Button Mash

Growing up, you always had your friends’ houses pegged. Kevin’s was where you played Nintendo 64 and ate undercooked DiGiorno pizza in his room, Patrick’s was where you watched Cruel Intentions in his basement with pillows over your laps and listened to his dad lose his mind to the Bears game upstairs, and Drew had the hot older sister you always tried to catch walking in a towel from the bathroom to her bedroom. Kids are weird, but they always know what you’re good for.

We thought we knew what Button Mash was good for.

We knew the arcade bar in Echo Park was cashing in hard on the 80’s/90’s nostalgia that makes 30-year-olds feel alive again. It’s a smart move—you eat some cheap bar food, get a handful of tokens, and play Indiana Jones pinball until your joints flare and you’re reminded you’re an adult again. Everybody wins.

photo credit: Holly Liss

But Button Mash is so much more than that. Yes, their game stock is impressive. If you’re an arcade junkie, you’re going to have your hands full for hours. The space is gigantic and its hyper-modern design is cool in contrast to the old-school machines that occupy it. And despite the fact that Button Mash is extremely popular and the crowds are intense, the well-designed layout keeps you from ever feeling like you want to die.

You could just as easily go to Button Mash for an off-color date night as you could with a big group of friends for a night of NBA Jam mayhem. There’s something for everyone at Button Mash, whether you’ve ever played an arcade game in your life or not.

And that’s something no one had pegged.