From the corner falafel carts to the indie boutiques peddling radical zines and New Wave vinyl, St. Marks Place is a de facto village-within-a-village—too vibrant to be contained.

Dense with neon-lit galleries, boutiques, cafes, dive bars, and globe-spanning culinary establishments, this famed East Village strip has long held sway among society’s epicureans and nonconformists. Among the street’s venues sits Barcade (6 St. Marks Place), the pioneering arcade bar (founded in 2004 by four friends in an abandoned Williamsburg metal shop), fusing an extensive roster of craft brews with classic, analog gaming.

Barcade preserves the golden age allure of 80s and 90s arcade hits, pairing vibrant LED backdrops with an ever-rotating tap list showcasing acclaimed microbreweries. Pass through the neon-piped entrance and enter a portal to the game craze of decades past, with Street Fighter and Metal Gear drawing sweaty-palmed crowds around the arcade’s glowing screens. Beyond fighters, reconnect with beloved classics like the light gun shooter Aliens 3: The Gun, the sports comedy of NBA Jam Tournament Edition, or sports classics like R.B.I. Baseball.

With pintfuls of Allagash Brewing Company’s ‘Snow Report’ winter ale and Greenport Harbor Brewing Company’s Black Duck Porter fueling the camaraderie, attempt to set new high scores whether your loyalty lies with classics like Pac-Man, refurbished pinball machines, or long-forgotten cult games like Strider 2.

The St. Marks location flaunts a tap list emphasizing local New York output from breweries like SingleCut, Alphabet City Brewing, and Fifth Hammer Brewing Company, while also showcasing acclaimed purveyors from across the country like Boston’s Harpoon Brewery and Chico, California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. With 24 ever-changing options on draft, visitors can embark on a hop-fueled odyssey from West Coast heavy hitters like Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Gold Rider Ale (which is brewed in cognac and orange bitters barrels), to hard-to-come-by wildcard experiments like Three Floyds Brewing Company’s Zombie Dust IPA, brewed with ultra-intense Citra hops.

And so Barcade slots itself into St. Marks’ lineage of shapeshifting spectacle, the vintage arcade cabinets and craft brew taps carrying the counterculture torch for EVGB residents just around the corner from their East Village luxury rentals.