I really enjoy going to this bar. They have some of the best ramen in the area (including vegan options!) They have a decent selection of beers and a rotating list of cocktails as well. Lots of pinball machines and some arcade games, on top of the bar standard pool tables and darts. The food is good, and the staff is friendly. The live music and karaoke nights can be hit or miss but I always have fun anyway.
Whether it's ramen, rice bowls, or baos, I have yet to have a bad meal here. I've also brought out of town guests here because I enjoy their food so much. However, I usually warn folks that if they are not fans of a dive bar environment, this is not the place for them b/c this is most definitely a dive bar. The beer list also has a decent variety of craft draft & canned beer.
I’m not sure why this keeps happening. We love this bar and come here at least 2x a month. Always order drinks at the very least, and we ALWAYS tip well. However, it seems more often than not when we do come we are treated poorly. The most recent instance was a couple weeks ago when the waitress tried to kick us off our table so she could seat someone else (we were playing pool but we were using the table). I was very confused as to why she was doing this since we were clearly drinking. She was very adamant about kicking us off our table. She said they were getting busy. I understand there are limited numbers of tables but that does not mean that I have to give up my table that I am using. I don’t want to have to stop coming to this bar but I feel like it’s 50:50 on getting excellent service or very poor service.UPDATE: the owner apologized and gave us $20 in food and drink. While this was a nice gesture, I still feel like we have spent way too much money here for this to be an acceptable apology. I don’t mean to be rude at all, but I just dont feel like it was adequate given the way that we have been treated that night and all other previous experiences.
This place has a grungy 90s punk vibe. Lots of cool characters here and their ramen is bomb.They even have an active Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike cab, Ms. Pacman and pins.
First, let start off by saying I used to rave about this place. I worked across the street from age 19-21 and I had alot of fun here on my 21st birthday and the months following. The food has always been great, the drinks great (my fav was the blue free pool drink last summer). I knew a few bartenders and as a fellow service industry worker I always felt welcomed. After the reopening of the place in 2020 the attitude shifted. I think there are many reasons for this. The staff all know each other very personally and I know they have lost people close to them in the past few years. I totally get that. But the energy has shifted in the place and service is no longer very friendly, if at all. I was here last night after not having been in 5 months, the house music bumping was awesome and I was so excited to see some friends. I met my friend at the bar and was ignored even with trying to get peoples attention for 15 mins. I am a bartender and find this weird? Do you not want money? When I am working I ask people right away what they're drinking. When we asked about food the bartender seemed annoyed and checked the time , but we figured she was just having a bad day. We asked another bartender to order and they were friendlier but still double checked the time before accepting our food order at 9:35 pm so we were able to place a food order before the kitchen closed at 10pm. We could've been more timely about it if we had not been ignored for 15 mins? At this point I still had no drink and just thought about skipping it entirely. The third bartender who got my drink was nicer and said he was having a long day. I get it. The bar was not busy so I found the whole situation weird, but the energy which used to be super fun, quirky, and bright has changed, and it makes me not inclined to return for awhile. I know my business makes no difference to them, it's just sad to see a place that I used to love so much change so negatively.
Been coming here since it was Gone Wired Cafe. It is all about the atmosphere. Trivia on Thursdays is always fun and the drinks are cheap. Definitely a Lansing staple.
I was advised to go to this place by a friend, and was super excited. I thought it was a cafe, but honestly had no idea what this place was. I walked in and saw an arcade, super cool place. I ordered the Chicken bowl, and requested the sauce on the side just in case I didn’t like it. The food arrived and it was delicious, but I didn’t like the sauce so I wanted to see if they had ranch. The waitress never came back to check on us in the beginning. By the time she checked on us the 1st time my 2 friends drinks had been sitting empty for awhile. When she came back I asked for refills for their drinks and 2 ranch cups. She said that they did not have ranch, and because of their Japanese style foods, this was not the place to be asking for Ranch. I was taken back by her rude response and was genuinely confused, but I just said I was sorry I didn’t know that. She came back 30 minutes later only to grab an empty bowl. Didn’t ask if we wanted a box, refills, or our checks. After that we sat for an HOUR waiting. A band was setting up and she seemed busy at the bar, completely understandable, but we saw her checking in on some other people during the same time. After an hour she came back and said she “forgot” we were there. She took out cards and brought them back and said nothing. I have never ever had the need to complain about service, I work in the service industry and am always understanding. I don’t know if I deeply offended her when I asked for ranch in an arcade, cafe, band, bar, Japanese style restaurant, but her attitude was unacceptable. OTHER than the waitress, the place seems amazing and is so so inclusive and fun.
I never leave reviews but I had to for this bar, this was hands down the best bar experience I’ve ever had. They had so many Michigan made beers for cheap or reasonably priced and have live concerts Saturdays which I never knew. Plus having quarter based arcade games vs the buy a drink to get a ticket bar makes it in my opinion a top tier since for my case $20 lasted me in the arcade from 8-12. Plus the food is great I would highly recommend this bar to anyone and plan to come a lot more especially concert nights.
A really interesting Asian menu in a dark bar filled with arcade games. Wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. The meal was great. Seriously about the best tofu I have ever had. Would happily visit again. It's completely unique.
The ave is my usual go-to. I live around the corner. I like the staff and tip more than I can afford with no question. Everyone there is super nice except one door guy who has always been unpleasant to me. I'll continue to support the amazing crew there. However...only on nights that particular person isn't working. Also they were at capacity so he wouldn't let me go in, which is understandable. However, other people came in after me and he whispered to them and sent them to the other door thinking that me and the other people waiting wouldn't notice that they were let in first even though we had been waiting for a while.