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AMF Imperial Lanes
Category: Active Life Bowling Bowling
2101 22nd Ave S(between Hill St & Walker St)
Seattle, WA 98144
Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
(206) 325-2525
- Hours:
Mon-Tue, Thu, Sun 9 am - 11 pm
Wed, Fri-Sat 9 am - 12 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
36 reviews for AMF Imperial Lanes
36 reviews in English
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Review from Nina N.
5/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
10 dollar all you can bowl on tuesday after 9 pm :) awesome!
and if you're hungry, just order chili cheese fries, and that's it.. everything else is gross -
Review from Nancy C.
12/6/2011
Decent, ill have to say. I grew up with this bowling alley and not much has changed. A bunch of us went to bowl and everything went well. I used the groupon that I purchased (had no problem, then again why would I?) .. Not much to say. They were nice though, we had our tod with us and the cashier told us they have a ramp that the little one could use, so that was a plus!
Place could use a "touch up" though... -
Review from Gloria H.
10/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Well I would love to say it was better here but we didn't get to bowl. Turns out every night in the non summer months is league night. Yep not just one night every night till 930. Lame.
But on a plus the bartender was nice and the service was good. -
Review from SiR N.
Seattle, WA
9/22/2011
It's your typical older, fairly scuzzy bowling alley that could use a deep clean here and there, but otherwise what you would expect a bowling alley to be like unless you want to look cooler, pay more, and go to the Garage on Capitol Hill or go to Lucky Strike.
You can sign up for weekly deals that they email you. For example, my husband just got one for $2.79/game for up to 10 games. Not bad!
And, I will say that the staff have always been friendly, responsive, and quick to help you out with any technical mishaps. And for an old sticky bowling alley, the women's bathroom was surprisingly pretty darn clean. -
Review from Vicky L.
8/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
The folks here know me by name. Makes me feel like one of the cool kids.
So, the #1 one thing about Imperial Lanes is that it's the one bowling alley I know that have plenty of balls and organized by pounds & colors. This makes it easy to tell whether I am picking a 10 pounds ball or a 12 pounds ball. At other places, I can't really tell what pounds ball I have. I pick on what "feels right" and sometimes, there aren't enough balls to go around.
And then the #1.5 thing about this place is the Wednesday night Quartermania. A quarter a game starting at 9pm and paying a flat fee of $5.75. It's a great deal to bowl your heart out. -
Review from Michael S.
Sammamish, WA
2/20/2012
This bowling alley is adequate but below average in most respects.
Being in a league last fall, I got to intimately know lanes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Each have "tricks" to them such that once you learn, say, that the left hand gutter on lane 1 will bounce balls out and knock down the 7 pin each time, you can improve your score by a few points. Although this might be a positive they lose a star here for having wildly inconsistent lanes.
After dark, homeless people have a tendency to wander in near the side entrance next to the bar. Employees scat them away if they see them, but usually they start begging people for money and have the opportunity to go through your things if you are not careful. Therefore if you're bowling on lane 1 or 2, make sure you keep your things within sight.
Equipment is generally poor - balls with dents in them are the norm, and shoes with holes or tattered laces are more common than they should be.
But, it does have that old-time run down bowling alley charm, which saves it from being a 1-star facility. I hate bowling at Lucky Strike and this is one of the few non-trendy places in the area to bowl at. So would I bring kids here? No. But it's fine for people in their 20s or 30s looking to bowl on the cheap. -
Review from Jennifer B.
Seattle, WA
6/17/2011 5 Check-ins Here
A neighborhood bowling alley
Joined a bowling league here for fun. It is generations of Asian Americans mostly and other ethnicities. Rarely do you see grandma, daughter, granddaughter all in one place hanging out - pretty cool stuff.
Not sure about non bowling league nights but probably an okay place to hang out. If you want to eat get the wings and order them first thing when you walk through the door b/c it will take an hour or so to get them. The pizza is like a middle school cafeteria, yuck. Get pitchers of cheap beer. The bartender is nice and will change the TV if you want to watch a different sport. Besides that it is your usual greasy must wash your hands after bowling alley. -
Review from Micah A.
1/6/2011 35 Check-ins Here
I'm giving this place 4 stars as a courtesy because I am here every week for "Quartermania" and feel that any place that receives my business weekly should be credited with a 4 star review. Even so, this place has a lot of flaws. Let's start with the cons:
- On any given day, you'll be lucky if you're on a lane next to someone that can count to potato with an IQ above squirrel. This is lowest common denominator clientele, and if you enjoy sitting around and reflecting on your faith in humanity, you should probably keep as far away from this place as possible.
- One day I was bowling here and Nate Robinson showed up with a posse of about twenty. They were on a lane a few spaces down. I considered going up and asking him to sign something, but then I realized that I could not care less about his existence and I'd probably use that piece of paper to blow my nose, so I didn't. Even though Robinson is about 3 foot 12, he doesn't bowl too poorly for a guy that gets paid over a million dollars to be a glorified bench warming cushion. At one point he got a strike, and this middle aged white lady that was bowling next to him thought it would be fun to walk up and say congratulations. Robinson responded by dry humping the lady's leg and pressing himself up against her until she fell over onto her lane, then he laughed and high fived his buddies. The lady was crying.
- If you're in the market for some foul smelling Mary Jewana, I believe they might sell the most potent, rancid plant in history over by the back entrance. Either that or they are simply taking some time to hide in a stairwell and enjoy it themselves because at home they have to deal with their meany mothers. Every time that door opens the entire bowling alley smells like The Evergreen College.
- Lane 1 is tilted a little to the left. Lane 3 likes to have errors that cause it to freeze until the employees restart it. Lane 4 has a bump right in the front of the lane. Lane 13 just sucks and I have no idea why. Every lane is good enough, every one has its own weird problems.
This is a flawed place, and if you have a problem being surrounded by wannabe thugs that have too much confidence and no shame, going here during any peak hour may be a struggle.
Pros:
- Considering its location, it's not that bad a bowling alley. They maintain it with at least some resemblance of regularity so that if you know how to bowl, you won't experience too much friction and your ball probably won't adjust oddly from bumps in the lane.
- They have claw machines for toys, and if you rock the dizzle out of the claw machine like I do, you can take home a bag full of children's stuffed animals on any given night.
- Wednesday's "Quartermania " is pretty impressive, because you can bowl from 9ish to midnight for about $8.00 total. $5.00 investment, quarter a game, shoes included. Not bad.
In some ways this place sucks. But in other ways, this place sucks. Still, if you ignore those ways, you'll find that a lot about this place sucks. Even so, there are few bowling alleys in Seattle, even fewer that have these good deals, and the alley itself is better than Kenmore Lanes so unless you plan on driving to West Seattle this is the best nearby option available.Listed in: Storytime
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Review from Daren D.
Updated - 12/4/2011
Their sweet potato fries are good! They may seem lesser than other places, but that's partly because they're a thicker cut. You can also request to have the food and games on one tab. The asian gal working was pretty cute, too! She forgot to bring my water but it wasn't a big deal as I just flagged her down again.
Listed in: Bowling Alleys
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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10/23/2011
I've been coming here on-and-off every other weekend for a change from ACME's Early Bird special. In… Read more »
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Review from Riss J.
9/15/2008
I loved this place! Literally, the cleanest bowling alley I've ever seen.
It is everything a bowling alley should be. They followed the formula perfectly. Arcade games, greasy spoon food wares, full bar, ample lanes.
Converged upon Imperial for my b-day event least night. It was moderately filled as we arrived, but easy to get a lane and most of the crowd was filling out for the evening at 7.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the event. I could not have asked for a more perfect group of folks. The right amount of humor, booze, wit, safety dance skills and random bowling ability!! Thanks SO MUCH to Don L for putting this up, it was just awesome!
My one regret is that I did not join the AMF/Nickelodeon bowling league and get my free SpongeBob (or Dora!) bowling ball. -
Review from Will L.
10/3/2008
NOTE: Don't attempt to demonstrate the Safety Dance while holding a bowling ball. I threw my back out and was bedridden for a week.
Now that the public service announcement is out of the way, AMF rocks! CHEAP BOWLING! The place was clean, the folks working here friendly, the bartender poured stiff drinks, and the food was tasty.
We had a pretty big group here bowling for Riss' birthday. We were able to cram our crowd in with ease, the place wasn't crowded at all.
My only complaint is that the men's bathroom did smell like pee. I'm not sure what bathroom Don L. went to... -
Review from Ian S.
10/4/2008
I've never driven so far to bowl before. It's a birthday party though. There are some things a ninja has to do.
Good lanes. Nice balls (har har).
Inexpensive yet decent beer (though they'll use an ice pack in the middle of it that takes up half the space inside the pitcher if you let them), gross pizza (but hey. it's ok if you're drinking, right?) and crazy weird 16-bit graphics if you bowl well or poorly.
They have bumper bowling available if you're 10, you act like you're 10, or you've drank yourself to the age of 10. -
Review from Alli D.
11/18/2009
While I would love to blame the bowling alley for my own lackluster pin-knocking-down skills, that would not be fair. Putting all those gutter balls out of my mind, I have to give this place a good review.
I came here to sub for a friend's bowling league, and was very impressed. The shoes were clean (or at least looked like it), even though I had to settle for a pair a size too small. They had plenty of "Weeny Girl" balls to choose from, so I wasn't left with a 12-pounder that would be more likely to send ME down the lane. They had bowling-pin bud lights. And they had not one, but TWO stuffed-animal-claw machine dealies. So you don't have to wait two hours for the seven year olds to stop trying for that Hanna Montana pillow.
It's kind of a far trek to Beacon Hill, but with so few bowling alleys around anymore, this is a great option. -
Review from Jena E.
4/29/2010
I don't need a high class bowling alley. I don't need citrus peel highballs, or blacklight shoes, or Deep Blue computer scoring systems. So when I walked into AMF I was super excited to be in a down-home Dude Approved alley.
If anything was going to save my review of this alley, it was going to be the service. The owner stopped by each lane to check in on us. The lady at the counter cracked offbeat jokes. The food service guy said "I like your top." (I will assume that he actually liked my top. That is how I interpret that.)
For me, that didn't make up for the lack of attention to food, drinks, and equipment. Ok there's simple and old fashioned, and then there's nachos out of a can. (Cold canned cheese on top of dry tostitos, sprinkled with shredded Kraft cheddar.) Also disliked that the cooling cylinder in the pitchers cuts down the volume of beer by a third. And I'm sorry, but I DO use alley equipment, and I was less than impressed with the balls and shoes, even for a "dive" alley.
The quest for good plain Jane lanes continues... -
Review from Kiki M.
2/24/2009
Remember that episode of The Simspsons when Homer, Apu, Moe, and Principal Skinner were a bowling group called "Pin Pals" and they had those nifty shirts? Now you have that episode re-playing in your mind forget it because I was in a bowling team and it was nothing like that but I became mildly fond of the bowling alley AMF Imperial Lanes.
It has been a good three years since my bowling team experience and I hadn't been back to Imperial Lanes since then. Last weekend a group of lads and I ventured for some drunken bowling and I was reminded that this place was alive and kicking.
They have great lanes, there is a full bar, the snack bar serves up a really damn good pretzel, and rock and bowl on Saturday nights. The only complaint I had was I couldn't find a ball to suit my needs. I suppose I lay in blame since I have a fat thumb that needs a huge hole to fit through. Oh, that sounds naughty. The music selection was R&B and rap with some Jason Mraz thrown in and soft rock played at random intervals. At least there is something for everyone I suppose.
I did find it peculiar we were escorted to our lane and our names were put in by the employee. What?! I can't put in my go to bowing name of Tits McGee or depending on how I feel that day Chesty LaRue? Aw, man! Regardless of my inability to go by my alterego, the employee was incredibly sweet but didn't know what Jagermeister was, which was a bit amusing.
For a Saturday night the place wasn't packed at all. I thought it would be pretty happening but maybe it was just an off night.
AMF Imperial Lanes is a great place to go for some bowling and drinking on any night of the week. Oh, and they have pulltabs! I'm talking to you middle aged folks. -
Review from Zarkle B.
Seattle, WA
7/10/2011
The people here were kind of slow but what do you expect from the ghetto. But for bowling, the lanes are in good condition and electronic so you don't have to keep your own score. There's a bar and a diner for the essential beer and greasy diner food. The balls are all organized by weight so it's easy to find a bowl. The shoes were in good condition, and they play tunes while you bowl :) Also they have dollarmania on tuesdays after 9p and quartermania on wednesdays after 9p where you pay $5 and then $0.25 or $1 per game. Good deal! Also, they don't do bowling by the hour which is weird. Oh and they do have extreme bowling fri/sat nights from 930p-midnight for $15. That's always a good time!
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Review from Shekinah S.
Seattle, WA
3/20/2011
I hadn't been to a bowling alley in years and a birthday party brought us to AMF Imperial Lanes this weekend. It was interesting to see what some people consider appropriate bowling alley wear and who thinks it's a good idea to have their kids at a bowling alley at midnight. It wasn't too crowded on a Saturday night and everyone had a real good time -- bowlers and non-bowlers alike.
The place was reasonably clean, even the bathrooms. But it was freezing in there; many of us wore our coats the whole time. There is food, but nothing that looked remotely appetizing. There is a bar. Pitchers of beer have a tube for ice in the middle, which makes me think you are getting 2/3 a pitcher of beer, albeit a frosty cold one. I didn't drink or bowl so I can't comment on the prices. But a couple people said the bartender was nice. The music was very very loud and what I call "gym music" (aka Top 40s hip hop jams). There were vending machines for snacks, beverages, ice cream treats (!), scratch off tickets, and one of those machines where you try to get a toy out. Two dudes were literally trying to shake it to get something for a good half an hour before an employee said anything to them. My friend also managed to bowl in 4" heels without being reprimanded. The only time the employees really made themselves heard was at midnight when they tried to get all customers to leave. Buddy bumpers available. Automatic scoring at the lanes. Lockers available by the restrooms, and I think I saw a pool table and/or some arcade games back there as well (but I could be making that up). Big parking lot. The bowling balls are real pretty colors. For realz.
3 Stars cause I guess it's fine for what it is, not cause I'll be back anytime soon. -
Review from Don T.
Seattle, WA
4/2/2008
Sure, the area is a bit shady, but the prices and friendly staff make it worth a visit. Depending on who you are, the fact that the place stays true to its working class roots could be either an up or a downside. It isn't swank like the alley in Bellevue. It isn't hip like the alley in Ballard. This place is just a classic alley.
Go there on a Sunday morning for cheaper games and a real interesting crew who come not to bowl but to just eat breakfast. Go there at night and then head to Wendys close by to "eat great even late" or whatever that catchy saying is. -
Review from D.J. Y.
2/9/2007
4 stars for the true essense of what a bowling alley should be. Small cafe, video games, well they use to have them, maybe the pull tab machines have replaced them by now. It's been a few years since I've been here. I used to bowl here on a regular basis back in the day.... ah fond memories... Pro shop was stocked okay, if they didn't have something they'd order for you. Plenty of parking.
Friendly staff and great prices! -
Review from Jeremy M.
2/5/2009
I grew up bowling at this place, literally! I've been bowling here since back in the days, when Michael Jackson was still black! HAHAHA! This first owner I knew of(Dale) was great, this place used to be open 24/7 and business was always booming. After AMF bought them out I swear their business just went down hill. The lanes don't seem any better even though I know they went through a $250,000 renovation on their lanes back in the mid 90s, but honestly they still suck!
Their lane setup system is garbage and confusing as hell, still has the same problem for the past 10 years where if you were stuck with the 7 or the 10 pin and you roll a light weight ball fast down the gutter the ball will hit a incline and bounce up and hit the pin! HAHAHA! It was rather cheap because of their promotion on wednesday night, it was like six bucks to start bowling then a quarter a game. It was cheap entertainment but I do prefer bowling else where. -
Review from Meredith K.
Seattle, WA
4/10/2008
Gotta love Imperial Lanes. Hey, we have a locker here with all our bowling stuff... that's how long my husband's family has been bowling at this place. The lanes are no longer "sanctioned" so if you are a league bowler and you hit a 298, 299 or 300 you don't get a snazzy ring and all the hoo-haw you used to. That just means that the lanes are not maintained to ABC standards, so it's kinda like cheating.
The food here is good for a bowling alley. Get the "mix-up" which is kinda like a big plate of fried rice with your choice of meat and a couple slices of buttered toast. They have made some modest upgrades in the last couple years, but most of the league teams have jumped ship and headed down south to Acme. Guess that's just the way the ball bounces. -
Review from Zachary Sam Z.
Seattle, WA
11/23/2008
Went here with some friends to bowl last night. It was a decent place, the prices for drinks were good, the music and lighting was good, and overall everyone had a good time.
However, there were a couple things that stood out, making this a 3 start review:
* As others have commented, the beer pitchers come with a giant cooler in the middle that cuts out how much beer you get by half. Lame!
* We paid $16 for unlimited bowling until midnight. When they say "until midnight," they mean it. At midnight, the lights came on, the music stopped, and even though we were on our 8th frame they said we had to stop and turned off our lane. Watch the clock!
That aside, if my friends went bowling here again, I'd probably go back. But it's far enough out of the way that I doubt I'll make the trip here again on my own. -
Review from Chris F.
2/4/2010
Went there last night for the first time. It's your average run of the mill bowling alley, nothing special. Service wasn't all that great. Perhaps, I should say the cook wasn't that fastidious. It took about 1 hour to get an order of Chicken Quesadillas. The waitress said the cook was in training. Ok. So, I just took my food with a smile and went on my way.
Can't say it was a bad experience there, and it certainly isn't as upscale as the Garage in Seattle, but worth going to.
Oh, a pitcher of PBR cost 9.50. I thought that was a bit high for PBR. And to boot, they have a cylinder in the middle which keeps it cold, a plus, but a minus in that it's big enough to take a beer a way from the total amount. -
Review from Shauna H.
Seattle, WA
9/11/2009
There's something about the bowling that transports me to my youth, when I made a bet with a fellow Phys Ed prisoner during our bowling unit that I'd cream him in front of everyone when our class field trip took us to the lanes. Instead, he beat me handily by at least double and I sullenly listened to my Candlebox tape on the long ride of shame back to school.
Despite this tragedy, I love bowling (though I'm still not great at it). That said, one visit to this place and I'm kind of like "Where have you been all my life, AMF Imperial Lanes?". I've been to a few lanes in the area - there are some great ones in West Seattle - but this one is like a completely foreign land in its own neighborhood. We showed up on a Friday night around 9 and it was only half-full, with a subtle (if this is possible) laser show on the lanes and THE BEST music playing - it's a nonsensical mix of 70s-current music that presents something for everyone to do a victory dance to on the way back from their turn.
The guy behind the counter had a few jokes, and he walked us to our lane and entered our names for us - maybe this is to cut down on shenanigans? Who knows. He was charming. We played a few games, had some soda and beer, and ordered some snacks before the bar closed. As we left, we noticed that on Friday nights between 9:30-midnight, you can pay $15 and play as much as you want. Not a bad deal - they also advertised special nights, cheap Tuesdays and Wednesdays, bowling happy hours.
This is a cool alley and a good example of not judging a book by its cover. I'll go back often and bring friends - you should, too. -
Review from Kazuo O.
Renton, WA
12/27/2010
Came here with a group of friends on a Sunday afternoon. It was packed, not sure if that's usual or because it was after Christmas. It would have been a two hour wait but luckily some friends had a lane already. The lanes need fixing, you can throw a gutter ball and sometimes the ball would jump back in the lane. I'm not a pro so I won't get mad at that. If you're looking for bowling with fancy lights and nice couches don't come here. This is just plain bowling for southside G's haha. I'm a fan of this place because the people working here are chill and friendly.
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Review from Vanessa F.
Seattle, WA
8/4/2008
I love this place! We went on a Saturday night and it was not crowded....not empty either ....just easy to get a lane ....easy to get service....easy easy! Everyone who works there is crazy polite and attentive and seemingly genuinely nice.
I felt so comfortable and at home. No one was trying to be too cool for school, it just felt how bowling should feel...fun.
Plus the cheese fries....oh yum. -
Review from Henry L.
Seattle, WA
5/27/2011
Fun place to spend an afternoon with the family and friends. Small amount of video arcade games and other vending machines. Busy on the weekends.
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Review from bonne b.
Seattle, WA
10/4/2005
Great lanes. Always an interesting, diverse crowd here, including people who come to play the 'slot' machines...(is that what they are??)
Bowling staff is really friendly and welcoming.
Lots of bumper lanes.
THey run great specials where games are really cheap....worth a call to check this out. -
Review from Matthew M.
Bellevue, WA
1/29/2011
Let me preface this comment with that I don't go bowling too often. When I do go bowling with friends, I like to go to AMF Imperial Lames! The service is friendly, the facilities are cleaner than one may think, and the music is fun- a great place to go with a group of people. We just bowled with a few games with a group of people and it was only $25 for 2 games. Plus, they have a full bar with some really great drink specials. For a cheap weekend activity, this is a great place to hang out, bowl a few strikes and throw a few cold ones back. Have fun and good luck!
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Review from Adam C.
5/9/2007
We figured this location would be rather seedy so we got a group together for a night we called Ghetto Bowl. We were surprised and a bit disappointed to find that this is a pretty darn wholesome family operation. The customer service is unparalleled: the guys that run the place are so friggin polite and friendly that I suspect they are Mormons. The guys behind the counter broke down the payment options and explained how we could get the most roll for our dough. They had no qualms with changing the music to something of my choice and to turning up the volume a bit. The clientle was surprising: even up past midnight on the weekend we saw lots of kids. Clearly parents that aren't quite sure about the concept of kids and bedtimes, but gotta give them credit for at least doing family oriented activities.
The only things that keep me from rating this a 5 is the lack of karaoke and of the social/meet other people atmosphere I have found at the Sunset. But that might be a 5 in others' books. -
Review from Mandy C.
Seattle, WA
11/24/2009
I'm giving this place a solid 3 stars because I was surprised at how clean & light it was when I went there recently on a Friday night with friends. Of course we sampled their greasy delicacies from the grill at the back and I must say that the cheeseburger sliders were adorable. The bowling was fun and this place isn't even very far from downtown. I'd drive down here if I have a big group of people because there's a parking lot. (My one gripe about the Garage is that it can be tough to find parking in Capitol Hill...) Imperial Lanes is old skool fun. I like it.
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Review from Joey T.
Seattle, WA
10/23/2010 9 Check-ins Here
Been here for many years. It has changed a lot since mid 90's when I was hangout here as a kid. Bowling Wednesday night is very cheap!!! $5 cover charge includes shoes and 50 cent per game.
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Review from Lauren A.
Seattle, WA
8/11/2010
The service here is fabulous!
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Review from Vinh N.
Redmond, WA
4/17/2010
My friends and I come here to bowl because 1) never have problems getting a lane. 2) shoes and games are pretty cheap and 3) hard liquor and pitchers of beer are pretty cheap too. The balls and the lanes are fine as well if you want a low-key cheap "drunk bowling" night.
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Review from Stella M.
Seattle, WA
6/10/2008
I have been here three times thanks to my pleasant surprise that it is an easygoing and not-too-crowded place to go bowling. I have gone on Friday nights and still been able to get a lane easily. There is a full bar, a very nice and courteous staff, and everyone there seems to be having fun. There was a group of elderly people last time I went and they were having a blast, which was good to see. I don't know, stuff like that just gives me the warm fuzzies. Either that, or the beer was affecting me.
It is kid-friendly, and they have decent food. What can I say, I wholeheartedly recommend these lanes for a laid-back good time. I initially went to AMF on a whim, after looking up where the local bowling lanes were post-Sunset Bowl, but I plan to return as often as I can. -
Review from MM R.
Seattle, WA
8/25/2005 2 photos
This is a friendly, friendly place and they appreciate the business. Perfect place to host a party and they'll even accomodate you if you want to rent the whole place out for a function. Little weird about how you do the food so figure that out before booking. Bowling is always fun. Plenty of bumper lanes for the kids. Oh and they do have a full bar.
