Tipped

Bowling in Holborn

March 06, 2010

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

A pointless night out

February 07, 2010

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 crap 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,

a great night out

December 15, 2009

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: fun, bowling, drinks, dancing

Bowling as it should be

April 25, 2009

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

Shake, rattle and bowl

January 20, 2009

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: dance club, karaoke, bowling

make mine a caucasian

February 27, 2008

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

Candy shop for adults

October 31, 2007

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.

Bowling has never been so hip

October 19, 2007

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: bowling, late license, karoke, American food, trendy