HarrisburgNightlife

A little more than two weeks after it opened, I made an off-night visit to The Coliseum. The new video arcade/restaurant/sports bar/bowling alley/ice cream parlor has finally opened up most of its 35,000 square feet of space to the public. The Coliseum is located at the intersection of St John’s Church and Trindle Roads between Camp Hill and Mechanicsburg.

I arrived on a Tuesday night just in time for dinner. Sparsely filled, the Rock ‘n Brew restaurant boasted a racing theme and more flat TVs than my eyes could take in at once. This modern bar and restaurant is decorated with racing bikes as well as a full size Indy Car hanging from the ceiling. There was enough metal and rubber in here to make a pit crew feel at home. A huge stained glass backdrop sits behind the full bar with pub chairs.

After being seated, we were offered the Coliseum’s non-stop beer special - a 99-cent, half pint of Victory Copper Lager. The Philadelphia-based brewery makes this specialty beer exclusively for The Coliseum and its patrons. A complimentary first round of their house “guitar picks” (fresh fried potato chips) were also brought out to the table. Additional rounds are $2.95.

The menu has a little bit of everything for everyone. They offer a page each of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, gourmet pizzas, entrees and desserts. The sandwiches and pizzas are $8-10 and the pasta dishes and entrees range from $14-26 for filet mignon. A temperature controlled wine rack sits adjacent to the bar. Rock ‘n Brew tries to be classy and casual and seems to pull it off pretty well. For a place this empty, the food took a while to be served and my tri-tip beef and mashed potatoes arrived a bit cold for my liking.

Also located on the main level is the video “Arcadium”. At first glance the arcade comes off as more appealing towards a younger crowd, but they still have more “grown up” games to entertain people of all ages. Mechanical motion simulators such as an 8-person linked “Outrun 2″ racing game as well as shooting and flight simulators line the walls. Games of skill are scattered throughout the floor and offer ticket redemption for prizes. There is also a 2 lane “duck-pin” style bowling in the rear of the arcade. Unfortunately, The Coliseum’s mini-bowling got you half the game for the same amount credits as the version featured at ESPN Zone. The rest of the games seemed like they were set at an easier play level, giving moderately skilled players more time on each machine.

The lower level, which can be seen from the floor above, features a full bar, more dining tables, and more sports themed video games. The games downstairs use the same magnetic card system to keep track of a players credits as used upstairs. The other half of the lower level featured about a dozen regulation bowling alleys as well as 6 full size pool tables. The bowling and billiards area still has yet to open as of this writing, but they look like they will be ready to go by this weekend. The Maggie Moos ice cream appears to still be under construction.

Overall, for a place this close to home, it’s just as much fun as a trip to Philly or Baltimore. People who are fans of ESPN Zone and Dave and Busters may walk away a little disappointed given The Coliseum is about a quarter of their size. The local entertainment center does try its best though to pack in all the punch of its larger counterparts.

Although there is not a bar inside the main arcade, guests over 21 are allowed to carry their alcoholic beverage in a plastic cup while they play. They are also required to wear a wristband with their name and drivers license info printed on it. It was unclear if guests under 21 would still be allowed in the two bar areas after 9pm, which from my recollection, is Pennsylvania law. This is also the policy at Dave and Busters in Philly. The Coliseum does try to blur the lines between restaurant, sports bar, nightclub, and family entertainment center. It is hard to determine at this time if they will attract more of an underage crowd during their later hours of operation, or if it will be more of an adults only playground after dark.

If you’ve been thinking about checking out The Coliseum, it would be safe to do it on a weeknight. From what I have witnessed from the two opening weekends, the latest attraction to Harrisburg’s West Shore has so far seen a brisk business. The value for local entertainment is great, and has the ability to be enjoyed by both young and old.

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Posted by Bone on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 12:00 pm.