Last weekend, me and a few friends decided to check out this pub called nineteen80. It is a nostalgic 80s themed bar which has old school arcade games and serves cocktails. I really liked the decor of the place and it does brings me back to my teens. From the entrance itself, you will see a sign that says “Press Start”. Once I walked in, for a brief moment I felt I was in the Korova bar in Clockwork Orange and that changed immediately to Paco Funworld when I saw the row of arcade games. Hahahaha. Power lah. There was Puzzle bubble, Space Invaders, Golden Axe, Street fighter, Super sidekicks and Mortal Kombat! That is so awesome. Every game that I played reminded me of a specific memory.
Now to play the arcade games, you have to insert tokens just like the old days. I managed to play Street fighter which as usual I got my ass handed to by my friend. It was really fun to play the first Mortal Kombat on arcade. When I first discovered Mortal Kombat, it was at the arcade place at Queensway Shopping Center. As usual lah, cabut from school, changed my school uniform to a tee shirt cause back then kids with school uniforms were not allowed. As I was looking for new games to play, I saw this brand new game called Mortal Kombat and I was like, “Eh, how come Kombat spelled wrongly”. Once that token was slotted in, I have never looked back since. Mortal Kombat was THE fighting game for me.
Another cool thing about nineteen80 is that the music is retro and that is music to my ears. I don’t really see much pubs that play retro music. So this was a pleasant surprise. And the staff there were helpful and friendly as well so if you are not sure about anything, you can just ask them.
Drinks are pretty decently priced. A pint of Stella or Hoegaarden is about $16. If you are into cocktails and all, you can try it there. I don’t do cocktails anymore, just a beer or whiskey kinda guy now so I wouldn’t really know if they were great. If you wanna get a bottle of vodka or whiskey, it’s about $220.
All in all, Nineteen80 is a fun and nostalgic place to go to if you ever loved the arcade days. And now you can have a beer while playing a classic game.
NINETEEN80 is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 5:30 pm till late (closed Sundays and Mondays). It is situated at 21 Tg Pagar Rd, 088444.
