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    Avondale Bowl

    4.3 (57 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)
    Updated a few days ago

    Avondale Bowl Photos

    AVONDALE BOWL ATMOSPHERE

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    Tootsie roll

    The place is really nice! We hosted a staff party here and had a great time with both the atmosphere and the drinks. The Tootsie Roll drink was absolutely delicious--I had about three of them because it was that good. The staff was friendly and the vibe was perfect for a group outing. I'll definitely be coming back, especially for the drinks.

    The Regal Beagle or Avondale Bowl?
    Rebekah S.

    Let's just say I was relieved to be wearing my thrift store find when I walked into Avondale bowl. I was certain The Ropers or Chrissy Snow would greet me and it might actually be The Regal Beagle. Upon further review, it definitely offers more than The Regal Beagle. The drinks are well priced, good and have apt descriptions (aka, Old Style as "watery domestic"). We did not bowl since we were headed to dinner but by god, even if I can't bowl I would most certainly look good bowling there. 10/10 glad cooler people than us shared this gem.

    Love this find!!!!
    Deanna S.

    There is so much to love about this bowling alley! $36 an hour is not bad especially when just couple people. Love the old school feel with cool ball return, awesome decor, and nice lanes to bowl on. Shoes and balls were clean and in great condition. Not sure why I hadn't come here sooner! Can't wait to come back! You do have to keep score but it's not hard and they provide a nice scoring sheet for souvenir. Also had one of the best Long Island ice teas from the bar and it was excellent! Bartender really nice too! All staff were nice and helpful!

    Leland L.

    I absolutely loveedddd this bowling alley!!! They killed it with the modern retro vibe. The space feels clean and updated with the coolest vintage touches. As an interior designer, I am obsessed. Very affordable bowling; it was $50 an hour for a lane on a Saturday, split between 5 of us. The people who work here are super kind, prompt, and helpful! You score the games yourself on paper which is such a fun touch. We had so much fun! Would 100% go out of my way to come bowling here again. Such a unique cool spot!!

    White Russian!
    Tania A.

    We rolled on for Open House Chicago, Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) We found... Amazing cocktails! Vegan White Russian- OMG... DELICIOUS. We'll be back for bowling if the cocktails down kick our butts. Thanks Jeff (and your mixologist- she's awesome... sorry didn't catch your name) for chatting about your passion for craft cocktails and a squeaky clean bar. Taste and Quality- top notch!!

    Ariana G.

    This place is awesome! I've always known about this place but never actually went until I decided to go for my birthday. For those who don't know this is a vintage bowling alley where scoring is manual (so bring your math skills). Tips: - It's also a bar and 21+ after 7:30pm. They are very strict on IDs meaning they won't accept pictures of IDs (they didn't let one of my friends in) - They don't sell food but you are welcome to bring your own - Reservations fill up fast so book well in advance especially on the weekends Me and my friends had a really great time! They also have 3 tables that are free to use by anyone. My only complaint was the service. They are very understaffed - they only had 1 employee in charge of checking people in for their reservations, distributing shoes, and cleaning/preparing the lanes for everyone. So when I approached the employee to ask where to check in, he gave me attitude instantly. Like I get it, I know how it feels to be short staffed and stressed but he gave me attitude the entire night. They definitely need to hire more ppl especially on the weekends!!

    The Messenger Elijah Craig Bourbon, Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur, Orange Bitters
    Jim D.

    I rushed to get her after seeing them being featured on "north America's 50 best bars". What I didn't notice was they made the list solely for aesthetics & not the actual cocktails. The menu seemed intriguing but my drink was subpar. There wasn't anybody"craft cocktail" aspect to it & it tasted like a shot or neat whiskey with a splash of soda versus what the menu explained which was a walnut & orange flavor profile. Cocktail was only $12 & I wanted to try several from the menu but I didn't. Be aware if here to bowl that there's only like four lanes. There's tv in the bar which had the nba playoffs for those who'd like to escape the ball & chain. Nice place & I loved the proximity of the bar to the bowling but there's much better cocktails in the city

    empty bowling alley with bowling lanes
    Marlene S.

    This is the best bowling alley I've ever been too! Vintage vibes without feeling old or stuffy! Not too many lanes, which is nice cause the place doesn't feel crowded or too loud. It was cool to be able to track our own points. I only had beers from the bar so not sure how good the cocktails are. Would definitely return

    Lauren M.

    Great 21+ bowling alley in Chicago. Reservations needed ahead of time from their website; although there are sometimes walk up lanes available. The whole vibe is awesome, retro yet very clean and stylish. The bar is nice, with good beer and cocktail options. Nice weekly specials like a Chicago handshake for $4 on Sundays. They don't have food available. Groups around us brought their own food in, so that must be allowed Events wise Jan 26th they are having trivia & Feb 9th they are doing a karaoke night.

    Interior
    Ilana O.

    The place: this had been on our list for ages so was glad to finally get here. You go upstairs and it's a quaint little old-timer bowling alley. Feels like a neighborhood secret (though I'm sure the word is out). There's a pretty expansive bar, just past the lanes. I had a hard time finding an 8lb ball, but was okay using a 10 lb. You have to keep score yourself, but they have golf pencils and an explanation on each lane to help you out. The taste: limited menu - concessions include chips and candy, but it seems you're allowed to bring in your own food. We saw donuts, cake, and pizza from different vendors for people celebrating different things. We got a couple of beers and a Diet Coke for yours truly. My face: normal smile. Was $54 to rent a lane for an hour. We got through 2 full games and then alternated frames for the third game, and then our time was up. Was a really nice afternoon outing, and then we walked to revolution brewing for dinner.

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    1 year ago

    Beautiful, quaint bowling alley. Clean, friendly staff. Full bar. Suggest making a reservation

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    8 months ago

    Okay let me first say that atmospheres here is actually incredible I mean it. And the balls. Holy cow.

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    Ask the Community - Avondale Bowl

    Review Highlights - Avondale Bowl

    Had a great cocktail and beer selection is well above my expectations for a bowling alley.

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

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    Buffet was good. Food tasted fresh. Seafoods, chicken, beef to all kinds of breakfast foods were…read moreoffered. Sitting outside with nice weather made it even better.

    I have heard of Pinstripes but haven't had a chance to visit until we had our workplace holiday…read moreparty here. I was skeptical but honestly, because of Pinstripes, this may have been the best work party I've been to. I didn't see a lot of the place because I didn't visit the bar upstairs, and we were downstairs for our meeting-party. The meeting room is quite large and accommodated our group of 50 or so people easily. The food was really good too; we had some chicken, Mac and cheese, ribs, and more. The sliders weren't my favorite because they were really pink inside, so I skipped that. The other stuff I had was quite delicious. But the best part was the games. I mean I'm a board game enthusiast but have never played bocce and now I am wondering why not. It was so much fun. I mean I'm ready to buy a lawn set, or join a bocce league or whatever. The rules are simple but it's fun. They also have a really gorgeous patio area that another group was apparently going to be using, and that space is along the riverfront. I would be super glad if we came back to Pinstripes, to the extent that I'm going to make sure our VP knows how much we enjoyed it. There's no dedicated parking so you'll need to take a taxi or find a spot in a nearby lot. Spothero was great for that, since my spot was cheaper than the validated parking that Pinstripes offers.

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    10pin Bowling Lounge - Guinness.

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    3.3(391 reviews)
    5.9 miNear North Side
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    Pretty standard bowling alley with pub style bites and drinks. Good beer selection. Food was…read moremediocre. Decent service. Bowling lanes are in good condition but everything felt dated. Bowling balls are showing signs of wear and tear, and the scoring technology is definitely old school. I wish they had booths for all bowling lanes - instead most had small high top tables which were crowded, awkwardly placed and uncomfortable. Ok for a casual bowling night with friends but nothing special.

    Had an awesome experience here from start to finish. Booking was simple, and everything was ready…read morefor us the moment we walked in. The team working that day went out of their way to make sure we were all set and comfortable before we even hit the lanes. What really stood out was how clearly everything was explained -- super organized, no confusion, and they made the whole process feel easy. Even when we had a couple of questions about our reservation, they handled everything with patience and a genuinely positive attitude. The atmosphere was energetic in the best way, and the lanes were in great shape. It's the kind of place where you can just relax, have fun, and not stress about the details because the staff keeps everything running smoothly. Definitely a spot I'll be coming back to. They turned what could've been a complicated visit into a great time, and that's something I really appreciate.

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    Lucky Strike Chicago

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    Arcade - Many broken or malfunctioning games (almost all coin pusher games had constant errors),…read moreundertrained employees, and no rewards app or bonus offers like that of Dave & Busters. Friendly staff who is trying their best, but don't seem supported by management or corporate in any way. Can't really speak to the other aspects of the business. Have reached out to coorperate folks about this location.

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    Timber Lanes - Small, old school place. Manual scoring.

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    Timber Lanes - The view from lane 1

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    Logan Arcade - Pinball and arcade machines in front of building near main entrance

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    4.5(193 reviews)
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    Is it just my imagination, or did pinball in this arcade used to cost a lot less? I could have…read moresworn there were very few machines that cost a buck and the rest were 25 cents or maybe 50 cents if one wanted to splurge. When I was here yesterday, I found that almost all of them were a buck, a few were 75, and a fewer were 50, and maybe on for 25. Now that said, Logan Arcade does have a tremendous selection of different pinball machines. Many of them are modern Sterns, some are older Bally's, a few old school, and one being the mechanical type with no computers within. There is also a fair selection of other arcade games, some vintage, others a bit newer, which I did not partake in. I have to say though, one of them was Dance Dance Revolution, which I haven't seen for at least 15 years! On the modern side, they have a totally awesome motion + VR-based game, which is a lot of fun to play. Though I am a bit embarrassed because I think you can see how I'm playing right behind me on a massive screen. Still well worth the five bucks for the experience, if for nothing else. Another thing I really like that they do is that instead of operating based on tokens, it's quarters. The one advantage to token is you're able to buy them with a credit card (though usually in $5 increments). Quarters, meanwhile, don't lock you into playing a certain amount of games - get as many quarters as you need and then leave with what you don't- it's US currency, use it anywhere you'd like. Where it comes to their bar service, I can't really comment as I didn't buy anything this time around (the photo is from a few months ago). However, looking at the menu, it seems they are more about cheap options as opposed to anything worthy of writing home about. So we are left with an arcade that is good fun to kill a couple of hours. It's one that has market rates for modern arcade games, cheap classics, and cheap booze. Likely more funs with friends if you are competitive.

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    Great family fun! Lots of activities to choose from. FTW boasts an arcade, bowling, movie theater,…read moreand immersive experiences.

    After 2 long days at a conference in the Chicago suburbs, I wanted to explore Chicago the city. I…read morewanted to have fun and blow off steam. FTW Chicago was just the solution I needed for this. It's up the stairs near the movie theatre. Once you walk in, your senses are inundated by lights, sounds, and the scent of alcohol. It can be a lot to take in but once you get some tokens or a playing card and play your first game, you should be quickly acclimated to your new setting. My friend and my favorites for the night ended up being Skeeball, the milk jug toss, the largest Pac-Man game ever, some of the pinball machines, and the large Connect 4. Honestly, the milk jug toss was a sleeper hit. Don't sleep on it. You can buy a card and add money to it instead of buying tokens. We found that was most convenient and easy for us. You win tickets for each game you play, and there's a cute store where you can claim prizes. The whole place is supposed to have a Steampunk theme. It's not outright obvious, but you can tell by looking at the ceilings or going to the bathroom (there are many stalls and they're very clean!) You can buy food and drinks at the bar and also watch sports. Overall, FTW Chicago would make a great girls' night out or date night, or I could even see coming by myself. Stop by if you're in town.

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    Avondale Bowl - bowling - Updated May 2026

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