Dave & Buster’s is a flashy arcade — but also a restaurant with burgers, bottomless wings
Wichita has been collectively wishing, almost begging for a Dave & Buster’s for years.
But it’s safe to assume that many of those vocal proponents had visions of blinking arcade lights flashing in their heads rather than thoughts of avocado toast, chicken lettuce wraps and towering burgers.
Now, the Dave & Buster’s dream is just a couple of days away from reality for Wichita. The city’s new 30,000-square-foot version opens on Monday at Greenwich Place, K-96 and Greenwich, and people will be able to play 100 modern video games, from Pac-Man on the big screen to a multi-person virtual reality game that people stand in long lines to try.
But if you’re a foodie — or a parent facing hours of sitting in the new Dave & Buster’s while your kids attack the game room — you might be wondering about the food and drink, too.
This week, I visited Dave & Buster’s to learn more about the dining part of the business. I’ll admit I’d never set foot in a Dave & Buster’s before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I learned that the restaurant side is just as big and varied as the flashy arcade side.
The restaurant portion of the massive building is split into two sections, and the dividing line is the bar. Closer to the arcade is a collection of high-top tables as well as booths that can seat eight to 10 people each. All of this is considered “bar seating,” and it’s available on a first-come, first-served basis. This seems like an excellent place to park yourself if you’re sending the kids out to enjoy the arcade.
On the other side of the bar is a more formal-looking dining room with modern-looking tables and chairs and lots of banquette-style seating. These seats are available to people who put their names on the wait list, though the wait shouldn’t be too long: The new Dave & Buster’s has about 358 seats, so tables should be turning over continuously, managers said. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations but will accept call-aheads for big parties.
The menu is huge — not quite as huge as the menu from that other most-wished-for-by-Wichita chain (ahem, Cheesecake Factory) — but it’s several pages long and offers appetizers both standard (wings, quesadillas) and less standard (caramelized Brussels sprouts, Pretzel dogs.)
It also has items you’d expect any sports bar to have, including burgers, sliders, grilled chicken sandwiches, tacos and cheese steak sandwiches. One particularly eye-catching burger is called The Super Stack, and it weighs in at over a pound, featuring two patties, three buns and 1,849 calories. There’s also a super sweet chicken-and-waffle slider that comes with a side of sticky syrup.
But the restaurant also has dishes for people after something a little lighter, and the menu includes a variety of “Healthy Halo” dishes, identified with images of an H wearing a halo. Choices include things like grilled salmon, grilled chicken, Asian chicken won ton nachos and chicken lettuce wraps. There’s also the option to choose zucchini noodles, a.k.a. zoodles, instead of pasta with certain entrees.
The menu also offers meatier entrees, including three different steaks, barbecue ribs and a dish that includes steak and bacon-wrapped shrimp and lobster sauce.
The bar is also designed to be entertaining and has several crazy options for all age groups. Your kids will want the Grape Candy Chill, a bright purple drink topped with gummy worms and served with a color-changing straw, and you’ll want the Green Ghost Glow Kone, an apple-flavored cocktail served with a glowing, color-changing ice cube inside. Margaritas, Bloody Marys, Long Island Iced Teas and beer are also on the menu.
Bargain-seekers will like a seasonal deal that Dave & Buster’s offers. The “Game Day Special” is available on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays and offers unlimited wings plus a $10 card for the arcade for $19.99. TV sets are hung all over the restaurant, so Dave & Buster’s also is a place to watch the game.
There are also half price cocktails during happy hour, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 9 p.m. to close Sundays through Thursdays.
You can check out the full menu below.
Dave & Buster’s will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. To find it, turn into the Greenwich Place shopping center (the one with DSW and World Market) and drive back to the southeast corner.
Dave & Buster’s menu
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
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