Big Al's is the place for fun family and frolicking! We took part in the summer bowl for kids and found a great atmosphere for all kinds of bowlers. The lanes are clean, well maintained and easily accessible. The food and bar area offer a great variety of fare. The game room upstairs is a nice touch for the non bowler in your family. Definitely a staple summer activity for our family moving forward. read more

The food came hot, in a reasonable timeline. Servers/staff were very nice, professional. We had to ask for ketchup for our fries. We had to call them for water and soda refills. The place was nearly empty. It seemed like wanted a 'yes' response when someone would come by and ask 'is everything alright(while our drinks sat empty on the table in front of them. We saw our server at order and at check time. There were at least 7 waitstaff, and 3 parties to serve. If I pay $4.50 for cup of Diet Pepsi ( yes, $4.50), I never expect to have to ask for a refill. This is an extremely cheap way to keep this very happy at tip time. We won't be back there for a while. Pricey and inattentive staff. Bummer, as you could really benefit from a larger customer base. read more

Horrible food and service. Every Shareable we ordered was dry. The wings were overcooked and extremely dry. The fingers steak were more like dehydrated meat nuggets. The pretzel was over cooked and the queso tasted what a locker room smells like. And last not least the floating stuff in the pitcher of Blue Moon. Just telling the truth. It was 50 bucks I wish I could have spent elsewhere. read more

We have kids bowl free and two of the three times we couldn't even use it! Definitely recommend if you have kids bowl free avoid Big Als as they are not kids friendly!!!!!!!!!! Not worth the hype when the customer service is extremely rude at the front counter! Avoid them like the plague!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 read more

I am surprised by how much I genuinely love Big Als. It really is a perfect place to hang as an adult or bring your kids. I've come with just my family and also a corporate event, and both times were impressed and left having a great time. Their pizza is really good, definitely not large chain quality (mean that in the best way). And their burgers are also great. Honestly, Big Als is 100% worth all the hype it gets. I definitely recommend! My only complaint is the price. It's crazy expensive... but if you budget and plan than it's worth it. read more

Food is really really bad, especially for the price. They won't let you put your name on the 2+ hours waitlist over the phone. And it's not our first experience of our bowling lane kind of broken. Overall I'm dissatisfied with my visit every time and it seems like it's getting worse. read more

Too bad I can't give 0 stars. This review is directly for the food wait staff and management of this entire facility. The bartenders were great. Whoever the manager is or multiple managers need to be fired. I have never had a more worse experience when eating at a restaurant. My husband and I were out of town visiting a few friends of ours. We all went to Big Al's to allow the kids to play a few games and get dinner. We grabbed a few drinks at the bar, played some video games and then grabbed dinner in the restaurant area. The food was cold when it arrived and the presentation was very messy. And to make it worse, there was absolutely no customer service whatsoever. Every single employee just stood up near the kitchen and did absolutely NOTHING the entire time we were seated eating dinner. We ordered from the mobile app and gave an in advance tip which I seriously wish we could have reversed and given them nothing. The rest of the time we were seated, not one person came to check on us, asked how our food was or asked if we needed anything. It is as if we did not exist. In addition to absolutely NO SERVICE, every single table around us was filled with food from previous guests dinner. It had been sitting there for hours which is absolutely unacceptable and disgusting! It was quite shocking really. All the while the wait staff was standing around doing NOTHING. We even tried to get their attention multiple times but they were too busy chatting away and looking at their phones. I don't normally write bad reviews but this place is seriously lacking and has absolutely no business even operating when you're employees do literally nothing. We all got so frustrated and mad that we left abruptly and told ourselves that we would never be back. And to make matters worse, as we were walking out, the outdoor area was completely trashed. Garbage was everywhere. You could tell it had not been cleaned in months. How gross. The whole entire place was such an eye sore and left such a bad taste in my mouth I felt compelled to write this. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT GO HERE. This place has ZERO respect for its guests, does not care about making money and has horrific management service. Go spend your money elsewhere. read more

Rather than accepting bowling reservations (which makes no sense, especially now) you are expected to show up and hang out for 2 extra hours, during which time you'll be invited to a dining area to wait. This might seem reasonable until you encounter the strange, automated environment which only looks like a normal restaurant. In fact you will be required to seat yourself, navigate an online menu and pay for your order, including tip, before you receive any type of human interaction. Your food may or may not arrive on the first attempt but rest assured you'll be charged both times. And there is literally NO checking back or ongoing service of any kind so tipping seems rather inappropriate. This is an experience that should be represented as it is: grossly overpriced, mediocre tasting fast food. read more

Not a fan of this place, as an adult who drinks beverages. Hardly no bar service, no personality, too big for their own good feeling. Chuck E Cheese for Adults? Nor our thing. Tried to watch Sunday football there. 21+ over bar not open? Are you kidding me? I'm sure its great for some situations, parents wanting to drink while kids play? Thats not us. Rudy's it is! read more

We ended up leaving.. Came in with 4 people to eat and have beers. They don't have menu's at the table anymore, no servers taking your order.. just a QR code on the table to scan. The QR site wasn't working so we were told to go up to a counter to place our order. This is extremely inconvenient for groups. We need to see a menu, ask questions, and we need a waiter to bring us beers or other items while we're eating. We're not going to get up and go to a counter every time we want a beer while eating. None of the restaurants in the area operate this way. This is ridiculous, please don't try to suggest you're doing this due to Covid. We won't be back as long as you continue this nonsense. read more

If you like bowling, don't miss the Tuesday specials : $2,00/person/game!!!! Enjoy! Good time with friends bowling. They have over 30 lanes that you can enjoy. Recommended to book the lanes in advance to not have to wait over 1 hour. They also have a room to follow sports on tv and order food. Food menu is basic and fried food overall. Our group tried various appetizer and food, it was overall ok, but not fantastic. The service was pretty disappointing on that side : needed to ask 3 times to get silverware and was told our last round of drink would arrive before the closing time, but never did... The bathroom cleanliness is also something they should consider. read more

This was terrible! They have taken the personalization out of the entire experience. When you arrive you find your own table, scan the QR code for a menu, order your drinks and your food through the app pay through the app. Wait for 15 minutes for them to figure out which table your drinks belong to. Another 15 or 20 for sun-par food. They never come check on you. If you need anything you have to go through the app. There are six employees hanging out at the bar, and none of them check on any of the tables. The food was subpar and VERY overpriced. We ordered au gratin potatoes but they were actually potato skins, which were burnt and stuck to the plate. We asked for a to go cup for our leftover soda and they looked at us like we were speaking another language. They said they would have to find out if they could do that, and then never came back. we will never go back. read more

This place is HUGE! Great for a night out, or to spend the whole day. Their restaurant isn't what you'd expect from a sports bar as they have everything from Burgers, Salads, and Wraps to awesome steaks. The restaurant has these massive projectors and a stadium feel that is really unique. One of the best places to watch sports, and they keep the schedule for the big screen on their website which is convenient. Aside from the restaurant there is a massive bowling alley. Its split into 2 parts, there is a main bowling section, and a more private section with some nicer seating and amenities. It gets very busy on the weekends so you'll want to come early. Unfortunately they don't do reservations at all unless you plan ahead with an event. This can be rough on game nights and weekends but visits during the week are usually easy to get a lane or a seat in the restaurant. Lastly there is a whole arcade area upstairs as well as a 21+ private bar area. The arcade is massive with tons of games for all ages. They definitely have the most and the coolest prizes of all the other entertainment places around. The private bar area is super nice as well with a sweet view down to the big screens in the restaurant, plus they have pool, darts, and some retro games. Their loyalty program is really nice too! read more

Worst customer service ever. They need to be trained on how to be just a kind human being. They all seemed miserable to be there. Ticket amount on items weren't correct on several items. 2 of the employees were too busy on their phones rather than helping. The 2 at the cash register in the ticket room, seemed like they didn't wanna be there. WORST customer service!!! read more

For those of you that want the inside on a great time..... head upstairs and look for A...A... Ron.... aka Aaron. If he doesn't make your night, I owe you a drink. read more

Man, Covid must have messed up Big Al's birthday parties. We had one here in 2018 and it was amazing experience. Private Room with party planner/server/Did It All host we were blown away how nice and organized it was we didn't have do anything. We Just had one here this last Sunday and it was nothing like our last party there. We didn't know you no longer get a private room and no party organizer. You have to walk up to order your food no servers no party area setup like it was last time. Glad we brought plates and balloons just as back ups cuz last time that was all included. At least the lady clearly off tables helped us out some. The kitchen wasn't even going to give us a lighter fit candles or a knife for the cake but this lady said she would do it. They even put gratuity on our bill but no one served us we did it all. What is wrong these days. Seemed like prices were super high and 1/2 the quality. Unreal. Definitely won't be telling people to do their kids bday parties here like we have been. read more

This review is from a month ago... I'm only giving a two star rating for the lone bartender's service and the big TVs. The last time we were here was about one year ago during the start of football season. We haven't been back because of our prior experience of poor service and poor food. We decided to try it out tonight because the Seahawks were playing and their TVs are awesome! We arrive and see the signs at the hostess stand that say "please seat yourself" and "order food and drinks at the bar." We get a table without a problem about 20 minutes before the game. The bartender served dozens of guests ordering food and drinks from the bar. There were tables of up to 8 people and the dining area in the lower section of the bar was full, approximately 40 people, by the start of the game. This is an extremely poor concept for a restaurant of this size, even with COVID being present. After standing in line for 10 minutes for a beer, I asked the bartender why there wasn't another bartender helping him. He said it's only busy because the Seahawks are playing and management must've overlooked the game... This is unacceptable. Another man, maybe the bartender from the bowling alley or the manager, comes to the restaurant bar and pours a shot for a guest who wasn't in line. The employee takes the guest's payment and leaves the line of guests who are waiting to order. It's odd that the manager isn't helping the bartender serve guests and get through the line quicker. Our first food dish arrives in maybe 10 minutes, which is great. We ordered spinach artichoke dip. It came lukewarm and was cold in the middle. When I asked the employee who delivered it to warm it up, she brought a new one that was the same temperature. The spinach artichoke dip tasted great but the fact that it was cold was disappointing. We also ordered a pizza. The bartender let me know when I ordered the specialty pizza with several toppings that it would end up being a $40 pizza because he has to enter each $1.50-$2.50 topping in when placing the order. That is beyond ridiculous! I'm thankful he told us it would end up costing that amount because $40 for a pizza is absurd. We ordered a personalized pizza with 4 toppings, which ended up being $30. It arrived hot but it was not good. The crust was very greasy; you needed a fork to eat it if you didn't want your hand dripping with grease. We were fed up by this point to complain about the food again. It's unfortunate Big Al's isn't operating with better management. This place has great potential with the atmosphere (big TVs, comfortable seating) and one dedicated employee - the bartender, Richie! read more

Fantastic arcade area! We purchased the $30 token deal and my kids were happy! Well worth the money. Games accumulated tokens on a card that the kids cashed in at the end for some great prizes! A plus my birthday child was given a massive ice cream sundae on the house! Will be back for some bowling! read more

Big Al's - American Near Me - Meridian, Idaho

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We were here a couple of times in past one month. The staff members were very efficient and friendly both times regardless if they were busy or not. We bowled, we dined and we played in the arcade. Not a cheap place to do all of those, but it was a treat and was a great time especially for kids. I love their food as well. Not bad at all while bowling. I only gave 4 stars because of the price and I can't afford to go there all the time. read more

I'm from The Bay Area and then moved to Sparks NV then on to Boise ID and here at Big Al's on a Sunday and I have had the best wings that I have ever had. read more

Big All is overrated for me. I understand it's great for kids and youngsters but, in my opinion,, if you are over 25, there is a chance you will find yourself being frustrated and unhappy. Our waiting time was too long. We got our meals mixed up, and the server brought me a plate with things I explicitly said I am allergic to. Now that is not the only reason why I am giving them only two stars. Our last party of 9 - all of them said their orders were bland and tasteless. For the money, I do believe Big Al's should make sure their menu is tasty and their staff is more professional. read more

Come for the kids, stay for the adults! I cannot begin to appreciate this place enough! Reasonably priced food and drinks, happy hour, kid meal specials, huge TVs, the list goes on! Sign to kids up for Kids Bowl Free, hang outside on comfy furniture, or grab a table in the restaurant that actually shows WORLD CUP SOCCER!! Even the women's! Matt in the bar area is incredibly accommodating and personable! read more

Big Al's - American Near Me - Meridian, Idaho

Ian at the High Rollers bar was super helpful and kind providing us intel in what to do where and how to order and even where to sit. This place is huge and overwhelming when you first walk in but Ian went above and beyond. Everyone here is super nice and helpful and this place is too much fun. It's a "must" place to checkout. Just a fun atmosphere. I will keep coming back here - thank you Big Al's staff and Ian!! You guys Rock!! read more

I'm not big into over the top sports bars but if you are...this is the place for you. The sports fan with us loved the huge screens, the bowler with us was very excited at the lit up disco lanes, and the arcade is pretty cool for the kiddo. 3 air hockey tables is a plus because they were all busy. This is my second visit and It's hotter than Hades in August upstairs where the arcade is ....bluhhh. But you can bring your beer up there if you're An adult. I didn't go to the upstairs bar. We ate at the main bar and grill. I got a French dip with fries. The beauty was the fries. Not quite steak fries but pretty this and well cooked. Perfect actually! Hard to find fries this good around here. Kinda reminded Me of Red Robin fries. But better. The French dip was a 2. And I only give it a 2 because then bun was not soggy (thank you!) but the meat was quite sparse (2 thin pieces) and not fabulous. I don't think I've ever put salt on a French dip before. Way mediocre. the two people who got burgers raved about them, (One chicken breast and one classic burger) didn't look fabulous to me but they say YUM and easy to eat (looks like a potato bun - shredded lettuce) Great Place to take out of town visitors if they've got kiddos. Otherwise, i personally would go somewhere smaller and less loud and hot Great service read more

Big Al's - Classic burger with onion rings $2 extra for 3 rings - American Near Me - Meridian, Idaho

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Big Al's is serious fun for the whole family. The environment and vastness of the offerings they boast is something to boast about! Prices may be high but it's so worth it. My husband and I love going to Big Al's for date night, football watching, bowling, or just a dinner out with the whole family. They've always got specials (sometimes at odd hours/days like for bowling) but it's a fun, upbeat, lively place! Food: the nachos and burgers! Try them! The burgers are fatty patties on big, soft buns. The nachos are extremely huge and very good. We have tried many things on their menu, including the desserts (mud pie!!) and it is all very good. Try the happy hour food specials. They're smaller than the regular portion, which makes them a lot more reasonable for one person. Drinks: tons of beer on tap! Atmosphere: I don't feel like you can beat it! Bowling, bars, arcade, food at the lanes, a huge sports restaurant, an adult VIP lounge, a private bowling area... It's so upscale and nice! It's a huge facility, offering a lot of versatility for the whole family. Service: average (seems like they always have new servers), but the atmosphere trumps it every time! Happy Hour Offerings: daily happy hour EXCEPT during big games. Healthy Hack: this is one of the only places I've seen with a good salad selection on the happy hour menu. The salad with fruit (apples/pears and nuts) is so good! Tips: Portions are very big, especially the nachos! Bring a hearty appetite! read more

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We came here to celebrate a birthday by bowling. The blonde girl at the front desk killed the mood immediately with awful customer service. Blunt answers to questions, and a major attitude. Not helpful whatsoever. Big Al's had about 8 lanes not in use, and we're still waiting. read more

We went for a fun day of bowling and got checked in with no problems whatsoever went very smoothly. While we were bowling, we ordered food through the online app it took 20 minutes for our food to show up and when it finally did show up my daughter's pretzel was burned, so we took it back and asked them to remake it. The cook who took the request had an attitude about it. We went back to bowling and finished our game and still NEVER received the new pretzel. So we stopped by the front desk where the food is made, and talked to one of the servers. We asked him if we could have the cost of the pretzel removed from our tab. He went to find a supervisor or manager. The manager and the server returned. The manager apologized for the poor service and removed the cost of the pretzel from our tab. Overall, the food was just okay. But the whole experience was tainted because of the very poor service and quality. read more

Went to big Al's a few years ago and loved it. Fast forward to present day, went back expecting the same great experience, and it was very crowded, and someone was blatantly smoking weed inside the upstairs portion! The restaurant is very good, and the prize store is awesome. Games are fun, a few of them were not working and some of the ones we wanted to play had too many people waiting to play them and we couldn't get to them. read more

Maybe its good for kids but not too good for adults. Food bad, drinks pricey, arcade weak. Bowling was solid

What can you say about Big Al's. What a cool place. Gorgeous architecture and design, bowling, games, massive TV's and really fun place in which I can easy spend an entire afternoon there. I was there the other day doing just that. I spent most of the afternoon just watching the Olympics and having a smorgasbord of a variety of things on their menu over the course of my day. Unknowingly, happy hour was from 2-6pm so I was able to try a lot of appetizers at half price. Some were good, some were average but all in all, I had a great time watching sports on their big screens and chatting with a friend. The restaurant has really nice tables and chairs. Even though the restaurant is really big, my waiter checked back with us constantly giving us personal attention. Food always came out fast and hot. Prices are a bit steep but if you come during certain times, you can enjoy a quiet atmosphere and some decent food with really good service. When they first opened, they were working out some kinks with their staff but I would say in the last couple years, if not more, the staff has really been much better and I have been really pleased with the level of customer service I have received. I wish them the best and it is a beautiful addition to the Village area. read more

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This is just a review for the restaurant and bar. We didn't check out the bowling alley or arcade. Ambiance is cool for watching sports. And that's all they have going for them. I know COVID has things messed up. But having to go stand in line at the bar is not even close to providing good service. The wait was around 10 minutes. The bar was understaffed and a total mess. Piles of glass. Liquid all over the space. Out of pint glasses. The food was average or a little below. My burger was slightly under cooked from my medium cooked order. But the wait in line and lack of wait staff had me not go to get it fixed. The rest of my party had mediocre food too. A barely warm Philly cheese steak for my wife. I want to like this place, but this visit on top of a couple others leaving feeling a little blah before makes me pretty sure I won't be back for a long while if ever. read more

The food was good the bartender was great, but their operating model was ridiculous! Went there to watch Thursday night football. The TVs are very good, but if you don't want to stand in a long line of patrons to order your own drinks and food then I would not recommend it. They have no waiters or waitresses, just this one poor bartender taking all orders and making all drinks. They have a few young girls that expedite the food, thankfully so that the poor bartender doesn't have to do that too! Stupid management is going to lose a lot one business over their bad management skills. I will not be going back. read more

Love this place! Fun! Electric! Awesome environment! Lots to do and see! Flashing lights! Lots of sound. Arcade games and adult bar with golf and a great view of downstairs from upstairs. Downstairs finds bowling, 2 more bars, ice cream, and an AWESOME (did I say AWESOME!!!!) dining/bar area with mega awesome giant tv screens and great food. Awesome wait staff. Delicious drinks. Fun environment. Try it! You'll like it! read more

Love the sports bar at Big Al's! We just stopped by to grab a quick bite and I instantly loved it. It's a really large room with one massive TV and 8 large TVs up where everyone can see. We sat in the very back and could easily watch the football, baseball, and volleyball that was playing. There are also a bunch of small TVs that are great for people sitting at the bar. There is a huge mural of the Boise State blue turf which is really cool and catches your eye the moment you walk in. There is a ton seating with tables, booths, and bar seating. This seems like the perfect place to come watch a game or a fight. I would love to come back someday to experience a Boise State game here. We ordered the artichoke dip and a caesar salad. The Dip comes with "homemade chips" which tasted suspiciously similar to Tostitos. They weren't bad but we were expecting more homemade tasting chips. The dip itself was awesome. You can really tell they make it fresh. I ending up scraping the bowl with a spoon because it was so good. The salad was average. It had a bit too much dressing on it but the croutons were very good. They were unique. They were soft and moist and I believe they were fried. They tasted kind of sweet. Unfortunately there were only 4 on the whole salad. There were 3 or 4 tables total in the whole place at the time so you would expect the service to be relatively good but unfortunately it was pretty slow. Overall, this place is great and I can't wait to come back and cheer on Boise State and try some other menu options. read more

Big Al's - Very cool decor in the sports bar. - American Near Me - Meridian, Idaho

Bowling is expensive unless you're getting a deal(which btw If that's the case be prepared to wait atleast an hour before playing) Staff are so rude, and snobby. You literally can't find one kind person. Not only is the bowling expensive, so are the food and drinks. In the bar area, I spend $40 on 2 'house drinks' which weren't even that special. The games upstairs will leave you broke, For mediocre games. Not worth my time. read more

A-Aron took really good care of us. Made us a Disney land drink from the secret menu . Ask for A-Arons tsunami for an AMF on steroids , we will br back for $5 dollar margaritas on Monday , highly recommended read more

We only did the bowling today but I had to give only three stars because the music was so. dang. Loud! We had to yell to hear one another.

My husband, my son, & I went to Big Al's (2/16/20). The last time we came here it was for my husbands birthday. We celebrated with dinner followed by bowling. It was a fairly large group. Our original experience wasn't the best, but I called in the next day and spoke with Vincent about our experience. He was very apologetic and offered to make it up to us the next time we came in. It was very thoughtful and appreciated. This convo was back on 8/16/19. So, back to Sunday....we arrived around 6:30 and gave the cashier our name. She set us up in the VIP bowling area and got us our shoes (as promised by Vincent). As my husband was setting up our names for the computer, Vincent came over to speak to him. He told me husband that he remembered the conversation and apologized again for how bad things were the last time. He introduced Ian, our server, to us and said if we needed anything to let him know. The bowling area was great! It was super clean and well maintained. It had pleasant music playing and it was loud enough to allow you to have conversations & listen to the music too! A lot of times it gets so loud a bowling alley's you can't hear anything. We ordered some food & drinks. Pitcher of Pepsi Pitcher of Ice Water 2 blue Icee's Mozzarella bites Large pepperoni pizza Large Bbq chicken pizza The food was great! The pizza came out hot & nicely put together. The mozzarella bites were delicious!!! I did think that the price of the mozzarella sticks was a bit high. They were $10.50 for 8. But that's the only negative & definitely not a big enough deal to take off a star. At one point, our ball return stopped working & so we had to request assistance. It took about 10 minutes for them to get the problem fixed, but the attendant had the missed time added back into my time without ya asking. Ian was an awesome server. He was very attentive and was on top of everything without being over the top. He treated everyone around us just as well. Thanks to Ian & Vincent, we had a wonderful Sunday evening. They 100% made up for our prior negative experience. I really appreciated Big Al's making things right. Vincent is an awesome manager who delivers great customer service. We are looking forward to our next visit! *i highly recommend splurging and just renting the VIP lanes by the hour! It's worth it and really doesn't cost much more. read more

Just very disappointed. My kids love to come here but I just don't think we'll be back. The food was way too expensive. They charged us $6.50 for a side of fry sauce. $6.50!!!! When we thought surely it was a typo, they said sorry that's their "corporate price" . I am in disbelief that a side of any condiment would cost that much when each meal was at least $20. Then when I took the kids to play games, all their faves were broken and they ones that "worked" took their money and never worked correctly. Just overall bad and very disappointed in a place that could/should be really great, but just isn't. read more

This review is for arcade only:: It was a "meh". Went to the arcade for my son's birthday before the movies and thought we'd be spending a few hours playing arcade games. We were done about 45 minutes into it. There were a quite a few games out of order and a few that could use some maintenance (joysticks not responding well, pinball flippers getting stuck etc). Didn't like the odd pricing ($1.15 for some games??) I understand that they're probably more about dinning and bowling but the arcade was "meh". Also the bathrooms were dirty and could use someone checking on them more often. We did let an employee know so hopefully it was remedied. Honestly, we'll probably be going back to Wahooz for more of a family arcade night. read more