Brooklyn Bowl

I came here with a couple of girlfriends on a Friday night. White Ford Bronco is a band from Washington DC. They played all the 1990s hits. We arrived here at 8pm and the band didn't start playing until 8:30pm.

The cover charge was $17. If you know the band isn't that popular, I recommend buying the tickets there. We paid $20 because we brought them online in advance.

Years ago, I came here to see another band. I'm glad to see this venue is still here.

The venue gets five stars for vibe, decor, the hospitality and helpfulness of the staff, but the food is overpriced and a major disappointment.

Years ago, I went to BB for a meal and it was sublime. My friend suggested that I try the burger, and it was beyond what I expected. It was juicy and flavorful... it had that YUM factor and was well worth the price tag.

A few weeks ago, I was there for a show and was excited to eat there, only to be greatly disappointed. BLAND!!!!!! I ordered and paid extra for blue cheese crumbles and grilled onions and absolutely did not get my monies worth. I was not in a mood to make a formal complaint because I wanted to enjoy the show and have my guy enjoy his night as well. He ordered a pricey chicken sandwich, which was supposed to be a special. He was pissed and only ate a few bites of the sandwich. He stated that he thought that they would have been respectable enough to use a chicken breast. The first thing he bit into was cartilage and that ruined the meal for him.

I know better next time, if I happen to go to a show or bowling that I should get food before or after. I hate this, because I like this place.

Have been here for concerts and enjoyed it. It's been fine as a music venue. Came here for bowling and had to rely on staff for service and they were all pretty surley and inattentive. One guy just stood behind the counter and just stared at us while we waited to check in. It was the weirdest thing. Then we were leaving and I see him being super friendly and animated checking in a couple - I'm sorry we can't all be attractive white people.

While we waited for our lane, my partner went to order a drink. 3 minutes later or lane is ready so I go to get him and he is standing at the bar (he is the only customer there) while two employees are chatting behind the bar. I asked if he ordered, he says nope. Just been standing here. So we left to get to our lane.

The waitress was so slow, we spent most of our time waiting, trying to get orders of food or drink in and closing out or tab. Maybe just having one person taking orders is not enough?

A plus was that the runners were nice and once you actually got your order in, it came out pretty fast although The fried chicken has gone downhill. Definitely not Blue Ribbon standards.

If you don't care about service or food and just want a place to bowl, get a beer or see a show is fine - this place is good for that anything that doesn't require good customer service.

I live close to the Philadelphia location and go all the time, so I was excited to check out the original Brooklyn location. Great area, fun space with 2bars.

The price to bowl was double the price in Philly. The bowling shoes need to be replaced. Very damaged! Also, no pool tables, arcade games, air hockey, etc. like the Philly location.

Ordered drinks from the bar and the bartender was very nice and attentive!

It was a nice way to kill some time in the city.

As a bowling enthusiast I was very excited to visit this place as I have heard so much about it. Pros and cons. It's a very nice space but under the hood there are a few things to note. The cocktail drinks are overpriced and not that good. I had the coconut bay breeze which was most juice with maybe a shot of alcohol for $16. The couch seats fit the decor but they are not comfortable at all. You're better off standing.

Now the billing. You get one big bill which includes your cost of the game, shoes, and any food or drinks you may have had. Unless you pay attention you could be tipping on the total amount which isn't right. You'll have to manually calculate that on your own.

The servers are standing right behind you as you bowl which is a little weird. We felt like we are being watched.
The bad was playing music which was cool but for our first time we caught a set where they were practicing and the sound was really loud and annoying.

The prices were decent compared to other places in the city so I'll probably be back.

Great spot to hang out, the events that happen are always unique to the area and very welcoming

While I've been to the Brooklyn Bowl a number of times over the years it's not until a couple of months ago that I've made my return after several years not visiting the cool event space. Now I should stress that I'm not actually a bowler but have instead visited the Brooklyn Bowl for concerts and special events like Guitar Shows and the like.

As an event space its pretty awesome with a decent sized stage in front of a very nice capacity floor area. There are no seats the concert space and I guess if you want to be close to the performer that you must get there on the early side. In the times that I've attended the shows here I can tell you that bowling continues on the opposite side of the shows but it doesn't seem to affect a show based on the loudness of instruments over the crashing of the pins. The stage is easy to see from way in the back by the bar if you should choose to hang over there and I found the sound and lighting to be on point. The cost for entry is depending on the artist being showcased and while some shows could be as low as $20 there are others that can be much higher.

There are two large bars with one at the entrance and one by the concert section and there is also a Blue Ribbon restaurant with awesome eats. It's priced accordingly since inflation and stuff is just really expensive these days but its all very well prepared and I think you might like it. I should mention that these are fully stocked bars and not just beer and wine etc. You can get a number of different spirits and while its been quite a time since I've drank, I did love the beer selection at Brooklyn Bowl when I had them.

Oddly enough I have not managed to bowl here yet and perhaps I should make that a 2024 mission to do. I'm very rusty and would need a pair of shoes for it since I don't like renting such things, especially after a pandemic but that's just me. I highly recommend this place for a good time spot for you and gathered friends. Check it out.

Very busy location that offers food, bowling, and live music acts. I attended a recent concert, I had enough time to eat before the show. The area has a bar and dining area that seats 50-100? I ate at the bar as I was alone. I ordered 6 smoked wings and a drink. The order was brought out within 10 minutes. The wings had a hickory taste with a bump of spice. Very delicious! I'm definitely going to return.

Came here for a concert and wasn't quite sure of the set up based on the online pics. So...you have the stage, concert area to the back of the building/street side when you walk in. There is standing room only, and if you want a good spot, get there early. This pic below is from like 7:10 pm with a 7:30 show time. But the main act, it was packed, and I was almost pushed to the stage...so get there early. Not to mention if you're short...gotta be close to improve your sightline.

The music and sound was amazing! Standing so close to the stage you could feel the bass. Only downside was if you needed to go to the restroom, you are SOL trying to get back to your spot. We immediately closed into open space...so you move, you lose.

Show finished around 10:30pm and there was another late show?!?! So crazy. Getting a lyft/uber home was easy...train getting there was fine...back at night wasn't my cup of tea. :)

This was a fun, laid-back afternoon activity on a weekend, that was a hit with all our crew. It's most definitely a dive, and you're gonna have to work to find a ball that fits as nothing is racked properly, but after a few beers, who cares? It was a reasonably priced, a group of four for two hours, with shoe rentals, was $140.00 before drinks. So $35 per person, which is very economically friendly in our current environment. I had three sour beers and it was another $30 after tax and tip. Bartender was friendly.