Bloomsbury Lanes

Name: Bloomsbury Lanes
Address: Bedford Way, Tavistock Hotel, London, WC1H 9EU, GB
Telephone: 020 7183 1979

London

Courtesy of Bloomsbury Lanes

WHERE

London

What it’s like

Eight lanes, a diner menu and karaoke rooms, but the clock's against kids after early evening.

This is bowling with a bit of an evening-out feel to it, eight lanes, a proper American diner menu and pizza kitchen, and karaoke rooms if you fancy turning the birthday party up a notch. It's more polished than your average bowling alley, which is nice, but it also means there's no bumpers on the lanes, so if you've got a small one who needs the gutter guards this might not be the spot.

The big thing to plan around is the curfew. Kids have to be out by 8pm Sunday to Thursday and 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays, which for a birthday party means booking an earlier slot rather than the after-school one you might default to. Late arrivals lose their playtime too, so it's worth getting there with a bit of spare time rather than cutting it fine on the tube.

Food-wise the main kitchen runs midday to 9pm and the pizza kitchen goes on to 10pm. Shoes are free, which is one less thing to pay for, but it's card only across the board, no cash, so leave the coins at home. If you're doing a party the Kingpin Suite handles bigger groups, and there's exclusive venue hire too if you're going all out.

Getting there is easy enough, it sits near Russell Square, Euston and Holborn stations. Parking's trickier, there's a private car park next door at the Royal National Hotel or you can chance the free on-street parking, though that only kicks in after 6:30pm on weekdays and 1:30pm on Saturdays.

Facilities

Birthday parties

Booking required

Card only

Group bookings

Food on site

Party rooms

Need to know

Booking: All offers must be pre-booked and pre-paid
Parking: Private car park at Royal National Hotel next door, or free on-street parking after 6:30 PM (Mon-Fri), 1:30 PM (Sat), all day Sunday
Food: American diner menu and pizza kitchen, 12 PM - 9 PM (main), 12 PM - 10 PM (pizza)
Getting there by bus or train: Russell Square (Piccadilly), Euston (Northern, Victoria), Holborn (Central)

No bumpers on the lanes, so it suits kids who can already bowl a bit
Bowling shoes are free to use, no extra charge
Karaoke rooms run £60-120 an hour but are half price Sunday to Tuesday
Late arrivals lose playtime, so build in some slack before your slot

Plan your visit

Do we need to book ahead?

Yes, everything needs to be pre-booked and pre-paid. You can reschedule if you cancel 72 hours in advance.

What time do kids have to leave?

8pm Sunday to Thursday, 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Plan a party around that rather than an after-school slot.

Is there parking?

There's a private car park next door at the Royal National Hotel. On-street parking is free but only after 6:30pm weekdays, 1:30pm Saturdays, and all day Sunday.