A trip back in time...looking for a cold beer and appetizer but did not want a long wait, stumbled upon the Arena. Gave it a try and we walked in like a scene from a movie, the handful of locals at the bar gave us a once over. Found our way to a table, fella came from behind the bar and took it appetizer and drinks order. Cheese fries of sorts were very yummy. The Arena is connected to a bowling alley and does have a stage of sorts, looks like either live music or karaoke might take place. TVs are available to watch sporting events but the TVs might be 10+ year old, not the highest resolution by any means. Looking for a beer and opportunity to do some people watching be sure to visit the Arena. read more

The Arena - Beer menu - Sports Bars Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

Just went to The Arena Bar and Grill (attached to the bowling alley in State College). WOW! This place is seriously underrated. The food was incredible. Our table got cheesy garlic bread, a hot honey pepperoni pizza, and a sweet bourbon BBQ and bacon pulled chicken sandwich and fries and all the food was to die for. Everything was so fresh. Possibly my new favorite restaurant in town. We spoke with the manager that says they do karaoke nights, poker nights, paint nights, murder mystery dinners, etc there all the time. Not to mention the darts, pool tables, and bowling. If you have never been here or haven't been here lately, I highly recommend it. read more

Went into this place not expecting much since it's attached to a bowling alley. The waitress apologized for being the only server but did a great job! She got the game on TV that we asked for in a short amount of time. The food and drinks came out quickly. The chicken tenders with honey bourbon barbecue sauce were good. The night was topped off with karaoke, which is done Thursday and Friday nights. read more

The Arena - Chicken Tenders with Bourbon Honey BBQ sauce. - Sports Bars Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

Tristin was a great waiter. Friendly and knowledgeable. Sandwich's and soup were great. Loaded potato soup was really tasty Honey barbeque beef was really good and club sandwich was huge and very good. We will definately be back read more

Decent size pizza for the price. Relatively slow service if there's a lot of bowling going on. The ranch dressing is to die for. No matter what you get there, get a side of ranch. The best I've ever had. read more

Had the Philly Cheesesteak Stromboli, personal size, see pic, and it was very good. My wife had the cheeseburger, see pic and it was very good too. It seams as though the place is getting better on their food. I'm glad that they are, I like the food here but Have had bad experiences before. This is why I've rated them much higher than a while ago. Thanks, appreciate the good, keep up the good work. The only other thing that needs attention since I was about to end this review is that I just heard the kitchen help with language that I cant repeat on this review to tone it down or close the kitchen door. Potty mouths in the kitchen. read more

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Great establishment and amazing staff! In particular, Karyn the event coordinator goes above and beyond. All COVID procedures and protocols followed, making it a safe and fun night out. read more

Great find outside of downtown on a football weekend. The soft pretzels and Pierogies totally hit the spot. The craft beer selection is great and the staff is very nice and does the follow-up. The Jag parked out front was very cool. read more

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Waited at the bar for 10 minutes without being acknowledged. Bartender finally came out from the back. A regular customer let him know that we were waiting, he told him that everyone else was too and walked the other way. Waited another 5 minutes and finally left. Worst service I have ever had. If I could give negative stars I would. read more

WIng Nights are Wednesdays (after 9) with 30 cent wings. The regular price is $6.99 for twelve (includes celery & creamy dressings) Choose from: Mild, Hot, Suicide, Hawaiian Volcano, Peking Citrus, BBQ, Honey BBQ, Spicy BBQ, Honey Bourbon BBQ, Ranch, Spicy Ranch, Honey Mustard, Butter Garlic, Cajun Garlic, Mild Garlic, or Hot Garlic. Wing Specials on Monday as well - all you can eat Wings and Pizza for $9.99 Website - http://www.thearenabarandgrill.com/index.html The wings were so-so - not crispy enough for my taste, but seasoned very nice. Service was slow on a Saturday afternoon, unitl more employees showed up. I liked the fact I was handed a remote control to use our individual TV located at our table. There was a pool table and electronic darts machine and we could hear the bowling alleys operation in the background. The draft beers being offered exceeded their closest restaurant rival "Champs", which is a disapointment considering the size of their restaurant. read more

Our waitress abandoned us after the first round of drinks, took our menus when we went to the bathroom, apparently blacklisting us. We had to get food and drinks from the bar for the rest of the night. I have never been treated this way before so we had a meeting with management and they confirmed this waitress has done this before. This establishment is known for bad service and watered down drinks. To be fair, management and the bartenders were receptive to our complaints and acted professionally. read more

An employee hit our car in the parking lot and management said they would not comp or discount our bill. I generally prefer going to bars that don't require me scheduling maintenance on my car afterwards, but that might just be me. read more

there arnt many places in state college that make decent food, this place had great food and had a pretty decent portion size too. they dont overcharge like most places either, im really excited i found this spot! read more

Great band, Velveeta, but awful service. Waitstaff was possibly the worst ever. If you're going for good food or service pick another place. Food came out very slow, prime rib was cold. Cheesecake was warm. Drinks were good but could not get refills due to inattentive waitstaff. read more

I ordered delivery and the food was good but I didn't receive any of the sides I had asked for. Next time I decided to eat in, I waded in sat myself like the sign at the door said to do. Another group came in right after and sat at the table next to my group. They left after 30 minutes of having no server and my group decided to leave shortly after. Never saw a server, was never offered a menu. read more

Friendly peaceful environment . Not like the overcrowded frat bars down town. Nice place to have a few drinks , watch the game/ live music, go bowling , and enjoy some relatively cheap food . Staff is awesome . Would recommend. read more

Can I give zero stars? Went in, sat down, waited 10 minutes, two women who worked there looked at us but wouldn't come to our table, so we left. It's too bad, years and years ago it was a cool place to go. No intentions of ever going back. read more

Went on a Monday for wing night, the place wasn't crowded at all. Still, we waited 20 minutes until a server came and another hour before any food came out. We will never be back read more

The food was okay a few years ago, but it seems to have gone downhill. The bar is okay, but I'd rather go elsewhere.

Best place I've ever gone for karaoke. Deb the DJ is amazing, the book has a huge selection of songs, the drinks are reasonably priced, and if you must eat something, get the large cheese pizza late-night special. Karaoke happens Wednesday and Sunday nights, and there is live music or a DJ during the rest of the week. Small flat screens at every oversized booth, so there's no reason you should miss a game or an episode of The Venture Brothers if you're not a singer. Best to go with a big crowd over the summer while the university students are out of town. read more

The place was a little crowded so we left but I had the best experience ever because the door man tonight was so nice! Honestly the guy taking cover was an angel. My fiancé and I spent $10 on cover and then after one shot decided to leave. The door man gave us our cover back without us asking and was so sweet about it. Cheers to this bar we are happy costumers. read more

One of our favorites. Not really a student place, which is why we loved it! We dig the not so student-y places. The comment about depressing redneck atmosphere is proof of that! This is not happenin or crazy, just a chill place. There are sometimes students here, but sometimes we were the only 3 and it was all older people. Cool, relaxing place, stuff to do (if you want) good drinks. The best White Russian I've had, and the bucket of Rolling Rocks is always a good deal if you want some cheap decent beer. Good food as well. Guess there's no need to come here, especially if you're a student since this is a more residential place, but if you live in State College Park, or are going bowling, stop in and kick back here. read more

Burger was awful, and I'm not a picky eater; it contained crunchy black grill debris and was overcooked (asked for medium, got well done). Despite explaining the problem to the server and sending it back, they still charged me half price. Though I have an iron stomach, I had indigestion all night and the next morning. Music was obnoxiously loud even though there was no event and hardly anybody in the place. To be fair, their wings are good, but overall we were not pleased with their food and we won't be coming back. read more

Food gets 4 stars. Service / food portion gets a 3 8 bucsk for an appetizer that i could have maybe gotten 3 spoon fulls. And 5 stars for atmosphere and activities! I mainly go for the friendly and competitive poker. There's also nightly specials on drinks and food. But its possible to spend quite a bit on food if your not careful. I am friends with some of the staff and they are good people. The waitresses just give you lip if your there just for the events and poker. They also have lovely ladies come around with free shot samples. Yum. Overall a cool hangout for locals and college kids alike. read more

Not the fanciest or nicest bar in state college, but it's a good place go go relax with your friends and have a cheap drink. I've always received good customer service and fair prices. I will definitely go back again. read more

The ONLY place in town for Country music big Fred Myers & the Redneck Majority fan and they play there. Good food & drinks great staff always a great night out! read more

I swing in here 1-2X per month for a change of pace and have tried more than 1/2 of the menu. Average food at average prices, Nothing to write home about, but a decent quality and portion size for the pricing. I've never felt ripped off here. Service is sometimes lack luster but sometimes stellar, depends on the luck of the draw with the day/time you are there. Where the Arena excels is the drinks. $6 pitchers of Yuengling or Miller Lite and $7 liquor pitchers (not rail either, Jack, Three Olives, etc) all day/every day. If you want cheap drinks and some food to go along with it this is the place to be. If you're looking for a top notch meal and beer, this is probably not your place. read more