All Star Lanes – venue permanently closed

Please note this venue has permanently closed.

Ten pin bowling is suddenly all the rage – we go retro at the Great Northern Warehouse.

All Star Lanes at the Great Northern sets the scene for the higher end bowling experience well. Eight lanes, private bowling, an 80-cover restaurant, two cocktail bars and a Whiskey Room (it apparently has the “largest selections of Bourbon in the UK”) all comes wrapped up with a warm 1950s Americana style.

Eager to see what it was like, I popped in for a quick game with a friend. The first thing you need to know is that you have to book ahead: there’s no walking in off the street here. No sir, this place is classy. And it certainly looks the part, with retro posters on the wall, a walk-around bar and booth seating. It’s a far cry from the usual arcade lanes or retail park venues. Once we’d changed shoes and got to our lane, it was time for a cocktail (a Caucasian for me and an Aloha Jar, served in a jam jar naturally, for my friend). Our game took slightly longer than the recommended ten minutes per person, possibly as a result of said cocktails.

Game over, we headed to a booth to try a few more cocktails. Sadly, this was where things took a slide. There were plenty of staff to take our order, but we had to wait a while for them to arrive. This wasn’t a problem while bowling but, afterwards, the ten minutes or so it took for our drinks to appear felt too long. On top of that, our waitress came back with the news that they had run out of ingredients for the first cocktail I ordered. When the same thing happened with my second choice, I settled on a standard Mai Tai to finish off our night. All Star Lanes is a good looking place with friendly staff and a classy vibe but, even if we chalk the cocktail failings to an opening weekend wobble, it means that All Star Lanes scores a Spare rather than a Strike – this time round.