Bowling in London: What a Game Costs at Four Venues

A game of ten pin bowling in London costs between 7.95 and 25 pounds, and the gap is not about the lanes. It is about which day you go, what time you arrive, and at one venue a fee that is not part of the bowling price at all.

Rowans in Finsbury Park charges an admission fee on top of the game: one pound in the daytime, five pounds after 7pm on a Friday or Saturday. It is on the price page, it is easy to miss, and it is the reason the cheapest headline game in London is not the cheapest game in London.

What a game costs, cheapest first

Queens on Queensway is 7.95 pounds off peak for one game and 12.95 pounds for two. Peak starts at 9.95 pounds, and Monday and Tuesday run from 8 pounds a game. Booking online is cheaper than walking in, though walk ins are accepted when there is space.

Rowans is 8.60 pounds a game for an adult before 6pm, Monday to Friday, which looks like the better number until the admission fee goes on top. Shoe hire is included in that price, which it is not everywhere.

The Rowans ladder in full: Monday to Thursday 8.60 pounds before 6pm and 9.70 after, Friday 8.60 before 6pm and 10.80 after, Saturday 10.40 and 10.80, Sunday 10.40 all day. Children of 12 and under get 50p off.

All Star Lanes does not publish a standard single game price at all. Everything it sells is an offer, which makes it the hardest of the three to compare and means the question is always which deal you qualify for.

The All Star Lanes deals, and which one is real

The two games offer is the one to use, and it is priced by venue and by hour.

At White City and Stratford: two games for 15 pounds all day Monday and Tuesday and before 4pm Wednesday to Friday, 22 pounds all day Sunday, 25 pounds from 4pm Wednesday and Thursday and all day Saturday.

At Holborn and Brick Lane: two games for 15 pounds all day Monday and before 4pm Tuesday to Thursday, 22 pounds all day Sunday, 25 pounds from 4pm Tuesday to Thursday and all day Friday and Saturday.

The practical difference is Friday. At White City and Stratford a Friday before 4pm is still the 15 pound rate. At Holborn and Brick Lane, Friday is 25 pounds whatever time you go.

During half term only the 25 pound version is available, and none of these can be combined with another offer.

The ten pound late game, and the three versions of it

All Star Lanes sells a game for 10 pounds a head late in the evening. Its own website states the terms three different ways on the same day, which is worth knowing before you plan around it.

The headline on the promotion tile says from 9pm Sunday to Thursday. The text underneath the same tile says after 9pm Monday to Friday at Brick Lane and Holborn. The offer’s own page, which is the one we would trust, says after 9pm Sunday to Thursday and names no venue restriction.

Treat it as a Sunday to Thursday offer, turn up after 9pm, and ask at the desk rather than assuming, because the Friday version only appears in the version with the venue limit on it.

Two other All Star offers are flat and unambiguous. Bowling and two drinks is 27 pounds a head. Two games on the last Friday of the month is 20 pounds. Students get 25 per cent off bowling, karaoke, food and drink.

The age rules, which are stricter than people expect

This is where a group gets turned away, and Rowans is the strict one.

At Rowans, only over 21s are admitted after 7pm, and photo identification is required. Not over 18. Everyone under 18 must have left by 10pm Sunday to Thursday and by 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Nobody under 12 is admitted without an adult at any time, and under 5s go in free when they are allowed in at all.

There is one genuinely good deal buried in the same policy: Monday to Friday before 6pm, children under 10 are admitted free with an adult. The admission fee is waived, though the bowling price still applies.

Where each one is

Queens is at 17 Queensway, W2 4QP, with 12 main lanes plus five private lanes and a bar of their own, and an ice rink in the same building. That combination is the reason to pick it: nowhere else in central London lets you skate and bowl under one roof. Our ice skating page covers the rink side.

Rowans is at 10 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, N4 2DF, two stops north of King’s Cross on the Victoria or Piccadilly line. Twenty four lanes over two floors, plus 13 pool tables and an arcade, which makes it comfortably the biggest on this page. The telephone line, 020 8800 1950, is staffed Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm only.

All Star Lanes Holborn is at Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, WC1B 4DA, five or six minutes from Holborn station. It is the original site and the smallest: four lanes, a 90 cover restaurant and a basement cocktail bar. Monday to Wednesday 3pm to 11.30pm, Thursday to midnight, Friday midday to 1am, Saturday 11am to 1am, Sunday 11am to 10.30pm.

All Star Lanes Brick Lane is at 95 Brick Lane, E1 6QL, eight minutes from Shoreditch High Street. Six lanes, two cocktail bars and private karaoke booths. Monday to Thursday midday to midnight, Friday midday to 1am, Saturday 11am to 1am, Sunday 11am to midnight. Our Brick Lane page covers the rest of that street.

The other two All Star sites are at Westfield White City and Stratford.

How to choose

Cheapest single game: Queens, 7.95 pounds off peak, with no admission fee on top.

Cheapest for two games: All Star Lanes at 15 pounds, if you can go on the right day at the right site.

Biggest and most forgiving of a large group: Rowans, at 24 lanes, as long as everyone is over 21 after seven.

Latest finish: All Star Lanes Holborn or Brick Lane, both running to 1am on a Friday and Saturday.

For the rest of the booked-by-the-hour category, the activity bars cover darts and shuffleboard and crazy golf is the closest comparison on price.

Queens Skate Dine Bowl

Address

17 Queensway, London W2 4QP

Nearest

Queensway or Bayswater

Booking

Online, which is cheaper than walking in, on 020 7229 0172. Walk ins accepted subject to availability

Price

Off peak 7.95 pounds for one game and 12.95 pounds for two. Peak from 9.95 pounds. Monday and Tuesday from 8 pounds a game

Standing

Twelve main lanes plus five private lanes with their own bar, in a building that also has an ice rink

How to get in

Under 4s bowl free off peak. The ice rink in the same building is the reason to choose this one over the others.

Rowans Tenpin Bowl

Address

10 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, London N4 2DF

Nearest

Finsbury Park, on the Victoria and Piccadilly lines

Booking

Online, or 020 8800 1950, staffed Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm only

Price

Adults 8.60 pounds a game before 6pm Monday to Friday, 9.70 to 10.80 pounds in the evening, 10.40 pounds at weekends. Shoe hire included. An admission fee applies on top: 1 pound in the daytime and Sunday to Thursday evenings, 5 pounds after 7pm on Friday and Saturday

Standing

Twenty four lanes over two floors with 13 pool tables and an arcade, the largest in London

How to get in

Only over 21s are admitted after 7pm and photo ID is required. Under 18s must leave by 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Children under 10 are admitted free with an adult before 6pm on weekdays.

All Star Lanes Holborn

Address

Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, London WC1B 4DA

Nearest

Holborn, five to six minutes

Hours

Monday to Wednesday 3pm to 11.30pm. Thursday 3pm to midnight. Friday midday to 1am. Saturday 11am to 1am. Sunday 11am to 10.30pm

Booking

Online

Price

No standard single game price is published. Two games from 15 pounds, bowling and two drinks 27 pounds, and a game for 10 pounds after 9pm

Standing

The original All Star Lanes, with four lanes, a 90 cover restaurant and a basement cocktail bar

How to get in

At this site the two games for 15 pounds rate runs all day Monday and before 4pm Tuesday to Thursday. Friday is 25 pounds at any hour.

All Star Lanes Brick Lane

Address

95 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Nearest

Shoreditch High Street, eight minutes

Hours

Monday to Thursday midday to midnight. Friday midday to 1am. Saturday 11am to 1am. Sunday 11am to midnight

Booking

Online

Price

Two games from 15 pounds, bowling and two drinks 27 pounds, and a game for 10 pounds after 9pm

Standing

Six lanes, two cocktail bars and private karaoke booths

How to get in

The latest finish of any lanes on this page, along with Holborn. Students get 25 per cent off bowling, karaoke, food and drink.

Where to go next

Crazy golf is the nearest comparison on price and group size, and the activity bars cover darts, shuffleboard and the rest.

Ice skating covers the rink inside Queens, and Brick Lane covers the street the East London lanes are on.

Questions we get asked

How much is bowling in London?

Between 7.95 and 25 pounds a game. Queens on Queensway is 7.95 pounds off peak and from 9.95 at peak. Rowans in Finsbury Park is 8.60 pounds before 6pm on weekdays, plus an admission fee of 1 to 5 pounds. All Star Lanes publishes no single game price and sells two games from 15 pounds.

What is the cheapest bowling in London?

Queens on Queensway at 7.95 pounds for an off peak game, with no admission fee on top. Rowans is 8.60 pounds before 6pm but adds a separate admission fee, so the real floor there is 9.60 pounds.

Does Rowans charge an entry fee as well as the bowling?

Yes, and it is easy to miss. Admission is 1 pound in the daytime every day and on Sunday to Thursday evenings, rising to 5 pounds after 7pm on Friday and Saturday. The bowling price is charged separately, though it does include the 1 pound shoe hire.

What is the age limit for bowling at Rowans?

After 7pm only over 21s are admitted, and photo identification is required. Everyone under 18 must leave by 10pm Sunday to Thursday and by 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Nobody under 12 is admitted without an adult at any time.

Can you bowl for 10 pounds in London?

Yes, at All Star Lanes after 9pm. Its offer page says the deal runs Sunday to Thursday with no venue restriction, though the promotion tiles on the same website say Monday to Friday at Brick Lane and Holborn. Plan for Sunday to Thursday and confirm at the desk.

Where can you bowl late in London?

All Star Lanes Holborn and Brick Lane both run to 1am on Friday and Saturday, and Brick Lane to midnight Monday to Thursday. Holborn does not open until 3pm Monday to Thursday, so it is an evening venue rather than an afternoon one.