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Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes London

Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes London

4 19  Reviews

Bowling Alleys in London - Bloomsbury
Basement of Tavistock Hotel, Bedford Way , Bloomsbury, London, WC1H 9EU
+44 (0) 207 183 1979
http://www.bloomsburybowling.com

Situated below the Tavistock Hotel in Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Bowling has eight retro bowling lanes offering an authentic bowling experience right in the centre of town. Enjoy a refreshing drink and tasty snack whilst bowling, or watch all the action from the Americana Swivel Bar. If it's something more substantial you re after, try the full service Bloomsbury Diner.
Tags: American food, Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Bowling, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, bowling, bowling fun delight, burgers, Buy, club, cocktails, dance club, dancing, drinks, fun, good value, karaoke, karoke, late license, london, nighlife, packed, Phone, pool, Sale, Sells, Shake Rock n Bowl, Systems, Telecom, trendy, Used


Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes London Reviews


good - I like place and there is lot of fun.  
Tags: bowling

Rating  5

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Game on! - Went here last night with some buddies from work. What a great bar - good food, cheap beer and loads to do...bowling (obviously) plus pacman and arcade games, pool table, cinema screen and 70s music. We'll defnitiely be back.  
Tags: , bowling, burgers, pool

Rating  5

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A seriously fun night out. - Have been to Bloomsbury Bowling for 2 clubnights in the last month. What an excellent venue! Great sound, cheap beer and those HUGE pizzas. Went bowling the first night we came and the whole group had a seriously great time. Just like being in The Big Lebowski! Can't wait to go again.  
Tags: bowling

Rating  5

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What a shame - What a shame this place has so much potential but fails to deliver. I love the idea of retro bowling, karaoke and burgers n shakes all in one venue but this place is so badly run. Our first impression upon arriving was gloomy, instead of retro chic the place looked shabby and lacked atmosphere. Note: loud music doesn't = atmosphere. The first barmaid we encountered was American, the country that knows how to deliver service, where the customer is always right... err wrong. Either she's been living in Blighty too long or we caught her on a really bad day. She was rude to the point of aggressive and seemed to enjoy being deliberately unhelpful. The poor girls in the diner were sweet but run off their feet and totally disorganised. Yes the bowling was fun, the food was good but the experience was great, especially as it was a birthday celebration. Shame.  

Rating  2

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Great Place and Good Food! - Bowling is fun here. Not the biggest fan of this sport of champions but the environment with the live music, delicious beer and good people is the way to go. The place kind of fills up quickly so it's probably a good idea to get in before you want your lane and hang out by the bar or get dinner before you bowl.

For dinner -- go with the Strike Burger. Ome of the best I've had!  
Tags: bowling

Rating  5

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Am I in heaven? - Came for a show and was stunned by the place. I was expecting a venue and found that the name was referring to the fact that they are also a bowling alley, as well as a bar, restaurant and club. The place was really crowded and getting a lane didn't seem too feasible. Luckily there were plenty of places to sit down by the stage while waiting for the show to start. Which is pretty cool actually (until the show starts because then half of the people are facing the wrong direction...but who wants to sit during a live show anyway?).

I'll need to go back and try the food out before I can comment on that--hopefully I'll be updating this soon.

  
Tags: bowling

Rating  4

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An Adult Playground!!!!!!!! - Where do I start?? This place is certainly different, a kind of retro, american themed bowling alley, club, bar, AND restaurant. It's like an adult playground!

A group of us came down and had such an amazing time, we bowled and sang karaoke (apologies to anyone my out of tune voice offended lol), needless to say we were a bit drunk by the end and we were all giggling like schoolgirls. I would highly reccomend this place to anyone looking to have a chilled out, hilarious night out away from your run of the mill chain rubbish that are on every street corner.  
Tags: bowling, club, dancing, karaoke

Rating  5

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What a find! - This is such a fun place with almost to much going on. Great for a company night out. You can have a large crowd and everyone will have a good time. Their rates are reasonable and the atmosphere is what bowling should be about. Once this London bowling fad is over, Bloomsbury Bowl will still be going strong.

Food is hearty dinner food and service on the mark.
  
Tags: bowling

Rating  5

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Shocking and chaotic! - After my sister's hen do last night, I would have to strongly warn any other large group against going to this venue.
There were problems at almost every stage coupled with some extremely rude staff and a chaotic atmosphere.
That said, some staff were sweet and the manager was very sympathetic when we complained and gave us ten bottles of free wine.
Here are the problems we encountered so you can make up your own minds!:
Bowling: The 4 lanes we pre-booked and paid for had over-run so we had to wait almost half an hour to get on.
When we did, the girl started the machine running but did not let us know, so nobody was actuallly playing & some of the time we paid for was wasted. Also a problem writing the correct names above each lane.
Drinks: One of our party asked for a Mojito but the girl serving her filled her glass with crushed ice USING HER BARE HANDS saying this was “just the way we do them here”. Ewh!
Food: At the restaurant we were told there was nothing to eat except 12 pizzas as they had “run out of food”.
After I pressed the issue, the waitress said that we could all order chips, nachos and 12 pizzas but nothing else.
I asked to speak to a manager and then we were told the entire menu was available, but we would have to wait. We were happy to do this, if the girl had only told us this at the beginning!
No space to explain what happened, but then a male Italian waiter was incredibly rude to us all on several occasions and actually stormed off at one point - actually never seen anything like it!
One poor waitress ended up in tears when she was trying to work out our bill. Not because anyone in our group was angry (in fact we were all trying to calm her down!) but because the system was unable to cope!
Karaoke: We had to walk in to make the previous group leave our pre-booked room. Embarrassing and should have been done by staff.
Ok for a spontaneous studenty night if you just want to get bladdered and haven't prebooked things.
But for anyone over 25, or with ANY expectations of customer service or things actually running to plan, I would give this place a v v wide berth.
  
Tags: Bloomsbury, bowling, karaoke

Rating  1

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a pleasant surprise - i was sceptical at first when my boyfriend said he was taking me on a date to a bowling alley, i soon changed my mind when i stepped inside! its not your average megabowl that for sure!
the decor is really nice and different and it seems to have it all with the bowling, a tasty diner (we shared a massive delicious pepperoni pizza!). there were karaoke rooms there that looked like everybody was having funa nd the dj was really good and fun, playing a real mix of music so we had a good dance after our bowling too.
overall a lot of fun and i would recommend for a fun night out. decent drink prices too.  
Tags: bowling fun delight

Rating  5

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Shake Rock n Bowl Night - Hot Saturday night yet packed and great dancing. I have been critical of Shake Rock & Bowl in the past for long queues and rude door staff, however last Saturday was fansatic and only £3 to get in. Beer on draught and a good Camden crowd.
.  
Tags: Bloomsbury Bowling, fun, good value, packed, Shake Rock n Bowl

Rating  5

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Bowling in Holborn - I hesitated to write a review for Bloomsbury's Bowling Lanes until I had gone there a few times because at first I thought it was amazing. Why well, a few reviews I have seen slate the place but its faily clear to me they are being targeted with fake negative reviews. Not that the place is perfect mind you but its well Bloomsbury and out there on its own.

Anyway, I've been to the bowl 4 times now for various reasons: seeing a band, bowling/karaoke and a works thing. Bloomsbury is tastic for all of those things. And the place just LOOKS awesome! The design is fantastic and clearly loved by the staff and customers alike.

Downside: its busy busy. Even a Monday night on our last vist was packed. Avoid most Saturday nights if you don't want a clubby atmosphere. A queue of 200 people is not for me anywhere.

Location is on the surface a downside, but Holborn is a safe area without all the unwanted attention of most club/bar areas.

Karen
  
Tags: Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes

Rating  4

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A pointless night out - Saturday Shake Rattle and Roll, got dressed up in netted skirts and piled on the eyeliner. Pre-booked and paid for our tickets yes that's £70 into Bloomsbury bowl bank account from 7 of us. We turn up, our name is on the list and we are ready to shake rattle and roll.

Hold on, what we can't bowl, staff shrug us off "computer says no" style. We try not to be too dispirited as we are out to have fun, Karaoke?????? No sorry can't do that either. Ok so whats left?? the diner...we queue for an hour, we put a cunning plan in place to save some seats otherwise we will be like the girl in the corner balancing a burger on her pink polka dot dress. As the frustration creeps in we ask a passing member of staff about the seemingly rubbish system they have in place, to be shrugged off with "welcome to the 1950's" beggers belief. Finally our food order is in and we are 60% confident that the waiter will find us, though no guarentee. 6 out of 7 meals arrive, and I spend a good 30 minutes trying to chase down my burger which I then eat alone whilst my friends wander what we should do next. Music is average but doesn't persuade us to head to the sweaty overcrowded area by the other burger eating punters to shake our polka dots at. We give up at midnight and decide we would better off somwhere else.

Useless, pointless, dump with unhelpful and grumpy staff.

If its your 1st time out in London, or indeed out ever, you might think its quirky, Any place that sucks the energy from you on arrival is a failure in my book.

Never again

  
Tags: , bowling, karaoke

Rating  1

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a great night out - I went to the bloomsbury bowling lanes for my birthday last weekend and had a fantastic time. I had emailed ahead to get on the guest list which meant there was no trouble for me and my friends to walk straight in - bonus! the lanes were pretty booked until quite late and so it gave us time to get merry at the bar and on the dancefloo before finishing the niht off with a brilliant not so sober night of bowling! the music was really cool all nght, loads of differnt types, and a live band too, which was great. all the staff were friendly, although a little stressed it seemed and there was a queue for the bar but not too long and i could see the bar-staff were rushed off their feet. we had a tasty pizza there too! we're definitly going back!  
Tags: bowling, dancing, drinks, fun

Rating  5

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Bowling as it should be - Years ago I used to drink at the Elbow Room. It’s was unique, always busy and something special. The desire to create a group of hip pool halls killed it. Same for places such as Belgos. Only drones like chains and then it all over in terms of being unique and special to London.

Luckily, The Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes is a one off still. I mean where else can you eat a 24inch pizza, bowl, down German Beers, play a politically incorrect shooting games where you hunt down deer, have a laugh without security throwing you out....dance on vintage carpet dance floor until 3am.

Being hidden away in BLoomsbury also keeps the riff raff away.
  
Tags: bowling, london, nighlife

Rating  5

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Shake, rattle and bowl - The bimonthly retro 'Shake, Rattle and Bowl' Saturday night seems to be gathering pace in a big way (unlike my bowling technique). I've heard about this recently through various friends so we went along to check it out and had an awesome night.

It is a novel way to spend a Saturday night out in town - complete with American-style diner, bowling, karaoke, dancefloor boogie-ing to and film screenings.

My tips: Get there early if you want to bowl, eat or book a karaoke room for later; dress up fiftie-esque (we did but not enough people joined in the fun); expect it to be busy and there not to be any wine glasses  
Tags: bowling, dance club, karaoke

Rating  4

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make mine a caucasian - Anywhere that you can bowl while sipping on a white russian is going to be a hit with me. The laidback hipster attitude makes bowling here a pleasure, the decor is shabby chic so it doesn't feel too try hard. Perhaps one of these days my favourite sport will officially be cool.  
Tags: bowling, cocktails

Rating  4

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Candy shop for adults - You know the saying 'kid in a candy shop' well this is the adult equivalent.

Bowling: check
Karaoke: check
Bar with late licence: check
Pool: check
Arcade machines: check
Food: check
DJs: check
Live Bands: check (although check the website as its not every night)
Cinema screen: check

I've been to a bunch of indie disco nights here and they're really good, plenty of good bands and beautiful young people.  

Rating  4

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Bowling has never been so hip - What an interesting place Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes is! The place, tucked underneath the Tavistock Hotel in the midst of Bloomsbury. You enter through a tiered movie theater of sorts, which is usually cycling through interesting, unknown or cult films (and is also, in my experience, often empty) before leading into the main rooms of the venue.
There are a lot of options, from the obvious bowling to pool and karaoke (in a couple rooms which can be reserved for groups) beyond the usual boozing. Indeed, if there is one major thing to criticize about Bloomsbury Bowl, it is that it lacks focus. Although there are of course the 8 lanes of bowling goodness (call in advance to book lanes, they tend to fill up before the night begins) other parts of the experience sometimes can feel as if they are tacked on as afterthoughts (like the attached "American diner").
Still, the place attracts a large crowd, especially on weekends, and it has booming music and a large, fully stocked bar. Bowling is fun, pool is good, karaoke is hilarous and drinking is drinking. The place even has a late license, so you don't have to worry about getting kicked out before you've had your fun. All in all, I'm a fan.  
Tags: American food, bowling, karoke, late license, trendy

Rating  4

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