If you’ve ever wandered along Toronto’s bustling Queen Street West and caught a glimpse of flashing lights, 80s rock blaring from an open door, and people battling it out over vintage pinball, chances are you’ve found yourself outside Tilt Arcade Bar.
But Tilt isn’t just a bar—it’s a full-blown time machine fuelled by joysticks, beer, and an all-consuming love of arcade culture. Whether you're crushing Skee-Ball with your crew, playing pinball, classic arcade games or trying (and failing) to beat that one impossible NES game from your childhood, Tilt delivers the kind of fun that makes you forget about your unread emails.
We caught up with Brett Longman, one of the managers at Tilt Arcade Bar (a proud Moneris merchant), to chat about how this gaming haven came to be, what keeps it running, and what drink you absolutely need to try next time you’re there.
Tilt is such a unique concept. What inspired you to bring it to life? And how did the journey begin?
The journey to the beginning of Tilt was a four-year process back in 2012. A gentleman named Evan was selling arcade machines around the city, and he realized that there's a much bigger market for this than expected. He pitched the idea to a friend he met in 2014, Dan, who was buying a pinball machine from him at the time, and they started to just chew on the idea a little bit more. They were originally going to call the place The Grid. They landed on Tilt somewhere along the line. About a year later, Dan introduced Evan to Nathan, who was a long-term general manager, ran many venues, lots of nightlife stuff, and a lot of live concert venues. Finally, they pulled in a fourth guy in Mike, who was a fine dining bartender at the time with a lot of service experience. So, he kind of helped shape what the bar service portion of the venue would look like.
What’s been one of your biggest challenges running an arcade bar?
These vintage arcade and pinball machines are full of mechanical parts, and they break down all the time. It’s a never-ending cycle of repairs. Two of Tilt's owners are also long-time arcade technicians, and they’re in the bar almost every day fixing something—whether it’s a busted joystick or a stuck pinball.
The real headache? Finding parts. Most of these machines are decades old, and their parts aren’t made anymore. Instead, small companies or hobbyists will reproduce them, but only once there’s enough demand. You might have to wait weeks or even months just to get a single piece, because no one’s going to manufacture it unless at least 100 other people need the same thing.
On top of that, Tilt faces the same challenges as many bars across Canada right now: rising costs to operate and a tough economic climate. But the biggest challenge by far is the repairs.
What is your most popular game? Which one do customers keep coming back to?
Ice Cold Beer. It's a very simple concept. There's a ball on a bar, and you control the bar with two controllers on the left and right. You can raise each side. The objective is to get the ball in the lit hole but not drop it in any of the unlit holes. Super simple, endlessly re-playable, and incredibly difficult. I've never even beaten it.
What’s one thing people are always surprised to learn about running a place like this?
I'd say the biggest surprise most people have when I'm talking about Tilt is just how much extra effort goes outside of our operating hours. As I've already mentioned, we have our owners come in typically every single day to fix stuff. Even when I'm here bartending, I'm sometimes going in, opening machines, unsticking things, like getting balls that are stuck in the pinball machine, getting them out. Sometimes I have to solder some wires back on in order to make the flippers flip. It's endless. It's a battle.
What’s the most Instagrammed corner of this space?
Weirdly enough, we have many Instagrammable corners in this space. I would say the most commonly used, which was surprising to us as well, is the hallway to the bathrooms downstairs. We set them all up to, like, the wallpapering is all flyers from old games, old movies, and people love it. They will pose in that little corridor. It's very, very funny, especially on busy nights.
What’s something on your menu that’s your secret go-to?
Oh, I go for the BLT here all the time. It's so perfect. The head chef has designed a great standard pub fare menu across the board. But the BLT is just divine. Perfectly balanced, right ratio of mayo.
And the ultimate drink?
I'm a little biased about this one because I created it, but on our cocktail menu we've got one called Fancy Gin and Juice. It is a spin on just a gin and orange juice. It's got some Saint Germain for floral notes, and some dry Keira salad to really elevate the orange flavour. It’s very, very yummy.
What’s the vibe of the music you play?
The playlists vary day-to-day. We do a lot of retro stuff. We try to stick to Classic Rock, 80s metal, the kind of stuff that you would have heard when these games were relevant originally. That said, we adapt to the crowd. Friday, Saturday nights, much busier, much younger crowd. We'll play a little more modern, a little more upbeat music on those evenings. The rest of the week, we try to feel what the crowd is after and then match it accordingly.
What is your most underrated game?
The original Tron arcade cabinet. I don't see a lot of people playing it, but it is so fun. There are four little mini games in that thing, and they just ramp up difficulty as you go. I highly recommend anybody coming to Tilt to try it out.
Any crazy customer video game wins?
All the time. We had an ongoing challenge for a little while where one of the other bartenders offered to buy a drink for anybody who could beat Silver Surfer on the NES, and I've seen it done twice now, which is crazy. That game is incredibly difficult.
Why did you choose Moneris as your payment partner and how has the experience been?
Moneris is great. No complaints. The interface is so simple. The fees are relatively low as far as the industry goes, which is awesome. And yeah, I mean it's just the easiest option.
If you could describe your Moneris experience in one word?
Simplicity.
Running an Arcade Bar isn’t Easy but Tilt Makes it Look Fun
Tilt Arcade Bar isn’t just about flashing lights and retro vibes. It’s a masterclass in running a niche business with heart and adaptability. From sourcing rare machine parts to crafting the perfect food and drinks menu, Brett and the team show that success comes from obsessing over the details, even the ones your customers might never see.
Want to experience Tilt for yourself? Go ahead and make that Friday night plan!
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