Best Buds Fairhaven
1315 11th St | Bellingham, Washington, 98225Client Reviews on Best Buds Fairhaven
- 4.6 / 5.0
29 Reviews
Feedback:
Honestly, this is one of the coolest bars I've ever been to. It was pretty chill this Saturday but it sounded like it was a slow night. Incredibly friendly atmosphere and the bartenders were SO cool and helpful! I don't think I've felt that welcome as a new customer anywhere. I thought the crowd was pretty diverse, pretty much anyone could fit in here. Drink, socialize, bring friends, or just kick it. Anyone in the area should check it out. Easily one of the most unique and extraordinary establishments I've been to.
Feedback:
I cannot say how much fun my kiddos had here! What a great, rainy day option for something to do. It is also a fabulous tool for parenting bribery when negotiating extreme situations. Though not cheap, the food was surprisingly tasty- especially the pretzels. Playing some of the retro video games that I played as a kid with my own children was surreal, and it is likely the first (and last) time I will school my kids on a screen of any sort. All this, and I can have a beer or cocktail? A round of wins, and fun had by all!
Feedback:
When you want to go to out to a great social setting with activities, but you are tired of the bar scene, which, lets face it, has gotten a bit repetitive. The atmosphere here immediately sets it aside from anything else around it; warm and inviting, comfortable and very entertaining. Where most other bars leave you to entertain yourself all the way to the bottom of your glass, here you can meet and engage with people over video games, trivia, or just go solo and have a night out without the dark and dreary feel of your average pub. I came originally for the games, but the staff is why I have come back time and time again. My favorite bar in Bellingham, nuff said.
Feedback:
I have very mixed feelings about this lounge and after coming here almost a dozen times I've finally decided to write up my experiences. This will be a tad long. Formerly called "Best Buds", 1-Up Lounge is a hole in the wall kid friendly bar/lounge with a very wide range of video games the public can play and multiple consoles to choose from. The rules are very clear on the do's and don't's and I've never run into trouble from other customers... Except children. I'm not a fan of kids in a bar establishment and sometimes try to come here after hours, but unfortunately it's even busier and even less is available than before, so I end up coming sooner. I would LOVE for this place to be child-free like a bar should be, but alas...The first time I ever came here I brought my own switch and we played our games on the main bar's big screen. The menu is a little pricier than I appreciate when I just want a little snack but the potstickers were absolutely delicious anyways. I'm a little quiet and keep to myself and the bartender was very laid back and kind guy, sparking up conversation mainly to make sure I was comfortable and casually sharing our nerd experiences. First experience was just about perfect.Now, over the last half year or so I have come in about a dozen more times and I wish my experiences had been the same as the first. I came in three times after the first time loosely around 4 o'clock in the middle of the week -- since I never have weekends off and never go to bars on weekends anyways. Each time the switchs have been in use, and no, you can't bring your own to hook up to the Xbox TV that is not being used either. I sat and waited the second time I came in, played a round of mario kart, but left feeling bummed. The next two times I came in first to see if it was available but left when they weren't. Eventually I was able to play again and the bartender this time was flirting with someone at the end of the bar the whole time and I eventually had to ask for water when she never came back to me, and I really felt like I was inconveniencing her. Since I come in only a couple times a month I've had a different bartender just about every time.I have gotten in the habit of calling to see if the Switch is available and the most recent was when I was literally parked outside and I asked if it was available, epic bartender girl said yes, but when I walked in she said someone just asked if it was in use and since there was no guarantee I would show up since I wasn't even in the building... She gave it to him. Within like, 3 minutes. I really liked her personality and understand why she did, but man. That REALLY sucked. I can say like, 4/12 times I've shown up I haven't been able to play the Switch and I would just, love to bring mine and socialize for a while, but you just can't.I don't expect much to change in regards to my issue with not being able to play what I want when I come in since they have "thousands of games" and I just want to play what I want to play, and that's okay. It simply could be better. And sometimes you get whatever customer service more often than not. The owners seem to frequent Reddit a lot and I run into drama posts that involve them more than I'd like, which is concerning. But I've never spoken to them nor have them ever done me wrong, so.Anyways! TL;DR: Tasty pricey food, lots of games. Switch is often unavailable, please let me bring my dock. Kids are annoying, make the cut off time for them sooner. History of drama at this bar but that's probably because of crazy customers causing a scene and the owners have a 0 tolerance policy, where as other bars are more lenient.
Feedback:
This is a great place! We've have a lot of fun here. There are more than just video games, they have some card and board games as well. Fun place to go with friends. The drinks are good and they always have good beer on tap. I also really like the beef skewers! I was pleasantly surprised. They also have stuff like mac and cheese bites, reminds me of snacks I would eat as a kid while playing games with friends 😄
Feedback:
Been coming here for a few months after hearing about their monthly smash tournaments and have always had an awesome experience each time, wish I would have know about them sooner! The owners and staff have always been friendly and attentive, really nice and relaxed atmosphere there. They have great beers on tap and lots of great mixed drinks as well, along with tasty comfort food. There are also so very many games and consoles to choose from, retro to present, they've got a setup for it. Pretty clean place too, and no grimy or sticky controllers. The owners really take pride in what they do and you can see it in the way they run the lounge and interact with their customers. Definitely reccomend this place if you're looking for a relaxed environment where you can socialize while playing games and grabbing a few drinks!
Feedback:
Bar is managed very poorly by the two owners. Completely unprofessional - arguing with customers over social media AND customers with disabilities. 0/5 never return.
Feedback:
Great place to hang with friends, have some drinks, and play some video games! Cocktails, a rotating tap list, and plenty of other food and drink options are available! They have a huge selection of games (and I mean HUGE) and all the retro to next gen consoles for your heart's content. There is also a developing community for board games and Trading card games such as Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon. It's fun for everyone in the family but is 18+ after 7 PM (8 in the summer) the staff is pretty cool and it's definitely a one of a kind experience to the area! If you find yourself there and looking for something to do this is definitely a spot to check out! They're also open late so if you can't find something else to do in fairhaven, chances are they'll be open when no one else is.
Feedback:
I got to play Mario Kart 64 while drinking a classy cocktail and eating delightfully trashy snacks. So, that’s a win. The drinks options are funny in their names and delicious in their flavors. I was a little bummed that they were out of hot wings when I visited, but I’ll admit that it was both Pride and Budfest when I visited Bellingham so maybe the demand had been higher than normal. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who likes bar snack food and video games of the last 30 years.
Feedback:
I’ll preface this review by stating I have several years in customer service. I also have an immense repertoire of bar-going and nerdom. I understand that it’s not to be expected to be treated with stellar customer service in a bar or typically introverted environment, however, my visit here gives me hope that either nerds or the next generation in general is starting to figure out how to pair the two. We live about an hour away and randomly came across this listing on google hoping to find something to do away from home. There were other similar listings but chose this one because the hours align with a traditional bar environment. From the outside, we expected either a hole in the wall or well-hidden secret as it is nuzzled into the inside of a complex. Upon arrival, we were a bit shocked to see it as busy as it was on a Thursday night. Most seats were taken, but we were optimistic as the inside is pretty rad. It has the ambience of a cross between a classic, old-school record store and a friend of a friend’s house party full of gaming nerds, alcohol, and open controllers. Despite how busy it was, we were determined to snatch up a drink and get “next” on the NES. We made way to the bar, and as it is in most bar establishments, we stood around looking awkwardly uncomfortable dividing the mesh of equally thirsty bodies around the bar. Right at the point of feeling any noticeable wait time, the gentleman behind the bar in a seemingly monologuing fashion started to verbalize his immediate to-do list whilst switching to our attention in saying, “and I will be right with you.”As insignificant as it may sound, this small gesture set the tone for an absolutely enjoyable experience. There’s nothing like someone acknowledging that you’re there even when it is too busy to breathe. As we found out later, a wedding party unexpectedly showed up adding to the usually more manageable workload. The drinks were gamer-themed, affordable, and delicious. We ordered some local ale and a few mixed drinks, first off of the menu, and then were happy about their accommodations when we requested more intricate libations. While waiting for drinks, we noticed random game controllers strewn across the bar. Both myself and my cohort picked up random ones and started clicking to figure out which TVs they were connected to, and without so much as a word to each other, were both whisked away into our respective games. As you walk in, there is a hefty list of respectable rules posted by the door. We appreciate seeing it as it displays an expectation of how they envision their establishment and what a customer should expect. The bathroom door flyers and Facebook page suggest a fantastic and lively gaming/nerd community. The equipment is a variety of older generation tech to pair with old-school gaming systems like classic NES to modernity of big, mounted flat screens with appropriate graphics. The music playlist during our visit was likely as close to our car playlist as possible. In all honesty, I can’t recall all of the systems or games we played, but I did enjoy Ms. Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros 3, and Guitar Hero 5. Expect to be a little cozy if you spot a game you want to play clustered in with other gamers, but the availability of furniture such as a bean bag chair will help you to feel comfortable to relax like you’re at home. Based on this experience, we hope to be back soon. Special thank you to Hugh who put up with us right until closing time as we were so wrapped up in the game we didn’t notice how long the place had been cleared of other patrons. Hope to make the trip again soon.
Email Us
Our team would love to communicate with you and generally responds within 24 hours.
