Boxcar is an extremely fun arcade bar!! Highly recommended for groups and couples. They have a wide variety of games and beer. They also have a very nice outside area with outdoor lights. Cool place to sit outside and chat. read more

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This was such a fun place to go! I've been to the one downtown Raleigh and have been wanting to th this one out. So glad we decided to come. The staff is great! We will be coming back. read more

If you've been to the Barcade downtown Raleigh, then this is an upgrade in how spacious it is! This location has a long bar and also a Pizza Kitchen!!! They failed to add a guitar hero machine, SUPER disappointing The outdoor area is really nice, pet friendly as well Bottom line: this will always be a fun spot to go to for any occasion! read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - These dudes killing it on the DDR machine - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I prefer this boxcar over the one in Raleigh. If you're looking for some affordable fun, this is the place to go. Not only is the location primarily located near the food hall, but it also has a good amount of seating and availability for those looking to have fun around town. Get yourself a slice of pizza, a beer and hang around this awesome establishment with family and friends . Would definitely attend again. read more

Love this place! It would be better if they had Killer Queen tho! It brings people together

The service awful the guy at the door checking iDs on Saturday 3/4/2023 told my gf that she had too be 21 too be there and her birthday is 10/21/2001 but then a guy walked right in showed him his ID and he let him walk right on through, I explained too the guy she 22 he said no she has too be with a parent soo apparently the guy working checking iD can do simple math all he had too do was do the year 2023 minus her birthday year 2001= 22 her age read more

Boxcar has capitalized on its previous success in Raleigh and continues to bring the ultimate entertainment experience to every individual's inner child, now in Durham as well. Seriously, how lucky are we, that we are able to have another Boxcar open for business in the Triangle? These are truly exciting times! I have been to the Boxcar in Raleigh, so I was extremely eager to check out Boxcar Durham this time around. The space is larger than the one in Raleigh, a little more open concept, and also offers a pizza kitchen! They have an amazing array of video game classics for guaranteed endless hours of cheap, but oh so satisfying, entertainment and fun. Get your game on! read more

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While I've only tried food here twice before, I was amazingly surprised by the pizza for it being $11 - $13 at a place in downtown Durham. My friend and I split the Korean BBQ pizza ($13), and while I'm usually weary of "Asian" inspired foods, the pizza hit all the right notes from the tender marinated beef to the refreshing slices of ginger. The cheese pull definitely came through, and so did the strength of a thin-ish crust that was able to hold up all of the heavy toppings. I highly recommend Boxcar for its pizza!! Who knew that the barcade would have my second favorite pizza in downtown Durham ‍ Food aside, the drink menu is varied and accommodating to many tastes. I'm not the biggest fan of beer, but was able to enjoy the Rose Cider ($6) and even an IPA called Mango Tango something ($6.50). Of course it gets crowded sometimes, but I feel like it adds to the atmosphere! With its big roomy warehouse space, the barcade wouldn't feel right if it wasn't so lively. Less crowded than Raleigh's Boxcar though in my experience. Of course, as always, one thing to watch out for is people hogging DDR or the basketball hoops game. read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Korean BBQ pizza with ginger, red onions, and marinated beef - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Walked in about 15 mins before 7pm with my son. Purchased many token to play games then were told that we had to leave by 7 pm. No one informed us that minors were not allowed at 7. If so, we would have not purchased any game tickets. When I asked for a refund since we were not informed, the staff denied to give me my money back. I feel scammed and will not be back. Definitely would not recommend. The only positive is that the bartenders are nice. read more

I have been waiting impatiently for Boxcar to open in Durham! Despite that fact that they were due to open in the Spring/Summer 2018, I am glad the wait is over! We arrived around 5:30, an hour and a half after the doors were officially open. I was shocked that there were more staff than customers and that there was absolutely no celebration or recognition of the Grand Opening! I can't say enough good things about the tech staff working the floor and handling arcade machines. The token machine and a handful of arcade game machines were not working properly, but staff quickly resolved the problem and threw us some tokens as an apologetic gesture. read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Bathroom! - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Came for the first time a few weeks ago with my daughter, she's only 2 but we had a blast. Tried a few of the seasonal drinks, they were okay. Over all the experience was fantastic and the bartender was amazing, remembered my name and was honestly a breath of fresh air. He really made the experience. Food is okay, not the best pizza or pretzel. read more

Be prepared to have your face scanned/photographed without consent upon entry. The door guys operating the system apparently have no answers for how the Patronscan system works, why it's necessary, who patronscan sells your data to, or how long your picture stays in whatever database they use. read more

Ten stars if I could! I was so excited by this place, I lost my shoe two times playing Dance Dance Revolution trying to win a friendly competition. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon on a sunny summer day. My boyfriend and I got 40 tokens for $10 (both cash and credit accepted at the token machines) and spent around 2 hours at this place and could have spent another hour here. Boxcar is great for a date, a birthday party, a fun time with friends or family, a company event, or any celebration. They also regularly host events like a DDR tournament which is so much fun. You cannot go wrong with this place! Indoors, we most enjoyed the skee ball, pac man, air hockey, dance dance revolution, pinball (which they have at least 15 to pick from), and basketball. Outdoors, we loved playing table tennis, multiple rounds of tic tac toe, giant jenga, and corn hole. What puts this place above 5 stars is the phenomenal live music they had (a great singer beatboxing, singing, and playing the guitar), the drink specials they have everyday, free water and popcorn, incredibly friendly staff, clean bathroom, and neopolitan pizza available for order. There is nothing I would change about this place. Thank you Boxcar staff for such a great time! read more

An amazing place with a fantastic atmosphere. Always love dropping in when we are in town. Brittana is great, cheery, & on point. Highly recommend stopping in! read more

The $5 green tea shots were pretty good. The atmosphere was nice and the staff were very helpful.

Great arcade. Great staff. TERRIBLE management. **Collected my thoughts after a week, to write an objective review of this racial discrimination** (Story..)My friend and I were playing DDR, and my boyfriend was holding my drink. A girl kept blocking the screen, as she slurred her words and inappropriately talked to us. She continued to do so. My boyfriend politely asked her to stop, and to wait for her turn. Her drunk boyfriend interjected and angrily spilled the drink all over my boyfriend's shirt. Out of nowhere, the "manager" angrily grabbed my boyfriend's shirt and proceeded to haul him out to the store front. (Analysis..) The "manager" supposedly saw what went down, but the other bouncers confusedly scratched their heads. No hands were thrown, and there was no reason for us to get thrown out. As a predominately Asian group, and the second party being Caucasian/African American, we were wrongfully accused of instigating. Although we were all thrown out, the latter group was able to go back inside. Management refused to listen to us, although onlookers inside were siding with our party. DO NOT GO IF YOU IDENTIFY AS A RACIAL MINORITY. SHAME ON YOU BOX CAR. read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - This is the "management" that significantly devalues the establishment. Shame on them for racially targeting minority groups - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Had the best time I've had anywhere in a long time here! The staff was super friendly and helpful. We ordered a pickle pizza (my first ever and it was amazing), had some drinks, played games (we kinda ruled the air hockey table - sorry guys!), made friends and had a blast. So much to do here, I will visit again next time I'm there for sure! read more

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Pros: great game selection, games are affordable, pizza is better than average, good drink selection and nice drink specials Cons: WAY TOO LOUD! Even in the middle of the day, I couldn't carry on a conversation with my wife and left early because of this. Train your employees to learn how to read an ID instead of your stupid machine - there were 50 yr olds that were turned away because they didn't have their ID. Need more tables & chairs outside, especially with nice weather. Bottom 2 inches of the screen for Galaga is cut off - don't waste your tokens on this until it's fixed. read more

This place is all the inner child in your adult self ever wanted! I have been here countless times and keep coming back for the games, food, beer and overall ambiance. I wish i could be open for more hours oF the day read more

It has a Dave and Busters feel with 90s/early 2000s games. I went during their grand opening. Quite a few of their machines were stealing coins, but the staff was more than happy to come fix the problem. It's a pretty good date night/ hangout spot. I've been to the one in Raleigh, and I will admit I like this one so much more because it's so much bigger. The layout has an "L" shape so it's easy to go around people playing games. Would definitely come back! read more

My coworkers and I went here last Saturday to celebrate and we had a great time. Parking was a tricky situation for some of us, but we were able to find spots in a lot less than a block away. I like that there's no cover fee to get in, and that $5 bucks gets you 20 tokens which doesn't sound like much but most games only cost 1-2 tokens with the intense games costing like 3 maybe 4. So you can play like ten or more games for only $5 bucks which is amazing. I'm sure they'll raise the prices but enjoy it while it lasts! I like that it's like a hipster Dave and Busters, lol. They've got a full bar that's pretty big which is great because it can get crowded with most games having a line. It goes pretty quick though. They also have a food area that serves pizza and I like all the seating they have for when you don't feel like standing and playing games you can sit, chill, eat and drink and people watch. I had a lot of fun and will definitely be back. read more

This place adds the energy that Durhamites have been looking for-- welcome to the neighborhood! Boxcar offers no frills, limited food, but does present extensive beer and a wide variety of gaming. It's obvious that the owners have invested in this location and have invested in Geer Street. I'm looking forward to seeing the patio and what's to come with this new hang out. Check it out. I'll be back. read more

There is such a fun atmosphere in this place! Box Car has incredible drink specials and I would highly recommend checking out their drink specials calendar online before you arrive to find out the best day to go. I particularly enjoy their Sunday mimosa specials ($1 mimosas, $2 double mimosas, $10 bottles of champagne w/ free juice) which are hard to beat no matter the city. While the menu is limited to just pizza and salad, there are many options to choose from amongst the pizza. The Hot honey pepperoni pizza is my favorite and I look forward to trying some others on my return trips. read more

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Best Boxcar I have been to, by far! This massive venue is filled with games, popcorn, a fully stocked bar, and a large gated outdoor patio. On Saturday nights there's live music, a dance area, ping pong tables, and Jenga all outside. Inside there are two air hockey tables, but the lines are usually pretty long to play. It's always fun to watch the super competitive people battle it out on DDR, and I love skiball, as any patron would. The free popcorn is always appealing to me, and the bar food isn't bad. Tokens are pretty inexpensive, and you don't really need many to have a good time. This place is friendly for people of all ages, and security takes good care of the place. read more

Friendly staff. Lots of games. Very loud but fun atmosphere. Pizza available and very unique options including vegetarian and gluten free. read more

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I LOVE coming here! It is very spacious and has a great outdoor seating area to eat and drink a beer. I love the racing games here!! read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Game - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Enjoyed a fun day at Boxcar Bar + Arcade. On the first time going we went on a Saturday and it was quite busy. This time we went on a Sunday afternoon and it was perfect. Enjoyed playing all of the arcade games of my childhood and had the best nostalgic time going back down memory lane. While there of course we had to have some of their delicious Neapolitan style pie from their pizza kitchen. Chicken bacon ranch and spinach garlic were both amazing! read more

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Just like the one in Raleigh, except MUCH bigger!!! Everything here is the same as the Raleigh location, so I don't have much to add. But they do have pizza here! read more

Really good time with a blast of fun nostalgia. The vibe was live and the music was entertaining. Great beer choices and lots of fun with video games. A great time for adults. Didn't care for the dogs walking through with their owners but I guess that's just the norm nowadays. Will definitely go back and encourage others to visit . read more

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What a fun place for a group of friends! Boxcar is an arcade bar with drinks and plenty of great games. The space inside is bigger than the location in Raleigh and the atmosphere is always nice. I've been here now on both weekdays and weekends, so I can attest to Boxcar always being a great place to hang out. The game tokens are around regular price, but I like the game selection! A good mix closer to a Dave and Busters compared to some arcade bars that just have old school arcade machines. Air hockey and the basketball game are my go to games, but Mariokart, random zombie shooting games and Pac-Man are also good options. I hear you can order pizza here, which I do see people ordering. Have yet to try, but curious! read more

Place is amazing. Only thing I would suggest is maintain the Pac-Man games. The joysticks are broken on some of the games

Fun place. Upbeat atmosphere, decent prices, well set up. They have a very weird rule though. I came in on a Sunday at 1 PM, there were kids running around everywhere, but they insisted I show them an ID. Wouldn't let me in without one. I'm 46 years old but they still ID'd me and scanned my drivers license (without my consent). Kids though? No problem . read more

We LOVE this place. The games are fun, the pizza is great, and the people who work there are so nice. Great selection of beers (bonus cans $3 on Thursday and Pizza is 1/2 price 4-7. We have been a few times in the past few weeks. Brought some visitors last weekend they had a blast too. The kids love coming (note: it's 21+ under 21 needs to come with a parent and can hang out until 9pm.) Even the dogs love it. Tonight the storms hit us pretty bad and our power went out so we headed in to have some fun, food and brews. The bartenders are the best - don't forget to take care of them read more

Boxcar in Durham is one of my favorite places to go. I've gone multiple times and the atmosphere is great. They always have good deals going on any day. Friday is $3 fireball shots and sometimes they have specials on their cocktails which are amazing! The Staff is always friendly and helpful. Sometimes it's busy and you have to wait in a line. Specifically for DDR. But everything else is manageable. I love ski ball and air hockey there. Would recommend! They also have decent pizzA and an outside patio area with cornhole! read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Halloween night - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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We absolutely loved boxcar! Sunday's are cool because you can get a bottle of champagne/orange juice (mimosas) for $10. We also got beer on tap for $5. We were just in town for the weekend so we had all of our stuff in bookbags. The guy at the door was nice enough to watch our stuff for the 3 hours we played and drank. Such a cool place!!! read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Cool venue with lots of space but rude and apathetic staff. We entered with gift bottles from Durham Distillery, though only after we ordered drinks for our whole party did the hostess say off premise sealed alcohol bottles are not allowed in the building. We asked if they could cancel the drinks order but said they will charge us and we need to leave boxcar immediately. No apologies, refunds, or even storage for the gift bottles were offered. Our group was very patient and respectful of their rules throughout. We hope management sees this and provides feedback to staff or creates a better solution. We will not be returning to boxcar and will no longer be recommending them for corporate events, to visiting friends, or for private parties to anyone in our network UPDATE: Business owner commented on this post but has still not responded to my emails. read more

I was initially excited about this place until I ordered a shot of Don Julio repasado. Someone seems to be refilling their top shelf alcohol bottles with bottom shelf booze. So sad. read more

$5 drafts on Mondays. Chill and fun crowd--thankful something is open on a Monday in Durham!

Most amazing and fair priced mojito I've ever had! They've remodeled the inside and the outdoor lounge area a bit and it's attracted more customers! Not sure about the correlation but very happy that the place is still alive and kicking after losing much business throughout last year. They've removed the 2 DDR machines that were there. Not sure if that's temporary but I'm sure it's a bad idea to have people do aerobic workout in such a crowded space at the moment... read more

Boxcar Bar + Arcade - Bars Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Typically I enjoy an afternoon at boxcar-great games and drinks. However, today we visited after going to a one hour tour of the Durham distillery (1 block away). We purchased a few bottles from the distillery for gifts and then walked down the street to enjoy games and drinks at boxcar. When we walked in, our ids were checked and we headed straight to the bar and ordered drinks (shoutout to timmy who was a great bartender). We started walking around to decide what games to play when we were approached by staff and told we cannot have outside alcohol (IE the bag we brought in of gifts of alcohol that we bought at the distillery) so we asked to leave it with the bouncer at the door. We did but then were told by another employee that we cannot have outside alcohol on the property. We proceeded to get cornered by three staff members (non of which were managers) and told it's against the law to bring alcohol to a bar and "you were going to chug the bottles you brought in a ways" (which obviously was not true as we just bought drinks at boxcar to enjoy and our purchase from Durham distillery were gifts and who would open bottles of alcohol in a bar??) We explained that we just bought drinks and asked if we could finish those before we left and they said no. Also asked why we were not told when we entered the building and were let in by the bouncer that we could not bring in our purchase of closed gift bottles of alcohol. They responded with a "you should know you can't bring alcohol in a bar". Ultimately we bought a round of drinks (3) and were able to enjoy two sips of them before being asked to leave all because the girl checking us in did not do her job and tell us we could not bring our bag in. The staff were not remotely accommodating. They had many opportunities to make it right by comping our drinks, holding our bag for 15-30 minutes to allow us to finish our drinks, or just an acknowledgement or apology that the bouncer did not do their job. We will not be back. read more