This weekend was my third visit to Bourbon Bowl. It's a very neat concept and I really want to like it, but it's been average to slightly above-average each visit. My first visit was just for drinks as part of a bar crawl night with friends, and we had a good experience at the outdoor patio for a few cocktails and beers. That visit made me want to come back.
My second visit was focused on bowling as the primary plan, though we got an appetizer (street corn dip - decent) and drinks that night as well. That was a mid-week visit so we were able to get drinks and a bowling lane quickly without a wait, and was overall enjoyable.
This weekend (on a Saturday night), we went specifically wanting to have dinner and bowl. It was extremely busy, with a 90-100 minute wait for a bowling lane, and a 20-25 minute wait for a table to eat. It's January so it's chilly, but I was disappointed to see the entire outdoor patio going unused, while a bunch of outdoor heaters were lined up inside by the bowling alleys. With the use of heaters, they could have greatly decompressed the inside.
We ended up going to the bar to get a cocktail while waiting for a table, and once we squeezed into the crowded bar and ordered, I was disappointed that it took nearly 15 minutes to get 3 cocktails. In fact, by the time we had ordered and paid, we got the text message that our table was now ready for dinner. Granted, they were good cocktails, but I can't fathom how a downtown bar can run that slowly.
As dinner goes - Food was good. Our group had the French Dip sandwich, the Caribbean Pasta, and the Inferno burger. We also got the Gutter Ball Nachos as an appetizer. The chili on the nachos was interesting since it contained beans and was fairly sweet, but it was overall good. The burger was ordered well done but came out much closer to medium (so I'd be skeptical that ordering medium is going to come very undercooked.) That said, food was overall good with resoundingly positive reviews from the table.
Now for the negatives - They charge a 3.92% card surcharge on all tickets, something which irritates me and that I think should be built into the cost of items since most customers will pay with a card. It's deceptive to not display this information until you get your check at the end of the meal. It should at least be openly disclosed on the menu, if not baked into the pricing. I was also surprised to see a note on the receipt that they force a 20% gratuity on all tabs after 11pm, which seems like an odd choice. I somewhat understand (but don't like) forced gratuity on large parties, but it's not like the workload of the server suddenly changes at 11pm. That feels like a way to take advantage of people near the end of the night after they've had a few drinks, and again is not disclosed upfront.
Timing worked well that our bowling lane was ready shortly after dinner. Space is limited and this is a Saturday night, but I still think $45 is pretty steep for an hour of bowling, especially to throw on required shoes at $4/pair above that.
As for the bowling experience - It was decent, but we found the software to be buggy and skipped bowlers or frames multiple times for no apparent reason. Also, the lanes did not seem properly waxed and it was difficult to get a good spin on the ball because they gripped so much. While the large leather couches were neat, those combined with the large tables made space limited and led to a lot of awkward shuffling past each other to take turns bowling. They could use more space.
In summary - A very busy space which is better in the warmer months when the outside patio is open. Decent but slow bar. Good food. Deceptive pricing practices. Decent but expensive bowling. It's a good option for an occasional stop, but not something I would frequent or base my whole night around. read more