meet your new favorite.
hi, we’re
indie darling
welcome to indie darling—sf’s first indie arcade bar and your new favorite fever dream. part playable art gallery, part cocktail-fueled clubhouse, we’re 12,000 square feet of pure arcade chaos, pinball wizardry, and weird little games you’ve definitely never seen (and will definitely get obsessed with).
we’re here for the creators, the rebels, the game devs doing something new—and the people who love them. come for the custom cabinets and killer drinks, stay for the vibes, the glow, and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, you’ve found your people.
what we’re about:
we smash together art, gaming, and bar culture to create something new—a space for the outliers, the makers, the genre-breakers.
this is where you come to play, create, connect, and feel extremely alive under moody lighting.
built different:
⚡️ hand-picked indie arcade games you can’t play anywhere else
🎨 art installations that creatively thrill you
🍹 cocktails that glitch your tastebuds (non-alc too, duh)
🕹️ custom cabinets featuring digital games reimagined for the arcade space
🌈 a vibe that hits different every time you walk in
sf to the core:
indie darling lives in the heart of mid-market + SOMA pilipinas
three floors, 12,000 square feet, and endless room for experimentation.
we work with bay area artists, indie game devs, and fellow weirdos to build a space that’s always evolving. no stale beer-and-pac-man energy here.
what to expect:
📸 one-of-a-kind experience that’ll make you rethink everything you thought you knew about gaming
🕹️ ever-expanding cabinet lineup
🎭 weird art. weirder events.
💜 community, creativity, and an escape from whatever “normal” is
who’s behind the madness?
christian gainsley and elisabeth kohnke—the duo who brought you outer orbit (aka: the hawaii-pinball restaurant in bernal heights you still talk about)—are back. and this time, they’re building something even wilder. indie darling is their love letter to indie games, creative rebellion, and sf’s beautifully bizarre community.
keep arcades weird!
whether you're a gamer, artist, dev, romantic, or just emotionally attached to pinball—you belong here. grab a drink. press start.