11/11/09

This place really, really blows. I mean hard.

by teebal

Oh man. Where to start on this one... ok from the beginning. I called and made reservations for a party of 20. The first bunch of our guests arrived and had to wait 45 minutes to get shoes and our lane. Later, 4 of the late arrivers weren't let in because of the place's rediculous dress code. The waitress was nice but so incredibly SSSLLLLLLOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW with the drinks and food. We had some true beginners so we asked the waitress about lane bumpers to make the game fun for us all. She showed us how to use the computer to put up the rails for the players who needed them. Great, right? Wrong! The rails kept disappearing! I kept putting them back up and thought what a poopy computer system. Turns out the computer system was fine, it was just the poopy management because around about the 5th frame the manager came over to us and told us we weren't allowed to use the bumper rails. Why? He said that they were only for children and that adults would bend them because they were so flimsy. I asked about some child sized balls and the manager told us that children use the same balls as the adults. I told him I didn't understand. He said that adults threw the ball harder. I asked how hard children threw the balls. He said 5-7 mph. Great I said and point out that the rail users' ball speeds(which is displayed along with each players score on a tv screen above the lane). He got beligerent and angry and told us that we could lower the rails or leave. So we lowered the rails. The fun was zapped from our game with half of the group rolling gutter ball after gutter ball. So doing the fun loving thing, we raised th rails again in the 9th frame. In the middle of the 10th frame security was at our lanes telling us to leave or be assaulted. I asked if they wanted us to pay for our drinks and food. They said of course and stood there and stared down the men in our group. It took another 20 minutes before the waitress was tracked down, paid and returned with our change. Talk about total breakdown in proceedure and service! I mean to get kicked out of a place and to still have to wait 20 minutes for your check! This place is a joke. Go to Chelsea Lanes or Bowlmore.

• Pros: you'll roll out laughing from the total and utter douchiness
• Cons: foolishly stupid club and a moronic bowling alley

07/09/09

great nighttime activity

by JackW

my friends and i always enjoy ourselves when we come here - it's a great place to spend a chill night - or not so chill, depending what you're in the mood for! the food, drinks, and music are great, and there's a reason the atmosphere draws so many celebrities!

• Pros: music, atmosphere, food
• Cons: crowded

05/07/09

Best Bowling Alley in NYC

by NYCboy

Lucky Strike has clearly taken the lead in hip bowling, the other places are just wannabees. I went there with my firends on a Thursday night and it was a very cool NYC vibe. I had the best club sandwich i ever had ( with a fried egg in it!).

The music was great and the waitstaff was friendly and hot. Im going back for my friends birthday party in the private room.

• Pros: Newest bowling alley in the city.
• Cons: The bathrooms dont smell like urine like @ Bowlmore

04/23/09

A Glowing Experience

by Tunes

I came to NYC for the fist time in a while to go to the international auto show last weekend with some friends. On our way to the car we seen Lucky Strikes and decided to try it out.

The wait outside was kind of long but i with stood the cold in order to try it out. When i got in I was surprised. I wasn't expecting it to be so nice... I figured bowling and food ok "why not."

There was music, glo lights, and no children (yeiii)

We ate first because there was a 40 minute wait to bowl. We had a few drinks. And bowled a few games. We took some really cute pictuers with the glo in the background!

I had fun, and I wouldn't mind going back again when I go to the city.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Music
• Cons: Crowded bar

04/02/09

A Great Night Awaits!

by StephInTheCity

I went to Lucky Strikes last weekend with my friends. When they told me dress up I was a little skeptical... but when I got there I seen why.

You're greeted by a red carpet, and once you get inside, it only gets better! There is a full bar, and glow in the dark lanes. There is also a pool table to pass time while you wait. We watched the game at the bar too.

Bowling was fun, but it was an after thought. There were so many people there we didnt mind waiting for a lane.

I ate a burger, which was good, but not as good as the Chocolate Insanity dessert! I LOVE Chocolate!!!!

Our waitresss kinda sucked, but we got through the night...

The prices are well worth it, especially if you're having a girls night out, or even a first date....

I can't wait to go back again!

• Pros: Bar, Music, Pool, Chocolate Insanity!!!!
• Cons: Dress Code, but you'll get past it

03/23/09

Great Time, Good Food, Hot Scene

by Lingus27

This place is so much fun! If I'm going to go bowling in Manhattan I might as well go somewhere that has a cool scene and is a one-stop shop for the night. This place has music (dj), lounge, food (tasty) and also a pretty good crowd. I would even just come here for drinks or to watch sports and check out the scene. Pool tables too. I wish all bowling alley's were like this... I'd bowl more often!

The only thing I'd recommend is that the servers would bring the drinks/food out quicker... sometimes they seem to be in their own world.

Otherwise HOT place to chill if you're not in the mood for a club.

• Pros: Great Time, Good Food, Hot Scene
• Cons: Service ok

01/18/09

One Word: Pathetic!

by Shinkicker

This place epitomizes all that can go wrong in this great city. The Lucky Strike Lanes brand appears to be trying so hard to be the nightclub it never will be, that it falls short of even being an average bowling alley.

Bouncers, ropes and red carpet make for a hostile entrance and once inside the door it only goes downhill; the entire crew of staff appear to be 19yr old trainees hired in from a temp company 5 minutes before opening.

We arrive at 630pm, without a booking. We are handed a buzzer and told it will be almost 9pm before we can bowl. At 10pm, we still aren't bowling. Now, if it's busy I would understand, however, at a rough estimate I would think 10 to 15 lanes remained empty and unused the entire time we were there???? We just wanted to bowl for an hour!!

Furthermore, we must have opened and closed out about 7 tabs in the time we were there, there were only 4 of us. The girls serving the pool table area get overwhelmed when they have more than 5 people to tend to and so handed us off to other wait staff as they pleased. Then you have to pay for the pool table, the food, the bowling and the drinks as you bowl. What happened to making things easy, taking one credit card and sorting it all out at the end of the night?? Ridiculous.

A few friends of mine had considered using this place for some upcoming birthday parties but on my and my friends' reviews from this weekend they will be getting no business if I can help it. Avoid the hassle, pick any other bowling place in the city.

Don't even get me started on the mink coat, Irish sweater, handlebar mustache, Fedora adorned manager prancing around with a walkie talkie as if he was doing something important!!!!! A joke!!!!

• Pros: I swear, I'm really trying to think here....
• Cons: Staff. Prices. Wait times. Attitude. Image.

11/24/08

What is this, a Nightclub or a Bowling Alley?!

by ZacharyBinx

Okay, so I had been to the Lucky Strike in Los Angeles, which is also WAY overrated, but a friend of mine wanted to spend his birthday here, because he said the one in Detroit was awesome...so I shut my mouth and tried to give Lucky Strike NYC a chance. Honestly, all I can say is this place is F-ed up! We called before heading over to see if we needed a reservation, but the girl on the phone said they only had a 20 minute wait. So about 10-15 minutes later we arrive to what seems like a club. There were bouncers outside and a dress code (for a bowling alley?!)...so after basically being frisked and forced to remove our hats, we got inside. People were dressed like they were at the hottest nightclub in town...which, once again in my opinion, is totally F-ed up! Now I realize that's kinda the feel they are going for, but unless celebs show up every other night, why would anyone want to go "clubbing" at a BOWLING ALLEY?! Wait, nevermind the celebs...WHO GOES CLUBBING TO A BOWLING ALLEY?!?! Whatever! So we go to sign ourselves up to bowl and the wait was now over 2 hours! Yes, fifteen minutes after we were told to just show up. Also, after checking out their prices we realized it was going to cost EACH of us around $20 PER game...WHAAAT?!?! We stayed there for about 10 minutes to wait for everyone to show up and then left... Hell No! Whoever comes here more than once for a simple night of bowling & beer, I pity you...You are wasting your money!

• Pros: ummm...I guess there were some hot girls there...if that's what you're looking for at a bowling alley
• Cons: Bouncers, Wait Time, Dress Code, Price, Feels like a nightclub instead of a bowling alley, the list goes on and on...

10/26/08

Would you like a drink with your game?

by JDWP

I just left Lucky Strike - it leaves something to be desired. At 1:00 on a Sunday I wouldn't expect to have to wait 20 minutes to get a lane when there were only about 10 in use. Their front desk didn't really seem to know what they were doing, and when the group behind us got impatient the desk guy said they were "swamped". And BTW, this 20 minutes was when there were only 2 groups ahead of us. I can't imagine what it would be like if they were actually busy. After we got our lane we looked for snacks on the menu...our menu was missing a page, but I snagged a menu from another table. We ordered drinks in like the 4th frame and they didn't come until we were done with our first game. For food, which we ordered with drinks, we got chicken skewers and pizza and it came shortly after the drinks. And we had time to eat, since you can't just keep bowling and have to go to the desk to begin a new game, which is kinda' annoying. The chicken skewers were OK. The pizza was like the stuff you got in the cafeteria in 5th grade - doughey, crappy cheese, oily, etc. While I wasn't really enjoying the food, I found it aggravating that they kept trying to bus the semi-full plates and asking if we were done. I also would have liked a real napkin and a fork to deal with the chicken skewers. All in all, I'm not too sure I would go back since there are other options in the city and if I am going to calorically screw my day up I would rather have better tasting stuff.

A sleek midtown lounge with bottle service, plush sitting areas and art-laden walls. So what's new? It's a bowling alley, too.

by Contributor

In Short
If it weren't for the soothing roll and topple sound of the pins, it would be easy to forget that there's a bowling alley at all at this massive midtown hybrid. Not that the lanes are forgettable, but there are no neon disco strobes to be found here: The whole establishment is dripping in decor, from the plush settees to the mood lighting to the marshmallow-colored, spun sugar-looking orb chandeliers. In keeping with the ambiance, the lounge is bathed in chocolate brown hues and accents like a Marilyn Monroe portrait behind the wooden bar. A crowd of jovial patrons sip brews and cocktails, whether they've come to unwind after work, to bowl, or both.

Hits: The environs are luxe, but there's no pretension. The staff is almost exceedingly friendly, calling drinkers by name once they've opened a tab.

Misses: The grease-soaked, glorified bar food isn't everything it should be, and the Westside Highway locale is far from any subway--or civilization generally, for that matter.