Time Out has teamed up with tastelondon to offer you a fantastic one month free trial
-
Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes
-
Although its near-neighbour All Star Lanes makes a good stab at sophistication, BBL knows it's a big kids' playground. As well as the eight lanes, there's pool by the hour, table football, karaoke booths and, beside the entrance, a small cinema. Bands add to the mayhem on some weekend nights, when the floor buzzes with squiffy revellers, their eyes ablaze with sport. The rest of the place is pretty functional, with a large horseshoe bar (serving Bitburger, Bernard and Meantime), retro bowling instructions on the walls and a smokers' alley at the back. If you want a piece of the bowling action (or karaoke), be sure to book ahead.
Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9
Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
|
|
Advertisement
Details
- Basement, Tavistock Hotel, Bedford Way, Bloomsbury, WC1H 9EU
- Area: Bloomsbury
- Tel: 7691 2610
- www.bloomsburylive.com
- Category: Bars & Pubs
- Travel: Russell Square tube
- Times: Open: noon-2am Mon-Wed; noon-3am Thur-Sat; 1pm-midnight Sun, Food served: noon-10pm Mon-Fri; noon-midnight Sat; 1-9pm Sun. Bowling from £36/hr 1 lane
- Credit cards: AmEx, MC, V. Bar/bowling
Map
Most viewed bars & pubs
Date of the day
applek
This part always sounds a little egotistical - don't want to sound like that, so I might just tell the truth instead! I'm outgoing, impulsive,...
|
|
More ways to enjoy Time Out
-
Weekly London newsletter
The best of London in your inbox
-
Time Out Widgets
|
|
Bowled over. First visit and loved the style of the place. Good service and faood. Better signage to find the place would be great as we went to another place by mistake.
Big kids payground is right on the money. There is no place like bloomsbury. Bbq last night in their courdyard was brilliant.
Recommend by a work friend, but we still approached an afternoon bowling with trepidation, this was not helped by the entrance which looks like a cinema. Turing the Conner in to the main venue we were blown away. The venue has highly original digital wallpaper of men and women bowling in the 50s couples with sparking tiled flooring and a quirky arrangement of lighting. The reception and bar seem to be made of bowling lane wood. The bowling lanes themselves shave old school above lane returns, which is cool if a little impractical. A swath of natural light in front of the lanes must make it a nice place to kick back on a sunny day.
My overall impression is that the attention to detail is highly impressive and they have avoided the clichés of 1950’s Americana that so many places fall into.
Sure it might lack a bit of polish and seems to have evolved rather than have been created, but this adds to the charm of it. Definitely worth a visit.
Best venue in London for a night out. Like the new look as well. Its a London instituation.
I went to this place tonight for a Shake Rattle and Bowl party, I had read the reviews and all were pretty good so was looking forward to it. At arrival, I could only find a rundown venue, packed of people, mainly students, dirty and dim, I think someone had puked and they just cleaned because the smell was awful near the bar. Stayed ten minutes and left...