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    Needham Bowlaway

    4.2 (53 reviews)

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    Erin O.

    This was my first time trying candlepin bowling and I can confidently say I'll be coming back again! My partner and I had a blast here. We arrived without a reservation on a Sunday afternoon and were immediately given an open lane. We were lucky because shortly after there was a birthday party which took up most of the other lanes available. This place is pretty small, so I'd recommend calling in advance, especially if you're a bigger group. We intended to play for 1 hour, which lasted 3 games for us. Everything was clean and well maintained. It's not top-of-the-line technology, given the sport itself, but it all functions well without the sometimes unnecessary bells and whistles. If you're looking for something simple and old-school, this place is it! We were also especially impressed with the price - with shoe rentals included it was about $35 total for an hour of play.

    Dhilip R.

    If you wanted to bowl just like how they bowled a 100 years ago, then you have come to the right place. I heard these candle pin bowling alleys exist only in New England and before they disappear, you must check them out. You would think the tech would not be up to the mark, but for what this place charges, it was very very well maintained. Wish they had food, but they had discounts to the nearby joints. It was fun!!

    Riley S.

    I had nothing short of a great time last night at the Needham Bowlaway! Located right in the center of Needham, the alley is nestled down in the basement of another building. Easy to miss, but cozy once you're inside. We called ahead about an hour prior on Saturday night to put our names on the list for 8 pm. This is not a reservation, as I was mistaken! However, we were immediately able to bowl when we arrived. Each lane permits up to 6 bowlers. Lanes are prorated by the minute & once you hit one hour it is $30. A pretty easy bench mark to understand & so nice that this is per lane and not by the bowler! Pretty unique experience at each lane. You are in charge of keeping your own score, however, the technology and track pad used is smart & will move the cursor to however many pins have been knocked down. Really, not difficult! Each lane also shares a wireless charging pad which was an appreciated touch. The screens clearly labeled what time you started & then also displays the current time. I really appreciated that so no pricing tricks were thrown on us! Overall, loved my experience for an easy date night! We played up 3 games in just under and hour and only paid $33 in total. $3 per shoe rental & the prorated minutes for the lane. We will be back! Just wish we could BYOB!

    3/2011
    Vivian C.

    I can see why bowling at the Needham Bowlaway is like bowling in a friend's basement. It is located down a flight of stairs in the basement of a nondescript red brick building. There's street parking and a lot with 2 hour parking in the middle of the block. 8 lanes of candlepin bowling, a petite snack machine, a petite soda machine, an off-set space for a table to be set for birthday parties, a changing table in the ladies' room... it was minimalistic, but fine for our afternoon of bowling needs. The Sunday afternoon Cosmic bowl look was quite fun, and the music wasn't too loud to talk over. The shoes we rented shined bright in the dark. After a bit, we figured out that each player would play two sets before the next player was to take their turn. The scoring was the manual pushing of buttons, and when someone got all their pins down in three balls, a cartoon came up to entertain us on the screen. $25 per hour per lane, even though they told us there was a 5 person max per lane, the scoring program allowed us to add a maximum of 6 people.

    Jennifer P.

    I just had my sons 11th birthday party here. It was fantastic. The kids all had so much fun. The party package comes with a delicious ice cream cake from Lizzie's Homemade Ice Cream (which we brought home). You have the option of bringing your own cake if you like. We also added on the pizza package which includes pizza and juice boxes for all the kids! All paper products, candles, lighter, cake cutting knife was set out for us as well as trophy necklaces for the kids. They also let you submit a playlist of 20 songs to lay during your party. Would definitely have another party here! Stress free way to host a kids party for sure.

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    1 year ago

    The best place for candlepin bowling anywhere ive ever been. The owner is extremely nice and accommodating.

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    3 years ago

    First time went candle stick bowling and it was awesome! Steve behind the desk did a great job programming the software! Great time!!!

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    3 years ago

    This place is very cool. Small and friendly, in a unique basement location. Keep candlepin alive!

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    3 years ago

    Great place! You want respectable place to bowl this is your place! Great staff! Friendly!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Needham Bowlaway

    Review Highlights - Needham Bowlaway

    I took my niece and nephew here yesterday and it was all of our first times doing candlepin bowling.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

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    Kings Dining & Entertainment

    Kings Dining & Entertainment

    (444 reviews)

    $$

    Food is great! Loooove the short rib grilled sandwich with sweet potato fries and the loaded nacho…read moreplatter. Also tried the fish sandwich and fish tacos and they're really good too. Recommend signing up for Kings rewards so you get points every time you go which can be converted to crown rewards later on and/or free bowling game or $ to be used towards food or bowling in the future. Have gone here for bowling and food several times and tried different food each time, but the constant orders are potstickers and pretzel that kids love and always ask for. I like that they clean/spray down each booth after patrons leave and place is clean. Food is delicious. Servers are nice and friendly! Fun place and recommend!

    Looking to catch up with friends (who have children), while in the area, we needed somewhere kid…read morefriendly, that would keep them entertained, and one suggested bowling. This spot was new to me, having been built since I moved south, the entire complex was an impressive upgrade to the former Dedham movie theater that used to reside in this location. Kings is deceptively large, with probably 2 dozen lanes, several billiard tables and a small arcade. They offer a decent menu of sandwiches, pizzas and finger foods, as well as a full bar, with a waitress coming by the lane every so often to take food and drink orders. We hd a good time, it was a fun spot and plenty to do, especially on a rainy day. Pricing was a bit higher than I expected, but otherwise my only other complaint, I was disappointed to find it was standard bowling rather than candlepin bowling. If you grew up in New England, you know the uniqueness of candlepin bowling and sadly it sounds like most of those facilities have closed or converted to regular bowling, which is disappointing, especially when you see young kids struggling to lob the larger bowling bowls down the lanes

    Fun and Games

    Fun and Games

    (60 reviews)

    We had an awesome time here for my school-aged kids' birthday. While we love coming here in…read moregeneral, the birthday party was particularly fabulous and the focus of this review. It's well organized and there is a small area and a large area right by the entrance, flanking the ticket redemption area, the drink counter, and the employee desk. Great location for it. There's two flatscreen TVs in the large area and one flatscreen TV in the small one. Ability to turn off/on lights. We were able to fit high 20's number of kids in the small party area. Service and coordination was particularly great. Megan was our lead person, and she provided excellent concierge service. We were frankly surprised how great she was and attentive. We just assumed we'd be in for some chaos but nope, guided us, paced us, and was very attentive. You bring your own drinks and cake, and they have pizza baked in house. The pizza is really good. Wow. Move over boring kid birthday pizza. They take the cake back for you and cut it up and serve it. They clean up. They help with pizza distribution. They wheel in and out the carts with gifts (and coats this time of year) into and out of the party area. So if you want to stay around longer after the party area reservation, you're welcome to and they've got multiple carts to keep your things. The distribution of some of the credits on cards before and after was great. And the A or B on the cards of the kids to divide up the laser tag was great. And our kid got to do both times since it was their birthday. The area and place/setting is fun. Lots of different types of games. Everything was working -- a rarity for an arcade. There's better or worse use of credits, of course, as there is everywhere. I loved the variety though. There were electronic games, claw games, multiplayer games, violent and non-violent, physical sport/skill games (basketball shooting, ski ball, drop ball), and both ticket earning and non-ticket earning games. The redemption area has a large variety of choices and they're displayed well to enable kids to make choices without long queues. The laser tag area is surprisingly large and very fun for the kids. It's gotta be 2-3x larger than the rest of the arcade. The price here was great. Lots of folks will seek outer suburbs of Boston for good prices but all in this was a steal compared to some other options. And the other families loved it. Kids were raving about it through the school week, and multiple people said they're going to bring their families back here again soon and many for birthday parties.

    Is it just me or is the pizza here actually pretty amazing? i have only been here for birthday…read moreparties but I am realizing that the pizza here that is made in house is different from other places and for birthday party pizza it is way better than delivering it into wherever the venue is. It's rectangular and super thick and i didn't think much of it until my son wolfed down two slices so fast i was not believing. so I had one. and i tried another weird pie called CBLT or something and it looked scary drizzled with ranch but crazy good! I think im just going to make excuses to come here again to try the pizza...the arcade games are definitely not really for little kids but pretty fun for older kids and grownups but it's nice that even if you have teensy kid points you can still get decent toy prizes and candy.

    Sacco's Bowl Haven - Seasonable apple cider donuts with ice cream

    Sacco's Bowl Haven

    (301 reviews)

    $$

    Davis Square

    Sacco's was the perfect spot for food, drinks, and fun- we had such a blast enjoying bowling and…read moreincredible pizza. The service was top notch- we were able to order food straight to our lane with such ease. We got their cheese pizza and the buffalo chicken pizza, both were incredible. It has that perfect nostalgia pizza taste, thin crust with a great crust to topping ratio, and really wonderful flavors. Some of the best pizza I've had in the Boston area, all while getting to bowl with friends. Great spot for friend hangouts, day nights, family events, etc. We went on a Monday night, so it wasn't so busy!

    Such a hidden gem of a restaurant and bowling alley! Located off of Day Street in Davis Square,…read morethis bowling alley has incredible pizza. It might possibly be the best pizza I've ever had! It's super thin, which I normally don't like, but the crust is crispy yet doughy at the same time. It's perfection, and I love that the dough has flavor. We got the medicine ball pizza with pepperoni and the maple sausage... both were amazing. Packed with a ton of flavor. We got two large pizzas for 4 adults and a toddler it was more than enough food. We also shared two salads, the build your own and seasonable peach salad. The seasonal one was meh, the leaves were dry. Service was great and they have a ton of seating. We didn't have to wait at 6pm on a Friday. Bowling was so fun! This style bowling is not your typical bowling alley. It's tiny balls, which is nice cause your arm doesn't get tired. We had a blast and would definitely come back!

    Needham Bowlaway - bowling - Updated May 2026

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