New Symonds Street bar Save Ferris is a tribute to arcade video games
“Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…” reads the graffiti at Symonds Street’s latest arcade bar, Save Ferris. The door to the restroom has Han Solo frozen in carbonite on it. You can order The Big Lebowski at the bar, and the bartender will abide. Pinball, Sega, and Street Fighter II offer more than 20 retro games. Save Ferris is an ode to the past.
It’s an “unapologetically” informal and nerdy bar, owner Evan King tells me. Movies play continuously on projector screens: Tron, Ghost Busters, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off direction. Tears for Fears and Ice House are a couple of the bands you’ll realize at the several days’ worth of 80s music rotation. The nostalgia thing is excessive. King (also in the back of Lumsden Freehouse) tells me most buyers were over 30, real 80s kids.
The handiest food they serve is hotdogs and crisps. There’s a vegetarian alternative, too. However, the deal is that the hot dogs are served at a sauce station where you upload your own mustard, tomato, onion jam, and mayo. They’re conventional Heller’s cheese Kranskys on white bread because the fancier stuff didn’t have that traditional returned-in-the-day flavor profile.
To stay in shape, Save Ferris locations place a heavy emphasis on local beer. The drink list includes Yeastie Boys, Hallertau, Garage Project, McCashins, and Epic—all New Zealand beers. The traditional Symonds Street publishing workplace building additionally houses Beer Jerk, a craft beer bar with a more international selection. Any beer fan’s wishes are met inside one building.
There are conventional film posters, beer stickers on the bar, band posters on the wall, and an air hockey desk being set up soon. Modern comfort isn’t forgotten, although there’s also a lockable box to charge your phone. You can also observe a few nods to the 90s scattered throughout.
Like the film it’s named for, Save Ferris is optimistic and cozy. The entire attitude is written on the wall: “Life movements quite speedy. If you don’t stop and go searching now and then, you could leave it out.”
