungry gamer no need to fear there is pizza near. The place offers pizza and a array of beers with a few cocktails as well. They also gave me 40 tokens for my bday. I mean it doesn't get any better than that!!
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November 2023 by Lori L.
Yes please let me play Dig Dug and Ms PacMan until carpel tunnel takes over my arm. I love the vintage machines here plus Skee Ball. All we need are some choctchy tickets for items that cost a million tickets and we are set.There was a deal for double the tokens if you purchased them from the bar so I bought $20 which goes quite a long way - in fact I ended up with a ton that I took home. The only bad is because they are so cheap when the machine eats them you don't flinch. There were a few times that the game didn't play but it didn't upset me.We got some cocktails which were reasonably priced. They have bars on both levels so you are supposed to libate and play video games which is a great combination. Now to get back there to use my extra tokens! This would be a great place for a Yelp event - wink wink :)
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November 2023 by Amber G.
tl:dr - video game nerds gather for fun, food and drinks.Places are always trying to come up with a good "Chuck E Cheese" concept for adults and most fall flat. Up-Down gives you exactly what you want to bring out your inner child while enjoying some tasty cocktails. This two-story building is jammed packed with everything from skee-ball to huge quantities of pinball machines, arcade games and counsel based systems. People are using a giant "Connect 4" board in one corner, while there is a 4-person TMNT game being played and two others are having a Mario Kart race on a giant projector screen. The inside is decorated and styled with neon signs and bright pops of color to bring the fun out in the décor. Retro games that you've maybe never even heard of are there, the classics you remember playing as a kid are there and while you're enjoy those, you're drinking some tasty beers or cocktails. The bartenders and staff are always super friendly. You end up accidentally buying way too many tokens which guarantees you'll be back and there is options for pizza there (I've not tried as of yet!)If you plan on getting a group together, keep an eye out for the specials this place has on different days of the week and make sure you aim for a time when it won't be too crowded (because it can get pretty packed.)A couple of the games might have an "out of order" sign on them, but I take that with a great understanding of how old and how complex many of these games are to fix and provide maintenance for. There's always plenty of other things to enjoy that it takes the sting out of a small handful experiencing trouble.
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June 2023 by Lorraine H.
My two friends and I went here and had a great time! Wide selection of alcoholic drinks that were tasty! We loved playing skeeball and Pac-Man and they even have old Mario kart on a TV definitely an arcade lovers dream place! One of my friends also got free 25 tokens for her birthday
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June 2023 by Becky L.
Fun visit here for a birthday. You have to get your ID scanned to enter- didn't love that. But, the birthday boy got some free tokens after showing his ID.The beer tap choices are exquisite. The prices are reasonable, too. And we got served pretty quickly by a friendly bartender.Didn't try the pizza but that looked pretty good. Can order by the slice or a whole pie. Plenty of game choices, including N64 super smash on the big screen (for free!). Saturday was 2 for 1 tokens so even better deal. Will definitely go back!
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February 2023 by Warren D.
We came here for a friend's birthday party and were quite impressed at both the variety of games to play and the fantastic pizza! The night that we were there was their $2 pizza slice night and we definitely took advantage of it. I tried a couple different varieties and enjoyed them both, I would definitely come back in the future just for a couple slices.The game variety isn't as good as say, Garcade in the Falls, but it is a decent variety of classic titles, 90s classics in the making, and some newer fare. We eyed up the pinball wall as well, but there were a couple hipsters laying claim to the one that I wanted, so we ended up finding some other games to play.I appreciated the cooler of water for those like myself that do not partake in adult beverages, and the relaxed atmosphere of the place though I did wish all of the games were just one token, or if they would switch to a flat fee and set everything to free play so you're not walking around with a plastic cup of tokens all night.
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January 2023 by Mark M.
This is a change of pace/throwback kind of place. A bar with an arcade. It definitely brought back memories for me as arcades were a huge thing when I was in high school and college. Have your ID ready as they will card you at the door (even this old fart got carded). Friday nights the first 100 people get 20 tokens free. There are many different games to play: multiple pinball machines, skeeball, basketball, rampage, arkenoid, joust, galaga, Q-Bert, Area 51 and quite a few more on two levels. The pizza is $2.00 a slice until 8 PM on Fridays and the slices are quite large. I have to say I was a bit surprised to see how busy it got. They have a large number of beers on tap as well as cocktails. I went with several friends from work and it was a very laid back, cool way to spend a Friday night!
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January 2023 by Enid G.
I had so much fun here with my gf, an entire $20 lasted a couple hours with my gf. I will most definitely return!
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October 2022 by Claudia K.
I came here on a Sunday with a friend after visiting the lake front brewery since they're within walking distance. It's a pretty neat place with two stories full of arcade games. They even have an outside that patio that you can play cornhole and some other activities. It's a lowkey and a cute spot to hangout!
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October 2022 by Rachel B.
Super fun place if you don't want to just sit around and drink! They have lots of games and I loved seeing the vintage ones they had there as well! The beers on tap were great and the service was very good. My favorite was playing the skeeball. You should definitely go here with a group of people to have fun while drinking! It's an adult arcade!
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August 2022 by Ashleigh J.
Up-Down brought back all the nostalgic feels for me! Up-Down is an arcade bar (21+) in Milwaukee's Brady St. neighborhood. They have arcade games, pinball, skee-ball, craft beers on tap and pizza by the slice available. This place was definitely fun and a great place to come with friends! They have street parking available. They have a parking lot right next door BUT it's not for Up-Down customers and your car will be towed. Friendly tip: Find a park on the street!All games cost just $25 cents which is equivalent to 1 tokenFriday - 20 free tokens are given to the first 100 people
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April 2022 by Matthew S.
Cool place with decent Za... a good choice of games that can be played relatively cheap. The variety of brews is awesome. I know you can take out a whole pizza but not sure they take phone orders(would be cool if the did cuz like I said it's decent za). Wife and I have been a few times and each time didn't really have to wait to play any games or get a drink or a seat at the bar.
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February 2022 by Victor H.
(From September 2021)Hmmm, arcades, bar, TVs, pizza.... It's like my college days all over again!Featured on Thrillist, I'm glad I rolled here after my fun time at Lakefront Brewery. Seeing the arcade coin-op games along with the skeeball and pinball machines brought me nearly to tears. The classics such as street fighter, TMNT, the Simpsons, Donkey Kong, Area 51, and Mortal Kombat in one area would be enough for anyone who grew up in the 90's.Unfortunately for me, I didn't play any games as I was fixated on the tv to watch the Thursday night opener between the Buccaneers and Cowboys. Fantasy football implications were in play and seeing the cowboys lose is always too good to pass up. Fortunately the game didn't disappoint as it ended on the last play with the Cowboys on the losing end. The bartender made sure I always had my tall can of miller for my viewing pleasure so props to him.They also serve pizza here which was tasty as I went with pepperoni and the Mac and cheese pizza. Pizza goes with beer like Jay-Z goes with Beyoncé, you can't picture one without the other. I did have a weird exchange with the pizza lady as she told me pizza would be ready in 10 minutes when I first walked up. No worries, drank a beer, then came back after noticing the next person in line got their slice with no issues. After asking for my slices, she told me again, it would be 10 minutes. So I was confused. I said the guy behind me got his slice and she claimed she thought I was asking for a pizza they didn't have(???). They only have cheese, pepperoni, and Mac and cheese. Maybe I confused her? Anyways, got my slices and ate them and that was that.
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June 2021 by cjschreiner
This place is part bar part arcade. The thing that’s nice about this place is that each game is only one token, as compared to other bar-cades I’ve been to. Check there website to see what daily specials they have going on
