Now that the holidays are in full swing, and your home is cycling through visiting friends and family, you might find yourself trying to come up with a fun group activity that includes dinner. I’ll bet you’re thinking “it shouldn’t be this hard”, and you’re right! So, I’ve got the solution for you — Punch Bowl Social!
I took the opportunity to check out the Punch Bowl Social in Austin last weekend; I went in with zero expectations because I didn’t know what to expect. Helena had said you could have a Virtual Reality experience while you ate dinner. Don’t ask me why, but in my mind, that meant sitting at a table with VR goggles on while trying to eat. It honestly didn’t sound that fun, but I couldn’t have been more wrong about everything. 😉
Punch Bowl Social is a restaurant that also happens to be a bar, bowling alley, karaoke lounge, pool hall, vintage arcade …
… and at the Austin location, there is a VR Bazaar that you can experience by the hour.
I have to admit that it was a little bit overwhelming walking in. I had no idea that the place would be so big, or so popular, or that there would be so much to do in there.
When my party of four arrived, we were taken to our own VR corner which consisted of a long couch with small circular tables in front of it. There was an approximately 10′ x 13′ roped-off area in front of a large screen television showing what was currently happening inside the VR goggles hanging from a cable in the middle of the roped off area.
Kev has never experienced VR gaming, so he volunteered to go first. A knowledgeable staff member was on hand throughout our experience to give tips, answer questions, and make sure that whoever was up was comfortable with what was happening.
While Kev was playing, we were sitting on the couch checking out the menu …
Everything is made in portions meant for sharing; we didn’t want to over-order, so we settled on three things: the black-eyed pea hummus, the Siracha fries, and the Colonel Platter which comes with 12 pieces of fried chicken, biscuits, cole slaw, pickles, and two dipping sauces. We absolutely enjoyed all of it, and the portions were large enough that we had a sizeable box of leftovers when we were done.
To go with our meal, our server brought out four samples of their punches …
… and after tasting them, we opted to get a watermelon polo bowl to share.
Now the Punch Bowl Social name makes sense!
One of the interesting things we learned while playing their VR game catalog was that because you are standing and stepping from the start while wearing the VR goggles, you’re unlikely to get that feeling of vertigo that sometimes comes with VR activities. Kev took to it like a fish to water!
Kev and Chloe had some serious score competitions while playing.
While playing the VR games, you might be concerned that you’ll get super excited and come crashing down on the rest of your party as they’re trying to enjoy their dinner. Not so. Inside the VR game you’re playing, there is a type of geofencing that you can both see and feel; it keeps you from ending up in anyone’s lap.
There’s a timer to the left of the television that counts down showing the time you have left, and we had so much fun that the time seemed to fly!
At one point, Kev decided he wanted to go play some of the vintage arcade games. Punch Bowl Social has it set up so that you pay your money and in return, you receive a card to use for the video games. Kev spent $5, and that equaled 10 plays in the arcade; he had fun playing Galaga and Millipede.
When we were ready to go, Kev still had 6 game credits left on his card, so we gave it to a family in the arcade. Which brings me to the next point — Punch Bowl Social is themed like an adult playland, but it is also family friendly. We saw plenty of kids 10 and up, teens, as well as adults enjoying themselves.
The most expensive thing we had was the punch bowl for 8, which was $72. Our hummus was $8, the fries were $9, and the chicken platter was $45. Kev also had a glass of Malbec for $8, which brought our food and drink total to $153.72. It was an additional $45 for an hour in the VR Bazaar. Considering that we had a huge dinner, all the drinks we wanted, and an hour playing VR games, the roughly $200 price seemed very reasonable.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Punch Bowl Social. Between the VR, bowling, myriad of activities, food, and drinks, Punch Bowl Social offers a fun and unique night out for a date or a group. Punch Bowl Social currently has locations all around the US, and they offer the VR Bazaar in Denver and Austin, with a Brooklyn location coming in the summer. If you’re located near one, we recommend you check it out for yourselves.
Disclosure: Punch Bowl Social paid for our meal; there were no conditions or expectations made regarding what I chose to write about regarding my experience.