Dave & Buster's Carlsbad

Reviews

• DS

  Douglas Stirling

  5 days ago
  1.0
  Blood running down my face…no help. Still in shock. A broken machine had a piece hit me above my eye, open wound and instant blood running. No paper towels in the men’s restroom to stop the bleeding, just soaking blood through to my face and hands with toilet paper. Multiple people asked the staff to assist, no one ever checked if I was ok. I payed my tab and got a “cool story bro” , while still holding a bloody paper towel to my temple. Epic fail
• BL

  brianna long

  5 days ago
  3.0
  My husband and I drove out to this vacation for a date night and the games were so fun. We got the eat and play combo but we chose to play games before we sat down to eat. We came at a time that wasn't too crowded so we didn't have to wait to play anything. There are so many games to choose from and we had fun going head to head against each other. We sat down to eat and have a couple drinks and we were surprised that we got to seat ourselves. The waitress came and took our drink order, it took a while to get the drinks and once we did my husband's didn't taste like alcohol at all. We ordered nachos for the appetizer and I ordered the rib plate and my husband got the wings. Nothing was too great besides the ribs being cooked perfectly, the wings weren't fried well and the nachos came out cold. In the middle of eating my husband noticed a table that was sat down after us getting their food faster and more attentive care from the same waitress. I don't remember her name but she didn't come to check on us very often and when it was time to pay she didn't say thank you or have a good night she just sat the money down and walked away. I'm not saying she didn't care for people of color but it really felt that way. I'm not saying don't go here but just be mindful that you might be treated a little different if you aren't white.
• PP

  Paige Poudrier

  Oct 11, 2026
  5.0
  Bri Flores is an amazing server and made the experience so much better she was above and beyond her coworkers and made it a fun and amazing experience. We loved her! Thank you for making our experience so much fun!
• JY

  Jane Y

  Oct 3, 2026
  5.0
  Our server Jackie and the food and bev staff are the real stars! They focus on guest satisfaction, value for money, and an overall positive experience through their attentive service with a smile. It was a great place to celebrate and connect (compete or conquer with on the game floor) with my favorite people.
• TN

  Tyler Northam

  Oct 1, 2026
  1.0
  ⭐️ I’m a local and I go to the Dave & Buster’s Carlsbad location at least 2 to 3 times a week. I know basically every bartender there, which is exactly why what happened last night was so bizarre. I went for the line-dancing event, was buying drinks from their bartenders, including double tequila pours, and was out on the dance floor learning the steps. There was also clearly a separate dance group or crew running much of the event, but that relationship was never particularly transparent. It was not clear to me who these people were, whether they were Dave & Buster’s employees, contractors, an outside organization, or simply a group affiliated with the event. And frankly, much of the night it felt less like an open line-dancing event and more like me dancing alongside the same organized group. Nine times out of ten when I was on the floor, it was basically me and members of that crew. I still do not know who actually called the police on me. It may have been someone associated with the dance group, it may have been Dave & Buster’s management, or it may have been someone else. That is one of the things I am asking Dave & Buster’s to explain. What I do know is this: At no point did a manager approach me, cut me off, tell me there was a problem, or ask me to leave. Instead, while I was literally on the dance floor learning the steps, several police officers showed up and eventually approached me. I was surprised, but completely cooperative. I basically told them, “Message received, boys. I’ll get out of here,” and I left without arguing or causing a scene. That is what makes this so ridiculous. If management believed I was too intoxicated or disruptive to remain there, then why was I still being served alcohol? Why wasn’t I simply cut off? Why didn’t someone I know from a location I visit multiple times every week walk over and say, “Hey man, time to head home”? Any of those options would have worked immediately. And if an outside dance group had enough authority over the event to raise concerns about guests or influence whether police were contacted, customers should know who is actually running the event and what role that group has. Instead, somehow the situation jumped straight to police involvement before anyone from management had a basic conversation with me. I’m not claiming I was perfectly sober. I’m saying Dave & Buster’s served me the alcohol, apparently became concerned about me, and skipped every normal intermediate step between “this customer has had enough” and “get law enforcement involved.” As someone who has been a regular customer here 2 to 3 times a week, knows the staff, and has spent a lot of money at this location, I expected substantially better judgment, communication, and transparency. I won’t be returning. If Dave & Buster’s management wants to explain who was actually running the line-dancing event, who made the decision to involve police, and why nobody simply asked one of their regular customers to leave first, I’d genuinely like to hear the answer.

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