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Presidio Bowl
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
177 reviews for Presidio Bowl
for us city folk, driving amid the trees gets confusing, and we almost got lost like 5 times. sure, we're retarded.
friday night there was like nobody here, except us dorks. they even have budweiser bowling ball beer bottles. how awesome is that?
AND THEY HAVE STREETFIGHTER!!!!! my friends would come just for that fact alone, hell with the bowling.
For city chase, I bowled here blindfolded and got a spare in about four tries.....I wish I was that good all of the time.
We decided to come here tonight randomly to check it out. It was actually pretty full considering it's a week night. There was a league bowling in the right four lanes and we were next to hen so we had to wait for them to finish before we could bowl.
It's nice having a bowling alley in the city. It cost us about $32 for two rentals and two games. They even have arcades there and a full bar.
I'm not the best bowler, and for some reason only tend to do it while I'm on vacation (why is that?), but every now and again I have the urge to come to Presidio and play a couple of games.
I sometimes wonder if it's something passed on from my father, who bowled for THIRTY FIVE YEARS in a New York Telephone company league at Argo Lanes in Elmont, LI, NY. He was a great bowler and routinely bowled a 300 game. My uncles were in the same league as my Dad, but were not as good bowlers as he was. I think one of my dad's saddest days was when he and my step mother moved to CA and he realized that she had dumped all of his trophies. Nice going, there, step mother!
In any event, Presidio Bowl does the trick. It's clean, has a decent selection of balls, plenty of funky shoes (make sure you bring your socks) and a good snack-bar with plenty of crap to choose from. The video parlor is an added perk.
Oh, and I forgot to mention FREE PARKING. Honestly, it's worth a visit just so you can park your car for free in SF.
Hon says check it out.
FUN FUN FUN! but a bit disappointing one evening when we wanted to assure a lane for a Saturday evening for a large group and found out that to reserve a lane we had to actually go down the the bowling alley to do so. Now, all of you SF folks know that it can take an hour just to get across the city so on a Friday evening from Noe Valley, I WAS NOT driving to the Presidio to reserve a lane. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't do it over the phone. We will still go when we don't have to worry about having enough lanes for a large group.
Rainy days don't tend to afford a whole lot of interesting options in the Outer Richmond. You can go to a movie; out to eat; the exploratorium is sorta close; stay in and ... stay in...
More options are always good things.
I recently came here as a fill-in for a league team in need of semi-excellence. Luckily for them I provide just that service and got 3 fingers deep into some bowling.
There are a lot of odd things about bowling that probably shoulnd't appeal to me, but they do and I'm now their bitch. For one thing, the weird shoes are gross, obviously, but it's hilarious to see everyone else akwardly wearing them. Those shoes have been worn millions of times, yet somehow no one cares because you're all throwing an unnecessarily heavy ball down a wooden plank at some slender wooden objects. Totally normal behavior.
There is also quite the variety of beer options--bottles only--and you just can't bowl properly without that. Of course, they also have plenty of tasty greasy foods to enjoy with that beer.
So now I'm HOOKED on this shit. I come here about every other week. I like to support it since I hear they are in danger of closing almost every month.
A word to the wise: if you came here to drink PLEASE take a cab or arrange for a ride! You do not want to be driving home the least bit tipsy on Federal Property... I am told the DUI you will likely incur has added penalties when on Federal grounds. Almost everyone I know that's had a DUI before got it in the Presidio.
Keep just that one vice in check and you're good to go for all the others bowling has to offer.
Went to the Aloha Festival in the Presidio for a few minutes but we decided to leave the Festival because it was a ghetto-trap (young punks) and crowded so we ended up here instead (next door).
This place is soooo much better than the bowling place downtown. Yes, it's small but it's cute, clean and cheaper (before 5PM).
We had a grand old time. Recommended for a quick cute bowling game or whatever your bowling fetish may be.
Oh and there's FREE parking.
In terms of bowling, pretty standard. In the end, for me a bowling alley is a bowling alley--although I'm just the occasional bowler. The nicest thing, probably, was the location--one of the few lanes actually in SF, and afterwards, my girlfriend and I walked to the Bayfront and watched the sun go down.
The thing that really annoyed me was the price. For about 45 minutes of bowling, I ended up paying $31. To break it down:
2 games for 2 people: 5.75 X 4 =23
Two pairs of shoes rented 4 X 2 (rented by the hour) = 8 dollars
Seriously, I realize this is San Francisco but it's pretty ridiculous to pay this much for two games of bowling--not including drinks or food or anything. Next time, we'll go somewhere cheaper...
I'm sorry but bowling is known for being a relatively cheap and fun sport to play with your friends while you have a few drinks. This may be the most expensive bowling lanes ever (except for yuerba buena which is probably going to cost a lot since it is downtown, not a relic of the old army base).
Here is the break down for three games with 4 bowlers and two beers per bowler:
Each Game per person: $6
Shoe Rental per person: $4
Beer: $5
Total: $128
Really? You have got to be kidding me. Take the 15 min drive to Serra Bowl or Pacifica Bowl.
I'm not by any means a good bowler, nor do I frequent bowling alleys but from my limited experience, I have come to expect certain things: Civility, politeness, half decent food and cleanliness. All of which were lacking.
I live in the Presidio and had been meaning to check out the bowling alley should the occasion arise and this evening myself and fiancee decided to check it out, maybe play a game and have a pleasent sunday evening doing something a little different.
We were met at the food counter by a young lad who was in the process of throwing various items of frozen food across the grill area (indiscrimminately..floor and countertop) in what appeared to be a teenage temper tantrum of sorts. An older gentleman then came to the counter and mentioned that he had told the staff to work harder (which probably explains the moody petulance) The young man then ignored me and, without any apology for serving 3 other people who had come before me, took my order of food with little more than a "waddya want?" I hung around the counter and after a few minutes was told "I have a bunch of orders to get through, just go and sit somewhere"
During this time (but alas after he'd taken my order and money) he'd wiped his gloved hands on the grill, then handled raw meat, then raw salad and only then changed gloves.
The lanes were also busy having so few of them and a children's party obviously being the understandable factors but even with that we were told that at least a 90 minute wait was to be expected...Needless to say even though I live close by I wouldn't recommend this local business even though I should be supporting it.
Clean up your act guys!
Tonight was Presidio Bowl's final night. Their last event's proceeds went to City of Dreams, a mentorship program serving youth living in San Francisco's public housing communities.
DJ, free bowling, food, booze and good friends, awesome! Bowl a strike and a sponsor donated 10 bucks to the kids:)
The last time I went there was on a slow night with a couple of friends and a few strippers wearing mini-skirts and G-strings. They couldn't bowl worth a damn but the view was fantastic. Good times!!!
We took over the jukebox and rocked out to a compilation CD of cheesy 80's big-hair metal power ballads. Where did you go Kip Winger and the dude from Whitesnake? Please come back! (just kidding, stay away)
No full bar, so B.Y.O.B. unless you like beer.
First off ... the location is superb ... I mean the whole presidio is beautiful - and if you are from SF ... then you remember the days wandering thru the Presidio at night - remind you of middle school? High school? Hell ya!
BUT ... I have to say this is the most expensive bowling place I have ever been to - unless I just haven't paid before ... but for 4 of us on a Saturday (and 2 bumpers for the kids) ... $42 for 1 game! I'm so glad we didn't stay for another.
The food was good - and the staff are great ... but the wait is long without a reservation.
I suck at bowling. Really- like, 60 is a high score for me. So, an indespensable part of enjoying my bowling experience is access to lots of booze. And, when I think of bowling, I think beer, I think...."Don't mess with the Jesus!" and of course, "Hey, there's a beverage here dude!"
No pitchers of beer. Why no lovin in the pitcher? They have these fabulous receptables in house, this I know, because you can get SODA in them. Hellloooo, there is a time and a place for pitchers of soda - the next time I'm hanging with my 7 year old niece at a birthday party, I'll be sure to order one.
Aside from the pitcher issue, the lounging space is also kinda sucky. It's really important for a top-notch bowler like me to rest in between bowls, lest I pull a muscle and need to ice it. At Presidio, they have these tiny tables and devilish little chairs that swing in and out and are apt to hit you right in the knee as you're getting up (this has nothing to do with drinking, I swear).....
Aside from all that, at least there's a full bar and they play some fun music. I've never eaten there (it interferes with the drinking and sticking my hands in balls) so can't comment on food. It's also crazy inconvenient to get to if you don't have a car and/or don't live on that side of town.
I suppose given all that I could have gone with 2 stars, but The Dude abides.
I hadn't been bowling since college...and even then I don't think I ever picked up a ball...it was more about the Santa Barbara scene then picking up a spare...you know how that goes.
This Monday (President's Day and my 28th birthday) my friends called me up and proposed spending the rainy day at Presidio Bowl. I was still nursing a hangover from the good times spent at Golden Gate Fields for dollar Sunday but I figured another cheap drink, rented shoes and fried food was probably the best cure.
We showed up around 1:30pm and the place was packed. The guy running the lanes told us it would be about an hour wait so we hit the bar. The scene is a total middle school flashback. We began to rock out to 90's big hair bands and wait our turn to tear up the lanes. I was distracted momentarily by an actual Pac-Man game and sticker vending machine, when they finally called our number. We had a great time bowling and having a few drinks. It was the perfect rainy day activity.
My only qualms are that it is a very small bowling alley so you will definitely have to wait awhile for a lane and that it's in the middle of the Presidio. I know that's supposed to be what makes it so cool, but I had to take three buses just to get there since it's so deep into the forest. Not fun on a rainy day with a slight headache going on.
Kudos for the music and entertaining people watching. I loved waiting to see which one of the high school kids had a convincing enough fake ID to buy beers for the rest of the crew. Ahhh the good old days.
Bowling is one of those activities that I entirely suck at but insist on playing every six months because I forget how much I suck at it. My friend and I played two games and he beat me with a score of 80! Holy nine-pound ball, how lame am I?
While the alley and staff were very nice, there weren't any balls suitable for a someone with no arm strength like me--I could barely throw the nine-pound balls, let alone throw them straight. Haha. Additionally, $30 for two games and two pairs of shoe rentals is excessive. For that kind of money, there better be a wrist massage included... And a couple of bowling pin-shaped bottles of beer.
Is this really the only bowling alley in SF? If so that is sad, bowling is a lost sport i guess. Pretty pricey here when its 7 bux a person per game. We played four games and dropped quite a bit of money. Its an old place and there was a petition near the bar to keep the city from knockin the place down.
Love the Presidio Bowl - Great drinks at a good price. Staff is always friendly and accommodating. I've been there a few times and have never been disappointed.The atmosphere is warm and comfortable. Just a fun place to hang out.Go, its great!
Pros: This place has the best selection of bowling alley food and drinks around. Parking isn't an issue and the facility is fairly new so the quality of the lanes/balls are good.
Cons: Long waits on the weekends, Most expensive bowling in the bay area, so there aren't as many teenagers hanging out here with fake ID's(like Serra Bowl) on the weekends. Some would say that's a good thing, but I'm one of those people that like a little drama going on when I'm at a bowling alley.
We won the whole enchilada last night. Rolled in tied for first place - won all four of our games, and walked out CHAMPIONS!
Winning is good. I like to win. The Dude abides.
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7/15/2008
My team has rocked the top of the standings for three weeks. This Thursday, we roll for the… Read more »
I haven't bowled for probably two years now, but I'm pretty sure inflation hasn't hit so hard that it costs $6 a game. One night my friends and I were bored so we thought of things we could do in the city. How did bowling come up? I don't remember but it was a throw back to our college days. Presidio bowl was the closest place to us and we decided to give it a shot. 12 lanes and an hour and a half wait, but the beer helped kill time. For two games and rental shoes there's no bear market pricing out here.
Growing up in the East Bay, we didn't have the nicest or safest bowling alleys to go to, but it was good cheap fun!
A jukebox to play the music of your choice, can't get you groovin' enough when bowling for strikes...or not. =)
In my case, my average score of 102 is acceptable for an amateur who only bowls once a year or every two. It was good fun for a Tuesday night.
No waiting but I would call in to check if it is a league night.
Of the two bowling alleys in SF, this one is larger.
$81. Bowling shouldn't be expensive.
Also- Why does every bowling alley have a big galactic-bowling mural?
What's going on there?
Time flies when you're having fun!!! About 10 of us met at Presidio Bowl on a Saturday night for my friend Ben's birthday. He reserved 2 lanes for 2 hours (9 pm - 11 am) and I believe it was $220 including balls, shoes, etc for the 2 hours.
I was surprised that there were no disco lights, loud music, jugglers, ice luges, or other festivities for a Saturday night but still had a great time. We bought several 6-packs of bowling-pin-shaped Bud Lights and some delicious curly fries.
I didn't play so well but we instituted a must-have-a-beer-in-hand rule which was fun. The graphics for strikes, spares, etc on the tv monitor were pretty fun too!
11 PM came too quickly and then we were off to Silver Cloud to follow our bowling up with some karaoke!
What is this, a bowling center for ANTS?
(Thanks for indulging me in a small chuckle, if you're culture savvy-enough to get the Zoolander reference. If you didn't indulge me in a small chuckle, log off Yelp and go get a copy of Zoolander...or a sense of humor.)
Possibly the tiniest public bowling alley in the world. It's one of the few bowling alleys in the city, and it's cheap compared to some of the other alleys in the greater SF area, but it's the size of a small hut. However, the size of the place isn't my beef with it- it's the fact that their web site is out of date.
I know what you're thinking: wow, way to pick on the small guy and bitch about his insignificant shortcomings. An updated web site, though, would have prevented my boyfriend and I from trekking all the way out there one night, only to have the dork behind the counter tell us that "oh, the lanes reserved until 11 on Fridays." It would have been more useful for Homeboy to spend his hourly wage updating the web site, rather than polishing the bowling balls that are off limits before 11pm, but hey, I don't make the rules.
Its alright. Dont care for some of the people that were bowling while I was there but that is life.
Way better than Yerba Buena bowling alley and cheaper.
the closest i have come to bowling in the past eight years of my life is watching "the big lebowski". you have no idea how badly i wanted to linger at the bar & order a sarsaparilla
the crew & i headed out to the presidio a few weeks ago for a little change in our weekend routine of house parties & rides on the 91. we called to reserve some lanes but were told they were booked until 11 & to come in then. we did exactly that & waited about 20 minutes for our lanes. the music was good & the staff was friendly. they were a little paranoid about serving alcohol to some of us, though. those of us who are of age were carded & blacklighted (what?! at a bowling alley?) multiple times. i can understand being a little hesitant because not all of us are of age but those guys were hovering like vultures. i can understand if we were drunk & loud but the guys each had like two beers. it was really awkward.
i suck at bowling. well, i mean, i ended up bowling two strikes but the rest went straight in the gutter. why are bumpers so expensive??
ICK. Just ICK.
Did you ever want to drink Coors light out of a bottle shaped remarkably like a penis that's supposed to be a bowling pin?
How about spending $100+ for two rounds of four people?
What about sharing a lane with drunken army folk who compete in a push-up competition between each set?
If any of this appeals, then Presidio Bowl is the place for you. As for me, I'd rather hangout with a tranny in the TL than return to Presido Bowl.
+1 for sale of socks in a vending machine (which I understand is standard).
We loved the atmosphere at this place, but it was definitely pricey! We were there on a Saturday afternoon and didn't have to wait long for a lane. Also a good thing they have an extensive (bottled) beer assortment for your waiting enjoyment. The seating setup is pretty cool -- you're around a table so you can watch the bowler but also talk to your friends -- and the swivel chairs are hours of fun.
Our favorite lame animation that comes up on the screen: "WOW DUDE"
We kept going for the Wow Dude, but never got it. Only the folks next to us. Bummer.
Warning: I am not a professional bowling queen. We just went here to have a fun ole time and a fun ole time it was.
I felt like I was going to a birthday party back in 1984. The "mural" above the pins is glorious: a solar system type painting with pins as comets. Genius. I think part of it was even airbrushed.
The graphics on the computer screens are even more genius, everything from "Way to go!" to "Wow, Dude!" and "Bummer!" comment on your every move as animated Sumo pins (and more) dance around.
The music... who doesn't love a little Poison, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock & Bee Gees on a Tuesday night? And who doesn't love a group of ex-frat boys in the next lane over singing every word to the country songs that happened to come on in between?
A super place to go to have a fun night of bowling. Just try not to think about why the shoes are warm and slippery when you put them on and why the inside of the finger holes in the bowling balls are greasy.
I would love to see a "Beat Germophobia" conference here...
They have bumper bowling for kids! My niece(6) and nephew(2 1/2) felt like super stars every time they hit the pins. My nephew got a strike and threw his hands in air and his sister congratulated him before she set out to "get more pins"! The ball would travel verrry slowly down the lane but there was only once that it stopped and someone was there immediately to help out.
We got some burgers and dogs.
They are open all of the time. Super nice.
I love Presidio bowl! It's hard to find a bowling alley in the City, and this one seems stuck in a time warp to about 1958, in the best possible way.
I love coming here to play in Golden Gate Sport and Social's bowling leagues. The staff is pleasant and totally helpful, and very tolerant of our drunken antics. They even encourage them a little by selling beer in bowling pin shaped bottles! They're also super accommodating for transportation issues. If you don't want to drive over and park in their ample parking, they'll announce over when the cab you call for has arrived. No waiting out in the cold fog!
Armando mans the grill, and the hamburgers, fries and zucchini sticks are some of the best I have had in the city. For a simple night out, I couldn't ask for much more!
I loved Japantown Bowl, and still mourn its loss. But Presidio has the same feeling -- this is a real bowling alley for real people.
Prices are reasonable, selection of brews is great. Easy parking. Great hikes either before or after.
Even smells like a bowling alley.
It gets five stars from me because it's my favorite place to bowl within the boundaries of SF.
Pink balls are so embarrassing. But hell, I'm a wimp with tiny mitts, I'll fight the kiddies for them.
Do visit this cute bowling alley before the heartless Presidio Trust bastards rip it out to be replaced by their buddy Don Fisher's monolithic museum of ego.
Wow. Forget the bars, Presidio Bowl is THE place to be on Monday nights! A merry band of us showed up last week to celebrate the birth of our favorite troublemaker, and the place was packed! With people all our age! And the evening is not totally clear to me, but I'm pretty sure they were playing all of our favorite club hits, resulting in an impromptu dance party! Not only that, but like any good bowling alley, they sell temporary tattoos! Yay for gold hearts on my neck!
However, if this were a review for my bowling, it would have to be zero. Because I think that's what I bowled. Ok, no, I think it was like 25. Or was that the number of times I threw up before I went home? God, I love being single again!
Pro: They have bud light bottles shaped like bowling pins.
Con: They have the most outdated version of Buckhunter I have ever played in my life. This left a bad taste in my mouth and I may never return...
With a handful of sandwiches with lettuce leaves sticking out, we had lunch where the trees are thin and tall.
In the neck of San Francisco where he swears the air is the most fresh-smelling.
And after walking aimlessly, we thought to go bowling.
Where I joked, "I wish fun didn't cost us 50-bucks for turns at the lane and beer."
A little on the small side (I grew up in Daly City, so I'm used to the ginormous Serra Bowl-style bowling alleys), but definitely a cute, fun little place. Twelve lanes = longer wait, especially when you have a party of 10, but it still works. I miss the J-town bowling alley, but do agree with everyone else - this is still way better than the Yerba Buena bowling alley. Only gripe is that they don't serve beer by the pitcher, and the beer prices on the list/website are incorrect.
Can't believe they will shut this place down, it is awesome (even if it is in the middle of sorta-nowhere).
Went here on a low-key Date Night w/my bf. This place is so old and out of date, but I love it!!!! There's only like 8 lanes there, and each 2 lanes has a table big enough to put food on w/swivel out connected seats. Usually I only see a screen or the keypad for the scores at bowling alleys. The food is good grill food for a tiny bowling alley like this
The video games are outdated, and half of them are broken, so they do need to update those, but come to find, Presidio Bowl is going to be shut down and turned into another museum!
Please help save this bowling alley by going and signing the petition to keep it open while you're there! We don't need another bowling alley, and this is the only other bowling alley in SF other than the crappy expensive one downtown. Otherwise, we'll just always have to go to SSF. Please please please help and contribute! I'd love to be able to go there again!
Two games for two people - $24.00
Two pairs of smelly rental shoes - $8.00
A couple of beers - $10
Making friends with the people in the lane next to me so I wouldn't have to talk with the worst. date. ever. - PRICELESS!
In all seriousness though, this place is borrrring. Hard to find and very ugly - kinda felt like I was time-warped back to the 50's. Just another excuse I can make when invited to go bowling on a date. Or I could always just stick with the "I have to wash my hair" excuse....
Small, but brilliantly located. More beers than you can shake a stick at.
*Interruption*
(I do like to shake sticks)
Bowling is typically really expensive, and it seemed fine. Didn't like the ball selection, but I did like the chili cheese fries. Until I got the fly. Probably no related.
That is the perfect totally boring and dry review of a place that I had a moment in time in. It was great... went with some friends and what not.... I don't know. Maybe I don't like bowling like I used to. Maybe it wasn't the right day... maybe it was when I was getting sick.
Don't know, fine alley... would rather be dressed up in a robe with a white russian. I don't know...
ahhh... fuck it dude. Let's go bowling.
