I thought I completed the holiday circuit, however, one more to go. Well...I certainly hope so. This holiday party was held at Main Event Austin, which I had never frequented. I was not prepared for the sensory explosion I experienced when entering Main Event. Lights, camera, action - bright lights permeated throughout the building, sounds of the games being played sharpened your senses and the roar of the crowd within the building felt like you were nearing the end of a race finish line. Let's talk about this place...Main Event Austin is an ideal location for entertainment and fun for every age group! The venue has an assortment of activities to choose from - bowling, arcade games, laser tag, and billiards. Main Event is perfect for families, friends, or group outings. There were a variety of customers present - bowlers, several groups having private parties in the party rooms towards the back of the facility, billiard players and a plethora of arcade customers. Wow! We had a pizza party with a variety of pizza being served. Drinks were on your own, if you chose to have adult beverages. It is always interesting to see work colleagues in a non-work setting. Dan, our server, was attentive and managed to keep multiple individual tabs straight by assigning a number to each customer. Had fun...felt like a kid again... read more

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I recently had my son's 9th birthday at this location and needless to say we had several issues. I booked online and once I put the $100 deposit, I got an email and text confirming my 12:30pm party for Saturday afternoon. Then several hours later we were notified that our party needed to be pushed back to 2:30pm because of a buyout, ok sure. Main Event coordinator apologized and offered items to make up for the mistake and booking issue. Then I noticed on the contact a 12% service fee ($46 and some change), I asked the event coordinator and she explained that the 12% goes to the event host/server. This was not the case it was a 12% booking fee that goes to the front office staff. WOW! 12% to book online?!?! Seriously?! The server was the one who explained it to me. When I asked the manager on duty she gave me attitude and basically said "you signed the contract so you have to pay it". The day of the party it didn't seem like everyone was on the same page, our host/server did the best he could and apologized several times but it was out of his hands. The pizza came out late and the wings arrived 40 minutes after the pizza. The pizza was not hot and the wing platter turned out to be wings, tenders and nuggets. We ate the wings and tried to return the tenders and nuggets but no manager came to the table. We took care of the host/server with cash tip but we definitely don't recommend this place for birthday parties or gatherings. read more

Formal Complaint Regarding Staff Conduct and Billing Issue Main Event - Austin, TX Location: 13301 N US 183 Hwy Frontage Rd N, Austin, TX 78750, United States I am writing to formally complain about an extremely unprofessional and disappointing experience my party and I had at the Main Event location listed above. From the moment we arrived, the staff was rude, but we brushed it off and tried to enjoy our time. There were four of us, and we purchased an hour of bowling. While bowling, we ordered a food platter for approximately $65. Within five minutes, we decided we would rather have a pizza instead. When we informed our waiter, Jay, he responded with an attitude and stated that changing the order would "piss the cooks off." Despite this, we apologized and proceeded with the pizza order along with two margaritas. The margaritas were ordered during happy hour, yet we were charged full price. Although annoyed, we again brushed it off because we were trying to have a good time. While I was bowling, the waiter approached my fiancée to close out the check without consulting me. She paid a total of $109, but was never offered or given a receipt, nor was she given the option to select a tip. This immediately felt unusual. I then tracked down the waiter to request a receipt. Shortly after, he randomly brought us free ice cream, which felt suspicious. Upon reviewing the receipt, I noticed a $30 tip had been added without our authorization. Given the poor service, this was extremely upsetting. When I addressed this with the waiter, he claimed it was an automatic 18% gratuity. However, our subtotal before tip was approximately $80, and 18% of that would be around $14--not $30. This confirmed that he was being dishonest. I went to the front desk to speak with a manager. Before addressing me, the waiter ran up and spoke to the manager first. When the manager, Ashton, finally approached me, he immediately put his hand up and said, "I'm deleting it," before I had even explained the issue. This made it clear the waiter had already admitted wrongdoing. Eventually, the manager canceled the $109 charge and re-ran the check correctly at $80, this time allowing us to select a tip. There was no automatic gratuity, confirming the waiter had lied and attempted to take $30 without authorization. I explained that: * The waiter attempted to steal money and lied about gratuity * The manager addressed the issue without first listening to me * No real effort was made to properly resolve or compensate for the experience When I asked how the situation would be made right, the manager stated canceling the charge was sufficient. I expressed that the entire experience had been unprofessional and disappointing, and that most businesses would offer some form of compensation in a situation this serious. At that point, the manager became hostile, raised his voice, falsely accused me of being rude, and told me to stop "trying to do his job." He then threatened to call the police if I did not leave. While exiting, he yelled profanity behind the front desk, called me a "fcking dck," stated he did not care about my dissatisfaction, and repeatedly shouted "Bye, bye, bye." This behavior was completely unacceptable--especially from a manager. Because of this experience, I will not be returning to this Main Event location. Immediate action is needed regarding staff conduct, management behavior, and billing practices. The waiter involved was Jay, and the manager was Ashton. I hope this complaint is taken seriously, as no customer should ever experience this level of disrespect or attempted theft. read more

We celebrated our daughter's bday here along with my husband and had the best time! Staff was friendly, place was clean, food was fresh and warm. of course the arcade machines are in pristine state, come to have some fun read more

Main Event Austin - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Yesterday was my birthday, and we wrapped up the celebration at Main Event with some bowling and drinks with friends. We stopped by earlier that day to make a reservation, and the staff at the front desk were incredibly friendly and helpful. That evening, we checked in, grabbed our shoes, and bowled for about two hours. Our server, West, was absolutely amazing--he was a whole vibe! Super attentive, on top of everything, and just made the night even better. If you get the chance to have him as your server, you won't be disappointed! So I ordered the fried pickles, and they were outstanding--crispy, hot, and perfectly done. The jalapeño ranch was straight fire. My cousin and I demolished them in no time. Highly recommend! My cousin got the sliders, which came out fresh, but the burger patties could've used a bit more seasoning (maybe a 7 out of 10). Pro tip: add some of that jalapeño ranch to them--it bumps it right up to a solid 8. I had three espresso martinis (with Baileys), and they were solid--definitely a 6.8/10, but I enjoyed them enough to go back for more. Overall, we had a fantastic time! My wife and I already love their Monday night date-night deal with the wristband bowling specials, so we'll definitely be back. If you're in the area, Main Event is worth checking out--especially if you get West taking care of you! read more

Main Event Austin - I'm the 171. That's me spanking everyone else that evening!! Happy bday to me!! - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

We come here for kids bowl free and it's a great deal honestly especially if you have your own shoes. The only caveat is that they place the kids bowl free peopl all together on one side, last I was there some lady was complaining about being too close to another family because they were larger. I'm sorry but people can get too entitled, it's not that serious. We have fun especially because you can get the bumpers and one of those animal shaped ball guide. I don't know the official name so I'm going with that. The food and drinks are on par with a sports bar but it's nice they have a separate dining area and arcade area and alot of parking. read more

We love coming here during the day to play pool. But they have so much more to do! If you complete the survey on your receipt you get $10 of free game play the next time you're there. We ate an early dinner here and loved our food. I had the taco smash tacos with crispy Parmesan Brussel sprouts as my side. It was so yummy. Hubby loved his Sunny side Up burger too! We like the cleanliness of this place. There is a little bit of maintenance needed in the women's bathroom in the first and second stall. And sometimes there is a little sand on the pool tables from a nearby billiards table. But all in all everything is well maintained. We will definitely be back! read more

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How can anyone give this place such a bad rating? It's AWESOME! Came here on a day off with my husband and two boys (6/7) and had a blast. The laser tag was fun - two stories and enough time to really sweat. The mini golf was visually incredible. The bowling was great and the arcade is HUGE. Didn't try any food but they have a full bar which is a nice option. Everyone we encountered was kind, professional, and helpful. It's crazy and chaotic and better than we expected. Will return. read more

Everything was great at our visit to Main Event, Austin, TX! Our team building event Funcilitator Cameron was amazing. Friendly, funny, and attentive. We bowled, did a scavenger hunt, and enjoyed the arcade. We also had a fajita bar setup and dessert. Everything was yummy and fresh! I definitely recommend this location and Cameron! read more

Main Event Austin - Team Building Event - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

Best place to go bowling and have a fun evening with the kids. So much to do and a they have everything from arcades to bowling to laser tag. It's exactly what you expect in terms of food, quality, and experience but we always come away having had a good time. read more

Had a great time tonight. Jay provided excellent service. As always a great time! Great place for a party. read more

Main Event Austin - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

Ashton, thank you for your amazing hospitality! servers and bartenders are mature and respectful. Build your own pizza is definitely the way to go! Bloody mary made on 1/30 at 9 pm was 10/10 read more

Update: The business response is a canned response with guidance that leads to nowhere. No effort and a horrendous organization top down you should avoid at all cost. Waited in line for over 30 minutes just to get in due to them being under staffed. The daily promo expired no joke the exact minute we were finally up so we paid double and they wouldn't honor the deal. We hadn't been here in a few years and after walking 1 lap and being number 23 on a wait list somehow for bowling when it wasn't even busy, we headed back to the front. The place also smelt horrific. Just a gross cesspool of misery. We had to wait in line again for probably another 20 minutes and deal with attitude when we politely asked for a refund. Felt like I was in an episode of the old show PunkD. At least it was a great example to my son of how to keep your cool. We couldn't leave fast enough. Absolutely disgraceful. read more

Amazing vibes, loved the workers, and had an AMAZING TIME. Special props to Nicholas hebert our server, def a very welcoming vibe, I'll 100% be returning with more friends!!! read more

This place has newer management or something - boy has it gone from pretty good to great! The food was excellent! Good job Besos - keep it up whatever you are doing and we will keep coming back. Wonderful Texmex, margaritas, frozen drinks, chips and salsa, etc. It was all super. Thank you! It's been a while since we came here last but I am so glad we came again and now we will be coming back much sooner this next time. Yum. Our kids and friends enjoyed it too - we all had a fun casual evening in a nice clean environment . Highly recommend. read more

Amazing staff and atmosphere!! Such a great way to spend your weekends!! My friends and I have been coming here for a while and each time it's an amazing experience! read more

Roxy in the bar area is truly amazing! She's a great team player and so fun! She made out experience so fun and I love her for the energy she provided. Highly recommend going to her and the service was amazing! read more

Customer service is great! Food is extremely good and we've never had any issues when coming here (:

Very friendly staff and a place for all ages ! The food came fast and enjoyable and nice prices to have a nice time !!!!!

I took my son and his friends here for his 12th birthday. It was early evening on a Saturday and not too busy. I purchased the "all play pass" for 5 boys and they spent about 3 hours doing everything. Right now the rock walls were not open but there was plenty to do. We had great food service and the staff was very friendly, present, and helpful. The kids loved the pretzels and they had gluten friendly options on the menu. Some of the games were missing the correct number of balls and a couple were broken. However, If a game took my credits I found plenty of staff to help. All in all, it was a successful birthday experience for my kiddo. read more

Main Event Austin - No No-Bun Burger Bowl - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

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My husband and I came here with some friends for a game night and it did not disappoint! We purchased the all you can play activity pass with the added gel blaster and it came out to like $39 each. We were able to play multiple rounds of gel blaster, laser tag, mini golf and bowling. Totally worth the $39 for the wristband! We also purchased a game card for about $30 to play some games. The prices definitely add up so be prepared or come on a discount day! We got a couple drinks from the bar, ordered a few while bowling, and got some food. Everything was good, no complaints! Even with how busy it was everything came out quickly. The only bummer about this location is the condition of the mini golf. There's graffiti all over, broken walls, busted decor. It's not super noticeable because of the black light but you can definitely see it. Best part of the night was the Gel Blasters! Think paint balling but with tiny water beads. still stings a bit depending on how close you get shot but it's so much fun! Definitely recommend! read more

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What a rip off. Since when did bowling for an hour with with your kids become $75 without food lol. And $10 in fees. Lol. No thanks read more

Main Event Austin - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

I've been here before, but it's been a while. It's not really a place I would go on a regular basis, so keep that in mind. It would be great for families. I had yet another company event here (my only experiences) and it was fun. The food (a Tex-Mex buffet style) was ok. Nothing spectacular, but ok. We had 3 hours of games and 2 lanes of bowling reserved. I was not physically able to bowl that day, but it was fun to watch the team bowling. Hilarious that the top score was 110! I'm a bit of a bowling snob, so I probably wouldn't bowl here. I see they have also migrated to the pins on strings clearing technique. Makes me a bit sad. No loud crashing flying pins. Games were fun and I know the laser tag really is a blast. read more

What a cool place! I usually don't go bowling but I absolutely loved this place! Bowling was super affordable at about 40 dollars for 4 of us! The music is so good here I love the mood it sets! The led lights on the lane contribute to the vibe and they have food drinks and a full bar. The servers come to your lane to take your order and deliver food. They also have an arcade if bowling isn't your thing. Bathrooms are clean and nice. This place is fun for any occasion family night, date night, girls night. I can't wait to return! read more

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A few friends invited me here on a Thursday night for bowling. We had a reservation but it was kind of busy, we waited 30 minutes for our lane to become available. Keep in mind they only provide shoes for a party of 5 you will have to split parties if your group is bigger than that. For our wait, we were told you can play 30 minutes of games for free! Just sign up on their website, verify at the counter and they then provided cards for us to play games for free 99! I loved that. We ordered a few appetizers and it was all affordable: the chips and queso trio, fries and cheese fries. Everything tasted just fine--not great but it's like movie theater food, basic. Drinks were extremely cheap as well but I know why, the quality was terrible. I wasn't comfortable ordering another drink due to the rude service and low quality of ingredients. Great places to go for games and laughs. read more

The Yelp reviews were poor for this location, but I decided to give it a try anyway. Just to have the waitress engage in fraud by adding an almost 25% tip to my check without my knowledge or consent. I literally saw her twice when I was bowling, to place my order and to settle the check. She never came back ask how the food was or see if we needed more drinks or anything. Then she lied and told me that gratuity was mandatory. She had an attitude when I asked her what the alleged mandatory gratuity percentage was and responded "I don't know," while rolling her eyes. The couple in the lane next to us seemed upset when they received their check, but they didn't question it. Who knows how many other guests she lied and told that there was mandatory gratuity. The fact that our waitress took my card then placed it on the table and walked over to me, as I was bowling and asked me for my phone number to text me a receipt raised a red flag as I hadn't seen an itemized check or had an opportunity to select a tip. I spoke with a manager who apologized and said he reversed the charge and took a discount off of the bill for the inconvenience. Four days later I see that both charges went through on my card. I don't know if fraud and scamming is a common practice at this establishment, but I have all my receipts and I'll let my bank handle it at this point. The food was mediocre. Bowling attendants were rude and seemed miserable working there, but the bowling was fun. The attendant at mini golf was really nice. read more

Main Event Austin - Final check - Bowling Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This place was fun in the past but my most resent visit was unpleasant. We were celebrating my brothers birthday, looking for a place to play pole and have some drinks. Two pole tables open-unused. Waited 5min to get told it's and hour wait we decided to wait and grab a drink at the bar. Bartender was all attitude, we asked for 4 beers, a water and if he could make a mocktail. He said we don't make that. And slammed an empty water cup in front of me. Not to mention he poured the wrong beer and my bf politely said oh this looks like a xx not modelo and he said it's modelo. My brother then pulled his modelo and compared it to the xx he gave us. And he said oh yea I must of poured the wrong one, they are right next to each other. We said no worries and it's understandable. But the attitude given throughout the whole process was unnecessary. 7 min later we got the table which was a good surprise but 3 min into our game the person at the front came to us and said we had 10 min left. It was just weird the vibes were off. read more

The service was amazing, our waiter has hilarious and great at suggesting drinks we might like. The games are reasonably priced if you buy the higher priced card. Our kids loved every minute of the games and picking out prizes at the end. My husband did, too! Our food was really good as well. Our large party had almost everything on the appetizer menu and everything we had was delicious. Bathrooms were really clean, our empty drink glasses were remove quickly, the food came out fast and everyone had a great time. Nice location for sure! read more

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This used to be a great place. Now I will probably never be back amd recommend no one else go ether. Approx. 100 people here with one server that is clearly over it. 10 minutes to get a drink. Food is decent but we had to go hunting to find our own silverware and still havnt found plates. Bowling was replaced with this horrible string system that doesn't work, every wrack was wrong score. For a party place they just have commercials and the same NFL scenes that no one wants over and over. You could have a better time taking g your friends to a 7-11 parking lot. read more

Garbage!!! We got here at 11:59 am and the line was really long we were going to get the special deal but they were all like you had to be here before 12:00 but we didn't want to make a scene so we got the all you can play we signed up for bowling and we got a text saying that we could get 30 mins on arcade games so we got it and it didn't work the guy felt bad so he gave us a receipt so that we can get a 10 mins on arcade games and even that didn't work! After we finished bowling we went to go play laser tag and 2 mins in to the game the server went down so nobody got any points. Then we wanted to play billiards so we played that. But the manager was very mean at the beginning we were lining up from the start she was yelling at the woman in front of us. But when me and my friend we're playing pool the manager was trying to make a scam to this customer saying you only have 10 mins left, because the special ended at 4:00 pm, but it was 3:30 pm she was trying to scam everyone even us she doesn't care about her customers only herself. 1 STAR!!!!!! read more

First & last time here. When we arrived we were able to sit. The waitress was short and rude. She only checked on us once or twice. The food was over cooked and not good. The double cheeseburger was dry and chicken strips were blan with no flavor. The chicken sandwich tasted like oil and was dripping from the bun When we went to pay my son wasn't allowed to touch the pad to pay, she told him what buttons to touch. When he was finished I asked if he realized that she had him touch the 20% tip button. I find VERY RUDE AND UNPROFESSIONAL to do that to any customer. The games were fun but a high priced, I have been to other places similar to this like Dave n Busters and they were not as high and the quality of food is better. Management needs to speak to their employees on scamming or telling people what to push and allow them to see the device to pay. read more

very fun place me and my family love it here so much the staff are very good and efficient always nice to my family and it's one of our favorite places to go especially this location! read more

This place is awesome fun and fairly reasonably priced with good deals. My kids had a blast, and we would love to come for Monday Madness. However, the policy says they don't allow outside food, because they want you to buy their food. But they don't have anything vegan, or barely even anything vegetarian on the menu. I did order drinks. I had some amazing sounding drink, I think it was a margarita with mango, some spicy infused tequila, some smoky tequila, and some regular tequila. It turned out to be meh. It just tasted like a margarita with a hint of smokiness, but no spice, and I didn't taste any mango till I got to the bottom, where a shmear of mango puree was sort of stuck to one side of the bottom of the glass. My son ordered a his first Shirley Temple and now he's obsessed. They used gingerale instead of Sprite, coated the edge with blue sugar, and stuck an airheads extreme and 3 marachino cherries in it. I later had to stop at a liquer store to buy some gingerale and grenadine so I could recreate them at home. We do actually have blue cotton candy sugar at home to coat the glass, and Amarena cherries. Oh, and our waitress was very nice and accommodating. Even confirmed for me whether the french fries and fried pickles were fried in the same oil as the meats. They were. I'm disappointed to find this is the case, even though I see similar yelp reviews from 2020 and 2014. I guess they don't really care that they're alienating a significant percent of the population of the Austin Metropolitan Area and potentially losing a lot of business. For the record, while there isn't a specific, official statistic for the percentage of vegetarians in Austin, it's generally estimated that around 6% of the U.S. population identifies as vegetarian (including vegan). Austin is known for its high number of vegetarians and vegans, and it consistently ranks high in lists of the most vegetarian-friendly cities in the U.S. One analysis ranked Austin #6 among the largest U.S. cities for vegans and vegetarians. Seems to me they should either get with the times or change their policy. read more

Our experience was very bad, our server seemed almost nonexistent. I get it that AI will soon be taking your job, but not doing anything and being rude the entire time while checking us out forcing the kiosk point of sale payment machine in front of us so that we tip you was very off putting, WORST SERVICE EVER 2/26 @ 8:30-9:30 and not even busy. Do better this place Sucks!!!! read more

Nice flow Good food love the new gaming layout and decent bar food. Need more servers but overall great time read more

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This place needs STAFF. Showed up on a Friday night and the place was super busy which is fine but they did not have enough staff. Took 40 minutes to get drinks from the bar. The bartenders were hustling to make drinks but they needed like 2 more. After being there for 2 hours finally had someone come to our bowling lane to see if we needed anything. The bathrooms were dirty and trashed over flowing. Needs more staff to be able to enjoy the experience. I have been at other main events and this one is not up to par. read more

Tripping hazard with duck tape on it (coming off) directly where we bowled. Unclear rates. Rude staff. Ridiculous drink prices.

Great experience! Allen was extremely helpful setting everything up. Definitely recommend!!

We booked an All Access party for my 16 yo son. Alan took amazing care of us from the moment we walked in the door. The food came out right away and every kid was bowling within 10 minutes of arriving. The customer service was top notch and everyone had the best time!! read more

This review is for a visit during the pandemic. Last month, my son was invited to a small birthday party (5 teenagers in total) at this location. The precautions taken during this visit were the best I've seen thus far from a facility of the type. For example, the person who greeted my son and I as we came in asked relevant medical questions and performed temperature checks. After temperature checks were conducted, we were required to wait at the check in podium until the party in front of us received their bands and paid for their items. Overall, my son and his friends were pleased with the COVID protocol as they felt safe in this environment. read more

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