Chances are you will never be a driver for Formula One, the globetrotting racecar tournament that has grown exceedingly popular in the U.S. thanks in large part to a Netflix documentary series and a high-budget movie that came out this year starring Brad Pitt.
Chances are you will never be Brad Pitt, either. The F1 Arcade in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood, however, offers a simulation of being both behind the wheel and the life of the party in a setting that evokes Ocean’s Eleven.
The game bar, at 2734 Walnut St., is one of a handful launched this year by the F1 Arcade brand. The company opened its first simulator in London three years ago and has goals of running 30 of them worldwide by 2027.
Like the others, the Denver location aims to dazzle in the social media age. The interior is lined with 69 racing simulators, accompanying flatscreen TVs and enough computers to power the whole affair.
On a recent Saturday before 9 p.m., when the venue closes to those under 21, the outside buzzed with the nervy energy of a nightclub. Eager groups who made reservations to race (walk-ins, try your luck) waited in line down Walnut Street. Club employees checking IDs donned bomber jackets that shimmered gold. Others lingered in envy around a gleaming sports car parked out front.
Players can book a simulator and race with friends on three or five maps in a session. (It’s $22 per person for three races and $32 for five races weekdays before 2 p.m. Prices surge at night and on weekends to $31 per person for three races and $42 for five races.)
F1 Arcade also promotes the 15,000-square-foot space for employee outings, F1 watch parties and its food and drink menus. The Art Deco-inspired bar sells a full array of beers, wines, cocktails and liquors. The food menu boasts shareable appetizers such as Dynamite Fried Chicken ($16) and F1 Arcade Oysters ($15), taco flights (six for $22) and a $28 Wagyu burger.
Racing can be a visceral experience even on the most novice setting, with cars occasionally flipping around and the simulation chair rumbling as the car accelerates. For some, it may cause dizziness or nausea, employees advise. Here, drinking and driving a simulator is not frowned upon.
Despite the international appeal of Formula One and having an interior reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino floor, it was a local artist, Ally Grimm, who painted the mural that covers the exterior wall of the Denver game bar. (Grimm, who goes by a.l. Grime is also the director of the Denver Walls mural festival.)
Speaking of Vegas, an F1 Arcade opened in October inside Caesars Palace. Another is set to open in Atlanta early next year.
