My brother Ryan turned 13 this past Thursday and he wanted to get together with a couple friends to celebrate.  After discovering the BITBAR, a restaurant/bar/arcade in Salem that has a large selection of classic games including pinball, he knew he wanted to celebrate there.  It’s a great place to celebrate your birthday.

Until 8PM when Bit Bar becomes an adults-only establishment, it is a great family-friendly classic arcade with nice outdoor seating, delicious food, and all the classic games you could ask for.  BITBAR is dedicated to offering all of the classic games people remember playing and enjoying.  They rotate in games frequently to satisfy all audiences.  Currently, they have 7 pinball games and 28 other video games according to the website.  Anyone can request new games and they will consider it the next time they rotate in games.  In addition, they have a GameCube there with many of its best games, including Mario Kart Double Dash, just one of many Mario Kart favorites.  Most of the games are still just a quarter to play, and the GameCube can be played for free.

I really enjoyed the celebration as well, and its not just because of how cool the Salem downtown area is.  The BITBAR had a lot for me to enjoy.  They offer a wide range of food options which is great for a picky eater like me.  I really liked the chicken tenders and fries, which are offered in both kids sizes and adult sizes.  My brother also liked the chicken tenders and his friends ordered the kids cheese pizza.  The kids meals come with free drinks with unlimited refills and also free game tokens so that was an extra bonus for us. 

I chose the kids size chicken so I had room for a couple of their many tasty appetizer choices.  They even sell Tetris shaped tater tots.  We decided to order Bavarian pretzels and nachos, both of which we enjoyed. 

They have a lot of gluten free options as well, which is one reason why my brother who has Celiac disease, likes the BITBAR so much.  Since he got diagnosed, he has not found any places that can give him food he can safely eat and the video games he loves to play.  They also offer a lot of cocktails which my parents had as we ate outside.

After we ate, we had a lot of fun inside as well.  They usually have a sports event on TV at the bar, whether it be soccer, Summer League basketball, or a Patriots game.  They also have a couple of classic sports games.  I battled against my dad in NFL Blitz.  He has been playing longer, so he usually beats me, but at BITBAR, I came closer to victory than ever before.

Although I did not get the chance to play it, they also had an NBA game.  We were having a lot of fun already between NFL Blitz, Ms. Pac-Man, and Star Trek pinball.

In the meantime, my brother and his friends had such a good time that we ended up staying for nearly five hours, almost all the way up until 8:00 PM.  Ever since my brother discovered the BITBAR for the first time when it had recently opened, I had wanted to check it out.  It exceeded my expectations with delicious food and classic games that even I enjoyed, and I’m not even that big of a gamer.  I would definitely go back as it was worth the long drive from the Metrowest.