Bowlerama West

It’s a bowling alley, which reminded me of every other experience I’ve had bowling.
You go to building which is usually dated and not really all that clean, you rent shoes that someone else recently wore, throw some balls (some of which are covered in greasy finger prints of previous players who liked to eat chicken wings and finger foods between throws) at pins, drink a couple of beers, and leave. But let’s be honest, bowling isn’t needed to be a high class affair. So assuming you can get past the potential germs and low brow atmosphere like we did, you can actually have a moderate amount of fun for a reasonable cost.
And for that fact, I give this place 3 stars.

Was looking for somewhere to take my kid during March Break that didn’t involve insanity: this did the trick. I made an online reservation so no waiting and no lines.
We arrived, put on our fancy shoes, ordered a pizza, and were bowling within minutes of our reserved time. From the outside, this place doesn’t look like much, but it’s a huge space with two floors of bowling, a games room, kitchen, and most importantly, LICENSED! Yes my friends, you can drink beer while entertaining the kidlets. The pizza was just ok, but did the trick.
Other than feeling like I needed a shower and antibiotics after leaving this place, it was a great time and good family fun! To the venue: you need to seriously take a look at the family bathroom floor and shake your head. It’s disgusting. Clean it and do it properly! Also, it would be a wise idea to install sanitizer all over the place! Just a thought. We’ll be back for sure, but will be armed with hand sanitizer and wipes next time!

Came here using a Groupon for a party, 2 lanes for 2 hours. A couple members were coming late but the workers were very accommodating and let us start one lane first and the second lane when the rest of the party came so we could have the full 2 hours on each lane. Something about the nachos and cheese was addicting, and luckily our Groupon included 2 plates. One of our lanes had to constantly get help because it wouldn’t clear the pins and the other lane was miscounting the pins — it would count a certain pin to be bowled over even if it wasn’t which was great for our scores but maybe others wouldn’t appreciate it.

We had out kid’s birthday party at this location and as one of the other reviewers noted, the room did not have heat. This could have been easily resolved by turning on space heaters ahead of time but they gave us a couple after all the kids came into the freezing room. Did not ask for discounts and everything else (service, bowling etc) was ok – hence the two stars.

Had my kid’s birthday party here, all the kids had a lot of fun bowling until we went upstairs to one of the party rooms, which was absolutely FREEZING!
I asked one of the staff to turn the heat on and she said that the heating is not working at all… Something they neglected to tell us before the party or at least the beginning of the party and maybe find us another spot with functional heater. It was –12C outside and not much warmer in our party room, all the kids had to wear their coats and stick their hands in their pockets. No, we did not get a discount.

Came here on a whim, as my girlfriend was sad and needed cheering up. I didn’t really expect much from this place because it looks fairly dead every time I used to drive by it. Us going on a Wednesday night, I was definitely not prepared for what I seen.
Upon entry I noticed that every lane was FULL. Seriously, was a Wednesday night, but clearly, its the place to be. I approached the front desk inquiring about a lane. Unfortunately I was given a stub with a number on it and was told that it would be a 30 minute to 45 minute wait. We decided to wait it out and kill some time by playing a game of pool. When our number was called I noticed that they had daily specials. Wednesday night… 99 CENTS A GAME!!! Oh it was on.
Well maintained lanes and balls made it a really good time and a really fun night. After playing 5 – 6 games, we decided to turn our gear in and hit the arcade. It should be noted that shoe rentals are $ 4 a pair. Their arcade was pretty limited. But with an air hockey table and pinball table, why ask for more?
Would recommend to anyone looking to liven up their weeknights to head on over, however old you are. They are licensed to sell alcohol, so go crazy.

This is a pretty good bowling location, been visiting every now & then since 2002.
Have never been disappointed once.
One thing to keep in mind though, on certain days the place is next to vacant. On others it’s can be busy, especially if there’s a bowling league attending on certain days, or weekends.
The food is pretty good as well and great tasting. I usually order the cheese burger, fries or some beverages. The pitchers of beer are a bit small compared to some restaurants or bars though. Not that I order it often.
The location has bit of a late 80s to mid 90s retro feel to it. But there are a lot of lanes for bowling, of approximately 50 lanes of 5 & 10 pines.

Excellent bowling experiences, great atmosphere and lots of room and lanes
my only compliant is it gets pricy fast
they have coupons online though

I was there with great people which always colours an experience. What you would expect in a bowling alley without being more. Identical in nearly ever respect to any bowling alley you would have been to before except that it is huge. I can’t imagine you would ever have a problem finding a lane. Upstairs is 5 pin, down is 10. I am truly awful at bowling so I can’t offer much more.

Here’s a tip for you Bowlerama:
When a customer calls to ask:
«Do I need to make a reservation for 7pm tonight?»
And you answer:
«No, it should be okay.»
When they come in at 6:50pm, you shouldn’t say:
«Sorry, we’re all booked. You should have made a reservation.»
Sorry, your customer service is one the same level as your ‘nachos’.

This location is open til like, 2;00am, so pretty much whenever you’ve got a hankerin’ for some bowling, this is your place. They’ve also got a few pool tables and a couple arcade games as well. Steps away from Kipling subway station, and plenty of parking for those who drive.
You pay for your shoes first (money that you do not get back), bowl, then pay the tab at the end. The shoes are $ 4 a pair and on Friday we played 4 games which cost us something like $ 38. So for about an hour of entertainment you’re looking at about $ 50. Not exactly cheap, but fun! (Note: they do have «cheap» bowling nights).
I’ve been coming to this bowling alley for years, and I guess I had always come during the day because when I went last Friday night I had a bit of a shock. Halfway during our first game, the lights turned out and music started BLASTING. Now I like music as much as the next person, except I was sort of expecting spending my night at a bowling alley, not a nightclub. The employee who was working there could have just mentioned that the «cosmic» bowling was going to begin shortly, and perhaps could not have sent us to bowl right beside the speaker. I felt like asking to move lanes but didn’t want to look like a «party pooper» (even though my eardrums felt like they were bleeding.) They definitely would have made more money off us that night, had the music been at a reasonable volume.
That being said, I still like this place and will definitely come back to bowl, I’ll just come during the day…

Who doesn’t love bowling, right? Even if you suck at it, you still have fun!
I’ve been coming to this particular Bowlerama for years. It’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (they might even be open on Xmas day).
Bowlerama has over 50 lanes, a few 5 pins (Hey, 1981 called and wants it’s bowling back) and a lot of 10 pin lanes.
The prices a generally pretty steep unless you go on «special» day like Monday & Tuesday 9pm — 12am — $ 10 all you can bowl + shoes (~$ 5).
They do have a snack bar (CASH ONLY), which serves mediocre beer on tap (pitchers are $ 14) and some nachos/​burgers/​hot dogs.
The lanes are generally well maintained and any problems with the pins are usually quickly resolved by the staff. There are plenty of balls to go around although some are in better shape than others.
On Friday and Saturday night they also have cosmic bowling, which is fun since they have all the black lights going and fun music in the background.

The 5-​pin lane I played on downstairs was in awful shape. The middle of the lane was impossible to play because was extremely dry and dirty, and the ball would hook late whether I threw a straight or a hook shot. There were holes on the foul line and the approach too.
The staff seem nice and easy going, so that’s stopping me from giving a lower score.
I can’t comment much on the upstairs or 10-​pin lanes. The 10s downstairs did not look dry and dirty. I would go on their cheap days because it’s cheap, but I’ll go to Danforth Bowl if I want to pay full price for 5-​pin.

Rented shoes, outdated music, greasy food & dented balls… sounds like a great night to me!
We went on a Monday and the deal was $ 5 to play and $ 0.75 per game after 10pm. I love a deal. It’s open 24hours!
The have 5 & 10 pin bowling, but come on… 10 pin is where it’s at.
And the poutine? Yes please! Yummy!

Yes, there’s a new hipster bowling alley in town (more specifically, downtown, nestled in the heart of clubland) but Bowlerama, you won’t be forgotten or tossed aside for the new shiny, probably over-​priced alley.
They still have 99 cents bowling on Wednesdays after 10pm! The beers are cheap and so are the fries (99 cents). Delicious, greasy fries! Sure, the shoes and bowling balls are a little worn down but that’s the appeal! There’s no fancy touch screens (try as you might, it ain’t touch screen. I think we’re accustomed to our iphones. We kept trying to push the screen like a bunch of neanderthals). The music selection probably hasn’t been updated since 1995 but hey, I don’t need to bowl to the latest kanye songs. Also, open 24 hours!

Great alley to bowl in. For a bowler these lanes are perfect. Well in my opinion anyway. Service was great and welcome. And plenty of space. And to put a cherry on the cake the music was fitting to the environment. Will definitely return when in the area.

This alley’s lots of fun! They’re the only 10-​pin alley that’s located off of a subway stop (just past Kipling station), are decently cheap during the weekdays, and offer cosmic bowling.
Go on Wednesday nights, when you can get games, hot dogs, and fries for 99 cents each after 10pm. You’ll still have 3 hours to bowl (or 2 – 2.5 hours if you need to catch the train back) and you’ll have a full belly when you’re done. On Mondays there’s a $ 5 cover but then it’s just 75 cents a game to bowl.
The lanes are a little run down, but are still pretty clean and don’t get too busy. Plus, it’s not like they have much competition if you’re coming from downtown!