Address: Unit 11, Lower Promenade, Madeira Dr, Brighton BN2 1ET, United Kingdom
Rating: 4.5
based on 175 reviews.
Game Selection
Pros:
"They had a large selection of games which you’re welcome to take outside."
"A haven for gamers of all ages and persuasions. They have a wall of decent board games as well as multiple games consoles."
"Great selection of games and games consoles with a friendly atmosphere."
"Great board games and arcade bar. The selection of board games is extensive with some surprising options."
"Many video games with consoles to pre book and vintage arcade games to play. Lots of board games to choose from too."
"There is a huge selection of well maintained boardgames & videogames available."
"The first time we tried to go it was full... Great selection of board games to choose from and a few consoles to play."
"Awesome place to chill out! Consoles and new games, a few classic arcade machines and plenty of space for tabletop RPGs and board games."
Cons:
"One annoyance was the amount of board games with missing pieces. We had to swap to different games a few times."
"The whole establishment is a great place to be... but some of the board games had missing pieces and broken instruction booklets."
"Selection of games amazing (although some had pieces missing)."
"Many of the board games we picked to try were missing parts and or instructions."
"Lots of board games to choose from too although some of the ones we tried had pieces missing."
"Nice place to play, music the right level... Bring your own games as theirs are a bit worn and missing pieces."
"It’s a big venue right by the water... but there aren’t enough available screens for me to consider this as more than a board game cafe?"
"Considering it's a fantastic and unique concept having tables with various game consoles at them to play, I am shocked at the ethos and attitude of the staff."
Food and Drinks
Pros:
"The drinks were gorgeous, very punchy and flavoursome! The food was utterly yummy, cooked to perfection."
"Drinks and food options were well themed with good flavour combinations and not just gimmicky naming."
"Food was delicious with vegan options."
"Good selection of drinks. Only had chips as a snack (which were really nicely seasoned and delicious)."
"Wanted some good and they had some chips, among other. Ordered pulled jackfruit chips with cheese and my wife ordered BBQ pulled pork chips. Both snacks were fantastic."
"Great menu of food and drinks, knowledgeable staff who love to recommend a game to play, and loads of games to choose from!"
"Great atmosphere, family friendly environment where you can play board/card games with family/friends. The cafe provides a great assortment of board games. The cafe has a great selection of foods which cater for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans."
"Amazing food and cocktails! Took my boyfriend here for his birthday and we definitely enjoyed it."
Cons:
"The food is a bit amateurish on occasion, but not too bad."
"Only reason for deducting a star is the food and drinks were on the pricey side."
"Very poor customer service from their manager Lucas, he kicked me and my family out from sitting area while we were eating."
"I arrived in a good mood and very hungry, I paid for drinks and food for myself and a friend. I waited for 40 minutes, at the end I found out that they forgot to place my order."
"Great board games and arcade bar... The arcade aspect isn't amazing, with only a couple of machines as well as a few classic console emulators and Switch set-ups."
"The whole establishment is a great place to be... But I have to say that Emily is an incredible hostess / waitress the reason me and my friends have come back so often is because of her and her amazing customer service."
"Had a good time here. Glad the place exists. But seriously guys, your "double" shot measures are a joke.. None of us could taste em.."
"Great concept for cafe but unfortunately our experience of the food was awful. We ordered the chicken loaded fries all round and couldn't eat them."
Service and Atmosphere
Pros:
"It's a relaxed and friendly game café. The staff are happy to recommend games and teach you the rules if wanted."
"Friendly staff with a quick service. A wide variety of games to choose from."
"The staff were so friendly and welcoming."
"Very dog friendly, cook a cracking breakfast, excellent all round."
"Visited Loading Bar.. a few times. I always have a great experience here. There is an abundance of games and drinks to choose from, the food and atmosphere is great!"
"We had a great time at Loading today. The staff (Lyndon, Alice & Liam) were super helpful, the food was great."
"Very very disappointing. Markets itself as “Loading” which suggests video games, but there’s next to no video games there 👎 Should just call itself what it is - a boardgaming cafe."
"Love this place. A welcome addition to the Brighton scene. It's different, it serves a fairly unique purpose and it does the drinks and food thing with consideration."
Cons:
"Biggest problem for us was that the first time we went it was shut, second time we went they kicked us out for a private event."
"The booking system needs some work, you can only book a couple of hours which makes me uneasy that someone will come and kick us out when “times up” despite ordering drinks throughout."
"The first time we tried to go it was full so we were turned away. I would of been happy to stand and play the arcade machines but that obviously wasn’t an option."
"The front of house staff are very rude and condescending - unfortunately today my friend was turned away from using the toilet even though she was absolutely desperate and all the public toilets in the area were closed (she also had her period.), we have been customers in the past many times and used to like this place a lot."
"They do coffee and alcohol which ended the argument over whether to go for a coffee or a beer... If I find myself in Brighton again I would definitely return."
"Staff were rude and abrupt when I asked to sit down with my friends who were already in a group of 6. Instead of giving me the option to sit on another table and split my group up, the 2 young lads on the door were unhelpful and rude to me."
"Hard to concentrate on the games with the constant noise in there, not good for people with allergens, always dogs in there. Great idea, poorly executed."
"The dour, grumpy girl with the short black hair behind the bar refused to let my THREE YEAR OLD use the loo when we were passing, the ONLY establishment EVER to take this stance, in my experience."