Rowans Tenpin Bowl

What it’s like

Ten-pin bowling with bumpers and ramps for the little ones, plus DJ disco parties with synced lighting.

The bowling itself is the obvious draw, and they've thought about the small ones: retractable bumpers keep the gutter balls to a minimum, and there are lighter balls and ramps for anyone too small to swing a proper ball. Older kids and teens get the full lane experience, and the DJ disco parties with synced lighting sound like the bit they'll bring up on the way home, not just the strikes.

It's £1 to get in, then bowling on top, which is a slightly odd way to price it but not a huge one. Adult games run from £8.60 daytime up to £10.80 on a Friday night, and kids 12 and under get 50p off that, with shoe hire bundled into the price rather than sprung on you at the counter. A children's party is £48 per lane per hour, which covers a decent stretch of bowling for a group but does add up if you're doing the full three hours they allow.

There's a genuine catch for families here: under-18s have to be out by 10pm Sunday to Thursday and earlier on Friday and Saturday, and after 7pm it's over-21s only with photo ID checked. So an evening bowling trip with the kids has a hard deadline, and weekend last-minute walk-ins to join a game aren't allowed either, so you'll want your group sorted before you turn up. Parties are daytime-only too, wrapping up by 6pm, which pushes them naturally towards a morning or early afternoon slot.

Food is where it gets a bit fiddly. There's no kitchen serving on site, so pizza and tacos come from outside delivery that you pre-order, and the kitchen's shut on Mondays and Tuesdays anyway, so don't plan a party around lunch on those days. It's card only, and being 15 minutes from Trafalgar Square or Victoria makes it an easy one to fold into a day already in town.

Facilities

Need to know

Best for

5 to 12, with bumpers and ramps for the youngest bowlers

Last entry

Sun-Thu 11:30pm, Fri-Sat 1:00am

Food

Pizzas (Spencer's), tacos (Yucatan Tacos pre-order), bar with drinks

Getting there by bus or train

15 minutes from Trafalgar Square, Moorgate or Victoria by taxi or public transport

Parties

Children's DJ disco bowling parties with music and synced lighting

• Shoe hire is already included in the bowling price, not an extra charge at the counter
• Under-18s have a strict curfew, and after 7pm you need to be 21 or over with ID to get in at all
• Weekend games are locked once booked, no adding extra bowlers on the day
• Kitchen's shut Mondays and Tuesdays, so food is delivery-only those days anyway
• It's card only, so leave the cash at home

Plan your visit

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