Nostalgia Lounge: Cleveland Bar Guide

Edited: The owner has responded to my review, so this review has been edited from its original. They have cheap drinks and I spent my birthday there. The owner was nice enough to buy me a shot and me and the new girl made a ton of drinks on the menu. That being said, the chef was as 2 hours late. She arrived a bit past 8. Since I was waiting since 6 for her to show, this negatively impacted my night since I didn’t just want something that was going to be microwaved. The bartender after the new girl left wasn’t super friendly. The food was okay. And the drinks weren’t that strong (but they were cheap). I don’t think the smash burger was an actual smash burger. It tasted like it was microwaved. I had a good enough time, but Crooked T’s or the Board Game cafe are probably a better bet. Especially since those places are way nerdier clientele and staff. The decoration’s of the place was actually stunning. I want the owner to design my next get together it was so nice. The arcade games were okay. Probably a lot better if you were shitfaced, most are actually old (pre-2000’s which was 24 years ago) arcade games with some of the newer stuff in the back. There’s also circus style games and a pinball machine. I was hoping they would have longer, campaign type games but they didn’t other than a weird commando terminator ripoff. I think there’s something wrong with the Cruisin the world game since the wheel was off. I had an average time and gave the place an average review. These aren’t inaccurate for my Experience there.

I know it seems I am overreacting here, but I assure you that I'm not. The atmosphere is a great blend of youthful adult vibes with a bar the serves video game themed drinks, but that also caters to teens by having a separate area full of ALL YOU CAN PLAY ARCADE GAMES! 5 dollars and you can play games all day long. The food is perfect for this kind of small place, I only didn't give it a 5 because this place doesn't concern itself with "quality food" and I honestly don't think that they should worry about it, food is good enough. This really is a worthwhile place to visit.

My friends and I came for trivia and left with memories (and 2nd place). None of us have ever been here before but we definitely enjoyed it. We were greeted by smiling faces when we came in and all of the staff were very friendly and attentive. The night was nothing but laughter, great company and good vibes. Nostalgia Lounge is a hidden gem and we will be returning.

I wish there were better things I could say about Nostalgia. I have gone up there a handful of times and each time I've been there has been some what of a disappointment. For starters: The gentlemen who works behind the bar, who I think is the owner, is not very good. Every time I have sat at the bar to get drinks it has taken him an upwards of 15-20ish minutes JUST to see what I'm ordering. And that's not even including the time it takes him to make said drink. And it's not just a one time thing. It has been every time I've been there. The food: What they have there is sub-par at best. Their wings are greasy slabs of chicken where what ever flavor they are supposed to emulate is either non existent or is so muted by all the grease that you can't tell between a Garlic Parmesan wing or a Buffalo wing. Not to mention the outrageous prices for some of the food. 8 dollars for a small nacho platter? 12 dollars for 3 BARELY breaded Chicken Tenders? No thanks. The Entertainment: Karaoke is okay, when it doesn't take over an hour and a half to get called on. For their Halloween party, there were people who came in hours after my party got their and then were immediately called on to sing. The Games: It's one thing to have retro style games but when half or more of them either don't work, the machines are not functioning properly, or the screen is just broken doesn't exactly make me want to return. Case in point, I tried to play Cruisin World with Manual Shifting option and the shifter didn't even work. Not to mention the sticky pads and guns, and not to mention the broken screen that doesn't work for the Area 51/Maximum Force game. The Staff (excluding the manager) The girls that work there are fine. At least they have more of an initiative to take my or my party's orders and actually get it right. The only reason I'm giving the service a 3 star is due to the fact that I know one of the bartenders and she has always helped me, as well as others at the bar. This bar could do with a better location, better food, better entertainment, and a better management.

My family was so excited to try this place. Saturday, January 31st we came in late afternoon. We walked around for 10 or more minutes, tried sitting at the bar to get a drink ... Nothing ... We were never acknowledged by a single worker. Not once. We gave up and left. It was incredibly unusual and disappointing. We wanted to love it and support local but would rather make the drive to the Westside for Pins Mechanical and their service next time.