Bowlmor Bethesda

5353 Westbard Ave, Bethesda, MD 20816, USA

Address:	5353 Westbard Ave, Bethesda, MD 20816, USA
Phone:	+1 301-652-0955
Site:	bowlmor.com
Rating:	3.3
Working:	4PM–1AM 4–11PM 4–11PM 4–11PM 2PM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–11PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

danielle Barger

I only rated 2 stars 1 for the food and 1 for the one employee that was really nice and empathetic. Let me explain our situation... (PS- it will be long, sorry!) The Lanes: My boyfriend and I have been bowling for many years (6 for him and 9 for me) so we know what good/bad lanes are as well as bowling knowledge. And let me tell you, these ones are the absolute worst that we have been in. We only paid for 2 games and 2 frames into our first game, we were so frustrated. They oil them "maybe once a week" as quoted by one of the employees. My boyfriends ball shot from all the way from the left right near the gutter, to the right into that gutter. My ball was bowled on the right, and shot to the left and hit the 7 pin; and thats with ZERO hook. Then we moved to the lanes that were "oiled yesterday" as stated by the owner/manager and they were just as bad. They stated that theyre strictly for "entertainment" purposes. When a house ball curves just as much as my personal ball (again, with absolutely NO hook) thats a huge no-no for me. The Food: The food was great. We got the jacked fries and they had jalapeños, pico, cheese and bacon with this awesome Tex-next ranch dressing that has some pico in it as well. That was extremely good. For drinks, we just got regular Coke, and the only way for that to be awful is for it to be flat (which it was not). The Staff: The guy at the counter was really nice and very attentive to our issues we addressed as well as when he was taking out food orders. He was really nice and helpful. The manager/owner, however, gave me a bad vibe when we told him about how the lanes were not oily. We explained to him how weve been bowling for many years and know what the lanes are supposed to be (of course, all lanes are different) but these were awful, and at first he was reluctant to give us our money back for our second game. After moving us to another lane that was supposedly "better" he gave us some attitude; almost like it was a hassle to have to accommodate us even though the place was empty. The lanes were just as bad. My boyfriend went and confronted the manager once again and said that these lanes were just as bad. Again, reluctant to refund us the second game. After a few minutes of trying to "help us", if thats what you wanna call it, he finally gave us the money back. Overall: We will not return. EVER. Lanes = Absolutely horrific Food = Great Staff = Some nice and very attentive / Some not so good

A Private User

Went here on Tuesday night, bowling alley was virtually empty. Only three lanes in use (out of about 35). Our group had three adults and two children (ages 9 and 6) and we shared a single lane. We bowled two games each. The price: $90. I couldnt believe it when they told me. But each game is $6.25 per person (no discount for kids) and $5 each for shoe rental. A few beers and some junk food plus tip was another $50, so total cost for about 90 minutes of marginal entertainment was $140. I couldve taken everyone out to Mortons for that much! I spoke with the manager who tells me the prices are set by Corporate. Whatever. The fact that kids pay the same outrageous price as adults is just silly, and $5 for shoe rental? The shoes probably cost no more than $5 to purchase. I guess they need to charge high prices to pay for the hundred or so TVs in the building, and maybe they dont want to be a "family friendly" establishment. But youd think theyd do something to attract business on a Tuesday night when the place is empty and consumers are tightening their belts. I can honestly say I will never go back and will continue to shout "RIP OFF" from the highest places I can find. Stay away from this place.

James Nader

Total Ripoff!!!! My wife wanted to put together a little end of the year gathering for my sons PreK class. She called Bowlmor in Bethesda and asked for the best way to bring 10 kids to bowl at 4:00 pm on a Thursday. Instead of telling her the place is empty Thursday afternoons and go ahead a pay per person, Jen, decided to take advantage. She convinced my wife to set it up as a party. Why? So she could get a commission. The party consisted of 1 1/2 hours of bowling, pizza and drinks. The kids only got to finish one game and halfway through the second game they shut it down and would not let them finish. On top of only receiving 2 slices of pizza per child and deplorable service from the staff. We looked at the al a carte menu and we got charged $75 more if we were allowed to finish the second game. I would assume that is Jens commission. I called management of the Bethesda location and Corporate management and neither cared whatsoever. It is a shame and I assure you that our family nor the other 9 families will ever go back to Bowlmor.

AR C

I generally agree with the other reviewers. This place is very expensive and the service is extremely slow (although friendly). It took an amazing amount of time just to be initially waited on, let alone to get our drinks and food. I will say that the drinks and food were pretty good, but overpriced. I also felt that the pictures on the website were somewhat deceiving, and the place seemed overly quiet for a Friday night. Given the low volume of customers, this made the service seem that much worse. Nonetheless, our server seemed overwhelmed, so perhaps theyre understaffed. I also found it odd that they ask to hold a credit card both when you reserve your shoes/lane and when you start a tab for drinks/food, which means you need to have two credit cards on hand.

A Private User

I really like this place to go and hang out when you dont necessarily want to go to a nightclub. Similar bowling alleys (Lucky Strike) are a pain because of their really strict dress code and expensive prices. Strike Bethesda has a dress code but you can still wear jeans, boots, etc - for the most part people are dressed dressy casual. Its better than the regular bowling alleys with tons of teenagers. It is good for people in their 20s and 30s. The food is mediocre (used to be better in the past). The price is really worth it if you have 4+ people bowling so you can split the cost (at night weekends its $35/hour). The DJ sucks because they dont play hiphop music (I think they are trying to keep a certain crowd out) which is dumb.

A Private User

Experiment: Combine one parts Bethesda chic with its mid-20s to 30s-something crowd with an everybody-plays, blue-collar, beer drinkers sport, i.e. bowling. Season liberally with cosmic and funky club music elements. What do you get? Um, Strike Bethesda? Maybe. The bowling itself is fun. The dimmed lights improve the atmosphere and hide your Friday night bowling shame. Games, shoe rental and drinks are on the steep side, but you were you coming for the scenery and music selection, right? Um, right?! Strike presents itself as somewhat of a novelty, as its pricing will suggest, but at the end of the day, its bowling -- Bethesda style? -- with crazy-colored bowling balls and techno.