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The Londoner's Guide to London
22 November 2008
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Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes

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Lower Level Tavistock Hotel,
Bedford Way,
Bloomsbury,
London,
WC1H 9EU

0871 971 5480 Calls to 0871 numbers will be charged at a fixed rate of 10p per minute (from a landline or a mobile) no matter where you are within the UK. This number is unique to viewlondon.co.uk.

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Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes
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Latest Reviews

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Reviewer Anonymous
21/12/2007
Bloomsbury’s Kingpin Suite is to be recommended. The large space is different from the Bloomsbury lanes as it is a Vegas theme and very sleek. They have
spent loads on this and it show. The hire price was to my suprise only £400 per hour for the whole venue – that’s five lanes, karaoke room, bar and hot tub room!

Food a bit on the steep side for the portions, but good quality. Excellent venue.
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Reviewer Allan1972
18/12/2007
We hosted our Christmas party at the Bloomsbury Bowl this year. What a space. They had something for all our staff – bowling, private karaoke, djs bar etc. Food was surprisingly good and drinks fairly priced. Highly recommend for those looking for a night out in a venue with more than just bowling lanes.

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21/11/2007
Don't come here if you're expecting a high level of service.

I planned a surprise birthday party for my boyfriend here a few months ago and at every point of having contact with the staff at Bloomsbury lanes they were grumpy, rude and unhelpful.

When I had spent a considerable amount of money booking a Karaoke room for 3 hours, I at least expected to be treated like valued customer.

The lights in our room were not working so we weren't able to see the book of karaoke songs sat in darkness! After complaining twice, the staff begrudgingly found a lamp(!) to light the room.

I'd also booked two bowling lanes which were to be paid for on the evening and when it was time to bowl getting the somewhat merry group together was a bit tricky. We were again met with an extremely rude staff member who told me that she didn't care where everyone was she just wanted the money for the lanes, completely unecessary.

If it wasn't for the great karaoke room, there is no way I'd come back to this venue.

The staff certainly need some lessons in manners and a few customer service sessions wouldn't go a miss either.
Nothing spoils a party more than bitchy staff members who would obviously much rather be on the otherside of the counter.

SUCH A SHAME!
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Reviewer Anonymous
25/11/2007
I've been to Bloomsbury lanes a few times and it is a top London venue for a night out.

They run the lanes on an hourly basis, so its tough luck if your friends are all around the venue and you can’t get them together for your slot. It used to be by the game which meant long waits for bowling. The venue seems much much smoother now.

With 300 people in the venue they have to keep a tight ship otherwise they would have put you on the lanes and not been able to track down all your friends to pay.

Like all very popular bars, the lanes have to be pretty strict or the place would be out of control.
- Report
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Reviewer Richard78
26/08/2007
Cracking venue for all occasions. Smart '50s decor and attentive staff. We hired the private room for a meeting during the day and stayed on for bowling, dinner and drinks well into the night. Our boss was last seen dancing to the excellent DJ at 1am.
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Reviewer Anonymous
10/07/2007
For a law firm with clients in tow we went to Bloomsbury Lanes worried as to the level of service we would receive.



Glad to report that they have a slick professional team whom seem well used to dealing with large corporate events. Their Lane Snacks were excellent and I have to say it’s great to be able to eat canapés whilst bowling. Cocktails were limited, but what they offered was well made.



More lane side service would be a boost as it was a slight pain to have to go to the bar. On the plus side I did count eight bar staff, so there was no wait for drinks.



The Bloomsbury is an excellent, relaxed venue for entertaining.
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Reviewer Anonymous
23/03/2007
Agree with the previous post about the queues. However, when we arrived for our booking on a Saturday night we where asked by the doorman if we had a booking and then ushered right to the front door and into the karaoke room. £50.00 for an hour karaoke is the best value in London and an inspired addition to Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes.



We could grizzle about the busy bar etc, but that’s the deal with widely popular venues.
Anyway the bar prices are fair for the upscale style of the venue and they sell a weird and wonderful range of drinks!



Though pretty damn cool, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes is still relaxed, friendly and firmly aimed at a London crowd, not uptight people from the burbs.
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Reviewer Anonymous
12/03/2007
We went to Bloomsbury Blowling Lanes on Saturday night. The atmosphere was lively and the two bands playing were really cool, one of them was a bit like the Stone Roses. The bowling was good and the karaoke room was fun but our whole night was marred somewhat by the distinct lack of organisation. We couldn't get onto two of our three lanes till half an hour after we'd booked it and the staff were really unapologetic, although we did get a refund in the end.


It seemed from their attitude that this sort of thing happens all the time and they don't feel that they're to blame. Also the song book in the karaoke room was all over the shop. This may seem trivial but when you've only got an hour it can be quite annoying not being able to find the songs you want. I wouldn't let it put me off going back again but maybe we'd book for earlier in the evening and leave a gap between the bowling and karaoke so we aren't rushing from one to the other.



Get to Bloomsbuty Bowling Lanes early anyway as they make you queue for everything even when you've booked.
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Reviewer Anonymous
08/03/2007
The Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are a lot of fun - I guess this is what it was like in the '50s! I really do love the retro feel and I think I might have to take my American uncle - I bet he'd love somewhere like the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes! Definitely a fun place to go.
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Reviewer duck
07/10/2005
I have been to the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes twice. My first impression was how refreshing it was to visit a London venue that has not gone for the identikit bar look. Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes have a really quirky mix of retro and modern decor. The digital wallpaper and bar are cool features.



Bowling is fun and at £10 for two games, it's good value. The diner food was pretty good, we had the Sliders and Strike Burger for about £6.50 each. The service was on the slow side however, and I would suggest that they need more staff in the diner.



The drinks at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are good value and their approach to design shows up here as well. We drank several beers that I would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in London. Le Coq from Estonia and Bernard from the Czech Republic were excellent at £2.70 each. Annoyingly, only one of the barman had top level cocktail experience so we had to wait a bit to try his Wasabi based cocktail.



There seemed to be a fair amount of people just drinking and eating, with 10 pin bowling as a side show. Finally, the music at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes was pretty good, though it was a bit of an odd mix and a bit on the loud side.
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Reviewer Marco737
23/08/2005
Myself and a team from work were taken to Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes a couple of weeks ago. The decor is impressive and 10 pin bowling is actually quite addictive. The menu is classic American without too much oil. The service at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes was a bit slow, we waited about 30 minutes for our meal in the diner. Overall, a refreshing night out in London. The free jukebox is a plus.
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Reviewer Anonymous
02/08/2005
Now that school holidays have rolled around, the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are a sure bet for the unpredictable English summer! My two really loved the bowling, while the two of us enjoyed a rare night drinking together. Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes are definitely worth a look when school's out!
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