We had a great time here! Sprang for the "VIB" section ($10 extra) and had comfy couches to sprawl on while we bowled. We got drinks and a massive basket of fresh, hot fries to share. We heard the wings are amazing, and if we hadn't already planned to eat out afterwards we would have gotten them - next time. Staff is very friendly, place is clean... Recommend! read more

Sarasota Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Alrighty! Nina here to save the day and pick up the 3-star rating that this place currently has. First I'll say to everyone's dismay that you really have a slim pickings when it comes to the bowling alleys in the area. And as an out-of-towner coming from booshee Los Angeles, you can imagine that this makes me even pickier. We went there tonight and it was actually pretty packed, though I had no problem with the lot being packed because it has an iffy storefront in an iffy area, so I feel like this place would look even shadier if nobody was there. Tuesdays are $2 game night, so I gather that plus it being the holidays makes this place probably even busier than usual. When you first walk in nothing is really explained to you, and you have to figure out everything yourself. Get in line at the counter and ask what the wait is for BOTH sides: the V.I.B (in my opinion, the more fun cosmic bowling blacklight side) or the regular side. We realized there was a decent wait for the regular one, but not many people wanted to do cosmic bowling! Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity. If your first question is "is it expensive?" the answer is YES. I haven't been to a bowling alley in years so I don't know the average for prices, but for 2 games and 3 people it was over $50 dollars. Seems like a jacked up price considering that we weren't in the best of areas. Also after you put your card in it asks for gratuity. We asked what the gratuity was for and they said it's a tip that goes to all of the workers. The way they did it though seemed like they were trying to pressure you into tipping them for really just doing their job, which is kind of off-putting. We ended up playing a few games and really enjoyed the V.I.B cosmic bowling area. They have nice coaches and seating areas, SIRIS XM radio playing throughout the alley, nice staff, and a bar. I also noticed that a lot of people on here put bad reviews regarding the food...what did ya'll expect!? It's a bowling alley! Personally, I would never ever ever get food at a bowling alley unless it was one of those high class ones like Lucky Strike in Philly or Highland Park Bowl in LA. I can't imagine the food quality being good nor the cleanliness, but that is just my opinion of ALL bowling alleys, not just this one. In conclusion: try this place out, don't feel pressured by the man at the front trying to get an extra tip out of you just for showing up, try cosmic bowling if you have the $$, feel free to get drinks, don't get food ever. read more

Sarasota Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Horrible customer service. Owner Incredibly rude to MANY children and paying customers. Do NOT give this place your business.

I haven't had a birthday at a bowling alley since I was a kid, so I was interested in having a birthday party here. I was disappointed to find they only have birthday packages for children, which was whatever. Not a huge deal, just a let down. I invite two coworkers and my roommate to coming bowling with me, and both my roommate and one of my coworkers say they aren't comfortable bowling without guarders on the lane, because they're either never bowled or are extremely rusty. I don't need them, but I want everyone to get points and have fun, so I don't mind, and ask the front desk guy if we could have the guards on our lane. Now I've been to plenty of bowling alleys, and never have I seen one with a sign that says "Must be shorter than this desk to get guards." What the hell? What if they're a tall child? What if they're like my friends, and have never bowled in their lives? We kind of laughed it off because we just wanted to bowl, but he made some kind of remark about how "well we don't want you breaking them" as if 3 full grown adults are going to do more damage to them than a bunch of children. So as expected, me and my coworker who were comfortable bowling got all the points and the two who I'd told we'd get the guards for ended up getting gutter after gutter, making it really awkward for everyone. The place was really nice, otherwise. The VIP section was furnished with really comfortable couches, and the lanes were well maintained. Food was decent, a touch soggy, but good. I just wish they'd reconsider their guard policy. It's really unfair to first timers that happen to be adults. That would be like going ice skating and they refuse to let you use those walker assisters because you're an adult. read more

Awesome place for family and friends. Specials almost everyday. Saturday nights 5:30 - 8:30, $8.00 per person for two "Cosmic Light Bowling" includes shoe rental. Bar for adults in a separate area, foods and soft drinks also available. read more

Sarasota Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Best bowling in the area. The first 12 lanes have brand new leather couches and flat screens replacing the old monitors and typical hard bowling alley chairs; what a way to enjoy and experience bowling. There's no smoking and the crowd isn't your typical rough around the edges bowling crowd either. I have my own shoes, but the ones for rent appeared to be in good shape. If they upgrade their food next, it would be five stars for sure....still not bad, they have a decent food and drink menu. read more

Sarasota Lanes - Cosmic bowling - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Not a great experience!!! All was well for the bowling part, but, once we finished, and had spent like $80.00, we were just trying to finish up our beers, out of nowhere comes some middle aged lady we didn't see the entire time we were there, asking what lane we are bowling on... we said we were just finishing up and just finishinf our beers we paid for (We weren't even there 5-10 minutes after finishing the game) Seriously??!? We will not be returning! The Shoe/Beer guys were cool (thank you), she just needs to calm the fat down!! We get it - you have to turn profit and fill up lanes....HOWEVER... there were, seriously, like 15-20 other lanes open - the place was more or less empty... So, good job lady! read more

Good place to go bowling. The drinks are not the best quality, I ordered vodkas and the bartender served the vodka from the drink gun. I don't understand why they serve the liquor from there and not from the bottle. Besides that the place is fine! read more

Best bowling center in Sarasota! Although a little on the more expensive side, it was worth it. Clean lanes, stylish shoes, comfortable couches, fun games, and TVs. The food was good and the staff was very friendly and welcoming. It is a family-owned business and those are definitely the best kind of business. So if Florida rains and you can't go to the beach - go bowling. read more

Sarasota Lanes - Loving the shoes - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

This bowling alley is somewhat awesome. Inside the bowling alley the noise level is very loud, the front staff always seem to be complaining about their problems and how tired they are. Last week since I go there the first Tuesday of the month with a group of people. At the end I asked when did the price of bowling increase and they said 2 years ago. Not true it increased three months ago. Also the lady was very puzzled about why it said they were hiring only on my receipt. The bowling alley does not have any recycling programs and the food cost is way to expensive. Also the bowling alley likes using wasted paper on their receipts. This is very disappointing to me. I would prefer it if the front staff was much friendlier, that they knew what they were doing, that the food prices went down, and that the price per game went back down again. read more

The pizza is delicious here! (Basically every menu item I've tried here has been great) The bartender Tommy is always very pleasant. The establishment is very clean and well kept as well as a nice full bar. read more

Had a good time. Clean lanes. Friendly staff the food was good as well. The lanes were nicely maintained and the back section lanes with dimmed lights and sofas and music. Pretty neat and cool to sit on a leather couch while you wait your turn or will eating some food. They also serve beer and have a bar. Pool and an old shuffle board in the back make the place complete. They also have a small pro shop for the serious bowlers. I will be back. $2 games on Tuesday at 9PM or after is a steal of a price. read more

My family and I love this place! The staff is great and we always have a blast! Love the new bathrooms and leather couches and of course karaoke night! I celebrate my birthday there with my friends every year!!! read more

Sarasota Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

It was great till a women with a beer in her hand started to scold my kids for goofing off and when I told her hey there with us come talk to us she continued to scold them. Turned out she worked there. So bottom line if you want staff that drink on the job scolding your kids Have fun! read more

My family was in Sarasota on vacation and we decided to take the kids bowling on a rainy day. I dropped off my husband and three kids while I sat in the car with our sleeping toddler. My husband texted me and said he was waiting on me and our sleeping daughter before they began bowling but I explained that I'm not bowling and I told him to start bowling without the sleeping child and we'd join them once she woke up. Once she woke up, I went inside and got shoes for my daughter. The guy behind the counter asked me my shoe size and I explained that I'm not bowling. He said my husband paid for me and that he won't give us a refund. He was unusually rude about it. I said that my husband should be issued a refund because I'm not bowling. Mind you, my husband and four children were all bowling so it's not like they weren't making money on us. Due to the rude attitude of the old man behind the counter we most certainly won't be returning here! read more

It was our first bowling experience, and nobody gives a sh*t explaining rules, or how to play, or where do we get a ball, weights and so on. They just charged us and gtfo,that's how it works here. Tried to reach to personnel, but they won't talk to you, because they got your money and they don't care. Place doesn't deserve even 1 star. read more

I really thought cause I was black that I was treated badly here. I'm a Sarasota Native and this place it's just bad, the customer service is bad as well as the lady who runs it. I don't like to bash people but I just felt really uncomfortable being here... I consider going to a different bowling alley in Sarasota. read more

Did my sons 5th birthday party here and it was absolutely fabulous! Staff was great and super friendly and patient with all the little kids! Everything went so smoothly! read more

I would give them 0 stars if I could. The customer service is appalling, I've never been treated with such disrespect. From the get go, the man who works the front desk wasn't very friendly, questioning our every move and unwilling to answer our questions. Then, while we played our lane stopped working TWICE. At the end their toy/candy dispensers near the entrance ate our coins. We went for help & the women made racist remarks using "YOU PEOPLE need to get out of my establishment" treating us as if we were trying to hustle her out of 50 CENTS. To top it off the place is rather expensive and looks like it hasn't been renovated since 1987. My advice: take your business elsewhere. read more

Online it says it's 5.25 per game on fridays, and we get there and they charge us 7.25 because they fail to mention online that every Thursday and Friday they have leagues. So they push you over to the most expensive lanes. After talking to manager he says on the bottom of the page they mention an extra dollar for VIP lanes. But we had no choice and it was an extra 2 dollars. Not good business FALSE ADVERTISING. Won't go back. Manager was not accommodating for their error and could care less about his customers. read more

Horrible! Lane kept breaking down, mechanic was unable to rest pins once he fixed lane. Impossible to keep score. People at the front counter were no help at all. I will NEVER go here again!! read more

Fun place to go! Not so pretty outside but is a fun place to enjoy time with friends and family

Worst bowling experience ever! The customer service is pathetic. We went there for my daughter's birthday and we were treated horribly. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The owner is a jerk. read more

Friday night was horrible. Staff did not pay attention to where people were placed. We were placed between 2 large family's. They were having fun, but there were other lanes open. All in all. Stay away on the popular nights. read more

Had a pretty good time here all in all until the end of the visit. After spending 55.00 for 3 people to bowl 3 games and another 22.00 for 2 pitchers of beer, we had wrapped our bowling and were sitting at the table finishing our beers before we left and out of nowhere comes this blonde 50ish year old manager trying to run us off of the table telling us to go to the lounge. Her demeanor was abbrassive and combative for some reason and we had no previous interaction with her as she was not even working up until that point. Just came charging through like a bull in a China shop. Apparently after spending almost 80.00 there in the course of two hours you are not allowed to sit at the table and finish the drinks you paid for....oh and we are not young disruptive people, we are in our 40's and just came to bowl a few games. The rest of the staff we encountered were very nice....this woman...needs to relax. read more

FALSE ADVERTISING ALERT! I went there with my family for Friday night bowling at $5.25 per game. To our disappointment we were charged an extra $2 per game because the manager failed to inform us all the normal lanes we booked up by leagues although when we arrived all lanes were open. The manager could care less about our service and did nothing to want us to come back again in the future. No refund, no free appetizer, no i'm sorry. Very poor customer service. read more

By far the WORST bowling experience I ever experienced. Will NEVER be back, now I see why I always go to AMF! But this was a half way location to all parties. Well worth the extra money to go to AMF. Not even sure how this place is still in business. I guess you have to be drunk to deal with the owner! Definitely don't go here with kids. You'll get yelled at if your son jumps up and down when he hits a spare. Or picks up the bowling ball in the wrong way! Owner asked "Am I talking back?" As if I'm her child after she asked me a question like I was "stupid" and didn't have a college degree . DO NOT GO TO THIS HOLE IN THE WALL TRASHY SO CALLED BOWLING FACILITY. "SPARE your money and go to AMF!!!!" read more

Who the hell has league on a Friday night? Or you could pay almost $8/ game to bowl in their "VIP" section... It has black lights, wooooo!

Don't plan a Birthday party there. We did and got told NO outside food. So much for the Birthday cake, they took it and gave it back when we left the building. We will not be back for another party there. read more

Horrible customer service. Rude, disrespectful, unprofessional, inconsiderate, and RACIST! The staff definitely does not know how to speak to customers who are not "REAL CUSTOMERS" Whatever that means....thats what one staff member said to another "why are you wasting your time, we have real customers here?" I was in shock to hear that. The old woman that worked there, I'm not sure if shes the owner, was disgusting. We had a question about a cake we wanted to bring in, and she continuously cut us off and wouldn't even let us explain. After we were rude in return, she basically kicked us out. Treat others the way you would like to be treated! If you want to have a good time, do not go to this place! Lastly, I gave one star because without it I can't post. They deserve zero stars! read more

If there was an option for no stars I would have chosen that. Extremely rude staff, not friendly or helpful AT ALL. Go the extra few miles to AMF lanes in south sarasota and save yourself the aggravation of dealing with these people read more

Worst bowling experience I've ever had. Came here for a work party (10 PAYING customers for ur lame bowling alley on a Saturday night) workers kept eyeing us saying we're all drunk because we came in laughing. Asked a question about the two different sides and the manager rolled his eyes and said COME CLOSER or I'm not telling u. If it were up to me I would've had us leave right then and there. Rudest customer service I've ever experienced. Hope it goes out of business. read more

Just had an 8 almost 9 year old's Birthday Party there with 22 2nd and 3rd graders. It was so much fun and organized. They did an excellent job with getting all the shoes for everyone and putting the names on the board to bowl. EVERYONE had such a GREAT time! Pizza was not bad either kids and parents were impressed. So if your looking to have your child's party that is a hit come to Sarasota Lanes! read more

This place is not somewhere you want to go. Don't get me wrong, the actual bowling aspect was typical to any bowling alley, but the people working there were not pleasant. I personally bowl for fun. I am not on a team or a competitor and therefor, am not very good. When I asked the guy at the desk to put the bumpers on (so maybe I could actually get some points) he just said "NO BUMPERS" in a harsh, firm voice. I actually thought he was kidding at first. He offered no explanation as to why I couldn't use bumpers and beyond that, wasn't even kind in telling me no. I'm a (barely) 5'4" girl, I clearly am not going to violently throw the ball at the bumper or something and damage it. It's no fun to bowl if the ball is in the gutter every try. I scored an all time low of 30 and really didn't have fun. Thank you sarasota lanes for that. I'll be sure to go somewhere else with more pleasant people next time. read more

Went to Sarasota Lanes this past weekend for cosmic bowling and the experience was awesome! I have not been there in about 6 years so it was a big shock to see that it looks upgraded. For $17 you can do unlimited cosmic bowling which includes your shoe rental. Well worth the $17 dollars to bowl for 3 hours. For an additional $3 you can do VIB which is a private section with couches, more lighting and feels vip style. The atmosphere was a lot of fun because it had black lights, laser lights, music, very clean, not over crowded, fast service and excellent food!!! The prices were reasonable for the food and alcoholic drinks. I would go back because of how good the experience was! The cheese fries were so tasty and would recommend them! read more

Giving them one star is even more than I would like to give them. We showed up with six adults and a 3 year old. It has been a long time since we had been bowling there and I had a few questions regarding pricing. Right away the man started accusing me of asking him for discounts! I was simply asking if we paid full price for a three-year-old. When I ask him to be patient with us since we were just trying to understand the process he got extremely mad, slammed my money on the counter and told me to leave and go to AMF! I told him I wanted to speak to a manager and he said he was the manager! Upon leaving I ran into another worker and asked if he was in fact the manager and I was told yes that he was. His name was Terry! I explained the situation to the worker and told them I know that there was nothing they could do about it but I felt that he was extremely rude and the worker himself said to me I'm so sorry, I'm not surprised but I am very sorry. We left and went to where he suggested. I asked the gentleman at AMF the same exact questions that I asked at Sarasota Lanes and the man could not have been more helpful! Not only was the customer service outstanding at AMF we paid $4 less per person!!! Stay away from this establishment. As I read the negative reviews it always comes down to poor customer service and a man who was extremely rude. Somehow I think the owner better take another look at Terry, he doesn't seem good for business! AMF has just earned my business, hands down! read more

Had my daughters 8th birthday there. She had a blast! Highly recommend, the place was surprisingly cleaner then I was expecting. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is price...Every place to do bday parties is just crazy on price but bowling was by far the most reasonable but still pricey @ around $200+ then a tip on top so almost $300 for 10 to 12 kids. But the best part was the fun the kids had and some adults bowled so it really was a good time. If you haven't bowled in a while take it easy you will need a ice pack later... read more

We came here from out of town as a team . As parents we hoped the children would enjoy a team bonding experience . Unfortunately , we experienced a rude and unacceptable welcome . Yes, we were a large group that paid close to $200 to bowl but no we were not disrespectful. We had a peanut allergy in our group and when we asked about the food and if it was cooked in peanut oil or not , we got a very sarcastic answer . Girls asked questions regarding bumpers , and the answers were rude . No, we didn't want to pay $600 to repair a bumper if it was broken . Our intention was never to break a bumper but to come enjoy a night of bowling with our children / team .We will never bowl here again . I'm quite sure that Sarasota Lanes doesn't welcome families and children to enjoy a night out . If you plan on having a great enjoyable night , Sarasota Lanes would be a poor choice . read more

Terrible! False advertising on website, would not credit difference! Manager was a jerk! Will never come here again! Just go to AMF Lanes in Sarasota instead! read more

Price gouged me on ball fitting and drilling. Charged me three times standard rate. Took 2 hours. Wouldn't recommend bowling here.