On a very wet Tuesday evening Chris and I went to the All Star Bowling Lanes in Holborn. I love having to walk down a stair case into the unknown - you never know what you're going to find, but we were both pleasantly surprised. We were early for our game so sat in a really nice bar - one that I would visit bowling or not - and bought 5 beers for £15 which were very cold and refreshing. The bar tender was really miserable and rude, so I wanted to take a photo of him - he cheered up a bit after that so we changed our minds about him. We then went to get our bowling shoes which seemed to have got much cooler since I last went bowling (about 10 years ago) and we even decided that we would wear them as everyday trainers. In fact, I thought about just leaving my boots behind the counter and walking out with them. But I didn't as I'm too old to do things like that.
We had one game of bowling (we paid £25 for a game of bowling and a two course meal in their restaurant) which I was terrible at.I think it was because I was so excited about the imminent cheeseburger and I couldn't concentrate very well. Chris beat me - we were both surprised about that - I needed those inflatable sausages down the sides of the alley but was too embarrassed to ask.
The nice thing about this place is that there are only about 4 or 5 lanes. There isn't a awful racket of bowls being thrown and stupid screaming people. It was all very dignified.
SO after being beaten we went for our meal. The restaurant is an american diner and very tastefully done out. We sat in a booth which always pleases me immensely. There was a special set menu for the '2 for £25' people which was a small choice but satisfactory. I had delicious chicken quesadillas to start and chris had some soup. We then both had a cheeseburger and shared a pecan pie for dessert. All courses were exellent. Not huge but we definitely weren't hungry afterwards. We also got a cocktail with the deal and the lovely waitress (see photo above - note fantastic uniform) recommended a brazilian drink which was nice and strong.
My only complaint was that when we got the bill we were charged service which is fine, but the bill included the bowling. So we were paying waitress service on bowling which was a bit dodgy I thought.
On the way out we went the wrong way and discovered a private bowling room and bar - it was empty but would be a very cool to have a party.
This place is worth a visit - not only for the bowling but for food and drink too.