Horrible place. They were contracted to be an after party for a convention. People traveled from all over the united states. They refused entry to every one with Swag bags, Purses, Backpacks, and purchased items from the convention. Horrible attitude from management. No common sense from them at all. So we went over to Tin Roof Bar. They let every one in no problem and had a live band. Just go to Tin Roof instead. Much better bar.

I wish I could give this place zero stars. Everything is overpriced, from the games to the drinks to the food. The pizza, which comes by the slice, is incredibly greasy and barely passes at pizza. But truly what makes this place terrible is the security and management. Both are incredibly rude to non-patrons and those waiting outside, and only care about those inside because they want to get your money. Patrons routinely harass people outside of the bar, and neither management or security dissuades this behavior. Security and management also block off public sidewalks and the only ADA entrances to the nearby parking garage and refuse to let those who park get through to their cars. If you're looking for an arcade bar, do not come here. Start bar does not deserve your money. You will have a much better experience at Up Down in the Central West End.

Things really need to change at this a bar the lack of accountability from staff members is atrocious and very disappointing the notice able abysmal amount of fully working games is laughable. As well as the constant harassment I’ve gotten here multiple times theres a unsafe environment being harbored here you preach policy but it only applies to whom your favor. As a woman I don’t appreciate seeing other women getting put out of a bar They payed money for because of a situation the bouncers should have controlled no one should be put of for being grouped while the perpetrator gets to be “escorted to the back”. I was reassured multiple times by staff that the other party I had left but I visually saw him in there still and I think its extremely insulting the staff would treat their customers in this manner worst experience here yet.

Went here cause here it was supposed to be a good spot, ordered food and spent some money. I put a ten in the basketball machine and got one game. The staff told me that there is nothing they can do. My advice is - Don’t get cheated, some places are more about themselves then service. Zero stars

Spent much money throughout the afternoon/evening. Supported the cardinals and blues with them. Upstairs did not have the game systems working, each wii remote dead and the system had ZERO games prepared. Waste of money. In frustration, laid down on the couch to exhale a breathe (literally one decompressing breathe) and reset mentality to try and enjoy the evening (post midnight). In that moment of despair and frustration, bouncer came up to kick us out because in his words “we did not fit the dynamic of the evening”. Not joking, that’s verbatim. Back to downstairs but still wanted to have a good night and spend money, we were then told to leave the premises for a similar reason. The feeling of disrespect was extremely unexpected and we still don’t know where it came from. This is not an environment we plan to be around again, and will be taking our business to Up Down for gaming bars and just about anywhere else downtown for our time. The owners of Start Bar and Wheelhouse are the same so we also will not be spending any time or money at wheelhouse either. Huge bummer for them. 0/10 recommend, even if you fit their description for the crowd they went to attract. Sorry to disappoint as the price and vibes are not worth it whatsoever.

Pretty awful. Nothing worked, everything was spilled on. Tons of security to stare at me as i walk in then they're nowhere around when people try to start fights and throw glasses across the bar. Don't get a security job to convince other dudes how hot you are, I'm not interested. They were useless. They have garbage games and none of the buttons work. I didn't have a single game that didn't steal money either. I asked for a well drink and she poured skyy. This place should close.

Not worth it. It cost $5 to get in, the games do not work, they do not allow bags OF ANY KIND, and there's very little arcade game selection. Skip this place. To be specific, one pinball machine paddle wouldn't work, the walking dead game 'reload' doesn't work, the N64 area is roped off...extremely disappointing

Not a bad place at all. I've had allot of fun here. It's a bar/club/game room. Which i think is a really cool concept. Would like to see a wall maybe separating the games from the dance floor. One thing i really like is that the drinks are always on point. Your not drinking straight alcohol, but it ain't water ether. This is also a Saint Louis favorite, allot of locals go here, myself included. I would highly suggest going here and checking things out. I think anyone could have allot of fun here.

Terrible establishment. There are very few arcade games. The drinks are trash… too sweet and weak. Just to add to it all, the owners are extremely homophobic. If you even look a little “gay,” they won’t let you in because of their “dress code.”

The $20 endless mimosas are a deal that can’t be beat honestly. The fact that you can walk down the road to other bars with the same owner and get different drinks is so awesome! The atmosphere is great, bartenders are friendly and it’s a place to be silly/play around!

Workers were yelling at patrons walking to their cars from the ball game to not walk in front of their business very rudely. It would have been different if they had a different attitude... I may have one day went there before, during, or after a game but definitely not now. Note: there was construction on the other side of the road and there was lots of people. Nobody was loitering.

It's just dirty. Constantly worried about what I'm stepping in. It used to be a cool little arcade bar Obviously Badly managed might be Good again one day. It's another spot for Drunk Teenagers.

Club Took my money ($100) then put me in handcuffs bc I asked why I got a free bracelet and not my friend. Was man handled by the officer on duty at the club . Tried calling but not getting any answers. I would love my money back especially bc I spent money on my card and was treated like s👏It!

This place was okay. Beer on draft was not a good selection. Most were in cans. The crowd was a little rough. Games were fun. We had to pay a $5 cover to enter. There was a person following us outside asking for money on the way in and out of the place. I would be careful if you want to go.

Friendly staff, free games offered periodically, but incredibly bad selection of games and most are non functional. NBA Jam and NFL Blitz both had broken controls, Terminator had motion sensor dead zones and Ms Pacman had weird double characters. Also the pictures of Billy Mitchell on the wall aren't aging well. (RIP Apollo Legend)

I enjoy Start Bar; it's location downtown is excellent if you want to barhop downtown. They have a great drink selection and friendly service. Go on a Wednesday night when the games are free. I'm giving it a 3-star rating because of it's lack of arcade game selection; it's a small venue, but even still, there's a lot of empty space that could be filled with machines. A number of the joy sticks and buttons on various games are not functioning properly (which is understandable for any arcade, but it felt especially prevalent here). As far as barcades go, I would recommend Parlor or 2-Plumbers.

This place is awesome! They have fantastic tacos that are a must try! Great games, clean, great atmosphere and customer service.

First time here, we LOVED it. Drinks were great. Amaretto Sour Slushie was 10/10 for sure. Our Buffalo chicken pizza was good. Games were great. Galaga, pinball, skeeball. The upstairs has Nintendo 64 consoles, and we played Mario Kart, and Pokemon Colosseum. Next time we're in town we will definitely be back.

My customer likes pinball. Other than that, this is a younger person's place. I'm a pub guy. The service was great.

Not a lot of games, a lot of them don’t work or the buttons stick. It’s definitely more of a chill place to pre-game or chill before hitting the town but as it comes to arcade bars nothing impressive.

This is the worst arcade bar I've ever been to (and I've been to many). They have two pinballs and maybe 7 other games in total. They were also charging a $5 cover for guys on a Thursday. Go to Up Down instead.

I used to go here all the time and it was fun, but now it gets boring very quickly. Not many games to play anymore. Most of them are broken and don’t give coins back. Used to have a space for dancing and they no longer have the N64 upstairs. Only good thing here are the drinks.

The supposed lead cop/security guard is absolutely racist. He said his name is Jason and badge number is 316, but I am not sure if he provided the correct information. My friend and I asked a regular wheelhouse security guard if we can go to the car and come back, he said that was fine. When we came back we were bombarded by security guards from start bar. In the mist of confusion we kept walking to the security guard that we had spoke with originally. We did not curse, use profane language, or catch attitudes. We simply said hold on let me get the security guard we spoke with. They followed us all the way to wheelhouse and told us to go to the stairs and we complied once it was explained that we could not walk the way that we did. Once we were let back in by the original security guard “Jason” said no they can’t come in. We were shocked because we knew we did absolutely nothing wrong. I’ve seen people of the same color of the officers (Caucasian) walk the same way we did with no push back at all. And for that reason I am sharing my experience. I am very disappointed and I felt targeted and used as a pointless example. I hope no one else has to go through the same thing that happened to us because that was very traumatizing. I do not appreciate being nitpicked because I do not fit the targeted audience of the club. *Please note that I’m writing this review in real time so I am very much sober and aware of the event that just took place, please and thank you.

Amazingly Awesome place and facility to hangout and relax or do some dancing. Went there today for the first time and danced to some Michael Jackson, looked like the crowd seemed to love it. Staff and people we're so friendly and professional, and I felt very comfortable and at home there. HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.........

I recently had a great experience at Start Bar. The staff was friendly and helpful, the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting, and the drinks were delicious. I would definitely recommend Start Bar to anyone looking for a great night out.

I recently took a group of 25+ here prior to an event and we had an amazing time! Ryan made sure that we had a designated area for our group to enjoy food and drinks, we had the best service from the servers and bartenders, and the food and drinks were perfect! Plan on stopping by anytime I am back in St. Louis!

Used to love this bar, who couldn't love a bar with arcade games! Went tonight and they got rid of, no exaggerating, three fourths of there games including there game consoles upstairs. We tried to stay anyway and they didn't let one of our friends in because of their "dress code" when we were all dressed the exact same. UpDown is a far better arcade bar if you are in the area!

This place is cool but needs some extra work and money put into it. The good….the location, great bartenders and decent liquor and beer selection, Mario Cart game was super fun and the younger crowd there seemed very nice and friendly. The bad….half the games we played had something wrong with them. Joysticks broken, games out of order but not marked, buttons unresponsive, basketballs flat. These are maintenance issues that should be addressed. Especially when they don’t give refunds on tokens! How upset would you be if you go to play Pac-Man and your joystick only works left/ right but not up/down and then you don’t get your money back? This happened to our group on multiple games. While money wasn’t the issue, it did seem kind of shady that the game wasn’t marked as “Out of Order” when you consider the no refunds policy. Also….bathrooms could’ve been a meme they were so dirty. The toilet had experienced a huge diarrhea blowout and then to top it off there were like 4 gnats flying over it lol. My drunk friends and I got a good laugh from it but for real you couldn’t pay me to use that bathroom.

Crazy egoistic workers but good environment/music The staff took My phone then kicked me out when I noticed and then right after that all the sudden were Saying I was drunk and needed to go. I had one drink. I’m not small and leaned into the the table and it moved. I would Love for you to Review the camera footage if you had it to See how absurd this manager is. So I reported them for discrimination with dept of Justice and BBB. Def Would not go back. Specifically Zach the manager ( who thinks he is the owner 😂) is an awful narcissistic person. It’s a no go for the bad vibes even if hidden in a decent environment.

Really cool atmosphere, good drinks and food too. I love the games and the little variety you get. They’re also free games on Friday’s which is really nice

This place can be fun if you can get in. They have a weird dress code policy that you can’t come in with a sleeveless shirt. Sounds pretty crazy to me. I didn’t know having your arms out was so terrible.