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    Garden Bowl

    3.4 (78 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    Services - Garden Bowl

    Catering services

    Venue rental

    Garden Bowl Photos

    GARDEN BOWL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Live music
    Loud
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Garden Bowl

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    Reviews With Photos

    Bowling lanes
    Ash P.

    Went bowling here with my family. We had fun and played two great games . We went early on a Saturday and reserved a lane for two hours to enjoy the afternoon it gets packed in here pretty fast we ordered a pizza it was okay not great and some Lemonade and enjoyed the time. They have a full bar and The staff was friendly the ambiance was okay. Kind of felt unsafe as the night progressed. But they do have security.

    Scratch n' Snuffs from Pittsburgh
    Nicole F.

    The cost for bowling is a little Much, but I love the atmosphere, especially when there is live music in front by Sgt. Pepperoni's Pizza!

    Sofia S.

    Love this place. Are the lanes good? No, and that's when they're available. Is the pizza greasy as hell? Yes. But twice there's been a bowling pin art show here and how many other bowling alleys can we say that about?

    bowling lanes and disco ball
    Mandy S.

    I came here on a Monday afternoon. Place was empty. I can see it getting pretty busy at other times. Cool vibes. They had the lanes decorated with Halloween stuff which was cute. The Staff was friendly. I would go back if I was in downtown Detroit.

    Carey C.

    Fun atmosphere, but bowling prices are a little on the high side. Also, don't like the ball returns are on every other lane, so you are either walking in someone's game or their walking into yours. The lanes come fashioned with about 2 balls of every size/weight, with huge finger holes, so anyone could use any ball. No lane server/service, so you had to get your own drinks. I thoroughly enjoyed myself because I paid for nothing :)

    bowling lanes and neon lights
    Dalia R.

    Super fun bowling alley in a historic building in downtown Detroit! Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Doesn't seem like this is a place for professional bowlers, but it's the perfect atmosphere for a casual time with friends. There's also a pizza restaurant and bar attached to the entrance! Bowling is a little on the pricier side, but it's an experience worth checking out at least once!

    Loved the old school signage inside Garden Bowl!
    Bobbi-Jo W.

    Visited on Black Friday after we had struck out with a bad experience at a highly suggested local favorite in corktown, and Garden Bowl saved the day! A punk rock bowling alley in a historic building, complete with cheap drinks and a snack bar. We had so much fun!!!

    Mj J.

    What a BLAST!!!!! I happened to have the day off for President's Day and he surprised me by getting off work early so we could spend most of the day together. He has been wanting to go bowling for months now, so we decided to head downtown and check out the Garden Bowl. Garden Bowl is an old school bowling alley attached to the Majestic Theater. What the place lacks in upgrades, the vibe and atmosphere makeup the difference. We decided to rent a lane for an hour. The cost was super cheap....under $10 for the rental and shoes. We made our way to the lane and let the competition commence! haha To be honest, I am not the best bowler, but we had such a great time. We spent so much time laughing, and joking around that I'm surprised we were able to finish our games. I will not brag about my score (under 100) but he did fantastic. I was impressed :) We ordered a few drinks and a shot at the bar to celebrate his win! The bar is fully stocked and has Happy Hour specials. If you are in the mood for food, I did see patrons enjoying some pizza. We will most definitely be back and I plan to beat his high score. Next time, I promise, the drinks will be on him! lol

    Outside
    Jeremy S.

    Old school. Very old, as in established in 1912. The facade and inside are a little disheveled, but hey it's bowling do you really need much to be happy? Hope not. They've got the critical elements covered: a handy bar that'll serve you pitchers, a pizza stand next door that brings you pies, a computerized scoring system, and friendly staff that happily gives you ratty shoes and a glass of water for your hangover with a smile. Sure it's not the champagne of bowling, but it's downtown Detroit and this old Mom and Pop has somehow managed to hang on... For that alone I salute you Mr. Bowling Alley Owner guy.

    Bowling Alley
    Steven L.

    The garden bowl is the place to be on the weekend. My group of friends and I really like getting together and going bowling, but our local place was closing, and honestly, way more lame than the garden bowl. This place is a great stop, a lot of young people like to go in, and they stay open until 2:00. The pizza at Sargent Pepperoni's is phenomenal and there's a bar inside. The bowling is paid for by the hour and there are lots of fun ways to customize the screens (which my friends and I enjoy far too much). Whoever the DJ was killed it, they had a great playlist. I've never had a bad time at the garden bowl and it's a great spot to hang!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Very few people there during the day, on a weekday. Easy bowling. Day drinks were fine. Bartender was nice.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Penny had to. Best server ever. So cool cool best experience. Loved it so much!!! We had had the best greeting n service!

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    3 years ago

    Beautiful place great food safe and fun I will always visit here I love it wonderful people ... I will tell all my family about this place

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Garden Bowl

    Review Highlights - Garden Bowl

    It's been a bowling alley for 100 years, and the pictures on the wall give a glimpse into the history of bowling.

    Mentioned in 10 reviews

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    Thunderbowl Lanes

    Thunderbowl Lanes

    2.7
    (50 reviews)
    9.0 mi

    I came here Sunday evening to bowl with my girlies. We ordered drinks and food at the bar while we…read morewaited for every one to arrive because they said once we paid for bowling our time would start. I ordered the chicken bacon flatbread and Tito's with pineapple, this was around 6:20 PM. It's now 7:43 PM and I have YET to get my food. EVERYTHING the other members of our party ordered that came out was ice cold. I am at the bar inquiring about my food and they are saying the kitchen is severely backed up, but when I ordered there were not that many people here. And you can't tell me they are back there hand twirling pizza dough, so not sure what the issue is. I came to the bar to try to ensure that when my flatbread comes it is not ice cold after an almost two hour wait. It FINALLY arrived...and was ice cold. I asked the lady if they could put it back in the oven/microwave what the f**k ever they are using to make it, she agreed and said it would be ready in two minutes .she brought it out about five minutes later and it was ...kind of warm. I was over it at that point and accepted it because I was drinking on an empty stomach. The flatbread was decent but definitely not worth the 2 hour wait. Bowling itself was fun, the lanes were clean, no malfunctions and plenty of balls.

    My bestie and I took our sons to Thunderbowl Lanes for a little post-Mother & Son Dance fun. It had…read morebeen a while since we'd been there, and while the kids had a good time overall, we were shocked by the cost--especially for parents who aren't even bowling. We paid $11 per child for an hour of bowling, plus $8 each for shoe rentals, which we felt was reasonable. But what surprised (and disappointed) us was being told that we had to pay $20 each just to be in the building with our kids--even though we weren't bowling. Our boys are six and five years old, so of course they couldn't bowl alone, and we couldn't just leave them there. It honestly didn't make sense, and it felt like an unnecessary charge. So for just one hour of bowling for two kids, the total came to $67--and that's before even touching the arcade. To be fair, the manager was understanding and did give us two $15 arcade cards, which our sons loved. That gesture was appreciated and helped soften the situation. We did have some issues during the game--balls got stuck, the scoring system glitched, and we had to wait for staff to fix it, which took away from our play time. Unfortunately, the system doesn't pause your session when this happens, so time was lost while waiting, and that felt frustrating given the hourly rate. One highlight: the cosmic bowling ambience! With the glowing lights, music, and fun energy, it's a really exciting environment for kids and definitely adds to the experience. In the end, while the kids had fun, the overall experience felt overpriced. I hope they reconsider charging parents who are simply supervising young children. For now, I'd say it isn't worth it not to bowl.

    Photos
    Cosmic Bowling 2
    Cosmic Bowling 2
    Arena 1
    Arena 1
    Band Night in the Arena

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    Band Night in the Arena
    Big Time Entertainment

    Big Time Entertainment

    3.6
    (11 reviews)
    4.7 mi

    One of the pool tables is too close to the video games and some tables for drinks. You have to move…read morethings around to get a decent shot with the movable tables and with the video games you can't. That would have been easy to solve in the layout phase. One of the tables has a bit of a slant to it and when you shoot a ball it does not go straight. There is no rake so forget using that to make the hard shots right now. There was only one rack for two tables and it is broken. I'm getting sick of going there and having very substandard equipment. If this goes on much longer I won't be back. The felt on one table is ripped and it could have been repaired quite a while back. There's a nice VR game there but the headset has a messed up strap. Last time I was there it was broken so only one of the two positions was usable to play. They did some ghetto fix for it but it's really not up to par. When that place is busy it's packed and I know they have the money for maintenance. There's no reason for this.

    The staff is so kind all the games are so fun lazertag fun would recommend going with family and…read moregocarting is so fun and the galphing is so fun to explore I have been there 3 times and it doesn't get any better than this so I would recommend going with family and friends and siblings so yes I would Recommend going there. Thank You!

    Photos
    Arcade Area
    Arcade Area
    Fowling
    Fowling
    Wednesday Specials:
Bacon Kimchi Burger and the Breakfast Burger

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    Wednesday Specials: Bacon Kimchi Burger and the Breakfast Burger

    Garden Bowl - bowling - Updated July 2026

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