http://www.welovelocal.com Reviews from welovelocal.com en http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r54926 the thing about bowling, i find, is that you don't have to be any good at it to enjoy it. The groovy shoes, the sound of the ball on the polished wooden lane, the clatter of the pins... ah. Those 10 year old computer graphics mocking or celebrating your score add to the charm. They remind me of TV Quiz show Catchphrase, which is no bad thing. Anyway, this place is part diner, part night club, part karaoke bar, part live music venue and part bowling alley. In fact, there's always a film being projected in the foyer, with a handful of bucket seats, so I guess you could throw "part cinema" into the mix. I wouldn't bother watching an entire movie there though. Whenever I've been there's been a live band on. A young, hip, pretending-to-the-crown type of band, rather than that covers band that your geography teacher's plays bass for. It's loud and adds to the vibe if that's what you dig... but it makes this place not a particularly family friendly type-of venue. Great for an evening out with friends though.

]]> Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:02:36 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r18815 This is a great place to go with friends for a night out, or family during the day. Great retro style, diner next to the bowling lanes, karaoke rooms, pool table, table football, big couches, great drinks, live music...what more could you want?! Have hired the place out for a work function too which was great fun! Would highly recommend this place!

]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:40:11 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r16966 This is a really fun place to go with friends. Formerly an underground car park of a hotel, it's been transformed into a retro american style bowling alley. BUT it's so popular that booking a lane is terribly hard - you have to book weeks in advance, particularly for weekends. In addition there are fun karaoke rooms, a table football table and an american diner. Drinks are amazingly cheap and their white russians are lush!

]]> Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:11:32 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r6521 Situated in the middle of Bloomsbury, underneath a smart-looking hotel lies Bloomsbury Bowling, a 50s-style bowling alley, featuring everything from pool and arcade games to karaoke and burgers. And of course, lots of bowling. My only real experience of bowling in recent times has been Wii Bowling, and that hasn't particularly improved my skills a great deal, and although the Wii is a good laugh, you don't get that great feeling when you get a strike, and the more likely disappointment of missing all the pins, in real life. Bloomsbury Bowling isn't particularly high tech - it still has the 1980s computer screens and plastic benches that you probably associate more with your childhood, but that doesn't matter, as these things are all superficial when it comes to the pure fun and enjoyment of bowling. Apart from the bowling itself, the bar doesn't have a great range of drinks - a massive choice of three beers on offer - but they do have a good selection of foods, mainly American themed. If you're looking for something to do, a good plan is to get some friends and take them bowling! It's tons of fun!

]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:05:52 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r3374 I've been to just bowl at Bloomsbury a few times now, it's a great way to spend an afternoon but I must admit I was skeptical that you could spend an whole Saturday night there. Luckily I was wrong. We arrived at around 8ish which is just when they start charging. £6 for normals and £4 for students, but if you email ahead (see the website above) you can get on a "guest list" which gets you in at a reduced rate. The queue to bowl was massive so we headed straight to the diner and gorged on suitably themed American food. The burgers are actually really good, none of usual fast food crap, they actually look hand made. If you're sitting in the diner they'll also bring drinks to your seat. From then on it's nothing but dancing, and relatively cheap drinks. Tip: try the bowling desk at around 10ish, if they have lanes left it's the best time to try and book. We managed to get one at 1.30 (last lane a 2 for a 3am close) and all we had to do then was drink. Suffice to say bowling drunk is hard, but bloody good fun. A cracking night out, ignore the naysayers.

]]> Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:57:13 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r3054 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.

]]> Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:58:56 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r2278 Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes is a really good fun night out. I’ve been a couple of times now – once just for a drink, the other time for the full bowling experience. I was rubbish. I was rubbish but the place was great. Of course, since The Big Lebowski, bowling and the taking of White Russians has become pretty much synonymous. Thankfully, they do a fine White Russian here too. I’ve yet to try the food so can’t comment on that, and it’s unlikely I’ll be sampling the karaoke any time soon. The fact that both of these are also options though has got to be a good thing. There’s also live music. It gets very busy at the weekends so if you want to bowl or sing, then book well in advance. On the downside, they do have some annoying and seemingly fairly arbitrary pricing policy where they’ll charge a fiver or a tenner after around 9 o’clock, depending on what’s happening inside. It’s also a bit of a trial getting served at the bar. Overall though, a great night out.

]]> Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:29:56 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r293 A bit grubby, a bit smelly, but brilliant fun, this is a great venue for cheap karaoke and bowling underneath the Tavistock Hotel in the heart of Bloomsbury. There are three good-sized karaoke rooms, all equipped with a slightly unwieldy list of songs. Bookings are taken, but you can also just turn up (as demonstrated by a tour party of 30 students who chanced it on my last visit). It's worth asking if there are any discounts going - we managed to get 50 per cent off because we work in the media (brilliant!). Bowling is about 30 quid for a lane - though avoid number one (I'm convinced the surface must be uneven - I cannot possibly be that bad...). Food and drinks are pretty good value with a four-pint pitcher and two bottles of wine coming in at 30 quid. Unpretentious, and all the better for it.

]]> Sun, 06 May 2007 22:59:55 UTC http://www.welovelocal.com/en/london/camden/bloomsbury/bowling-alleys/bloomsbury-bowling-lanes-wc1h9eu.html#r293 A bit grubby, a bit smelly, but brilliant fun, this is a great venue for cheap karaoke and bowling underneath the Tavistock Hotel in the heart of Bloomsbury. There are three good-sized karaoke rooms, all equipped with a slightly unwieldy list of songs. Bookings are taken, but you can also just turn up (as demonstrated by a tour party of 30 students who chanced it on my last visit). It's worth asking if there are any discounts going - we managed to get 50 per cent off because we work in the media (brilliant!). Bowling is about 30 quid for a lane - though avoid number one (I'm convinced the surface must be uneven - I cannot possibly be that bad...). Food and drinks are pretty good value with a four-pint pitcher and two bottles of wine coming in at 30 quid. Unpretentious, and all the better for it.

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