Before being invited to a kid's birthday party here, I've never heard of 1st and Bowl. Now my family & I want to come all the time! How are local people not talking more about this spot?! What a hidden gem! 1st and Bowl is unique "sports bar" with so many fun things to do for people of all ages. The gaming areas included separate spaces for kids and adults, like the football bowling & connect-4 basketball. There were also pickleball courts, cornhole boards, billiards tables, golf simulators, lots of screens with different live games on, and in my opinion, the creme de la creme: the Nerf Wars arena. Lights off, black lights on, all out fun! I haven't had that much excitement playing with Nerf guns in years! Some other things observed but didn't get to experience were the full bar and a full kitchen --both looked clean, well stocked, and ready for orders. Lots of comfortable seating, tables, and little private "rooms" around the courts to chill in while playing/eating. All of the separate areas looked very clean and organized, with clearly written game instructions for the various games visible by each court. From what I saw and experienced on the day I went, I'm pleasantly impressed with this place. If you're looking for a new place to have a kid's or adult's birthday celebration, a place for a first date (or 2nd or 3rd!), something to do on the weekend with your kids, a place to hang out casually with friends, family, coworkers, literally whatever the occasion -- than look no further than 1st and Bowl. This venue is top notch! read more

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This large warehouse, set in an industrial neighborhood, offers Pickleball, Cornhole, Basketball Connect 4, Football Bowling, Wiffleball and Arcade games. There is a full service bar and kitchen which offers a variety of pizzas, nachos, and other odds and ends. There's also pull tabs and an ATM. The space is available for both kids and adult parties, as well as corporate events and fundraisers. Adult parties, depending on size, run from $250-$760. Kids parties from $195-$500. Food and drinks were basic but good. The space is rather rudimentary, and on really cold winter days gets a bit chilly. Still, the open spaces are well organized and set up. A nice place for friends and families to spend time being active inside when being outside is not an option. read more

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Large space with lots of activities. I enjoyed the connect 4 basketball-though it was more difficult than others I have tried. The service was good, but my session went until 8pm and they started cleaning up activities and turning off the lights in the place a little after 7pm. I had a fun time! The space is very large and I think they could add more activities, but the ones they have are fun! read more

First and Bowl - Connect 4 basketball - Sports Bars Near Me - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Terrible place to throw a child's birthday. We rented out the nerf area. First off no one at the front desk greeted us, we had to walk around to figure out where we would be going. Then once there no one gave us any direction, they just lead us right to the terrible nerf area. Not worth at all what I paid for! Area not clean, very limited things on the floor for them to hide and play with. Then once the "Games" were over no one told us where to go, he just collected our stuff and we stood there. We had to find our room and found our pizzas sitting there. no one got us from nerf or directed us anywhere. Our pizzas were cold, probably sitting there for awhile and we got 3 tiny pitchers of soda. This was not at all worth the extra money to get food and drinks. I couldn't feed 10 kids on this and had to order 2 more pizzas. No one came to talk with us, the room wasn't decorated, they just threw us in a room with tables and chairs. The whole place was just un-finished to all of us. Will not be going back for what I paid. Rip off!!!! Laser tag at Battle house is wayyyyy better. read more

My experience - end up having to go here for a work outing. I really, really did not want to go. But I ended up going and actually had a good time. I am not into sports or any kind of game type things. But it was actually fun. I don't really know how to describe the place. It seems like it would be a lot of fun for kids. But there is a bar and there is bar type food. We ordered a bunch of pizzas. the food isn't fabulous, but it's not horrible either. I can definitely say that this is a good place for a work outing and probably definitely a better place for a kid's birthday party, etc. The atmosphere is sporty and that is about it. It is very bare bones. read more

Not only did Sara fix my booking issue (my promo code messed up during check out) she was so attentive and on top of our parties needs. The food was out in such a short amount of time and her hospitality overall was impeccable.. this was our first time here as a group and we will definitely be back to celebrate more with first and bowl. Thank you sara for making this gathering so memorable and making our weekend extra special! read more

Tried out this place for a double date for some indoor winter fun! We opted for the play pass which is 2 hours of enjoying whatever games you can during that time. There is another option where you can reserve games for 30-60 minutes however this is not clearly marked on any of the games making open play rather difficult if there are lots of reservations. My suggestion would be for half of the games to be reservation based and half available for open play. The basketball connect 4 was our favorite, however basketballs do get stuck a decent amount but it is not hard to fix. The football bowling was a cool concept in theory but was a little scary due to close proximity to other games and footballs flying and bouncing around from your game and any potential neighbor games. It was also a considerable distance making it a little challenging for the ladies in our group to reach the pins with a football. We also tried the golf simulator however it was very glitchy and stopped working after about 10 minutes of our group trying to use it. This place has a lot of potential for good winter entertainment but I think could use a little more structure and equipment checks to ensure a great experience for guests. read more

First and Bowl - Basketball connect 4 - Sports Bars Near Me - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Indoor round robin pickleball leagues are at 1st & Bowl. It's rally scoring and round robin for partners so you get to play 10-15 rounds in 1.5 hour league sessions. You get to play a lot and get sweaty! The social league is fun, but it is a mixed league with new players and more experienced. It's a fun atmosphere, cool warehouse ambiance with two courts, a full bar, large kitchen with all the local favs plus music and TV. Of course it's famous for football bowling but has expanded to pickleball, wiffle ball, bags, xgolf, pool and more. Chrck out their website for other leagues So much to experience inside. They host many parties too. I would suggest stayong open later after league so we can enjoy have one with the others, having weekly/ daily food drink specials and please clean up the front stairs/entrance. I know you can make reservations and they're different entertainment packages to choose. My favorite besides pickleball is the connect four basketball. Have a blast. read more

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Walked in the handicap door in the back and the bartender says, "what are you doing here". We were there to eat obviously and the bartender said there was a private party with no signs on the door. Bartender was extremely rude and makes me not want to ever go there again. Bartender was a total read more

Went here for field trip Tuesday 5/20/25 and was good place to play, good food, great service, and peaceful. Keep doing you first and bowl! read more

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We had such a blast at First and Bowl and will absolutely be returning. I had no idea what I was going into, and wow do they have a TON of fun to offer! We made a reservation for the... bowling (?) and had a lot of fun. The design was very well thought out with stands for the pins that were knocked over, and a protective bar for drinks that may be in the path of an errant football. The point is to throw the football and knock over the bowling pins - like a mix of cornhole, bowling, and football. Additionally, they offer a nerf battle (upstairs, virtual golf, basketball connect four, pickleball, wiffleball, and cornhole. You can choose an all-access pass or make reservations for individual games. They have a great bar with tons of beverage options, and a small kitchen serving pizza, chicken wings, and giant pretzels. The staff were awesome and friendly as well - can't wait to bring back a bigger group! read more

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Paid 100 dollar deposit online to reserve a spot. Get there and check in at the front, it's busy in there already. Nothing open to play and see groups of people standing around. Ask the front desk how the reservation works and I was informed that the games are all open to play but you have to stand and wait and call next in order to play. Why did I have to pay 100 dollars to reserve a time stamp to play just to wait and call next on whatever activity we wanted to play? What's the point of the reservation? Seemed like a free for all and "well if you wait long enough maybe you'll get to play" don't understand the logistics of this place at all. "Yeah so just reserve a spot and wait until something opens up" What?! Grateful the reservation fee was refunded but left very confused. read more

Oh, this is fun in a box ... So much fun. The staff could use a little training. We walked in and they just looked at us. Be nice if they said something like "Is this your first time here?", or "Did you want to Bowl or play Basketball?, etc. I never played "football bowling" before. It was a treat, but watch out! Balls are flying all over the place. I got bonked in the head twice. Even though it's crazy, I like it...fun crazy. Looking forward to playing again soon read more

Huge disappointment on all levels. Curds were gross. Pizza not much better and overall everything was very overpriced. I had been meaning to go for a while so I was really looking forward to it. We had the entire place to ourselves on a Friday night which was great but now I know why. Will not go back. Some of the games were either shut down or needed fixing. We paid for all play, but that did not include pickle ball but the nice gentleman let us play anyway so that was nice but I was very surprised that pickle ball is not included when we spent $25 a person. We were going to play more, but they started shutting the lights off early. The staff was very nice. That is about all the nice things I could say about the place. read more

Great place to go with friends or family event or even host a work event. The ambiance is great to enjoy self with your group and mostly independent without being bothered by the staff. The food and service were fine for a place like this. The games are cool hybrid between various sports such as connect 4 basketball or football bowling. Fun for all ages over age 4-5 years. read more

First and Bowl - The football bowling area - Sports Bars Near Me - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

We rented the whole place out for a corporate event months in advance for more than 75+ people traveling from all over US. We arrive and they had another party here. We have email confirmations and emails stating we had the whole place. Manager said- oh well. They are just in the cornhole corner. Bad customer service! No empathy. Do not rent here as they do not live up to their contracts. read more

1st and Bowl is a really unique and fun place. It's basically a warehouse where they have a bunch of games set up (football bowling, corn hole, basketball connect four) as well as a bar, a kitchen that makes some bar food, and a few big screen projectors and tv's all around. The space is huge and the abundance of activities makes this place really fun (I haven't been to another place like it). As far as the food goes, I have only tried their boneless wings but as far as I remember, they were pretty good! I think I had some sort of asian Chile flavored sauce on them & ranch on the side. I'd eat them again! The prices here are very reasonable, too. I think as the place is getting more recognition, it is becoming a little bit more crowded so be weary of that. Otherwise, give this place a try and prepare for a night of fun! read more

We made reservations for pickle ball and football bowling. It's a great environment and a ton of fun! No complaints! Just prepare for it to be loud inside (which should be expected)! I would love to come play pickleball here more often in the winter months if it was less expensive. If you have a group it's a great price. read more

We had a 6th graders birthday party at First and Bowl and it was extremely successful. The pizza was delicious. It tasted homemade. All the games were enjoyed by everyone. The manager, Kristian, was very helpful and accommodating. There was a misunderstanding about the ending time of our party. However, Kristian made it work. Thank you for making my nephew's 12th birthday a success. read more

Went here for a work outing for with my wife. Facility seemed well layed out with plenty of options for fun. Staff was friendly and helpful. Had a great time ! read more

Field house style fun zone with a bunch of different games to choose from. Definitely something different. Great prices. Friendly staff. Bring the kids or have a fun night out with friends. read more

My family and I visited 1st and Bowl on Memorial Day. When attempting to book the reservation I was told by Bryan that they were closed on Memorial day. I was so sad because it seemed like the perfect experience for my family of 30+. Bryan sensed the disappointment in my voice and immediately offered to open for us! He did warn me that his staffing would be short. I was so EXCITED! I then worked with Sarah via email and booked our private event. It was very reasonable. When we arrived Bryan was very accommodating, friendly, and welcoming. We didn't notice any staffing shortages as he was able to meet our needs. He prepared delicious food and reasonable drinks for our group. He allowed us time to bond after our time slot before we departed. I'm excited about our next visit. Many of us have talked about getting a membership! Definitely suitable for a date night, birthday party, team building exercise, guys, or ladies night! Don't hesitate schedule your reservation NOW! read more

First and Bowl - Football bowling - Sports Bars Near Me - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

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Drove up from south suburbs of Chicago for an extended date night, and 1st and Bowl was stop number one. I had seen such an experience on TV, but nothing compared to the thrill of actually being in the moment and doing it together. My husband and I had such a blast. Such a creative concept. There were balls flying everywhere and hit people or other people's pins which was totally fine because if you read the rules, it counts. SCORE! If you're looking for a date night activity that might put you a tad bit out of your comfort zone, give it a go, but be sure to grab a drink first from the bar. A good balance of alcohol and mixer is always appreciated. They deserved every bit of the tip and then some. The food was just okay, but I didn't go for the food. Oh, and there are plenty of other activities in the space. Game on! Great time overall. read more

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Key is the best bartender ever! She is so personable and is high energy! SHES THE BEST!!! The music is great, she hand picks it herself. Not to mention she's beautiful so def come see her. Her fav shot is Tito's! read more

We booked a nerf party and were told the kids would have 75 minutes in the nerf area and the remaining time in a party room. We arrived early and were taken to a dirty party room. The shared area was over run by the other party there and trashed. We ordered beverages which took over an hour and a parent from our group had to go and get them. The nerf battle started 20 minutes late, the nerf guns were jammed and not working from the party before us. Several kids in our party had cuts and blisters from the guns not working properly. Our nerf play time started late but the "host" if you can call him that still ended it on "time" the kids had less than 60 minutes of nerf war play. And part of this time included the kids having to clean up all the nerf darts! So they maybe got 35 minutes of actual play time!!! Staff NEVER came to check on our group or to clean up in the area. The only person that tried to provide any assistance was the bartender. Eventually we were told the kids could play bags because no one else was using the area and it was free. As the party was wrapping up we saw several staff just standing around and 3-4 at the front desk. We booked this place based on the reviews but I cannot recommend to anyone to have a party here. It was incredibly unorganized, dirty - our shoes stuck to the floor in the party room, outlet covers were missing, wires were even exposed. We were told 75 minutes of nerf play and the kids got maybe 45, most of the guns didn't work or were hard to use. One of the staff even said this was an ongoing problem with the guns jamming. There is absolutely no structure to the kids parties, and no one ensuring things are running smoothly. The concept is great but poorly managed, the one star is only because the bartender was friendly and tried to help. read more

We had my husband's 70th birthday party here and it was absolutely fabulous! Our kids and their spouses and 7 grandchildren were all there, ages ranging from 6 to 70. What a blast for everyone. The nerf wars were so much fun, to play and to watch from the bunker. Then we ate, pizzas were very good along with cheese curds and fries. Yum! Next, Football Bowling. What a fun experience and while the bigger kids (including the adults) played there, the younger ones played Connect four with basketballs, arcade games and corn hole too. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful too! What a great time at a great place. Can't wait to go back!!! read more

Football bowling?! Hey why not! Didnt know it was a thing, but it makes sense. My first visit here was for a Birthday/Packer play off party and it was a lot of fun. The staff was friendly and helpful. My interaction with them was limited to signing a waiver upon entering and a few trips to the bar. Our group of twenty or so had pizza, wings, and nachos. I had a few squares of pizza and they were good. My expectations for food at a venue like this weren't high, but it all looked good and I didnt hear any complaints. There's plenty of lanes for football bowling, and they also have bean bag/corn hole toss and I think basketball free throws. After a few games of football bowling (pregame) my attention focused on the Packer game. It was a great game and we had a few rounds of complimentary touchdown shots. They have a full bar and few decent selections of taps. Nothing huge, but enough to please most people. Prices are a little higher than your local tavern or sports bar, but this is a niche type venue and to be expected in my opinion. Good fun and perfect for groups of four or more. Looking forward to another visit. https://firstandbowl.com/ read more

Gotta be honest, I was super skeptical of this place when i first heard that my work wanna throw a little party here. Throw a football to knock down some pins? why do that when you could just go to a bowling alley i first thought, but i was proven wrong. It was quite fun, I had fun, my co-workers had fun, even other people who just came in to have fun had fun. So you might come here not thinking this isn't really a "thing" but you just might find yourself having a bit of fun. if you're not much one to throw a football around, there's a small selection of arcade machines you could play, or you could shoot some hoops or play darts. the staff is nice and friendly, they have a nice selection of beer and cocktails. Usually i would just order one cocktail as I'm not much of a drinker, but I found myself ordering a couple of drinks. Food here is also nice too. It's your standard pub grub: pretzel, burgers, wings, pizza. would love to see them one day expand a bit on their food selection. I don't know if i would see myself coming here alone, but if you have a group and looking for something fun to do, I would definitely check out this place, especially seeing how its so close to the Mayfair Collection. read more

I Found 1st and Bowl through a Groupon. The concept was intriguing, and I was looking for a date option. It seemed like something that would appeal for a date and/or a group event. Once we showed up and my husband realized where we were and what it was about, he was super excited to try it out. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all, maybe two other lanes were taken? We chose the end lane, because the guy checking us in mentioned it was helpful so the football wouldn't bounce too far on one side. I definitely appreciated that once we got started, because I had a painful crick in my neck and was struggling to chase the football down as it does do some rogue bouncing. I can imagine it might be both helpful and annoying when people are playing in the lane next to yours and the ball bounces onto their lane. I wondered about them putting additional netting up to separate the lanes and avoid that. After playing for a bit, we went and took a look at their food options. We ended up grabbing the nachos, with pulled pork on it. They gave us what we thought was sour cream in a separate container and we dumped it all over the nachos only to realize it was ranch. At first we were disappointed but after tasting them, I thought it was nice substitute! Overall the nachos were really tasty and well loaded. They aren't huge, they come in one of those trays people give you hot dogs in at football games. We also tried the churro fries and they were drenched in chocolate and also very tasty. I would definitely come back here and try it with a group. Interesting concept on how they set it up for it potentially being super busy, I'd like to see that in action. Also seems like a great spot for a kids party! read more

Fun, but when it gets crowded it gets loud and isn't a place for smaller kids. There was only one person working at the counter/bar and she seemed overwhelmed. read more

I came here for a group outing and it was so fun! Football bowling is a new game for me, and it was a lot harder than you'd think. It made for some friendly competition. They also had pool, darts, bags, and basketball connect four that you could play. There was a full bar, food, TVs and pull tab machine. It is a great place to hang out with a group or to just catch a game. read more

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My son and I were having a "mom and son" weekend for some 1-on-1 time together. We made a reservation to check out this place (and ensure we had a lane.) We went on a Friday afternoon, not knowing what to expect. This was SOOOOO fun! If you have a sports minded family or even just very active kids, this is definitely a place to check out. We are from the Madison area, so this was all new to us, and now, I wish we had something like this in our area! We got there at 4 when they opened. There were a couple other lanes being used, so it was nice to have space. If every lane was in use, I can see how it might be a little chaotic since the balls can easily not go where you intended. :-) The staff was was friendly and welcoming! We didn't have any food there, but the pizza we saw looked pretty great! Thanks for a great time! read more

Went with a group last night, had a great time. The one issue was handled by the manager swiftly and will gladly being going back again. Tons of fun! Bartender was excellent! read more

Had a great time in a unique setting. Plus great service and a good beer selection. The manager on duty (sorry, can't remember her name) was awesome. read more

My family spent a weekend in Milwaukee after all of their baseball seasons ended. I saw this place on Groupon and it seemed like a place my sons (20, 20, and 16) would like. I was right. It looked a little sketchy on the outside, but you could tell the inside was new. There were at least 10 "boards" up on each side. When you pay the open price, you play until you lose. If you win, you stay on the boards, lose and you leave and let the next team play. The object of the game is to throw the football and knock over the bowling pins. The wasn't anyone else playing at that time, so we just kept playing. We played 2 v. 2 with the losing team subbing one of their players for whoever was sitting out the last game. We played for about 3 hours. My family loved it. Great family time doing a fun activity. They have a full bar (tasty drink special). The is a kitchen that serves bar food, but we didn't eat. read more

First and Bowl - Sports Bars Near Me - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Awesome place! Met a friend of mine from college and it was just a blast! I would highly recommend this place if you have a party of folks. read more

Great spot, just off the highway south of Mayfair collection. Plenty of parking. Lots of space for groups, but also works for a fun date night or to just hang with a few friends. Huge TVs for games to watch while you play or grab a drink and some food. Good local beers on tap and the food impressed! read more

Fun new concept in the Milwaukee area. Came here for a work outing- great for that sort of thing. The football bowling is super fun and different. Also lots of other activities to do there like bags, connect four, darts etc. also have a large bar and some food. Cool place if you're looking for something different to do. read more

Nice place to go to and have fun with friends or family. Only thing, I wish they would have played music a little louder so that it could be heard. I will def come back again! Its like being at the bar but playing physical games while you drink read more

This place is phenomal! So much fun and a cool concept. Food and beer were fantastic and really nice staff. Will definitely go back.