The top 10 bars with arcade games in Toronto

Bars with arcade games in Toronto are in keeping with the latest trend in Toronto nightlife. The perfect mix of childhood fun (PAC-MAN high scores), the benefits of maturity (getting to drink out in the open), with only a dash of the grim realities of adulthood (having to foot the bill at the end of the night), these bars are the ideal mashup of past and present.

Here are my picks for the top bars with arcade games in Toronto.

Get Well
This Dundas West bar features a great selection of games that includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Galaga, Frogger, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms PAC-MAN, Tetris, Centipede, Star Wars, Dig Dug, and a couple of pinball machines. Go here if you're looking for a large selection of games and hate waiting your turn.

May
The collection of games at May includes a Hand Eye Society cabinet with six locally-developed games (most popular is Gesundheit, a puzzle game where the user has to go through mazes), Spring, Karate Champ, Q Ball Wizard, foosball, and pool tables. Head here if you're really good at Karate Champ. Word on the street is that if you get your name on the leaderboard, you get a free drink.

Nightowl
Nightowl is a Little Italy go-to for games and upscale pub grub. Its collection is composed of Big Buck Hunter, Whack-a-Mole and more. Choose this spot if you're the designated driver. Though Nightowl serves a host of Toronto-inspired cocktails, they offer free virgin drinks to those who have to get behind the wheel.

Wolf Like Me
This dive bar near Christie Pits boasts a collection of games that includes Big Buck Hunter II and a multi-game console with 60+ games like PAC-MAN and Galaga. Head here if you've powered through the original Big Buck Hunter at all the other bars (seriously, it's incredibly popular) and are ready for the second edition.

Junction City Music Hall
JCMH is an underground music venue that also has an impressive array of arcade games. Here you'll find Super Chexx Bubble Hockey, Galaga, Ms. PAC-MAN, Street Fighter II, WWF Superstars, Bubble Bauble, a 30-in-1 classic arcade game cabinet, and a variety of pinball tables. This is one of the top spots in the city for newer games.

Dundas Video
Dundas Video makes good on its name with a collection of games that features about 500 games like the complete Street Fighter collection, Simpsons Arcade, Turtles in Time, Hit The Ice, Final Fight and more. If you're already obsessed with the overly-priced app, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, and need to express your fandom in a way that is slightly less draining to your bank account.

Apt. 200
This Queen West bar is decked out with fancy decor but keeps a few retro arcade games on hand. Here you'll find Street Fighter, NBA JAM and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Pay a visit if your taste in drinks have matured even if your taste in games haven't.

Hi-Lo Bar
Hi-Lo Bar keeps east-siders entertained with options like Big Buck Hunter, a Kiss-themed pinball machine, and a PAC-MAN flat top with more than 60 games. The flat top is most appreciated for its ability to hold drinks and the allowance for seating.

Blnd Tger
Blnd Tger is a Little Italy lounge that has bottle service but also arcade games. The collection includes Time Crisis 3, PGA Tour Golf Team Challenge, a standup multi-game console with Galaga, PAC-MAN and more. There's also PAC-MAN Pinball. You can dance while you play.

Unlovable
This underground drinking hole boasts a collection that features Star Wars pinball, 80s classics like Donkey Kong, Ms PAC-MAN, 1942 and more, and a multi-game console with approximately 2000 games including all the old Street Fighters.

What did I miss? Add your fave venues for booze-meets-Big Buck Hunter in the comments.

Photo of Night Owl by Jesse Milns.

by Martha Stortz via blogTO