The Gutter

My friends and I happened to stumble upon The Gutter the other night. We walked past its small, nondescript lobby with stairs down to a basement, providing little hints as to what the place was like. We decided that bowling would make for a fun evening, so we walked in, surprisingly had our bags checked by a security guard, and headed down to the subterranean main space. The sprawling floor plan included a few bowling lanes in the front and a few more in the rear (12 in total). Between the two sets of lanes were a massive bar and a good deal of tables. From the hanging Tiffany lamps to the wood paneling to the full-size pinball machines, the whole experience felt like we were in a 1980's basement. The atmosphere was very casual, but that did nothing to reduce its crowd. We tried to reserve a lane, which were all first-come, first-serve, and were told there was a 2.5 hour wait time. At that point, we decided to just settle for enjoying some drinks, and we made ourselves comfortable at a large booth.

The server dropped off some menus, and we were confronted with a huge beer list, including mostly drafts available as pints or pitchers. I was excited to discover that they had my favorite sour beer, Hudson Valley Brewery Peach Silhouette, and we decided to order a pitcher of it. The tart, sweet, and almost effervescent brew was loved by all. We paired the beer with a large Pin Deck Pizza, which was topped with spicy sausage, potato slices that tasted like French fries, fresh mozzarella, rosemary, and fiery Calabrian chilis. It was an unique and absolutely delicious pie!

We were just debating if we should order another round of food and drinks when we were told that we could claim a bowling lane, only about an hour into our, what was supposed to be longer, wait time. Bowling rates varied by day, but were based on each half-hour of play. However, shoe rentals were always priced at $5. We swapped sneakers with the front desk staff, committed to playing for an hour, and went over to our classic ten-pin lane. We tried out a few of the balls and found a couple that were 10 pounds, though many were more like 12-14 pounds. We played our game with no issues and had an amazing time!

For a vintage bar and activity lounge, The Gutter sure had swagger! Definitely check the place out!

Costumer Service: B+
Cleanliness: A
Ambiance: B+
Food: C+

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Went here as a "team building" activity for work. I thought it was a pretty decent Bowling alley/bar.

The costumer service was okay, some of the staff were more helpful than others. I found the people working the bar to be great, the others to be - not bad, but could have been a bit nicer/more helpful.

The place was clean and had a nice atmosphere. It was a bit of a maze at times, but nothing that should ruin anyones time.

The food was meh. You don't expect the best pizza at a bowling alley but with it being NYC you do hope for it to be good. It certainly was edible, but it was rather bland and - floppy, for lack of better words. I would not order it again.

Overall, its a decent place. I can't say I'd recommend it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend against it.

We went with a group of five on a Friday late afternoon. There was plenty of space and the staff was welcoming and nice. We bowled for two hours and had a few drinks after - we didn't have to wait for anything. Overall we had a blast and would return.

Phenomenal place. Bomb service and drinks and food, the bechamel pizza was incredible. Regis was a doll and Tracy was on my sht (don't tell his girlfriend). Loved it!! Thank you!!

The location is great, but unfortunately, the manager, a white man named Troy, came across as racist and unprofessional. Upon leaving the bowling alley, I witnessed the manager falsely telling a group of black kids that they were closed, even though the alley had two more hours of operation. Staff members mentioned that the manager's actions were racially motivated, a behavior they claim happens frequently. It's disheartening to see discrimination in such a diverse neighborhood, and due to this experience, I won't be returning to Gutter LES.

Was amazing and very cool, nice chill place good is really good and was just a great time. Very much recommend.

Corinna is so great! Went bowling at a work event and she was so friendly and helpful!

I really want to rate this place higher, but the bowling aspect is overpriced and kind of annoying to deal with. The bowling cashier was too aloof and didn't really know how to answer our questions about prices. Classic teenager of, "Why are you bothering me."

It's 30 dollars for 30 minutes. Not 30 dollars for one game, which most places are. Very annoying. The 30 dollars doesn't include the shoe rental either. What are they trying to do here?

If you want to play a game of speed bowling, this is the place for you. A lot of it was just stressful trying to get your moneys worth!

The bar staff and wait staff were excellent though.

The vibe of the bar is very good for a bowling alley. Makes you feel like you're suddenly teleported to a suburb in the midwest.

There is food, but it's overpriced and didn't look that appealing. They're looking to hire a pizza chef, so maybe hold off on ordering until they get one.


This place is a cute surprise in the middle of the LES, and would be a 5/5 experience if they fixed their lane timing/prices.

This place is really horrible dont go here all staff are so rude evan they have so bad attitude. They are fight with one of groups there not with our frds but... we know when we enter that place is not good for anyone
And same things are happening with one of group's next to us we are trying to solve the issue and they come to my face so we just left from that place and we take that group out side to because that security guard wont real fight with them... Evan manager was there but he dont evan stop anyone of staff
That is the one of the horrible place I ever went

Really enjoyed our time here on a sleepy Sunday.
All the staff were lovely, food looks great and will try next time we come.
It's not cheap, but who would expect it to be?? A good sized bowling alley in the east village.
Not perfect, a few problems with the lane and pins but the lady who helped us paused our time while they sorted it out.
Overall, a convenient and fun spot for a quick bowl with great friendly staff.