Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes in London, United Kingdom

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Telephone:	+44 20 7183 1979
Website:	www.bloomsburybowling.com
Address:	Bedford Way Tavistock Hotel Basement, London, United Kingdom, WC1H 9EU Bloomsbury
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	400 ftWoburn Place Bedford Way 600 ftTavistock Square 850 ftRussell Square
Categories:	Bowling Karaoke Bars

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Parking	Garage, Street
Bike Parking	Yes
Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	Yes
Ambience	Casual
Noise Level	Very Loud

Music	DJ
Good For Dancing	Yes
Alcohol	Full Bar
Happy Hour	No
Best Nights	Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check	Yes
Smoking	Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Outdoor Seating	Yes
Has TV	Yes

Today

Today	12:00 pm – 2:00 am Open now
Local time (London)	22:54 Thursday, 28 November 2024

Business hours

Monday	12:00 pm – 1:00 am
Tuesday	12:00 pm – 1:00 am
Wednesday	12:00 pm – 1:00 am
Thursday	12:00 pm – 2:00 am
Friday	12:00 pm – 3:00 am
Saturday	12:00 pm – 3:00 am
Sunday	12:00 pm – 12:00 am

Description

Specialties

For events check out www.bloomsburylive.com

Bloomsbury Lanes: A One Off in London

Forget bowling past, the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes is totally unique for London or indeed anywhere.

Bloomsbury is a one off venue that takes a lead for 1950’s America, where bowling was the height of style.

Look closely and you will notice features such as our sleek above lane ball returns (sourced from Canada of all places), our bar made from old bowling lanes wood and our pristine 1950’s carpet, which had spend 40 years in storage before we found it.

Many of our guests comment about the fantastic atmosphere in the venue. This is due to the vibrant mix of people whom we attract but also the care and time our team put into the venue.

What makes Bloomsbury special is its status as a one off creation. As we are not part of a chain or concept, you will find better service, customer attention and excellent value for money. You might even find the owners taking your booking or serving your drinks!

History

Established in 2005.

The Bloomsbury Lanes has eight swish bowling lanes, available to hire daily from 11am daily.

Whether booking a booth in our diner, lanes for your next party, or one of our four karaōke rooms, we can help to arrange your perfect night.

Bloomsbury Lanes has a large bar made from bowling lane wood, serving draftcraft beers, cocktails and our famous hard shakes.

Our busydiner open for lunch and dinnerserves classic American fare, including Ray’s 26″ pizzas and the Strike Burger.

For those looking for a more private affair, the Kingpin Suite is aprivate roomwith five bowling lanes, pingpong and it’s own bar and a stage is the perfect size for exclusive events and corporate entertainment.

Centrally located just off Russell Square and Holborn, Bloomsbury Bowling is easy to access from all London areas.

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Nearby

Near this location:

Ray’s Pizza and Diner

Basement of Tavistock Hotel London Bedford Way

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Tavistock Hotel

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21 reviews of Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes

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Elizabeth W.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

This bowling alley is situated near Russel Square over 2 floors — it is pretty big! There are at least 6 lanes on each floor along with karaōke booths, a pool table, ping pong table and lots of seating. They have a pizza place along with a large bar which serves lots of ales along with wine and spirits.
I came here for a corporate event so it was jam packed and got pretty hot however even with 400 people there was plenty of seating and things to do.
The buffet food they served was pretty average however I tried a slice of pizza and they were pretty tasty!
It was a big & fun place for a work event however I wouldn’t be back with a group of friends — no idea of prices etc its just it was all just a bit run down.

Ray B.

Place rating: 5
San Carlos, CA

Wow what an experience! I couldn’t ask for more! I almost got a perfect 300 which is great but they played the wrong song when I bowled which put me off. 270 is great but when I’m playing for fucking keeps I want to get a fucking 300.

Marina E.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

Its fine, sometimes music too loud, and they close at mdnght, while it was written they close at 2 Thursday!

A S.

Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom

Good spot for some bowling but make sure you book in advance. Drinks at the bar are average London prices. Karaōke rooms look interesting!

Dan M.

Place rating: 5
Chislehurst, United Kingdom

Great place to meet friends and have a laugh. We hired a karaōke booth which was hilarious fun. Drinks are reasonably priced for London and the music is good (outside the booths) downstairs can get a little crowded.

Denise M.

Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom

I came here for Hip Hop N Bowl because DJ Emily Rawson is darn good and it was walking distance from my flat. Takes place the first Saturday of every month, and has a good, fun crowd of 20-somethings looking to dance.

Wayne H.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

Low key venue with eight lanes, one bar and a diner.
If All Star Lanes is Manhattan then BBL is the New Jersey equivalent — though it does have its charms.
Ideal place for an informal company nights out or just hanging with the boys.
Hot dogs from the diner were decent but pizzas no quite so. But the beers are always cold.

Denise Y.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

Went here for a bowling event organized by my local alumni organization. I always get a little nostalgic because bowling reminds me of birthday parties in the 90’s. and each time, I’m reminded that I haven’t improved my bowling skill since then either!
The venue is cute and clean, and they were pretty good about making sure everyone adheres to the booking times. The hour we booked flew by — with six people on our team, we only managed to squeeze in one game. But that’s a pro and a con: it’s a busy venue, so we were always checking the clock to see how much time we had left. It was actually a bit of a killjoy.
It’s a nice experience, but I felt that everything — including the food and the cocktails — were overpriced. I know that’s the trade-off you make for having a central location, but I would have preferred to have a more old-school bowling alley experience, even at the cost of having to travel farther out… you know, the kind where you goof around with a few close friends while putting away onion rings and beer into the wee hours of the night while «Roxanne» plays for the fifth time over the speakers. I don’t need my bowling to be glamorous, but I suppose that’s a personal preference.

Ela T.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

Waaaaoo-owww! This place is still going strong after all these years? It existed back when I was at uni back in like…2003! And it did not disappoint!
This is the place to go when you don’t know what you want to do and want to do absolutely everything! You can eat American food here, you can drink, you can bowl, you can play retro video game machines, play pool, dance to your heart’s content on the dance floor with the DJ, and you can sing karaōke in one of those rooms! What more do you need? (A swimming pool, but let’s not get into that)
I came here on Sat night after a hen do at a casino for a spot of karaōke. There was another hen party inside, so this venue must be popular for brides to bes! Outside people were trying to nick our sweeties from the Piñata. At the door, the security guard took a quick look at our bags and we were INSIDE!
Karaōke rooms are very very dark but had a fan and a huge screen. Mics kept running out of batteries and there are only English tunes, but NO MATTER! We sang to Wheatus, we sang to Beyonce! We sang our hearts out and played hen games and ran around outside doing dares!
They were accommodating as we were late (supposed to be booked for around 12−1am) but they still didn’t turn on the bright lights until 2:45am to kick us out!
I remember a previous experience eating here (like, 10 years ago at least) and can remember it only being mediocre also.
Perhaps will come back for actual bowling soon!
Oh, reason I gave this place 3 stars was because the toilets were all out of toilet paper at 2am!!! Hygiene? You’re supposed to check toilets every hour!

Craig M.

Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom

Wait… how have I not reviewed this place yet?! It’s an absolute must-do for the Londoner.
The retro bowling might be a tad more expensive than its newer rivals (All-Star Lanes), but the experience is second to none. Yes, the carpet might be fraying in places. Yes, the shoes might have seen better days. But where The Lanes trump all other options is the sheer temptation to just get loose and let your hair down. If you’re here on a weekend, you’ll find live music (often bands and DJs) and a party atmosphere, especially if you bowl on one of the downstairs lanes. They have two floors worth of lanes, but you’ll still need to book ahead, or be prepared to bowl about 11pm — and at that time after a fair few drinks you’ll be dangerous with a bowling bowl!
The diner food is decent enough, especially the pizza. And they have karaōke rooms too, so you can sing your heart out. Even a hidden cricket crease — which will hurl balls at you very quickly for your money. I recommend spending all night here.
It’s hard to dance and bowl at the same time, but I recommend you see how you get on…

Julie O.

Place rating: 4
Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgique

En visite à Londres pour le boulot, nous avons eu l’occasion de nous éloigner des bureaux et autres salles de réunions habituels à ce genre de team meetings.
L’occasion de faire quelque chose de gai et convivial comme aller au bowling par exemple!
L’endroit a été suggéré par un membre de l’équipe… Il s’ait d’un resto/bowling situé au sous-sol d’un hôtel… L’endroit n’est pas design ni cosy mais il est vraiment sympathique et comme toujours à Londres, bien rempi même en pleine semaine! C’est d’ailleurs le seul point négatif que j’ai relevé: le bruit! Mais dans ce genre d’endroits, cela fait presque partie de l’ambiance!
Après avoir manger un repas colossal (très gras surtout) tous ensemble sur les banquettes de cuir rouges, on se lance sur les pistes (5 ou 6 tout au plus). Le Burger énormossime avalé quelques heures au paravant se fait maintenant bien ressentir! Qu’importe, les strike et spare s’enchaînent… sauf pour moi!
Un moment bien sympa entre amis et même entre collègues pour le coup!
Une bonne idée pour s’éloigner du stress de la réunion et passer une chouette soirée!

Daphne S.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

I spent an enjoyable night last night at Bloomsbury Bowling lanes on a night out with my work colleagues. We booked for bowling, food and karaōke. There were 13 of us in total and we had booked two lanes for bowling and although normally the limit is six players per lane the staff were very accommodating and allowed us 7 in one lane. It was great to have a full hour of bowling and not just one game, although with 7 of us we used up the entire hour for one game. The cost per lane was about £40 so it worked out as very good value per person.
The food was OK. I had a hot dog which was nice enough but nothing exceptional. The burgers looked good and the pizza was really good. Really thin base and nice toppings — definitely the choice I would make next time. Prices were reasonable.
The Karaōke was booked for 2 hours and cost £100. 12 of us stayed for this and the rooms fit us comfortably. They were (luckily) well sound proofed from the rest of the complex and we were all free to belt out our vocals safe in the knowledge only our own hearing would be damaged;)
The overall décor of the venue was tired and a bit shabby — a face lift is definitely needed. The seating in the karaōke room was damaged and chair covers were torn. My biggest gripe however was the heat in the venue. This place could definitely do with better air conditioning. If it is this hot in October I can’t imagine how bad it would be in the summer
Overall the night was good. Would I go back? Yes I probably would.

T J.

Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom

Is Bloomsbury bowling losing in the upmarket bowling wars in London? I was there on a Saturday and the place was nowhere near as busy as it used to be and nothing compared to the last couple of times I’ve been to All Star Lanes. Those that were there didn’t mind as they were all stag and hen do’s. But the buzz I felt last time I was here (which was years ago) was gone.
I like the bowling lanes (for which you pay by the hour rather than by the game). The karaōke rooms have a good song list but the touch screen interface was awkward and caused confusion. There is a very limited cocktail list at the bar, they really only do the classics. Food is diner style as you’d expect but we didn’t eat here this time

Elaine M.

Place rating: 2
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Gggrrrr! Was really looking forward to this, and was a bit disappointed.
Good: the feel, the hotdogs, good for kids!
Not so great: …I wanted to use the 15%, was not called a liar, but it came close! Didn’t want to use it, cause the check’in deal doesn’t exist. What?! I reserved a lane yesterday, told them on the phone, gave my cc details. Today, we walked in with our kids, swapped shoes and knocked down some pins, hotdogs and big talks. Than… we payed for the food and I made a remark about the 15% on the lanes. Nope! I should have told them when we got there… Oh, you did? Well, you should have told us when you made the reservation. Oh, you did? Well, we’ve never seen this check’in thingy. Bye!
Thanks.
Bowling: cool,
Staff: sucks.

Josy A.

Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom

Wow. How have I not been here many, many time before?! It’s brilliant (and just around the corner from work, so I can have fun AND be lazy!)
The mix of bowling, food, bar and karaōke is perfect for a giggle of an evening out. We opted for one hour bowling and two hours of karaōke… all for less than £15 each. Bargain! It is a little bit shabby, and very retro, but that gives it an unpretentious and relaxed atmosphere.
The karaōke was good, even though it only had english songs (and was missing some of my favorite karaōke sing-a-longs.)
Also, if you need to soak up alcohol, they also serve giant pizzas! Now when I say giant, I actually mean MAHOOSIVE! 24 inches– so more than double the size of an ordinary pizza. I (slightly optimistically) ordered one to share with a friend, but it ended up feeding eight of us. Yum!

Andrew M.

Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom

Bowling, booze, and karaōke? Sign me up! Now the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are pretty cool with a good sized bar to keep you liquored up while hurling balls down the lane. It also doesn’t have that über pretentious vibe that I get from All Star Lanes (or maybe that’s just the Westfield Stratford one). But the pure winner is the Kingpin Suite which you can rent for private functions.
This place is pure genius with pretty much everything you could want in one area. It boasts 5 state of the art bowling lanes, a bar to rival any other, and a karaōke room with a pretty good song selection and enough space for 20 of your closest (or newest) friends. Please join me in «encouraging» Alex S to get them to throw a Unilocal event there soon!
Hmm.I’m actually out of things to say. Pricewise, the regular bowling lanes are reasonable and in a central location so easy to get people to meet up. And they lanes and balls are pretty clean (as much as you can expect from a bowling joint). Why drunk people hurling heavy objects was ever allowed, I don’t know, but I love it!

Danielle S.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

One of the reviews below says ‘NEVER LETS YOU DOWN’, which is incorrect! Myself and five friends were left queuing outside for an hour and a half on New Years Eve due to bad bad baaaaaaad organisation for their NYE event. We spent the bells outside being rowdy Scots leading a chorus of Auld Lang Syne (which was fun), and remained remarkably upbeat about the long long loooong wait, despite the bouncers getting a bit heavy handed, and failing quite miserably at crowd control.
Once inside we had a fun 2 hours of dancing and drinking, but I definitely wouldn’t come back or recommend any big events like NYE to anyone. We’ ve been here a couple of times before, mostly on PBR nights, and it is really fun but you should be able to rely on a place of this calibre to organise a night out like this, and to not over sell their event, especially when you are charging upwards of £15 a ticket. Shoddy!
It is –12 873 286 stars for NYE, but 3 positive stars for more fun experiences that I’ve had here.

Camille L.

Place rating: 4
Lyon, France

I’m not a huge fan of bowling, although I do appreciate its «social value» and the fact that, like it or not, you always have a great fun there. So when I was told that I would spend one of my few nights in London bowling, the least to say is that I wasn’t over-excited.
BUT when I saw the place, something about it made me love it at first sight, yes, indeed! Was it the old-fashioned but still not totally kitchy atmosphere? The huge bar, good beer and helpful staff? The music (both live and background)? I don’t know at all, but I do know that suddenly, I was playing my third game in a row and enjoying it a lot. And then I found myself in a dinner-like restaurant inside BBL, eating a delicious hamburger and fries, and that was it, I just decided this place was the greatest Bowling Lanes I had ever been to!
My only complaint? Despite all of these qualities, BBL didn’t make me play bowling better… And that’s a real pity, isn’t it?!

Peter S.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

I included this on an itinerary for a stag do and was slightly disappointed. On the plus side: yes, it’s a reasonably classy and authentic 70s styled place, from the bowling lanes to the karaōke rooms. They’ve got a decent range of beer and the hamburger I ordered was better than I expected.
But the bowling lane I was on broke down three times in two hours, reducing possible bowling time. And the service at the bar, though friendly, was really slow. As a pizza glutton, I was also disappointed that the ‘Ray’s Pizza’ part of BBL wasn’t open when we were there, seemingly because we were there too early (1−3pm). The early time also meant there wasn’t any live music playing –something for another time.
Overall: just about A-OK.

Dominique L.

Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom

I’d been meaning to go to Bloomsbury Lanes for a while as I’d heard plenty of good things about me, but, it wasn’t until last Saturday when We, Like You featuring Norman Jay (MBE) was playing at this venue.
In a nutshell, I had the time of my life.
The music was fantastic! I was bowling, I was dancing, sometimes both simultaneously (which did not help my already-poor bowling skills), and just having a whale of a time. If you were there that night, and wondering who the girl who was doing the Charleston in-between throwing gutter balls, look no further.
My only complaint: it was incredibly hot there. I was sweating buckets!
On my way out, I passed the karaōke room. Much to my surprise, it was packed full of men. I’d somehow gotten the impression that karaōke was much more popular with the ladies, but, hey, the men definitely looked as if they were enjoying themselves!

Kelly P.

Place rating: 5
Greenville, SC

THIS WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF LONDON!!!
I have never been to a more ridiculous place in my life, and I live in Manhattan! This place had a dance floors, bars, karaōke rooms, a full on restaurant, and bowling on top of it all! Despite it’s being super expensive, my friend and I managed to have the time of our lives on the cover price alone, as we went in and danced the night away doing th twist on the dancefloor!!! I loves that everyone dressed up like they were on their way to a sockhop and that I knew the words to all the songs the dj’s busted out because I guess that music was just as popular in London as it was in the States! It was such a relief to be grabbed by a guy to spin me around swing-dance style instead of warding off pigs only interested in grinding and «getting low». .. . this place brings such joy to my heart.