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Koz's Mini Bowl

4.6 (106 reviews)
InexpensiveBowling, Dive Bars
Closed • 6:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

Koz's Mini Bowl Photos

KOZ'S MINI BOWL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Loud
Divey
Happy hour specials
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Koz's Mini Bowl

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Reviews With Photos

Michele V.

Me and my family love Koz's Mini Bowl. This is a Milwaukee institution! Think of bowling but with mini bowling ball and small pins, actually called duck bowling! This place is decorated with unique Wisconsin style decor. My favorite is all the taxidermy dressed in MKE gear. The bar offers a variety of drinks and you're welcome to bring in your own food, plus food trucks are often parked outside if you're interested in that. The lane is manually run by workers that consistently set up your pins. Place even runs leagues if you're looking to join in. Super great for all ages of fun! Come see this place in the Southside of Milwaukee!

Rick R.

Koz's mini bowling still seems to be a secret hidden gem, as I still meet people who haven't been there. The lanes date back 90 years, and the pins are manually set by teenagers that you tip after your games. There was a large group celebrating a birthday before us, and our lane reservation was for 90 minutes. NOTE: Koz's is cash only. My friends and I had a blast! Koz's provides an excellent family fun experience!

Moz's bar & mini bowling lanes are 16 feet long
PD G.

Feb2025: We stopped in for adult beverages on way to WKE. Airport! The ambience was so outstanding (We actually had a male pin setter behind 2 lanes. Bowling balls were softball size! ) Koz offers mini bowling tournaments !

I can't say enough about the place. Loved it my whole life. I'm glad people still come down and know how to have a good time. Koz was truly a living legend. He ran away as a child and found himself on a farm in Chippewa Falls all the way from Milwaukee. There at the age of 11 he worked on his uncle's dairy farm where he had seen his first "full" plate of food. He was awarded All Conference Defensive Player of the Year in high school with 5 defensive touchdowns. Later, volunteering for Vietnam for three terms, he earned a bronze star for bravery with two stars for bringing back dead soldiers from behind enemy lines. Also recieving a purple heart among other recognitions. Not only fathered 3 of his own children, adopted two, and fostering 3 more as well. This selflessness did not end there where he and his wife Carol helped out countless neighborhood youth. Teaching them the values of self worth and how to persevere through there personal struggles. The legend of Koz is timeless and I encourage anyone and everyone from all walks of life to give it a try and see if they still know how to have a good time.

Lanes
Jason K.

Koz's is a Milwaukee institution! The bartender, Koz himself, is a trip and reason enough to go into this watering hole. The parking is on the street and never a problem. The real draw besides the great service, regulars, and cheap beers in the lanes. Mini bowling, or duck pin bowling, is a tiny lane with a tiny ball and human pin setters. It's wild. The rules are no walking on the lanes and the ball has to touch the floor before a pin (because that's a real problem). Go with some friends, score crazy high scores, enjoy cheap beers, check out the lion in the corner, have some laughs, and be sure to tip your pin setter. Remember, shoes are free with a lane rental!

The cool kids - holding our bowling balls
Gina L.

We had family here from out of town- what do you do for fun? Of course we went to Koz's! **Koz's is not wheelchair accessible, there is one or two steps to get in. Bring cash- or there is an atm. There is no automatic computer scoring - Download an app or do what I did- searched the recesses of my mind on how to score the game by hand from my long ago high school gym class. I think I got it right; if not, no one else in my party knew how to score by hand. Ha! Call ahead and make a reservation- there are only 4 lanes. Bring a few extra bucks to tip your pin setter- they work hard behind the lanes resetting your pins!. We had a blast, good drinks, great service, lots of fun and definitely takes you back in time.

Tiffany P.

Love this place! We had a company team building event here. Everyone had a great time. Service was great.

Happy birthday Chad!
Ophelia M.

You guys! This place is so cool! Came here for a friend's birthday party, having never been here and having zero experience with mini bowling. Randomly, the week I went, WUWM's Bubbler Talk took a deep dive into the history of duckpin bowling. And, while, Koz's mini bowl is similar to duckpin bowling, it's a bit different (different lane length etc). It is super similar to that, though. If you also have no experience with duckpin bowling OR mini-bowling, here's the sitch: It's similar to regular bowling, in that, there are ten pins and a ball in which to attempt to strike down the pins. The differences: +The pins are a shorter and squatter +The ball, while clearly made of a similar substance, is smaller than a regular bowling ball (maybe just a skosh larger than a softball) and has no finger holes +Here, the lane is actually elevated a step. Because you never step on the wood floored lane, no bowling shoes required! +The lane is significantly shorter than a standard bowling lane Koz's is completely vintage (ie: guessing there have been no updates since they began business in 1978). Unlike more modern bowling alleys, Koz's has human pin setters (I'm not sure why I find this so completely throw-back-thursday delightful, but I do). Those same pin-setters also roll your ball back to you. You'll want to keep an eye on the track (and your fingers) as you grab a ball to bowl, they roll those balls back quickly! The good news? You'll likely bowl the best game of your life. Strikes aren't such a rare thing in mini-bowling. That's ok. You can still make everyone high-five you when you get one. I did. Beyond that, the bar is dive-tastic, serving simple, strong drinks as any good dive bar should. Bowling costs $5 per person and you should definitely make reservations (not sure if they take reservations for anything less than parties?) as there's only four lanes in the joint. You'll also want to throw in a few extra bucks to tip the pin setters. They are seriously hustling! All in all, a definitely, must-try spot in Milwaukee (sort of as Milwaukee as it gets, I think!). Get to it!

Mini bowling balls
Johnny M.

I found this tavern on a list of unique bars in the USA. They have Mini bowling with four small lanes. There are human pinsetters to set up the small bowling pins. What a cool place to experience in Milwaukee.

Jessica T.

My family of 5 had so much fun at Kozs. The staff was very friendly and we were greeted immediately upon entering. We grabbed tacos from the food truck El Tapatio across the street, which they recommended. Yum! We had a great experience

Chadrick J.'s birthday bash!
Paul V.

I am reviewing Koz's live at Chadrick J's 44th birthday bash. This place is an easy five stars because I've never seen any place like it on earth. Four lanes of mini bowling, two pinsetters working their asses off to reset the pins, and a lively fun bar. Is this place from the 19th century or what?!? I highly recommend Koz's for a truly unique experience.

Your proprietor.

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Reviews are largely positive. Many enjoy the historic bowling experience and say it is welcoming for all ages, with manual pin setting and unique decor adding charm.

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1 year ago

So so fun!!!! Enjoyed by kids and grandkids - expect it will be a repeated event when they visit again

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3 years ago

Great experience and so Wisconsin! Very attentive staff and outstanding pinsetters to take care of our personal party!

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4 years ago

Great place! Fun atmosphere and nice people. Great Milwaukee spot! Check. It out!!

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Review Highlights - Koz's Mini Bowl

“Came here for a friend's birthday party, having never been here and having zero experience with mini bowling.”

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Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers

3.4(16 reviews)
0.6 mi•Bay View
•$

Baby Boomers has one of those unassuming, excellent dive bar fish fries. You hear about it through…read moreword of mouth, and there aren't many Yelp reviews. Most patrons appear to be regulars. Many are old white men w/long hair. But no one gives you that "non-regular" cold shoulder like some corner bars. We came at 6 on a Friday. The bar wasn't too busy. There were a few tables in the back, and a few empty spots at the bar. It's a small place. By the time we left at 7, it had filled a little more. I grabbed a table in the back, but after ordering food at the bar, I decided to move to the bar. The bartender gave us little crafted wooden boards that fit the bar, to give us a little table top. It didn't take long for our food. The three generous pieces of cod had a perfect thin crispy coating. Potato pancakes had the classic density, nice crispy outside, soft oniony inside. Coleslaw and rye, your usual. The fries are good but potato pancakes are worth the $1 upgrade. Make sure you bring cash! No credit cards taken, but they do have a $3 fee ATM. All in all, this is one of those great spots to hit after a long day of work, when you want to avoid a big crowd, and you just want a satisfying classic fish fry. Plus a $3.50 1/2 pitcher of PBR and an Andi's Candy at the end, I am a happy camper.

Stopped by this bar in our neighborhood for fish fry takeout after walking past so many times and…read moresaying we need to try it because the sign is so funny. The fish fry was pretty good. I've had better but I've had worse. Absolutely loved the potato pancakes and fries. I got the feeling that everyone there knows each other. It reminds me of dive bars in small town Wisconsin, so it's kind of fun to get that same feeling in the city. I'd like to stop in sometime and sit at the bar rather than do takeout - I think that would give us the full experience.

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Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers - Fish fry at boomers... Unexpectedly good!

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Fish fry at boomers... Unexpectedly good!

Koz's Mini Bowl - bowling - Updated October 2026

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