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Midtown Bowl
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
29 reviews for Midtown Bowl
It's been half a million years since I had graced the Midtown Bowl. I've been missing out. As a second stop on the birthday journey that was my 38th. It was perfect. We drank, we bowled, we noshed and we sang along to Delta Dawn. At least I did. The drinks were super strong. I literally had a coughing fit from the first sip. Pass on the jello shots, I think they're placebos.
Bowling is truly America's sport. It requires little physical effort or coordination. And it appears to become easier with alcohol consumption.
Sign me up!
I didn't try the snack bar. I was sorely tempted to try the funnel cake, instead I opted for a beer spritzer. When in Rome...
The crowd was an insane hodge-podge of every type. They all seemed to enjoy my renditions of their jukebox selections. Lucky them.
Overall it was crazy good fun times for all. I will not wait another century before returning to serenade the bowlers once more.
"Just the facts ma'am."
Current Posted Bowling Rates:
$4 Shoe Rental
Monday through Thurs:
5pm to Midnight.............................. $20hr per lane.
12am to Close.................................$10hr per lane.
Friday and Saturday
5pm to Close...................................$30hr per lane
Midtown Bowl has the charm of a 1970's bowling alley, because it hasn't changed since 1970, and that's not such a bad thing! For instance, that's not to say it isn't clean. Quite the contrary! I witnessed attendants systematically keeping the facility maintained during my entire game!
Seating:
Good news! There is more then adequate seating! With each lane having designated tables (that's plural) that are not open to the public, your team will always have a place to sit!
The Box:
The Jukebox is a little ridiculous, with Hank Williams, Eddie Rabbit, and Jay Z, I can only assume the owners are trying to be all things to all people. I hate country, but if it was all country, at least it would have showed some conviction.
Video Games:
There aren't as many games as you'd expect to find in an average alley. But they do have a multi-game machine that has 15 or so games all packed into one machine! If you need your fix of Pac Man, Quix, Donkey Kong, Frogger, or Dig Dug, etc.... you won't be left wanting... perhaps just standing in line!
Food:
The vegetarian selection is the big surprise at Midtown Bowl! These items are just the highlights, there are 14 additional items! None of which break the bank!
Funnel Cake.....................................2.00
Veggie Dog........................................2.25
Cheese Pizza....................................2.95 (slice)
Black Bean Veggie Burger.............3.50
Sweet Potato Fries..........................2.25
Fried Okra.........................................3.25
Jalapeno Bottle Caps.....................3.50
Onion Rings w/Creole Dip.............3.25
Fried Mushrooms............................3.50
For the meat eaters, there are 10 sandwiches, and all the varied deep fried meat "fingers" you'd expect at a bowling alley. Here are some of the highlights...
The Big Burger..................................2.75
BLT Croissant...................................2.75
All Beef Hot Dog................................1.95
Wings (battered or naked)..............8 for 5.50
Fish and Chips.................................4.50
The Bar:
The bar at Midtown is more like a Kiosk, and I can't warn you enough... Stay Away From The Bottled Beer! A single bottle of 420 cost $4.50! Worse... a single bottle of PBR was $3.00! Ludicrous!!! It's just water and beer flavoring!
Don't fret... all is not lost! There is a Specials board over the bar, and if I were you, I'd stick to it! On the day I was there, these were the specials:
Long Island Ice Tea....................................5.00
Kamakazi Shots..........................................2.0 0
Jello Shots............................................. .......2.00
Specials:
There is currently a lunch special if you want to bowl with lunch (sounds messy)! Food and a alley for 11.75 per person for 1 to 2 hours depending on how many people are on your team. The details are too great to list here, so here's the link...
http://www.midtownbowl...
"If you can't hear a pin drop, then something is definitely wrong with your bowling."
- Anonymous
I love Midtown Bowl. I do. The gnarly smell, the too old hotel-type carpets, the broken lane lights. I love your bizarre-o league nights where I am forced (due to lane lackage) to go to the even more broken down Sugar Daddy's.
You're cheap. You're worn. You have beer. The Jesus would approve.
I love Midtown Bowl and the renovations that have been done over the years. As I grew up in Atlanta and even remained here for college I've seen the transformation of the name (several times), building, the decor, the style, and service. By college this place became the official bowling alley of my fraternity chapter. As of now, its the best its every been. The prices have gone up slightly, but I think such is ok as its upgrades are providing a stylish but cheaper alternative to Atlantic Station or 300. The lanes are well kept in my opinion. Of course its a bowling alley so there will always be some issues as the average crowd are young teens or older bowling league beer drinkers. I have noticed that this place attracts many mid twenties and thirties people who are really good bowlers. The food here is good, and the bar knows what they're doing so I'm a fan.
Really nice bowling alley. Food menu and drink menus are much larger and more upscale here than other places - impressive beer selection for a bowling alley. Is that Sam Smith's?! I think it is! Basically, it is a bit larger and nicer than Funtime, but more crowded and a little more expensive (see Funtime Bowl review for more depth and comparison - http://www.yelp.com/bi...).
4
I would like to give this place 3 1/2 stars, alas, yelp refuses to use the half star system. The place has lots of charm, good ball selection for those of you who don't have your own ball, and has lots of room for you to sit and drink between frames. The staff was friendly and accommodating for our large party (the only down side is that you can't pay with more than one credit card so bring cash to split the bill). The food and drinks are decent and reasonably priced and they have an icee machine (f'in awesome). The only complaint is that our lane was not oiled properly and the automatic pins got stuck a few times during our game which is kind of annoying when bowling by the hour. Anyhow, overall very nice place for any type of bowler.
I only bowl once a year and its usually at someones birthday party. I must confess...I do enjoy it and I am quite good at it! People laugh though...I have this runway walk with the bowling ball on one hand and do a lil hop before i fling the ball down the aisle! Anyways, this past Sunday was my friend Ells Fabulous and 40 Birthday party! When she mentioned that she wanted to have her b-day party at Midtown Bowl, I got excited and anxious!
Upon arriving, I realized that they really have cleaned up this place. New chairs and tables, hi-tech scoring computers, even the carpets looked clean! Of course they kept the old shoes, bowling balls, and bathrooms! The prices are decent and they finally accept credit cards. On customer service, the people that work here are really nice and helpful. Oh and did I mention that they sell bottles of Hoegardden!!!
It was a great time and the winner was actually my "man-friend", David! I swear, any type of sport that you have to wear a certain type of shoe ...he excels in! Plus he had that bowlers stride with that right leg crossing the back left. Take that Homer!
Skanks can be had anywhere anytime up and down this stweet...but the ones hanging out at the alley at 3am are as used up as the bowling balls.
They get picked up, fingered and thrown into the gutter... if that's not entertainment, I don't know what is. It's like a double feature for the pwice of one ticket.
Nothing says townie bowling alley like the smell of foot funk and incest in the air. Dwink a few pitchers, get buzzed, double dog dare a friend or two to eat the food, get buzzed and toss a skank or two into the gutter.
Gotta love it...this place is Classic. It's like a monster twuck rally...you pay for the whole seat but you only need the edge!!!
ZIPPPP!
It's been a while since I had been to Midtown Bowl considering that I was stunned with the redone interior. Apparently I heard it happened about 1 year ago. Go figure...
Nonetheless, as rusty as my bowling skills were, I managed to pull off 2 Turkeys in 2 games back to back. The first Turkey happening in the 10th frame.
The good thing about Midtown Bowl is that it's not one of the fancy bowling places (like the one in Atlantic Station) where they charge an arm and a leg.
So the service here is kinda indifferent, but I love to bowl, so 24 hour bowling is awesome for me. I've been with friends young and old and always have a great time. Plus, they have Ms. Pac Man. Woo Hoo!
A general bowling warning: If your fingers are not used to bowling and you're not a pro who doesn't use the little finger holes, don't bowl more than one game no matter how tempting! I have lost more than a few nails and twisted my fingers. Anyone feel the same way? Ok, so maybe I'm the only weakling dork.
Midtown Bowl, the makeover suits you. No longer the 70s era basement rec room of Atlanta, you've ceded that title to the Clermont Lounge. Now you're bright and shiny and are those Jello shots I see you're selling? Aw, I knew you could never totally class it up.
Just make sure you remind me when league nights are. Otherwise you're busier than a guy trying desperately to find a metaphor for being busy.
OMG why do I always forget that I like to bowl? Everytime I go I'm like, "yes!!! I should do this more often!" and then I don't for like a year...but anyway, they've totally renovated the old Midtown Bowl and that place is SOLID now. Even the outside has had a serious facelift and I thought their execution of the retro style was perfect. Where's my poodle skirt and saddle shoes?!
Anyway, the inside has been totally renovated as well and it's very clean and fresh. The rental shoes are still pretty new so get'em while they're still smelling good, y'all. Oh and you have to leave one of your shoes as "collateral" because I guess people actually leave with rental bowling shoes?!?! Mmmmm yum.
So yeah, FULL BAR, great apps & fried stuff, and just an overall great environment. I still suck at bowling though. No matter how much better the place looks...some things never change. =(
I really liked Midtown Bowl! This is totally based on the yummy black bean burger I had, as well as the other vegetarian options, and the clean bathrooms. I mean, bowling is bowling-I liked the bowling here as much as I like other bowling allies. But it's quite rare to come across a bowling alley with veggie options and restrooms that smelled of cleanliness. I'm a fan. The only thing that would keep me from coming here again is that Brunswick offers amazing bowling coupons that you just can't beat!
I've been here exactly once, and it was for the Klingons vs. Furries bowling tournament.
That's all I needed to know, man. Other than that, it's a bog-standard, if a bit crowded, bowling alley. But jesus christ, Klingon vs. Furry bowling.
Before I came to Atlanta, my friend got me an "Atlanta Tour Book" as a joke. I was looking through it the other day and found a little comment about Midtown Bowl. They said that it's a great place for families and friends to get together and have some good time. However, the only problem was the bowling alley's name wasn't listed as "Midtown Bowl," but it was "Express Lanes." However, the address and phone number were the same as Midtown Bowl. Moreover, my friend's GPS lists Midtown Bowl as "Sugar Daddy's Lounge." I later found out that they all refer to the same place, but at first encounter, I was totally thrown off.
Otherwise, this place is great. They recently changed their pricing to $25/alley per hour, which in my opinion, is more than affordable. The only complain I've got with this place is the wait. It's so long that I could knit a sweater while I'm waiting. If you don' want the wait, try the weekdays and really early in the day or really late in the night.
I am a terrible bowler.
This is no secret, and I am happy to say is just as entertaining to me as it is to whoever has the privilege to see me attempt to bowl... especially on those rare occasions when I randomly get a strike or something, because I have a special dance I save just for those moments. When I say special, I mean SPECIAL.
Anyway, loved this place, not only because it's open 24/7, but because it provides cheap entertainment, beer, and yummy, greasy snack bar food. The animations on the screens crack me up, and I got a Betty Boop doll out of the claw machine. I also like that they keep one of your street shoes when you get the bowling shoes, because it makes me imagine someone a) actually forgetting to remove them, or b) stealing them. Ultimately, I like it because it provides a place for me to be completely foolish with my friends and not care.
For example, one time I was bowling my second frame and my earring went flying down the alley. Obviously, the smart thing to do was to step forward on the incredibly slippery waxed surface to retrieve it, past the giant DO NOT STEP HERE YOU IDIOT message, and so I slipped, fell on my ass, grabbed my wayward earring, and crawled on my hands and knees back to traction land, all underscored by the unbridled delight of my cackling companions.
Oh, Midtown Bowl. How I love thee.
My friends and I briefly had a pseudo 'bowling league,' where we just drank and bowled a lot . .. and one friend made us these awesome wifebeater league shirts. But we would always go bowling places that are not close to in-town.
Joyous was the discovery of Midtown Bowl! And even better was the retro exterior . . . definitely renovated since the 1960s but still with the same feel.
One of the main reasons to love this place is that they are open 24 hours a day. Bowling need strike after the bars? Need a cup of coffee and to get a game in before work? Yes ma'am, they will indeed be open.
The snack bar serves a extensive and greasy menu, and the bar even has mini bottles of champagne.
They can get busy at peak hours so if you have a party scheduled or planned for a large group, call ahead to reserve a lane.
Whatever the many of names it has been through all these years, I have always gone here to have a good time bowling. I used to go to the MJQ night where those who DJ'ed or worked there would go and have a fun night of bowling.
Our curse to the other team, for them to lose, was to sing them Michael Jackson song's.... we would chant, "ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa, ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa" to the team we wanted to lose. And it usually worked! Also 'chicken scratching' helped.
Well , anyway, besides all of my inside jokes, this is the best place to bowl, 24-7, in the midtown area!
Midtown Bowl looks fantastic after its recent makeover.
It's open 24/7 so you can go whenever you want to, and the attached lounge provides a space for smokers so that you don't have to leave the bowling alley reeking of weeks-old smoke. There are plenty of lanes here, but since it's the only in-town bowling alley it's pretty packed on league night. Being an insomniac college student helps with that problem, since you can just go later. The price drops after midnight also, which is an added bonus.
The folks who work there are friendly and pretty chilled out, and I've never had a problem with other bowlers. It's just bowling... and bowling is always a good time.
This place rules!
It's so crunk and ghetto and totally ATL... they serve Goose/Tonic but you can't get more than one without more than one ID - so leave your HS hottie at home if she ain't got a fake ID!
You don't really have a whole lot of options if you want to go bowling and you live downtown. There are other options up I-85, but Midtown Bowl is the only place I know of in downtown proper. It's definitely nothing to get worked up about, besides for the act of bowling itself: it's a standard, 25-ish lane building with snack bar food and beer and impatient service. Often there are waiting lines, depending on the night, but eventually you'll get a lane and pay average prices by the game or by the hour.
They have a jukebox that downloads tracks from online at request and for an extra charge. There's a small arcade. Some nights I've seen it get really crowded in here, and it seems there's always a decent amount of action, considering that it's open 24 hrs and its the only place in town.
Harrumph. Very unhappy :( I was soooo excited to go bowling; we called in advance to make sure there was no league bowling and that not everything was reserved and we were assured that we would have "no problem" because it was "all wide open" on the particular day we planned to bowl. So, we arrived at around 5:45 PM - kinda early in the day to possibly avoid some of the wait but still expecting some wait. Well, when we got there and finally got through the line at the counter, we were told that they indeed did not have any lanes available that day and that everything was reserved. But, didn't we just call and get contrary information? Well, we were told that that information was wrong and he didn't know who we spoke to but it was still wrong - now go away. He did not even hint at an apology for the mix-up. I was not expecting them to find a lane for us since they were all reserved but it would have been nice for him to apologize for our trouble.
I had been here before so I knew the deal about the wait and I know the service is not great so I didn't really expect much. I mean, it is a bowling alley. But, this was very disappointing. I get the impression that since they are the only game in town and they know it, they get away with not being nice and with messing things up and just making people deal with it. I just don't know if it is worth the trouble to go here - I guess if you really want to bowl and don't want to drive to someplace barely inside the perimeter. I would choose the drive over this place.
We just did a three restaurant "bowling night" there and they could not have more friendly, especially with the electronics and the constant changing of names that we had as more people came in later on in PM. They were shutting down at 2AM, and let us finish our frames, staying about 15 minutes later than they needed.
Who doesn't love bowling? The bad thing about this place is that if you want to go bowling at a "peak" time (which seems unpredictable to me), you have to wait...sometimes for hours. If you're lucky and you do get a lane, fun surely ensues! I think I got my highest bowling score ever here, which was about a 78, so it looks like I have some improving to do. I think this is the only ITP bowling alley. Now I need to find an ITP skating rink and I'll be golden.
I was impressed by how nice this place was. Not fancy, but new and clean, unlike 99% of all bowling alleys. They also have good beer on tap and the prices for beer and bowling are very reasonable. We had reserved 3 lanes for a Saturday night and didn't have to wait at all-- definitely make a reservation if you know you're going...
The only intown bowling alley, I love this place especially since the redecoration this year. Avoid league nights by calling ahead. The infamous Sugar Daddies Lounge attached is so tacky it is cool. The staff here go out of there way to be nice.
Who doesn't like bowling.. This place is your average bowling alley, but its the only one intown.. its open 24/7! It is a little pricey, but what's not these days.. Don't expect the best, but it could be worse..
Going to Midtown Bowl is like walking through a time warp to the 60's, 70's and 80's. It even smells old and smokey. This place is like some of the people on myspace, they look better online but when you actually meet them in person they are not all that. Midtown Bowl is an outdated bowling alley with a dumpy parking lot takes the fun out of bowling. I recently went with my boyfriend and we only bowled one game. I was so happy to get out of there. Sure there open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, however your better off going somewhere else. Just in case you want to experience Midtown Bowl for yourself, go to http://www.midtownbowl....
If International Bowl (now closed) was the United Nations of bowling, then Midtown Bowl is the bowling alley of bowling, which is to say that it's exactly what you'd expect and not much more. Open 24-7, with 32 lanes, complete food service, and a fully stocked bar. The attached Sugar Daddy's Lounge offers cocktails and billiards.
