Homebrew Shanghai: Arcade Bar Review

For some time when I lived in China, some friends and I designed and maintained a community web portal for home brewers in Shanghai and China. The site was mentioned in an article in the Wall Street Journal. The site was closed as of June 2014 due to inactivity, and the fact that we had all left China. Below is an article I wrote that I feel still could help homebrewers and beer drinkers in China:

Another week, another new bar opens in Shanghai. This time it’s an 8-bit inspired lounge (complete with a single indie gaming cabinet) called Arcade.

Occupying the former home of Tara 57, Arcade is located near Yongfu Lu and Fuxing Xi Lu in the French Concession, only a stone’s throw away from the Boxing Cat Brewery.

While the bar is mostly oriented towards pricey cocktails, cool tunez and a handful of macrolager mainstays, they do manage to have Portland-basedRogue Brewery’s Dead Guy Ale on draft. Dead Guy has been available in China for quite some time in bottle form, but it has only recently been making its rounds as a fresh pour.

At 70RMB, Arcade’s pint takes a bit more out of your wallet than other imported drafts found around town. However, it’s still cheaper than the majority of the cocktails on its menu.

Not all of us at Homebrew Shanghai visited Arcade at the same time. Some report that the intense quantity of cigarette smoke in such a tiny bar made it near impossible to enjoy a drink while others managed to stumble in on a quiet (somewhat smoke-free) night.

The ink jet printed drink list gives us the impression Arcade is still working out the kinks.SmartShanghai has a few photos for those wanting to scope out the digitized decor.