King-Pin Lanes is an extremely dated, run-down and old-fashioned bowling alley in the suburb of Fox River Grove, Illinois. We stopped here with my family because they wanted to play some bowling and had heard this place was good (they're very competitive bowlers). This place is run-down PERIOD. Water damage on the ceiling, scratched up lanes and balls, and no computers (you keep the score with a piece of paper). The main positive was the staff, who was only one woman. She was very friendly and accommodating. They do have a SMALL bar, but not many options -- mostly sodas and chips. We did enjoy playing pool after our bowling matches, which is only $1 to play. We eventually left because there's a musty/smoky smell and we felt a little bit like we were bothering the worker -- they're clearly short-staffed. My opinion? This place is a cute time capsule to old-school bowling, but past its prime for sure. read more

See all

I absolute love King Pin lanes. Please ignore the idiots like down there who don't appreciate the old school. This place has CHEAP bowling and CHEAP beer. Yes you keep your score on a piece of paper. Oh no! Life without computers, get over it. read more

Andy the bartender is hands down the best bartender I have ever met. If there was a best bartender award I would put his name on the ballot 100 times. On a separate note, the bathrooms are very nice. read more

I was here with a large group of people that basically took over the whole place. I have to say up front that I was surprised that they rent the lanes by the hour ($5 per person) and that's not a real problem per se if it wasn't for the pinsetters and ball returns breaking down frequently. I felt bad for the mechanic that day having to work with temperamental (what appeared to be) 1960's vintage equipment. That having been said- some concession COULD have been made to us for the time when people couldn't bowl because of lanes being "broken". Instead the lanes were shut off promptly one hour after they were turned on with no apology. Like it or lump it apparently. Second- if you are a regular, it would appear that they serve you at the bar as soon as you walk in even if there are others at the bar waiting to be served. This is a common problem in small dive bars and it's unlikely to change any time soon- but not being able to readily drown my sorrows didn't help the problems we were having with the lanes. The above notwithstanding- we had a great time in a genuine throwback facility that provided a lot of entertainment. Like a lot of other similar places in the area, King-Pin now has slots and video gaming. Word to the wise, they seemed to be set on the "tight" side. Sometimes everything doesn't go smoothly or the way that *I* think it should go at the time. On reflection, those not-so-smooth things brought "character" to our experience- and in this day and age of rampant homogenization, I feel having a unique and fun experience is more valuable than gold. read more

King-Pin Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Fox River Grove, Illinois

Went on a Tuesday night around 7 and the place was empty. By 10, there was a sizable crowd. Bowling lanes are only a few steps from the bar and the bartender delivered our drinks to us which was nice. The lanes seem a little run down and the ball return "lost" our balls a few times but somehow that added to the charm. Gotta keep score with pencil and paper which seemed fitting in this bar/bowling alley that's stuck in an era of days long past. We talked to a few of the regulars and they were a bit on the strange side but not threatening. One guy wouldn't leave me alone. If I hadn't been a little drunk myself I'm not sure I could have put up with it. I guess any small town bar probably has a few odd people. No door on the stall in the men's room - so take care of any pressing business at home. read more

First time there. The bar has a lot of character. New patrons are welcomed. A cold beer drinkers delight. I just have one regret... read more

Mel, Tommy, sandy & jimmy are the best !!!! Love coming here all the people make it feel like home

This place is a total time capsule for what bowling alleys were like about 30-50 years. I appreciate nostalgia and always have fun coming to Kingpin. Things to know: -you'll need to keep your score with pencil and paper. -the bar has a very limited offering, but can satisfy. -the balls you select from are definitely some of the roughest ones I've played with, but they roll down the alley. -they don't offer bumpers for the kids read more

This place is not a bring-your-kid bowling alley!! Is it "vintage"? Yes. Perhaps nostalgic to some. But it's not kept up ... Everything's dirty and sticky and dusty. It's like hanging out in a musty basement from the 50's. Your feet stick to the floor. You're sneezing from the dust floating around and the old cigarette smoke still embedded in the walls. You WILL NEED a shower when you go home! Man ... Woman ... Child ... You will feel disgusting. We could've tolerated it if we weren't constantly offered "candy" (aka drugs) by a creepy townie. Also, the other regular patrons of the bar got way more attention than us newbies. We were ignored by the bartender. They weren't busy and almost seemed to take pleasure in extending how long it took to give us warm beer. If you come, i recommend getting drunk beforehand (designated driver, of course) so you can tolerate numerous aspects of the atmosphere .... Perhaps even laugh about it. read more

Athe first time I went there was in 1957 with my dad. He stopped in for a hoot and a wash. I returned 56 years later. I had a wash but not the hoot. The place was like I remembered. Real nice towny bar. FRG may have changed, but it is still a very friendly and memorable place in my heart.. read more

King-Pin Lanes - Football - Bowling Near Me - Fox River Grove, Illinois

Bartenders are friendly, the drinks are very reasonably priced. The big downfall that makes it only 2 stars is the people that are regulars at this bar are fricken weird, No I don't want you to read your tarot cards for me lady. read more

This place is awesome! Only 8 lanes and you still need a pencil and your bean to keep score. The bar is within spitting distance from the lanes too. I bet the last time they updated this place was when they put in the automatic pin setters. This is where I feel like a real athlete. read more

Vintage bowling alley and a bar. Open the door, lace up those bowling shoes and step back in time. Good for families (in daytime) + good for cheap fun. This joint is CASH only. Bring some extra cash if you want to play pool, the juke box or pinball games. Good location near train station in FRG and plenty of parking. read more

Decent place got two beers on tap. Bartenders are real nice. Old style and pbr are cheap. Bar is old. Beer is cold

This place is just cool. There is not alot to do in our little town of Fox River Grove but this place is a must see if your looking for a place to grab a beer or meet with friends. Nostalgic old fashioned bowling alley with authentic ball returns and only 8 lanes. Makes you feel like you went back in time. Bartenders and owner are always very friendly. read more

Really great place to go out to with friends. I celebrated a friend's birthday there and we had a blast. I wouldn't give it a 5 star because the food was so so. Otherwise a very fun place on the weekend read more

Warning!!! (The bartender "LIED" and tried to get me in trouble with the police! I asked police for a breathalyzer, reading was .007 Crystal is a liar!) I went here with my buddy and I was the designated driver. So in 3 1/2 hours I had one beer and 2 shots of fire ball. The bar tender Crystal asked me many times if I wanted another beer and I declined telling her I'm the DD. My buddy started a tab and some time towards the end of the night got his card back, but apparently was not charged yet. In his intoxicated state he argued with the bar tender that she charged him. I tried to talk to both my friend and the bar tender to figure this out but it became a mess. They called the police on us. I told her I want to pay for MY drinks. One beer and two shots, she refused and wanted me to pay the whole tab. The police show up and I finally tell her fine I'll pay the whole bill. The cops ask who's driving I tell them I'm good I only had one beer two shots, the bartender decides to lie to the cops and says, he had 5 beers and 4 shots. I told the cops give me a breathalyzer that's a lie. So they did I scored .007 the cops said your good go home. I told them I did not appreciate that she lied about me to the them. I would have pressed charges if it was not for my buddy that was quite drunk and could have been arrested for public intoxication. What pisses me off is I was doing my best to figure out the situation and the bar tender throws me under the bus! If you want to be lied about and set up to get arrested then this is the place for you! read more

I love this place! It's a neighborhood dive but that's what I wanted and expected when I came here. Friendly bar staff. Reasonable prices. Don't come here if your looking for a fancy bar with the bells and whistles. If your just looking for a small neighborhood dive by all means give this place a shot. read more

To my disbelief this was by far the worst service I have experienced especially considering we paid more than $200.00 for our entire evening here. To start off with my son burger was totally red. We had to constantly fine a waiter. The worst part when our bowling session ended we did not even have our shoes off and the staff sent individuals to come to our lane not even giving us the courtesy to take our shoes off me and my party was sitting down all except for my seven year old daughter when the party who was taking the lane bump her. Which the women did not apologize or anything which I waited when I informed the women she looked non chalant however her spouse pulled her close to him and said do not say anything to her. Truth she's a child common courtesy would been to apologize or even say they were unaware. Yet, I informed the manager we were in lane five he stated he's going to look at the camera first when he reviewed the camera he went to the family first. Then he came to us and stated we were all crowded together so he couldn't see if she was bump, ironic because my daughter was the only one in my party standing up because we were still putting our shoes on. Yet to my disbelief what he seen on the camera was untrue. So now I felt compelled to contact the authorities who can mediate this as this is truly showing the situation was going further unjustified. Yet, the realization is she was being a victim now and it was being hush up. So I did file a report with the officers as this did demonstrate to me the importance of being respected as an African American, however certainly I'm sure if I had a man male in my party. The outcome would have been different or the situation could have been a little more abrasive. Anyhow the situation could have been avoided if the staff could have waited till we left. Secondly the staff could have not lied regarding the camera. Thirdly the individuals failed to have common courtesy to a child. The other individuals walked around my daughter except one who bumped her which moved her entire head. Apparently this is not a place for African Americans when the manager states we were all crowded together when we were sitting down putting on our shoes. Yet, we've resolved not to come a place which has no conscious of the consumer safety nor other nationalities. A third party stated to the police officer the mother did bump my daughters head into her lap that's no where near true, her head did not fall into anyone lap. But her head was bumped to the point her entire head was and neck rotated. Yet we are all African Americans in my party the crowd there is another nationality so it was a hung jury already. However if a woman carries a purse and someone touched the purse we recognized that yet you can't recognize when you bump a head of a child. How idiotic. read more