What a fantastic concept! We came in early on a Sunday for lunch and to enjoy the arcade and were pleasantly surprised by the food/beverage offerings. The girls got a root beer float and the toffee butterscotch beer and both were yummy! We got some loaded fries, peach bourbon wings and fish tacos and everything was delicious. Friendly and fast service from the bar and they were very helpful in explaining where we needed to go to pick-up the food (at the back of the facility). The arcade has new and old games (pac man and donkey kong, but also a claw machine and shooting/driving games). I would definitely check this out no matter your age or interests because there is something for everyone. read more

Loved Tuesday Trivia with a fresh and tasty salad, their root beer was top notch! Will definitely come back :) read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Strawberry Field Salad - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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Fun atmosphere with pool, duck pin bowling and video games. Food was very good. Good selection of house beers. read more

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We were there for a 21st birthday party and the Manager and Assistant Manager were so accommodating! Very reasonable room rental and it was such a cozy, secluded little room with nice exposed brick. The pizza was phenomenal!!! I can't say it enough! The drinks were reasonably priced as well. All in all a wonderful night! The staff were all very friendly. Really neat place for a night out! Fun atmosphere! Something nice and out of the ordinary in the Millhouse District :) thank you Backpocket! read more

Love Backpocket! Definitely my favorite brewery to check out when I'm in town visiting family. They offer multiple craft beer options. Everything I've tried over the years have been really good. They also have a super fun space- they have an arcade, video games, pool tables, shuffleboard, and mini bowling! There's something to do for all ages. Service has always been super friendly as well. A must stop if in Dubuque! read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Food is good..... as long as you don't mind getting your steps in, which is because you have to do the 49 mile march to get your own food. Survive is probably a 7 out of 10 and the place is pretty nice. read more

Writing this at the bar, have been sitting here for about 15 minutes and still don't have a beer. It's busy- I will give them that- but we saw no less than 7 people walk in and get helped before us. I decided to leave the above as a draft before posting as to not be too spicy. Overall beer was pretty solid but service was very lacking- might be worth a second attempt to see if it was just an off day, but I wasn't overly impressed. read more

bad customer service all around came for my boyfriends birthday and got charged extra on my tab in the end

Cameron provided a great experience during happy hour! Checked in at the perfect moments, natural conversation and very knowledgeable with the food and beverage menu. His great costumer service definitely added to the chill ambiance and is why I continue to be a regular customer. read more

3.5 stars rounded up After dinner at 7 Hills, we wandered around the corner to Backpocket. Backpocket is in the same industrial area and is in an pretty interesting space. They have duckpin bowling, life size chess, pool and there are other bars in the same building that you can easily get to. When we arrived, it was really loud; there was a holiday party wrapping up in the bar area. Our bartender was super nice and made some solid beer recommendations. One thing to note is not all of the beers on tap are theirs. Another thing to note is they have regular and several in ours and guest NA options which is nice. I do wish they had size options similar to 7 Hills; sometimes I don't want to commit to a full beer. I ordered one of their sours, which was good, but from a beer standpoint I preferred 7 Hills. I was still a little hungry after dinner and opted for the pretzel bites, which were good. I think the kitchen is shared with a few of the other places in the building as you order from the bar, but the pickup is around the corner (in the building). Overall, we were fans and would come back. read more

Fried chicken sandwich and classic smash burger, to go, angel haze ipa while waiting. Chicken was a little over cooked, fries a bit too salty. Still a solid meal. read more

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Amazing ambiance, the music, the people, the service, and the BEER and FOOD!!! Drew, Karter, and Josiah were excellent. The recommendations to the demeanor were TOP NOTCH!! Ask for them every time they come in. 100/10. read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Tito's and sodas two lemons - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

Burgers were delicious, vibe was perfect for our baseball team! Ambiance was perfect and such a fun environment for all!

Friendly staff and good drink selection. I would recommend stopping by if you're in the area!

This place is the WORST! For a place that looks fabulous. Looks are deceiving. We had to order our food from an app. It took over an hour to get our food. My chicken sandwich was simply a hunk of chicken on a bun- nothing else. Our pizza took over an hour to get and when we got it, it was the wrong pizza. There is no staff anywhere besides behind the bar and there are not enough of them either. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone. Pay the money to hire staff members to care for your customers. If you offer food you should have waiters. read more

Only reason I usually go there is for bowling or the arcade. It just really cool. They have an arcade. They have a lot of cool classic games. Inside of the arcade looks really cool. They have a lot of good games. Their food is really good. The service is amazing. read more

I can't say enough good things about the service and atmosphere at Backpocket. The staff is incredibly alternative and goes the extra mile to ensure all guests are happy. Great place to bring a family if you have little ones. Bravo! read more

Beer and the space itself are good. While ordering, we asked several questions about the food, and every answer was "I don't know". I had tacos served on cold hard tortillas that had not been cooked. Don't serve ethnic food if you don't know anything about it! I'll go back to sit on what looks like a nice patio and drink a beer, but I won't order food. We went a few days into the big snowfall of 2024, and the stairs had not been cleared of snow and were dangerously slippery. That says something. read more

Dubuque has become one of our favorite excursions from Chicago due to its gorgeous setting, great hikes, and stellar beer scene. And of all the fantastic breweries, Backpocket is our absolute favorite! First, we love the location. Nestled in the mill area with plenty of parking, it is accessible and always has seating available indoors or outside. The indoor space is expansive with plenty of seating, TV's, arcade games, and billiards. It is a wonderful place to chill and hangout with friends/family/a loved one. The outdoor space was our favorite place to hang when the pandemic was at its peak. Now to the beer! There are so many varieties if delicious beers to try...you'll have to come many times! From our MANY visits, here are my five favorite beers: 1. Kitty Lime Pie 2. Slingshot Munich Dunkel 3. Pastry Helles Coconut Sweet Bread 4. Hawktoberfest 5. Strawberry ShortCat My husband loves the Pretzel Stout and the Raygun series. We also have enjoyed the addition of food to the menu. The Asian-fusion tacos are a delicious addition to our backpocket visits! The staff are always incredibly friendly and everything is clean, safe, and pandemic-conscious. We also appreciate Backpocket's welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. That's key for us! Thanks Backpocket! We look forward to our next visit! read more

We had a great experience!! We had a great bartender Megan!!! She went above and beyond and after talking with her We booked the large room for a shower. Thanks Megan!! read more

We love the NEW GM, AJ and bar manager. It's nice to have a place not to far from Galena that hosts an ideal experience. Great for family and kids. The place is amazing, from ambiance and layout, to ample hosting space and cleanliness. There was a few groups, plus a huge party and still plenty of areas for us smaller parties to enjoy all that Backpocket has to offer. Everything is reasonably priced too. It was great to go out with my friends, have a fun time with my friends while being taken care of by the attentive staff and not break the bank in doing so. AJ was very helpful and informative too about the arcade, we loved the pinball games too. The beer variety was great but I went with my usual. read more

This is a super cute place with shuffleboard, duckpin, and an arcade. Unfortunately, food, drinks, and service are some of the worst you will experience in the area. We waited an hour for our food, and despite being very hungry when it arrived, I couldn't eat the hockey-puck burger and over-fried pretzel bites. When I went to order a drink at the bar, one bartender was on her phone and another eating a piece of pizza, and clearly not interested in serving customers. We brought friends from out of town here, and I'm so embarrassed. read more

This was a super fun location for our weekend anniversary get away. Although it was just adults, this would be a great family vacation stop for some tasty food and teenager activities. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Wings were delicious and their brews were fantastic! The interior industrial design was spectacular for a "new tech" entertainment facility! read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Family friendly gaming - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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I loved the venue for this brewery! Upstairs has a great rustic vibe and plenty of games to keep you entertained while you're enjoying some new brews! Downstairs is full of arcade games and reminds me of Up Down in Des Moines. Definitely worth the stop if you're visiting. read more

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The food was really good. The service was good all around everybody their was having a good time .everyone was really nice. The place is neat and clean . No one had to sit around and wait for food or to play a game. read more

Beer is pretty good, food has been underwhelming any time I've ordered some. The arcade in the basement is easily the best part of this place. I've been coming to this place since they opened in 2017 and have been less impressed the last few times I've visited... I'm sure their new bowling addition is fun, it just seems like too much focus is going into expanding the business and not enough focus is going into making sure everything runs smoothly for a good customer experience. read more

Place is great to play billiards and play arcade games without kids running around screaming

The service/beer-tenders are uncomfortable and lack desirable spirit. The product is great, but it is delivery falls short.

Fun place to check out with a full arcade and trivia night Tuesdays! Decent beer selection, lands more on the IPA side so if you like those then you'll love it here. They are located in the newly renovated historic millwork district and it looks fantastic! They do not have food though (coming soon). The staff are what makes this place shine. Atmosphere: 5 Service: 5 Cleanliness: 3 Quality: 4 Value: 4 read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Nice entrance. Classy. - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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Mixed feelings here. The outside seating is awesome. The inside has comfy areas and fun atmosphere. The beers are fabulous. Love the sour. Not doing alcohol? Give the ginger a try. But, the bar food. We were really disappointed. The pretzel bites were soft on one side but hard as rocks on the other. The Korean steak mac-n-cheese was baked hard and dry, no sauce with random meat thrown on top like little meaty croutons. The taco fillings were really good but the tortillas were hard like bread gets after it's been microwaved. Thus, a mixed bag. read more

Came into Dubuque for a wedding and love to try local breweries! This place was amazing. I had the gold coin beer and it was delicious and smooth. My wife had the Strawberry Cheesecat and she loved. We also ordered the chicken bacon ranch Mac and cheese and ended up ordering more after we finished the first helping. Amazing ambiance and feel!! read more

So. Much. Fun! When we heard this Backpocket had a "beercade" we HAD to check it out, and so glad we did! We enjoyed beers while competing against each other, making for a fun date day! The "Beercade" includes everything from PacMan, Guitar Hero, air hockey, skee ball, pinball, and my husbands favorite - Mario! Such a fun time - and a great way to get rid of quarters! read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Arcade! - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

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Great place to hang with friends and or celebrate bdays. Plenty of games and great brew.

Absolutely great place. So happy to be visiting a cool place. Great beer and we started out so happy. We stopped briefly before we went out to dinner. Everything was amazing until one of the bartenders spit into a sink in front of us. read more

Went Saturday for a bachelorette/ bachelor party, when we got there no one even greeted us. We had to ask where the game room was because we rented the nook (which sounds like what you would think, a semi private area for us to sit) no, it was crammed tables in the downstairs arcade area with kids running everywhere. I'm sorry but if we wanted kids everywhere we would have went to chucky cheese (there are no kids in the advertising so we thought we were good to go) Anyways so we politely went upstairs and sat at a table (not a word said to us about ordering or anything, girl was even cleaning the table next to us and didn't say a thing) The mother of the bride went up and attempted to get the $ back for the rented nook that was anything but! They refused........they let a party of 18 walk out over $26!!!! We would have easily spent over $400 as a group!!!! After the party left the MOH went up and got the $ back.....but that is beside the point. They literally had to jump through hoops over a miscommunication and false advertisement to get their $26 back! And the assistant GM is less than helpful! read more

Ordered a salad, moldy. The bartenders were rude and not helpful made my time there horrible. Also observed that behind the bar was gross, filled with mold. Overall just terrible. read more

This place sucks!! The staff sucks! We stopped in on a Tuesday afternoon and sat at the bar. There were only about 10 people in the bar. We waited for a good 5 minutes while the two bartenders stood with their backs to us talking. Neither one even said a word to us. Walked out and will never go back. read more

Staff is friendly and knowledgeable on beer menu. Love the pinball machines and vintage video games. You can't find those many places. Nice change. (They also still have TVs for any sports fans). Wish they had access to their own kitchen. Really nice they partnered with the restaurant in the same building, but they don't supply Backpocket with quality food. Would not give this rating to the restaurant. read more

Backpocket Dubuque - Breweries Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

My wife and I happened to be the first people in on a Saturday afternoon and we spent a good amount of time chatting with our bartender, Tiffany. She was incredibly nice and since we were tourists, she told us all about the Millworks district, the local beer scene, and a couple food and bar recommendations. Her friendliness was definitely a positive addition to the experience. On top of the friendly staff, the beers were delicious with some interesting guest brews on tap. We played NES on the TV above the bar and it was cool to have the arcade as an option. Definitely a cool, modern space and if we were locals or are ever in Dubuque again, we'd be there frequently! read more

Great beer selection- hazy IPA and sour beers. Did not try the food but they have wings, tacos, mac n cheese. In the basement there is the arcade which my kids enjoyed. The brewery is in a beautiful building and they have a small outside patio. The bartender was very personable and friendly. I would go back again next time in am in Dubuque. read more