Totally--it's a little too strong. I'd say: I came here for a team event while visiting Boston, and we all had such a great time! It was my first time trying candlepin bowling, and I actually found it easier than traditional bowling. The smaller balls felt more natural to me, and it was such a fun experience. The atmosphere was perfect for a group, and the wood-fired pizza was really good--fresh and delicious. I only wish we had a place like this in LA or Southern California. I'd definitely come back the next time I'm in Boston! read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

The customer service here is incredible. We showed up for our reservation at 7:30. Turns out we made a dinner reservation rather than a bowling (silly us). Immediately they tried their best to get us into a lane. Unfortunately they were all book :( but they assured us they would try to get us on a lane if we wanted to stick around and grab a drink. So we did just that and we got on a lane shortly after! The bowling was endless fun. At the end of the night, I asked the shoe fee be taken off because we did not get shoes. After asking I realized they added that because they only charged for half an hour and that shoe charge add the amount that would be equivalent to 15 minutes because in total we played for 45. But when I asked for it to be removed there was no hesitation, that's the mark of exceptional service. You bet your darnedest we will be back. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Second time I've ordered a large 16" pizza and it's been 14" at best. Would not recommend for the cost. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Supposed to be a large pizza - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Went here to try out candlepin bowling and had a great time! I've bowled countless games of the more traditional type, yet I'll still warn you that this variant is much harder given the way the pins fall. However, it's a ton of fun and a unique local experience that's well worth a try. The staff are friendly, the prices are reasonable, and there's a good range of bowling balls available at each lane. And on top of that, the food is delicious! That's a surprise I wasn't expecting. From the beautiful open oven in the back, a variety of enjoyable flatbreads emerge. Overall, if you're looking for something fun to do, stop by and play a few games! Grab a flatbread while you're at it -- even if you have a meal after, share one as a snack. read more

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Amazing spot to grab dinner with friends and play some candlepin. We ordered the pizza specials and a salad. One friend is gluten and dairy free and said she had the best pizza of her life! We can't wait to be back to have another night out! read more

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The candlepin bowling itself is relatively cheap and so much fun! Easy to reserve and a good environment. However, the staff was extremely unfriendly. The servers were kind, but the front desk staff was dismissive and clearly did not want to be there. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Bowling - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

We love this place. The pizza is fantastic, and really good salads and drinks. We would come here if there was no candlepin bowling. We would also come here if there was no food. It's really two great places bundled into one. read more

3 cheers for birthday party success! When your apartment is tiny, you're forced to outsource parties and that means spending $. The worst case scenario is shelling a lot of cash for an offsite party and feeling like your guests didn't have fun and you grossly overpaid. So, if you're going to have a birthday party- or any kind of party- I feel very comfortable saying you get your money's worth here. Cindy helped me with the reservation and collecting all the details a few weeks before the party (you just contact them off the website and will be called and emailed within 2 days) and it was really helpful and cost-transparent. There are plenty of food options, alcohol options, and bringing your own food is also OK (e.g. bringing a cake. They even put ours in the fridge until cake time!) You can work it all out with Cindy, which is super helpful. On the party day, we showed up and our big table was available and we hung out there whole kids showed up and tbr party before ours wrapped up. This was great bc it really is back to back on these parties and having a place to wait your turn is helpful. I really appreciated the table space and coat racks- these parties can include 15 people and that's a lot of STUFF. The candle pin bowling is really fun but the kids (15yo girls) mostly sat around the bowling area open seating eating their pizza/cake and chatting. This was also awesome because it's cozy and kid's just got up and randomly bowled but it was very low pressure and they all loved it. Adults sat at the dining table nearby and the heat from the pizza fire was very pleasant. The staff were kind and helpful and it didn't have that chaotic urgent feel to it, just a chill vibe where we felt taken care of and free to go with the flow in our 2hr party. The flatbread pizza was outrageously good. I think I ate half of one. I wish there was a diet Coke to accompany it, but they're too classy for coke products. Their homemade sodas were great! Overall, it was a good chunk of change for a high ROI and I strongly recommend it for a kids birthday. read more

Very fun place to visit. Good pizza, good cocktails and an overall good vibe. It even works for families and large parties. read more

So much fun! Having never done candlepin bowling before, I can now say I'm a fan. Bowling and pizza make for a really fun group activity - and it's a great place to do parties, hangouts, particularly for large groups. I prefer candlepin over regular bowling because the balls don't have finger holes for everyone's grubby paws. We came on a Sunday evening and it didn't seem too busy for the 5-8pm slot so if you have a choice between the Brighton and Somerville locations, I'd go with this one. Also sampled the pizza, which comes out in these vertical slices. My favorites were the regular cheese and Hawaiian, though, judging by how fast it went, the buffalo was a popular choice too. I wouldn't say this was my favorite pizza ever - the tomato sauce was on the sweeter side and the long slices were a little hard to eat gracefully - but I liked the chewiness of the dough and the prices were fair. Service was great. Our waiter came by to explain the rules of playing and scoring (which is all manual, no high-tech screens here), and we were able to store the birthday cake in the kitchen's fridge. Parking: We were lucky enough to snag a spot right in front but they also validate parking in the Warriors Arena garage. read more

Dining method: Dine-in (and bowl!) Item(s) ordered: Tuscan flatbread (gluten-free!) Value: A bit overpriced but worth it once for the experience Service: Food comes out quite quickly! The Review: Take your childhood bowling memories and make it elevated! At American Flatbread, you can have your pizza and do candlepin bowling...at the same time! The ambiance is a cute pizzeria mixed with bowling alley. Fun place with very good gluten-free pizza/flatbread. You can even place a pick-up order! Lovely experience with family and I highly recommend for a group activity. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Tuscan flatbread - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

The pizza was delicious and the staff was great. The root beer float was tasty and the pizza chef came over to our table and explained how he comes up with his creative menu. read more

The Brighton Bowl location became our favorite pizza location when a family member was at Spaulding. Service was great. Pizza was always delicious. I wish it was closer to home. read more

Great food and service + fun bowling! Kids next to us used up the shared balls really quickly, but once they left it was great.

What a huge waste of time. We thought we'd have a nice evening out celebrating a birthday with our kid but we left feeling frustrated. The pizza is actually great but a five star review would be lying. The service in this place is straight garbage. No one that works here gives a flying f*ck whether you eat, drink or bowl and they clearly don't care about tips. If they did they would put in the slightest effort but they simply don't know how to interact with other humans and cannot stop looking at their phones for 5 seconds. We had to steal napkins and utensils from another table, our server reeked of weed and was high af, she walked by multiple times while we were trying to get her attention but she just hid behind her hair while taking sneaky hits off her vape, food and drink were placed on the table without a word, an order of carrot sticks for my daughter was forgotten about, then after 20 minutes with a full pizza still on our table the server asked if we wanted the check...more than once. At one point I got up to bring my daughter to the bathroom and saw our drinks waiting on the bar while our server sat in front of them looking at her phone. I was able to take a three year old to the bathroom and back before those drinks were brought over. We got there at 5 and were done eating by 5:45, we had a bowling reservation for 6. By the time we were done eating there were two lanes open. We were told someone would let us know which lane to go to but no one did. My husband went to the front and got us shoes and they again said someone would tell us where to go. Like the whole vibe here is "someone else will do it". We stood awkwardly by our table in our bowling shoes for a few minutes before I went back to the front and asked again because a party of three just walked in and was promptly brought to an open lane. The response I got was "uh I think you're suppose to be in lane one? I'll tell the server for the lane to clean it up". So we're finally bowling at 6:07. It was 6:40 before a server came to the lane. We watched on as he took the orders of the lane next to us and walked away. I actually got us a drink from the bar before the server bothered to come over. It's almost as if the servers are hoping if they provide bad enough service you'll just leave and then they won't have to work. It's unlikely we'll ever go back which sucks because it's close to us and my kid loves bowling. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Server with her back to the restaurant on her phone. - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

This place is not only yummy but also fun!!! Have picked up pizzas from here quite a few times in the past several months and have always enjoyed them. The Hawaiian one is by far my favorite, and the sauce is definitely crave worthy. The pizzas are all so interesting and of decent price. They also seem healthier than other pizzas. I also love that you can do half and half. This past weekend, I FINALLY got a chance to bowl too. The inside or American Flatbread is really cool. Everyone is really friendly and helpful. The bowling is hard ... especially since you have to keep your own score, but it is really fun. Quite affordable too. You definitely need reservations though ... as the place is pretty small ... bowling lane wise. I really love this place and can't wait to go back ... or order takeout. read more

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The staff were extremely kind. after a small mistake they made it up to my group by comping our shoes. Later when the parking lot, who is independent of Flatbread, wouldn't recognize our parking validation from Flatbread the manager, Rachel, came to help us out directly and resolve the issue with the parking lot. Truly incredible service. I can't wait to go back. Great food and VERY LGBT friendly. read more

My recent visit to American Flatbread was extremely disappointing and did not live up to the expectations that the restaurant's reputation suggests. At first glance, the restaurant seemed like it would offer a warm and welcoming environment. The rustic interior and the smell of food coming from the kitchen created the impression that the experience would be enjoyable. However, that initial feeling disappeared quickly once we were seated and the service began. Our server approached the table with very little enthusiasm and did not greet us in a friendly way. Instead of welcoming us and making us feel comfortable, they seemed impatient and uninterested in helping us. It immediately made the table feel awkward and uncomfortable. Dining out is supposed to be relaxing, but the attitude of the server made the experience feel tense from the very beginning. It felt like we were bothering them simply by being customers. That negative first impression set the tone for the rest of the evening. As we began to look through the menu and prepare to order, the service only continued to get worse. Whenever anyone at the table asked a question about a menu item, the responses were very short and sounded annoyed. The server gave the impression that they did not want to explain anything or help us understand what the dishes included. When someone politely asked if a small substitution could be made, the server responded in a sarcastic tone that made the entire interaction uncomfortable. Basic customer service seemed completely absent throughout the ordering process. Even something as simple as bringing drinks to the table took an unusually long time. When the drinks finally arrived, they were placed on the table without a word. There was no follow up question about whether we were ready to order or needed anything else. The entire interaction felt rushed and dismissive rather than helpful. These small details made the experience feel frustrating long before the food even arrived. When the food finally came out, it unfortunately did not improve the situation. Considering that American Flatbread is known for its pizza and flatbread dishes, expectations were fairly high. Unfortunately, the quality of the food did not match those expectations. Some of the flatbreads arrived only slightly warm instead of hot. The toppings were also unevenly spread across the pizza, which made some slices feel bland while others were overloaded. The crust had moments where it was crisp and enjoyable, but other parts were soggy and soft. One of the items at the table appeared to be missing an ingredient that was listed on the menu. When this was politely mentioned to the server, the response was dismissive and unhelpful. Instead of apologizing or offering to fix the mistake, they simply shrugged and walked away. That reaction made the situation much more frustrating than it needed to be. Mistakes happen in restaurants, but the way they are handled makes a huge difference. As the meal continued, the poor service kept overshadowing everything else about the experience. Our table had to repeatedly try to get the attention of someone just to ask for basic things like napkins or drink refills. Even when we managed to get the server's attention, the responses felt rushed and annoyed. It seemed like the staff wanted to spend as little time as possible helping customers. At one point another employee walked past while we were clearly trying to ask for assistance, but they ignored the table completely. That moment made it seem like the lack of service might be a larger issue with the restaurant rather than just one person. Dining out should feel comfortable and welcoming, yet the service made the entire table feel tense. Instead of talking about how good the food was, most of the conversation became focused on how rude the staff had been. That alone says a lot about how much the service impacted the evening. The end of the meal was just as disappointing as the rest of the experience. When the check was brought to the table, it was simply placed down without any words or acknowledgment. There was no thank you for coming in and no attempt to make the experience end on a better note. After the payment was completed, the receipt was returned in the same rushed and unfriendly manner. Restaurants usually try to show some appreciation to their guests, but that was completely absent here. The entire interaction felt cold and dismissive from beginning to end. Even as we got up to leave, there was no farewell or recognition from the staff. A small moment of kindness or professionalism could have made the experience feel slightly better. Unfortunately, that never happened. Instead, we left feeling more frustrated than satisfied. read more

Affordable and delicious pizza, highly recommend! Their basic cheese and tomato sauce pizza (medicine wheel) is my favorite go-to, and they have a plenty of veggie options and dessert cookies/sundae/ice cream as well from the local business! They also have huge selection of beers plus candle pin bowling lane if you want to hang out with your friends! The location is super convenient as it is minutes away from the Davis Square T station :) read more

Celebrated a birthday here tonight with 8 people (incl 2 toddlers) and had reserved two lanes a month ago for dinner & bowling. Called when they opened today to request lanes on the end if possible and was shocked to learn they had no reservation for us for bowling - just for dinner! Enter Sharon ... who worked her magic and arranged for us to have the two upstairs lanes for our group. It was AWESOME! The kids weren't in anyone's way and everyone had a wonderful time. The food was great, both the salad and three pizzas, served hot and perfectly cooked! The cocktails were excellent (loved the spicy margarita!) Our server was Chloe and she could not have been nicer. She even brought us a candle for the cookies we brought for the birthday boy. When you have a group ranging in age from 2 to 68 yrs, it's hard to find places everyone can enjoy. Well, we found one tonight at American Flatbread in Brighton! Thanks to everyone working for a memorable and fun evening! read more

Absolutely love coming to American Flatbread Brighton Bowl!!! We have been here at least three times in our first few months living in Boston. Great place to bring family or a group of friends. The wood fired pizza is incredible, drinks are good and affordable, and candlepin bowling is always the best time! Couldn't recommend choosing this spot for a night out enough! read more

American Flatbread Brighton - a man standing in a bowling alley - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Really fun place for the family with good pizza! I came in from out of town and a friend that lives in the area suggested American Flatbread. I was traveling with my toddler aged daughter and this place could not have been more perfect for her. The candle pin bowling itself is super kid friendly with bumpers and little ramps so she could bowl herself. Then the pizza was solid and she loved that! read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Bowling - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I am a Flatbread fan! I usually go to the Davis Sqr one, but this Brighton location is just as fun, and the food is spot on. I love the salads here and have a few bites of the wood-fired oven pizza. What's not to like? They make a mean cocktail and have a good beer and wine, and cider list. You have the drama of bowling if you are really bored. Hell, play a few frames and stop being a couch potato. yes, I am talking to you and me. I have not interrogated the bar people because I come here with my Thirty Thursday crew, and we always have a table. The servers are quick and efficient in a laid-back hippy-child way. Does that make any sense?!? Dude! You are in a bowling alley, relax! Follow the flow, and throw some rocks and pieces of enamel wood. Take your aggressions out in the correct direction. If this doesn't do it for you, perhaps you need to advance to axe throwing; just a thought. Come here and enjoy beer, pizza, companionship, and bowling. It's what needs to happen, you deserve it! PS. I love the salads here they are the best! Really, this visit, I just ate two. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - The Evolutions Salad is the best - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Came here to fulfill the unique New England candlepin bowling experience and it was super fun! The actual game is really hard but I'm glad I tried regardless! Came on a rainy Saturday with 8 friends and they managed to squeeze us in their super busy schedule for exactly an hr! They take that hour very seriously so would highly highly recommend reserving wayyyy in advance if you wanna get in here, ESPECIALLY if the weather isn't that great! Have yet to try their pizza but they looked really good! Will have to come back soon! read more

We had a blast. The old fashioned balls took a little getting use to but by the last 2 frames. read more

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This review is mostly about how fantastic Mark the server is! I don't think we have ever gotten this good of service in my life. He was kind, attentive and great at his job! We would come back as long as Mark is here-- in fact make him the manager!! The food and dessert were perfect too! We left the largest tip ever ! read more

Great tasting flatbread pizza and a great place to bowl some candlepins, heat place for date, family or friends.

We were having a great night, and I was happy to give the Brighton location of American Flatbread a high rating, but after receiving the check, I was disappointed to see that we incurred a charge for using the lane for 15 extra minutes even though I made sure we stopped at the 1 hour mark. I wish we were made aware of this policy that we would be charged for any additional time, but this was not discussed with us at the venue, nor is this policy on their website. As a heads up to other visitors, make sure to stop your game at the exact time, or perhaps even a few minutes earlier, to stop this additional charge. Other than that, the pizzas were solid, with the Flyin' Hawaiian being my favorite. The tangy mango BBQ sauce complimented the sweet marinated pork and mangos well, and was a different take on the traditional Hawaiian. I'd also recommend Carne Special, which came in a creamy vodka sauce that paired well with the broccoli raab, although I wish there were a few more pieces of chicken on our particular pie. The Pepperoni and Mushroom was a bit too salty for my liking but it was a crowd favorite in my group. Lastly, the Evolution Salad was a refreshing accompaniment that helped cut through some of the heaviness of the pizza. Our waiter also gave my group some of the best service I've seen in a while. He went above and beyond to ensure our group was having a good time, with his fun and engaging personality. He checked in with us often to see if we needed anything, and moved our waters and pizzas over to our bowling alley when it was our turn to start playing. He seemed happy to assist when we did need help, such as providing us extra water and boxes. I'd be happy to come back again if the extra charge policy is mentioned somewhere at the venue and website. However I think I'll be on the lookout for another pizza and candlepin bowling spot elsewhere. read more

Party of three here visiting Boston and found this place last minute and called and made reservations. They were friendly and quick to get us in. When we should up the crew members that accommodated us were amazing. Not only did they collectively play a throwback playlist that hit the spot, they were happy to be there and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. Brezoya (I hope I'm saying right) at the front desks and Cooper our server were very attentive. The environment was very kid friendly and just the perfect atmosphere to properly entertain a young child and two adults :). It's a big open space and we could see the wood fire stove right behind us. The flatbread was amazing and my espresso martini was on point (I'm picky). I definitely plan on coming back. High recommended! read more

Bowling? Awesome! Drinks? Great! Service? Excellent! Vibe? Good! Pizza? Eh. Everything else makes up for it.

Great for kids. The candle pin bowling is a good price and they let kids of any age play (and with bumpers, they are sure to have fun). Pizza is delicious and there's a good beer selection. Just be sure to reserve your lane in advance read more

Whether you want to go candlepin bowling or eat this crispy flat breads, this is the place to be! First of all, this place is huge. Two stories, but gets easily crowded. Especially on the weekends. Yikes. I'd suggest weekday evenings, whether you want to bowl or eat a meal, it'll be a much more pleasant experience! They have a variety of options in their menu - meat, vegetarian as well as vegan. They also have weekly specials, usually one of each type. And they use a lot of seasonal and locally produced veggies which makes their pizzas quite unique. I've had one with squash or parsnips or even fiddleheads. Everytime you come in, you can try something new! From their regular menu, I really enjoy the punctuated equilibrium (fair warning: can be a little salty with the feta and olives!) and Jimmy's free range chicken. I love that they make half and half pizzas. You get to try two for the price of one. They also have fund raiser nights where they give some proceeds to a local charity. I like the fact that they're involved in the community! As for customer service, they're simply excellent! We got an incorrectly made pizza once and we just let the staff know (we didn't even have a complaint, we just wanted to let them know for the next time), and they gave us the pizza on the house. They're incredible dealing with customers, very kind and always ready to answer questions. They know how to do it right! read more

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Love, love this place. The pizzas are great! And the kids can bowl for hours while the parents eat and drink. Also fun for groups. Spacious, hipster decor, easy parking out front. The salads and desserts could be improved (as well as the house made lemonade) but the rest makes up for that. read more

Prior to this, I have never heard of candle pin bowling and man, it is fun! My friends brought us here around 7/8 during our weekday trip to Boston and it was relatively empty. Only 2 out of 7 of the lanes were taken, including ours. Apparently, on weekends it can get packed so reservations are encouraged. A lot of bowling places charge you by the number of games you play but this place charges you by the hour ($30/hr). Note, this place doesn't have automatic score keeping and requires you to keep score on paper. On top of bowling, their drinks and food are well made. Get the raspberry rose sangria drink. It's fruity and delicious. The chocolate banana bread with vanilla ice cream is to die for and not overly sweet. We ate before coming here so we weren't able to try their famous flatbread. If I lived around here, I'd be a regular in a heartbeat. read more

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The food was amazing. The pizza was perfectly cooked and the sauce was so good and I could taste the tomato! I come here a lot because of how great it is! The bowling was also very fun. They gave us food right at the bowling lanes and water! Their service was awesome! All the employees were nice and came often to check in. They provided a marker and score chart. It was super clean! The bathrooms are super clean and the tables and the bowling balls. It is family friendly and there is a bar for the grown ups! I definitely recommend! read more

Pros: -Cool industrial vibe with lots of seating, bar, and bowling! -Emphasis on organic food and local sourcing Cons: -Order was wrong -Super chewy dough -Pricey -Street parking -- Chicken & Herb Pizza + Chicken (large = $17.50) Ordered a small to go but ended up getting and being charged for a large. I didn't notice when signing the receipt and didn't want to make a big deal of it when we got the boxes since we were in a rush. Was hoping the pizza would be good! The chicken was sparse (even though its $3 extra) and, while tender, it was super peppery. The pizza itself wasn't bad but I didn't taste any herbs--basically just cheesy chewy dough. Overall, I don't think it's worth the price. Might be fun to bowl here if Kings is too far. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Large Cheese & Herb + Chicken ($17.50, December 2017) - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I've been getting the Puctuated Equilibrium pizza from the Somerville location for years. Always delicious. But this one from the Brighton location is awful. Tastes nothing like it is supposed to. I'll never order from this location again and the whole thing soured me on even giving Flatbread my money again. read more

American Flatbread Brighton - Tastes nothing like it is supposed to. - Pizza Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I came here for a work event and had a phenomenal time. We were able to reserve lanes ahead of time for a VERY affordable price. Our food order was ready for us a soon as we got there and we were about 10 more pizza after arriving and they came ina very timely fashion. They were able to accommodate over 60 of us and we were very comfortable in there as well. I want able to snag pics right when they came out because as you can see my co workers were very hungry lol. The is street parking all over the street but make sure you pay attention to the signage of when you can park. The bowling was fun as well but very different form the typical bowling you would do. They also had craft beers on tap for a moderate price. I do plan on coming back here with some friends. read more

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Candle pin bowling with all sorts of flatbreads and cocktails. An interesting spot that our daughter and husband thought we would enjoy during our visit. A long bar overlooking the alleys with a dining Area behind the alleys. Wide open. We sat upstairs to eat and were then collected by the alley gal when our lane was available. We bowled for $30 an hour. It was fun. The balls are about the size of a bocci ball so the action is quite a bit different than regular bowling. The pins are also thinner and lighter. If you go ask for Alley #1. Food was pretty decent flatbreads we got a Brighton and a pork shoulder both were tasty A very enjoyable evening. We would return. Mark& Nancy. read more

Came here on a Saturday night, with a reservation for a bowling lane. Check-in was great, service was fantastic, and the pizza we ordered was delicious. We ordered a few drinks and had a great time! The smell right when you get there is really potent and it was HOT by the lanes. It sneed like multiple groups recognized were complaining or leaving quickly due to the heat. They do provide water which helped a lot. Great time though! read more