Dowling scoring system, adjusted for venue. Ambiance: 7/10 Drinks: 8/10 Activity: 10/10 Value: 9/10 --------------- Total: 34/40 read more

Went with family and friends and had a blast. Most of us were first-timers, and the owner (Bo) was friendly and helpful. We'll definitely go again! read more

Such a fantastic, fun experience thanks to the party leader! He taught us games, how to throw, and gave us tips throughout it. He even let us throw longer since we went on a non-busy day. We had such a blast. The drinks were great! Such a reasonable price too per person. This is perfect for a party or date night. read more

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Decent selection of beers. Friendly staff. Would have preferred some finger food but they don't have a kitchen. I feel the axe throwing is slightly expensive and gets boring after a while. Not as fun as other similar activities. I'm not sure if there a way to keep scores while playing. read more

Visiting the area and looking for something fun to do - Axes and Ales was just the right thing! We called ahead and made a reservation- they required payment for 1 upfront ($28 included tax) and asked that the waivers be filled out prior to arriving. We have thrown several times before so after hearing their rules we showed our skill level and then we're allowed to enjoy axe throwing. An hour went by quickly and we had a blast! They were not busy so we were allowed to use 2 lanes. Erik was our instructor and he was great - he made helpful suggestions and helped us improve our skills - But also gave us space to have fun vs structured classes we have had with other place- we enjoyed this flexibility! read more

I recently had a party here for about 15 people in the back room. It was a great setup and we loved having our own space to hang out. Beau was great with giving us instructions about throwing and organizing a game once we had enough practice. It was really nice to have 90 minutes vs just 60. We brought in outside food, which they recommended, and that worked really well. The only thing I would want for the future is more table space to set up food, since just having the slim counters was kind of tough. read more

The staff was very informative. The drinks were good. Bo is a great host! Had fun!! With the staff's assistance, I got my throw down after a couple practice throws. If you've been contemplating trying them out, go for it. You won't be disappointed!! Great social distancing practices in place. read more

Axes & Ales - Night of fun - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Rochester, New York

What an awesome spot! I was looking for something unique to do with my nephew on a Friday afternoon and I'm so happy I found Axes and Ales. I emailed them early in the week to reserve a space and I received an email confirmation and a phone call. We were able to bring our own food and they even provided plates. My nephew loved the scratch and sniff wall too! We were given a great tutorial on throwing the axes and throughout our visit he came back to check on us and give me and my nephew tips. The beer list was great too! Everything felt clean and sanitary. I will definitely be back. Fantastic service annnnd I never realized how much I enjoyed throwing axes read more

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My husband and I stopped in here because the bar we were going to go to wasn't open until 9. We never ended up going because we were having such a good time at Axes and Ales. Our bartender Justin was extremely nice, the throwing instructor Erik was great and we even hung out with the owner, Beau, who you can tel puts his heart and soul into the establishment. Thanks again for a fun night read more

Axes & Ales - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Rochester, New York

As someone who has an incredible fear of axes and lumber, I was surprised to have had SUCH a fun time! I have hurd from friends and family that this place is extreme and I had to try for myself? read more

Get in your car and come here! We had a small event to celebrate and it was so much fun! Our host Eric taught us proper throwing and safety and walked us through a few practice rounds. The beer selection was good and you can order food in as their kitchen is still in the works! I have two more events planned and can't wait to bring my family over the holidays! read more

A fun place to spend a couple hours and blow off some steam. It's a little pricey to throw axes for an hour but it's a cool place to come if you've never been. A decent selection of beers on tap and plenty more canned/bottled options. I had a good time here - but I don't know how often I would come back. It's more of a novelty! read more

We booked Axes & Ales for our 2019 company holiday party back in December. As we hit the first week of December we had to change the date. The owner Beau was very accommodating and had no problems changing the date. We ended up going this past Friday and had an AMAZING time! The staff was friendly and helpful, and everyone had an awesome time. We all figured we'd be bouncing axes off the walls the entire night, but it was surprisingly easy to learn which made it all the more fun. Thanks to Beau and his awesome team for making this the most memorable eHealth Technologies holiday party to date! read more

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First time axe throwing, Erik and Bo were so helpful. Definitely recommend for a fun time with friends or family. Had a blast! read more

Axes & Ales - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Rochester, New York

We had a great time throwing axes and getting funky! Justin was our couch, and he delivered! It was a perfect combination of jokes, insightful help on techniques and safety procedures. We will definitely be back! read more

The place itself and was nice and the ax throwing was very fun. Unfortunately, within minutes the owners immature and unprofessional attitude made way. I won't go into details, but he should probably hire someone with basic customer service and communication skills to work before this place goes under. I think we will head to the other ax throwing place in Rochester next time. What a shame! read more

The alcohol was flowing.. but the food was not. No food offered or available so they are not in accordance with the current New York State guidelines during this pandemic. One person was working for four different groups of people and there was no social distancing. He was making comments and touching people on shoulders, arms, or waists which made everyone uncomfortable. If we hadn't already paid to reserve a lane we would have just left..but we're too cheap for that! The axe throwing itself was fun but taken a bit too seriously by the man working there at times.. all in all I will not be back and wish I had read the other reviews on Yelp and Facebook before deciding to try it out. read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. My husband wanted to go to them for his 30th birthday weekend in the worst way, so a month and a half before I started calling them to make a reservation. Since I couldn't get through to them after calling multiple times and it says on the website that you can email for a reservation, I sent an email. The emailer stated you needed a phone number to book, so I left my phone number on the email. After 7 emails back and forth, he said I would have to call to confirm the booking, and I mentioned that it's almost impossible to get through to them, since the voicemail is full and the phone just gives a busy signal the entire time. I called on a whim a week and a half before his birthday weekend and they finally picked up, but I wasn't at a place where I had a credit card with me, so I let him know, and after I booked he said I would have to call back to confirm with a card, I called everyday for that week and a half, not getting through to these people, and when I finally did, the day of the appointment, they said there was no record and they were completely booked up and incredibly rude. Thankfully Bad Axes could get us in and we're incredibly helpful and accommodating for Axes and Ales shitty service, go there instead, this place and the owner are planning to run this place into the ground. read more

Waited fifteen minutes without anyone at cash register, finally came to cash register only to take the person in front of us, not acknowledge us and walked away. Very poor customer service. Left without throwing axes, real shame looked fun. read more

Myself, my boyfriend and another couple decided to try out Axes & Ales as a unique weekend outing. When we first arrived, it's extremely unclear where you should go to check-in - find a bartender to help you out. We were lucky to be paired up with a great group of people so that was exciting! However, it took quite a turn for us due to the unprofessionalism of our "trainer". He made several snide comments and I felt he was extremely annoyed of us (note: we were not being an unruly crew!). His attitude put a damper on the evening for us - I was ready to leave because of him. Another unfortunate aspect this establishment was the lack of staff. If the trainer was helping out with lanes, the bar would be unattended for long periods of time. In the end, the game itself was a great time. I will definitely do this again, but perhaps at another establishment. read more

Justin and Eric were awesome! they were very helpful and fun to be around. I will definitely be back again.

Owner was very rude and condescending. I asked for a bud light--which was on tap behind him--and he refused to serve it to me. He said "I don't serve shitty beer here." WTF dude? Then why do you have it on tap? read more

My friends and I have been looking forward to trying Axes and Ales for a while. We went to their site which stated we could book via email or calling. Over the past 3 weeks, Beau has sporadically responded and stated to call. My friend and I have both tried to call to reserves a day/time, but no one answers the phone and the voicemail box is full! Tried explaining this through email and their response was to "leave a contact number". Reiterated in a response email that their inbox was full. We will be trying a different axe throwing location and will hopefully have a better experience. read more

Went on a Saturday afternoon and it was a blast. Justin was great! Set us up, got us into a fun game and we were throwing... Beer list is plenty with Great selection of NYS Brews. This is a cool place and Justin & Bo make it a pleasure for sure. read more

The person that was in charge of my group was drunk, rude and annoying. He was constantly hitting on the women in the group. He was also trying to set the owner up with one of the women from another group. The owner introduced himself and then went to flirt and drink more. The owner was studdering and clearly intoxicated. This is unacceptable and unprofessional behavior.. read more

Great experience over all. We made a reservation prior to our party arrivals. They treated us promptly upon arrival, we got a through tutorial and demonstration on axe throwing prior to our scheduled time. Place has a great atmosphere and was a lot of fun. Sales staff was helpful and professional. read more

.... Apparently not LGBT friendly, very judgmental, bartender made offensive comment to my girlfriend,not cool.

Went to this place on a Saturday night before 11 pm. The hours on the door say they're open til midnight. Around 11:30 we started to get the vibe and dirty looks from the staff that we weren't supposed to be there. We even asked if they were closing and they said no. It should also be noted that the axe throwing closes at 9, which doesn't appear to be listed anywhere. I would not go back. read more

This was our first time visiting Axes and Ales and we had a great experience! Our instructor, Eric, was very friendly and fun and gave a great tutorial on axe throwing. In addition to the great service here, the ambience was very cool. We will definitely be back! read more

I made a reservation for my fiances birthday. The drinks were awesome. Such a good and fun environment. Bethany was an awesome host! We will definitely be back! read more

Had a blast throwing Axes! Got a real hang of it just durring the first visit. Instructors were very helpful on form and technique, and made it fun! Dont listen to the other Axeholes who give bad reviews! This place rocks! Would definitely go again! read more

I lost my coat - someone in another group had taken it completely by mistake. Staff was so kind and helpful and was able to track them down. They returned my coat with everything intact. Lost coat aside, we had a great time! Awesome experience, friendly staff. Thank you guys! read more

Had a great time and their tap list was one of the best I've seen since being in Rochester! Definitely a great way to pass an hour or more with friends! read more

Owner was very friendly and helpful to us who had never done this before! We had a blast and can't wait to come back! Great selection of beers as well. read more

This is the absolute MUST GO to place in Rochester. The staff was phenomenal and there is nothing better than throwing a good axe. Once they get the liquor license I think it will be the new hot spot in town. read more

Extremely unprofessional staff. The individual who was giving us our safety demonstration and tutorial was increbibly hostile towards our group. I can't even count the amount F-bombs he dropped in casual conversation, or the amount of times he went way too far by blatantly insulting one of my coworkers in the tone of "gentle ribbing". He lacked any type of self awareness whatsoever and he made everyone feel extremely uncomfortable. Generally it was one of the most abrasive customer service experiences I've dealt with and I would have walked out had one of my coworkers not already put down a deposit for our session. To make matters worse, our instructor did not instruct our group on the proper speed to throw an axe so I wound up being yelled at by the owner for throwing too hard. There was zero warning for this, the owner just walked right up to me and angirly threatened to kick me out if I did it again. Had our safety instructor warned us about this it could have all been avoideed. It seemed like the owner just wanted to "flex his muscles" a bit in font of the throwing league that was there. The whole experience was a total nightmare and I hope others don't make the same mistake that my coworkers and I did. read more

What a dumb idea. Whoever came up with mixing alcohol and throwing axes needs their head examined. How long before the first casualty? Oh wait! They don't have ale or any alcohol for that matter. They should rename it Axes and Soda but it just doesn't have the same ring to it now does it. Maybe Axes and Water. No, that doesn't work either. And what good is it to stay untill closing and try to get lucky. They close at 10pm and nobody is intoxicated. So you can go only home alone and dream of throwing axes while drinking ale. read more

A group of us were in town for a wedding and decided to give this place a try. No one in the group had ever done it before and thought it would be fun. The moment we walked in the door the guy at the counter was a complete jerk. First, it started with registration and the disclaimer. After insulting every one in the entire group during that process, he proceeded to insult everyone fulfilling drink orders. A few of us thought maybe this is part of some "edgy" kind of act for entertainment purposes. But, we quickly came to the conclusion that, no, he's just an obnoxious jerk that could care less about our business or ensuring that we enjoyed the lame experience. Then he proceeded to provide the group with "instructions" on how to throw the axe without lopping your toes off. He emphasized that the women in our group with "open toed" shoes could not participate while at the same time, the women in the next stall with "open toed" shoes were throwing axe after axe. So much for consistency. I guess our girls weren't his cup of tea. Soon after he ended his rude rant we all decided to bolt. We were having far more fun than we could stand. At any rate, unless you are completely starved for entertainment you might want to avoid this place. I think I'd rather stay home and drill holes in my head. read more

Unfortunately after a fun evening with friends and a group of people we didn't know (they overbooked us and added us to another party) the owner completely ruined the experience. As we were winding down paying apparently one of the guys in the other group threw the axe too hard. Instead of being asked to not do that, the owner flew over to him yelling calling him a prick and a.hole and kicked him out. The poor kid didn't even have a chance to say a word and when my husband tried to calm him down he turned to him with the same name calling and anger. At this point the bouncer and manager could do nothing but apologize for his behavior and say it was because he was drunk. Alt this point we just asked to close out our tab. He swore and name called my husband the entire time he was paying as well as a female in the other group also trying to close out her tab. This guy is unhinged and probably should think about drinking less if he doesn't want to go out of business. No way I'd ever return here. read more

We went to Axes & Ales for a friends birthday and we will never be back to this establishment. The staff came across very abrasive during his instructions. We all had a great time throwing axes and had a decent competition going with another group until the owner came over and started screaming and getting in one of the guys faces. Apparently this gentlemen threw the axe too hard. I can agree it needed to addressed for safety reasons but there is no reason to scream at a group of people. It was so bad the staff had to pull the owner away from the group and apologize to everyone in our group. Clearly the owner and the staff had been drinking, so tell me again about your safety rules. It's pretty sad when the entire staff is saying "this happens all the time". We all wanted to pay our tabs and were about to leave when I saw the bartender asking the host for a tip. Completely unprofessional after the experience we just had. We did tip the instructor in cash but after the over the top reaction from the owner I'm pissed we even paid to be there. I will never be returning and I will tell anyone who will listen to NEVER go to this place. They're unprofessional, a safety hazard and belligerent. read more