The Lanes

1969 reviews

22 Nelson St, Bristol BS1 2LE, United Kingdom

www.thelanesbristol.co.uk

+441173251979

About

The Lanes is a Bowling alley located at 22 Nelson St, Bristol BS1 2LE, United Kingdom. It has received 1969 reviews with an average rating of 4.2 stars.

Photos

Hours

Monday5PM-12AM
Tuesday2PM-12AM
Wednesday2PM-3AM
Thursday12PM-3AM
Friday12PM-12AM
Saturday5PM-12AM
Sunday5PM-12AM

F.A.Q

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The address of The Lanes: 22 Nelson St, Bristol BS1 2LE, United Kingdom

  • The Lanes has 4.2 stars from 1969 reviews

  • Bowling alley

  • "Terrible service from bar staff tonight"

    "Me and my friends came to Taylor Swift party and also played two rounds of bowling"

    "Two weeks ago I went bowling with a couple mates of mine"

    "Real shame as we had a great time in Karaoke and it was reasonably priced too"

    "Went to play some pool in mid- Dec"

Reviews

  • Dominic Coole-Fitzsimmons

Terrible service from bar staff tonight. I ordered a small margarita pizza from the bar. The wait time was initially 20 minutes which became half an hour. We were sat by the pool tables. I was given a half eaten pizza by one of the bar staff which had already been eaten by the other group upstairs. Admittedly I decided to eat the other half of the pizza. I then asked for a refund for the entire pizza following failure to deliver a full portion of pizza to the right person. Initially the woman issued the refund but I was told by another member of staff to in future return the other half to the bar instead of eating it. We both agreed on this and she issued the refund. Shortly after, the woman in blond walked over to us in the bar garden and told us that we all had to leave because I “lied about eating the first half of the pizza” which I explained wasn’t the case as I was downstairs at the bar asking where this pizza was. Unfortunately my only option was to pay for this half a pizza at full price otherwise they would ban me from the venue entirely. In future deliver your orders to the correct people to prevent this happening in the future. If only 0 stars was an option. P.S I would advise an appropriate response from the manager of the venue and would happily get in touch with them regarding this matter. Many thanks

  • Filip Nozdrovický

Me and my friends came to Taylor Swift party and also played two rounds of bowling. The bowling hall was okay and I’ve enjoyed the game. However can’t say the same about staff, I have asked for two lemonades - no alcohol and just one white wine. The barman started to pour white wine in two glasses ignoring my lemonade requests. I was aware the music was loud so I repeated myself twice but getting annoyed by the incopetence of the barman after repeating the order three times. He then refused to serve me as he claimed I’ve got an ‘attitude’ which I believe was just gaslighting to hide the fact that he was unable to do the order properly. I’ve then gave up and said to my friend if she can order, and they refused to serve her too as she was with me. The security took me out and told me that the music was too loud and I was rude, I’ve explained that I’ve just repeated the order multiple times, politely apologised and left. I suggest that only people who are fit and competent for the role of barman should be hired and the staff this night was not the case. Terrible experience but at least the bowling game was good, however would suggest other place as the staff at Lanes is just miserable.

  • Katerina Christodoulou

Two weeks ago I went bowling with a couple mates of mine. We encountered the most miserable bar staff i have ever experienced in my life. First he was on his phone at the bar and didn’t look up at until we had to say something. He didn’t say please or thank you, he responded with a grumble when we ordered drinks. He had a go at me for ordering a vodka slim line and tonic, saying this isn’t a real drink and no one orders it. He insulted me when I said i work at a bar that it was not a real bar. He said ‘Don’t come back here and order this drink again.’ Genuinely a miserable person. I am so upset with this customer service. Not even a ‘how are you’, ‘have a nice day’. I informed the manager, whilst he listened, he said nothing afterward… it would be nice to know something would come of this. What a shame, i love the night club events at the lanes but this experience has really put me off spending money here. Please email to let me know if something could come of this, I am really ashamed of the customer service in the UK.

  • Adam Shea

Real shame as we had a great time in Karaoke and it was reasonably priced too. There were about 25 of us in total. The karaoke room had broken glass in (we were slightly delayed getting in because they had to clean it, but then clearly hadn’t) but on balance it was a good night…UNTIL… Security decided to pull my friend out of the corridor near the toilets and escort him out completely ruining our night. First of all they said he was “too drunk” despite the fact that he doesn’t drink, so when we challenged that, the excuse was then changed to that he was falling asleep against a pillar and they had CCTV proof…none of this was true so it was either mistaken identity or they were just being confrontational for the fun of it. They refused to listen to reason so it’s unlikely we’ll want to return to The Lanes solely on the fact that security staff seem to be completely unreasonable. I see other reviews have mentioned similar issues - this is clearly something that needs addressing if The Lanes want repeat business.

  • Tom Hazeldine

Went to play some pool in mid- Dec. It's endearingly scruffy with a lively but unpretentious atmosphere. There was a nice mix of people in there and a good selection of beers. Some massive, fresh pizzas were brought out to a big group near us which smelt great. The staff were lovely - friendly and helpful. Just a shame the white ball on our pool table had been nicked and they didn't have a spare. The lads playing pool next to us said their bowling lane had broken. I'd go back provided I'm in the mood to go with the flow!

  • Konstantinos Sofikitis

This is my new hobby in Bristol. Playing bowling, and having some drinks from the in-built bar... In Lanes they are organising live music events and the price for Sunday nights is £22/hour, whereas all the wee days is £40/hour. 4 stars coming from the expensive price of week days, and because the bowling lanes, bowls and machinery are outdated if I compare it with other bowling centers that I have visited in UK and Greece! All in all a great and alternative nigh out in the Bristol center

  • Megan Cridland

Such a fun day out. The food looks amazing and very decently priced. Plenty of choice when it came to alcohol and the barmaid was very helpful. Bowling was our favourite part of this quirky hostel bar. For £4 a game each we had a couple of rounds and made a day of it. It gets busy but there's plenty too do while you wait your turn such as karaoke, ping-pong, pool table and there's even a photo booth. This place is definitely on my top things to do in Bristol list!

  • Ayyub Chowdhury

I recently visited The Lanes and was impressed by the vibrant atmosphere created by the lively music. The energy in the air added to the overall enjoyment of the bowling experience. However, I must mention that the pizza left much to be desired – it was disappointingly dry. Additionally, the tables were noticeably dirty, which slightly detracted from the otherwise enjoyable environment. Overall, a mixed experience with room for improvement in certain aspects.

  • Rachel Jordan

I booked a lane for my hen weekend and we arrived 5 minutes early. We were told by a rather rude member of staff that we would have to wait our turn. We ended up going back to the bar ourselves to check if our lane was now ready. We were told yes but not that we had to log our names in at the bar. We got there in the end and we had a good time but there was quite a lot of faff involved.

  • Seth Holland

I'm posting this to offset the one star review I left last night. Yes, it's very annoying when a venue doesn't make it abundantly clear that they are cashless, but leaving a one star review wasn't fair; I was in a very bad mood. For the price, you can't really go wrong, the staff have been really friendly and helpful, the location is perfect and I would consider staying here again.

  • Jaga Wilk

Been attacked tonight by their kitchen staff in the beer garden. Supervisor asked me for chat outside. He didn't wanted to listen me. He kicked me out because I WAS ATTACKED BY THEIR STAFF. I'll report this to police. Police investigation shows her guilty, put it on her DBS. After emailing twice the owner, he didn't even bothered to email back. Horrible place with horrible staff.

  • Rachel

Great pizza and bowling is fun. The member of staff managing the bowling check in lets the place down, he is extremely rude and probably shouldn't work in a customer facing position. Issue was rectified by one of the bar staff hence the 4 star rating. Also it would make sense to leave 5 mins between bowling sessions so ensure all customers get their full hour, it isn't cheap!

  • David Butler

Came here for some food and bowling, the drinks are not your mainstream ones but not a bid thing. Food wasn’t that great just your basic pizza’s mainly, just wasn’t great quality. Price was okay to allow though. Bowling went okay, again lower end but not an issue. Nice they have live bands in the evening too, certainly gives the night a nice twist!

  • ryan Patterson

Was great apart from the bar tenders. Was an issue with the karaoke and what seemed to be the manager didn’t really give a care in the world and the waitress with the piercings seemed to hate her life working there. Any inconvenience was treated like someone had smaked her in the face. Wouldn’t go here for customer service, just everything else

  • Chris Jenkins

Fantastic venue to see live music. They always book great bands, I have never been disappointed with the bands here. They also have a fantastic selection of beer, much better than other local venues and reasonably priced. Plus the pizza here tastes great and is super fresh made to order nothing tasted frozen. And they have a bowling alley.

  • Ben

Odd place but has a great night, doesn’t know what it wants to be.. bowling alley, night club, karaoke who knows. Good staff levels but let down by unmaintained equipment the karaoke room didn’t have the right volume ratio with resulted in a free fifteen minutes which didn’t really compensate

  • Paul Dobson

Thanks to the people at The Lanes for making bowling fun. It's nice to have an older bowling venue with more character than the chains, and the set up is really nice. They kept drinks flowing through the afternoon and made sure we had a really good time, so can’t fault the service. Thanks

  • Nasir Khan

This is a bar with a 6 lane bowling alley. It has a bit of a dive aesthetic which is pleasing if that's your kind of thing. The bowling alleys have the old school pin reset mechanism rather than the pins on ropes that I've seen in other places. I much prefer this. I had a nice time.

  • James Gee

Nice old school vibes and great location. Good pizzas too. Only let down by the staff really. They're really hit and miss - some really friendly and some (especially the bearded guy) surly and leaving you wondering why they choose to do a public facing job. Strange. Oh, well...

  • Shy Johnson-olu

Went here on the 24/03 for a 2010s Call me maybe event and absolutely loved it they played amazing tunes and staff was so friendly apart from security dragging my friend off the stage and they should stick to pop 2010s music for the end instead of playing Disney music

  • Katie Davis

Have been for bowling before and was great. This time booked a karaoke room which was the best yet. Cool neon room, all the songs we wanted, and could order drinks to the room. Also there's always live music, not what we plan to go for but a great bonus

  • Eri Sant

Ok, acquired taste... great bar staff tho and very inclusive and acceptive, very inviting in a way, and as in the whole of Bristol, very acceptive of whatever you are of where you've came from! I admire that in a town ☝ …

  • briden whitbread

Awesome venue for bowling, fit with great music and vibes and lovely staff with a great selection of food and drinks. Free pool is always great and the sunday fighting game tournaments are truly a great time. Always have a blast when i come here :)

  • pranav lahoty

If you want a classic bowling experience, visit this place. Oh, and if you want beer and good music and entertainment with friends, get inside this place and get on the job. I went there before covid and it was hell of a place to be.

  • Matt Belcher

Really good night out, bowling was fun plus there are a couple of pool tables. I didn't have any of the food, but the pizza did look really good, plus a decent size. Definitely recommend this venue, especially as a work night out.

  • Adam Errington

It's bowling, with beer, food and loud music, the best way to experience it. Always a good laugh and can create great tension, as you can see. The games can be a bit pricey, so I'd recommend to go Sunday. Also, book if you can.

  • Jörg Killat

I'm not a big fan of bowling halls, but this one is different. It is more a bar with some bowling thrown in for good measure. Nice selection of drinks, they even have Rothaus Weizenbier on draught! Nice atmosphere.

  • Richard Crosby

Great night out. Decent beer, good outdoor space and often a live band playing. Bowling lanes are small but cosy. Food is also good - with the pizzas standing out most. However it can get busy and the bar is small.

  • ThreeSixFive Bristol

Fantastic venue. Hosted the Post Xmas Party for BARBIE (Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars and Independent Establishments) on Sunday 7th Jan 2018. Amazing sound system, great staff and the pizzas are awesome.

  • Benjamin Carr

Really funky venue and great selection of beers. Bowling was fun and 'classic'. Band music was a great vibe. Can definitely tell this venue is in Bristol because it's just a good and welcoming place!

  • Robert Constable

Great place for a night out. Good music with a pool table photo booth and a skittles alley should you want something different. Has a great atmosphere, often spend some time here when out in bristol.

  • Vicky Holloway

Fun venue, good service, great selection of ales. If there was more space/seating in bowling section would have been a 5, but with a party of 6 on one lane we felt a little in the way of others.

  • Gmac Lú

A Bristol institution. Great spot for a central meet up. Bowling is great and pizzas delish. Pool tables have seen better days. The staff are always up beat and friendly and service is quick

  • Andrew Hatch

It shows sport, has games like pool and bowling and it has a good range of craft beers. The toilets are great but as a bloke it's fine. For the ladies, probably not. It's part of a hostel.

  • Julian Tucker

Good but the staff running the karaoke are rude when it comes to ending the session. Started cleaning 10 minutes before the end. If you pay an hour, you should get an hour, uninterrupted.

  • Luke James

"I can kick you out if I want to" says the egotistical man, for holding a coke zero that was bought off premises. Rather trivial given the party spent 3 figures overall. Disappointing.

  • Kris Bee

Did the 90sbnight on a Saturday free entry and had a wicked time great selection of German beers too staff super friendly and bouncers really sound nothing but positive vibes here

  • Jodie Murray

Just had my daughters 7th birthday party there and it was a roaring success! The food was great and the karaoke was a great addition to the bowling. Staff were lovely too

  • Pierre Courcol

We enjoyed a lot, paying one hour and getting one our, not just one round like in lane 7... Good food, staff friendly, keep going guys' Much more better than lane 7!

  • Jasmine F

Great venue for music, but unfortunately some of the attitudes of bar staff let the place down. Toilets were disgusting with walls covered in flies in the stalls?

  • Wayne Halford

Great venue, plenty of drinks. Didn't eat but the pizzas looked great and I overheard great comments. Outside area was large. Good variety of non alcoholic drinks

  • Nina Ferencova

We came around 10pm on Tuesday and was almost empty. Pool table its free so that's good and beer draught smell like it wasn't cleaned the lines. Staff okay.

  • Emily Hardisty

Nice atmosphere, good cider options that actually taste good and the staff are helpful. Whoever was in charge of the music playlist had excellent taste.

  • Dean Scoundrel

Current home of Phuct, a really long standing rock and metal night. Lovely venue, great facilities and banging tunes. What's not to love?

  • Andrzej Kobiella

Good place. Some of the pizzas are hot and miss. Overall a good stay. Bowling lines definitely need some repairing or refurbishment.

  • Greg Davies

Bowling, food and a music venue. All good except for the sound being way louder than it needed to be which was a little annoying

  • J ////PS

Love this old school bowling alley. Lots of character and easy going food & drink offering …

  • Rayhana Rahman

Older venvue, bowling is separate to bar. Good for team get togethers and then onto karaoke. High ceilings so feels spacious.

  • Gareth Wall

I've been there a few times with some of the best people. Incredible party nights and a very intimate venue for live bands.

  • Emma Richens

Wonderful atmosphere, good prices and the pizza was an excellent hand thrown base pizza. I would definitely recommend it.

  • Moonbeam Moonbeam

Fantastic night out here. The staff were friendly and it's a great venue for a work night or night out with friends

  • Tida

The toilets smell like mold And the pizza was underwhelming to say the least and the dough is exceptionally bland.

  • James Bolton

Great pub, club & venue. Good live music and chilled area at back. Fantastic mix of people from young to old

  • pugant

This place is great. Great bowling, great pizza. Blast the karaoke . Then dance when the DJ turns up. …

  • Nicholas Umfreville

Staff were helpful, the bowling lanes were old school mechanical ones rather than being attached to rope.

  • Anna Szymczak

Lovely and helpful staff, we'll organised. Not outstanding hygiene, but understood for such a busy place

  • Evie B

Alice is the best of person In this history of bartenders, this place is awful but Alice is great

  • David Lee

Small, rough and ready. Good beer selection, excellent pizza, bowling and live music …

  • Jeremy Phillips

Great bar with a good selection of beers. Live music and bowling is always a bonus as well

  • Kimball Wynn

Great venue, great drinks. Guy with the beard behind the bar was kind of moody though.

  • A. B.

Pretty nice gig venue and the outdoor area is nice for a quiet drink during the day.

  • Petr Nemg

Great venue, good groups and good music for oldies like me. Still a great venue.

  • Heidi Cowen

Fab afternoon out for bowling, kereoke, pool, table football, beer and pizza

  • Chris C

Went for metal night. Friendly staff, great music, good atmosphere.

  • Sarah Farnfield

Family and friends bowling on NYE really good fun and great value.

  • James Whatley

Went for beers, stayed for karaoke. What else do you need in life?

  • Stephen Laing

Really nice bar and bowling alley, done lovely beers on tap.

  • Georgina Batt

Great venue but couldn't spend the whole evening there

  • Bianca Williams

Alice is an absolutely legend! Best bar in Bristol

  • Tim Tomlinson

A lot of fun. Good beer. Decent pizza.

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