Back Alley Bowl & Grill

Word of mouth got us to Back Alley Bowl & Grill in Bishop, and for good reason. I’ve had pizza in a bowling alley before, but never steak. The aesthetics of having steak in a bowling alley was rather different and surprisingly fun. We were there on a day when not much was going on except for at the lanes. The food was very good. Our steaks were cooked perfectly. I had the 12 oz. Ribeye with mixed veggies, and she had the 10 oz. Flat Iron with mushrooms and baked potato. Service was quite good even if not very attentive. Now you have word of mouth to get you in here. Very much recommended.

What a great stop in Bishop. Highly recommend. Been here a few times and each time a bit better. Great service, clean and the food is just right. Drinks were great too.

The food here was a nice surprise. I’m staying at the Wayfinder next door so it’s a short walk. I read reviews before heading over, people complained about the noisy bowling alley. I want early in the evening so it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t even notice the bowling from where I sat in the restaurant. I had the Ribeye with seasonal vegetables and a salad. The steak was cooked and salted perfectly. It was tender and flavorful. The service was excellent. Jenah was my waitress, she was attentive and the food came quickly. If you’re looking to have a steak be sure to check the dinner service times. I waited till after 4pm so I could have the steak. I come to Bishop a few times a month and will definitely come back to Back Alley.

When told that we had to go to a bowling alley in Bishop for a good steak, of course, we were hesitant. But it's not bad at all! Food - Pretty decent! You wouldn't think that a bowling alley, of all places would have this good of food, but this place does! Their top sirloin was cooked perfectly to my perfection, but my partner's steak was a bit overcooked. The sides, especially the veggies, did seem lackluster, but still okay. Service - Very nice waitress. She checked in an appropriate amount of times and was very friendly. No complaints! Ambiance - It's a small-town bowling alley. Don't expect luxury, but it's also not grimey. We came in on a Friday night so we saw the typical groups you'd see: group of teenagers coming in to celebrate a birthday, elderly locals enjoying their meals, couples who seemed like on a date, families having a fun time. Great spot and a place in Bishop to check out at least once.

This place had a great feeling to it. Friendly locals and incredible food. The bar and our table were connected to the bowling lanes themselves. We enjoyed the excellent music (GNR) and watching the kids have a great time while we had some drinks. The prime rib was cooked perfectly. The curly fry things were beyond tasty, and the beer was ice cold. This just replaced the Roadhouse as our new stop when we come through town.

This place is great! Our server Wendi was very nice, quick and made good recommendations. The food was delicious, we would come back again.

My fiance and I spent our first date here, and we used to return often until a bad interaction with a waitress. The food is always good, amazing steak! Prices can be high but that's more the fault of a poorly run state with high inflation; we understand they need to stay in business and the food is good. It is unfortunate that one negative staff member can really deter customers for the long term. This happened when the rodeo was visiting town, so it was busy, which probably contributed to the attitude. I honestly don't remember her name. The waitress came up, and she was offended when my fiance blurted out his drink order while bouncing in his seat. We smiled at her and apologized if it was rude, it was really meant to be goofy. "Actually, that WAS rude," she said, and proceeded to tell us how we ruined her chance at an introduction. My fiance was apologetic and felt bad about it for the rest of the night, while this waitress sent other workers to bring our meals and swiftly walked by to slam refills on the table. By the end of the night, she had softened a little, and we even left a large tip out of pity because we saw how busy it was and assumed she must not have had a proper break. But looking back, I think apologizing to her was a mistake. The younger generation runs off wokeness and offense and apologizing for harmless behavior empowers them. Months have passed, and I've suggested trying to return to the restaurant when we go out to eat, and we always end up saying it's not worth trying and go somewhere else. Hopefully she's been corrected or maybe moved on.

It’s a bowling alley and the food was really good. I know what you’re thinking. A bowling alley has good food it actually does.

Despite being located inside of a small bowling alley (seriously!), this restaurant is quite good and quite popular. There were only three available tables during our visit, which was around 5:15pm on a Thursday. Our server was friendly and attentive--perfect at his job. My skirt steak was tasty albeit a little tough around the edges of the meat. My partner's steak and shrimp was good too, with surprisingly small shrimp. All in all, it was a good decision to eat here. Don't let the fact that it is located in a bowling alley keep you away.

Found this place on Yelp, great reviews about a restaurant in a bowling alley. Having already been to great restaurants in Gardena Bowl and Aiea Bowl (Oahu), I was all for checking this place out. Loved their clam chowder. I had the prime rib, cooked perfectly. My fiancée had a burger and he said it was also cooked perfectly. The only issue we had was there was a large company party going on at the same time and it's just one big room so we had to listen to all of their speeches. I felt like I couldn't even talk because it would be interrupting their party. Would still definitely come back here.

Ask around the town of Bishop where a good place to eat is and if you are anything like me, you will be surprised to hear the bowling alley. That's right, the bowling alley. We'll, like Tree House Masters, the bowling alley Just Grew Up. They have moved the restaurant that was next to the alleys further away and oh what a difference. I have been eating here for years and this change is a big improvement. I ordered the Mahi Mahi and onion rings (bowling alley sides still available) veggies and a decent red zin. My waiter Michael was on it! The ambiance was quiet with plenty of screens around streaming football. Hockey would have been much better. I will definitely be back.

When told that we had to go to a bowling alley in Bishop for a good steak, of course, we were hesitant. But it's not bad at all! Food - Pretty decent! You wouldn't think that a bowling alley, of all places would have this good of food, but this place does! Their top sirloin was cooked perfectly to my perfection, but my partner's steak was a bit overcooked. The sides, especially the veggies, did seem lackluster, but still okay. Service - Very nice waitress. She checked in an appropriate amount of times and was very friendly. No complaints! Ambiance - It's a small-town bowling alley. Don't expect luxury, but it's also not grimey. We came in on a Friday night so we saw the typical groups you'd see: group of teenagers coming in to celebrate a birthday, elderly locals enjoying their meals, couples who seemed like on a date, families having a fun time. Great spot and a place in Bishop to check out at least once.

Well their back and good as ever. Went here and we had a delicious dinner. My wife and a I split the rib eye steak cooked rare + with two sides. My wife had the baked potato which she said was fantastic so that means excellent. I had the onion rings. No split plate fee and very reasonable price. Would be double in SoCal. We brought a bottle of our favorite wine and corkage was very reasonable. Melanie was our server and did a fantastic job. We will be back when in the area.

Like others we were doubtful about having the "best steak in Bishop" at a bowling alley but we were here for a night and decided to give it a chance. It didn't disappoint. Started the night with a round of bowling and just beat the dinner crowd on a Saturday night and got a table right away for dinner. Solid rib eye!

Amazing place to spend whit the kids, I really recommend for family gatherings and fun time.

We had to try this restaurant and glad we did! Ordered the wedge salad with a salmon add-on, and had the Blue cheese bacon burger wrapped in lettuce (no bun for me!) and onion rings. Everything was cooked to perfection- the portion of salmon was large and not over cooked, the wedge salad was classic, the burger was so tasty, and the onion rings were crisp and not limp or greasy. Thank you to whoever orders the ketchup - it was organic with no high fructose corn syrup, really appreciate this! Place was crowded by 6:00 on Friday. Wait staff were friendly and attentive. Next time, I'm ordering a steak, table next to us did and said the sirloin was very good. Also, there is a full bar and beers on tap. Prices were very reasonable. Big Kudos to the people who own and run this restaurant!

Dayum. NEVER EAT HERE! Talk about small town low level slow snail service. Like omg. We sat for 15 minutes and nobody greeted us at our table or even brought water. What kind of whack place is this. No sense of urgency or hospitality from the staff. Didn't get to try the food because nobody came to take our order. Place looks filthy. Not clean. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise we didn't eat here! Avoid this place! We ended up going to Aaron Schat's Roadhouse down the street and it was amazing! Best steaks. If you want great steak go to Aaron Schat's Roadhouse. Do not come to this place run by a bunch of rookie amateurs.

Enjoyed a perfectly char-grilled rib eye steak. Good quality beef that was tender and flavorful. Good onion rings, too. Excellent service. The waitress checked on us several times to make sure we were doing well!

Driving up to Reno, time for lunch. I know for a fact that some of the best tasting food can be at the local bowling alley. I wasn't disappointed one bit! Good portions, yummy and yummy!

I don't even know where to begin--our server was absolutely amazing! From the moment we sat down, she was very attentive without ever being overbearing, always making sure we had everything we needed before we even thought to ask. Her energy was infectious--funny, warm, and genuine--making the whole experience feel less like dining out and more like catching up with a friend. Every detail was on point, every recommendation spot-on, and the timing flawless. You can tell they truly care about their guests and love what they do. Honestly, they were everything you could ever want in a server--attentive, awesome, personable, and simply the best. This kind of service takes the dining experience to a whole new level. If I could give more than 5 stars, I absolutely would!

In town for work this week, and a buddy told me the best steaks were at the bowling alley, so I decided to give it a try. Sat at the bar, and had the ribeye steak with baked potato, and a salad. Everything was on point. A couple of beers with my meal topped it off. Good vibe, and it's right there next to the lanes. Next time I'm here, this place is definitely getting a return visit from me.

Other posts rave about the rib eye steak (which is good) but the flat iron steak is by far the best. I can't believe a bowling alley has a better flat iron than too steakhouses, but this place does. I eat one every time I am in town and they are consistently excellent

I finally made it here. Great experience. Nicole makes the best Bloody Marys! Prices are good also. Will definitely be coming back! Great service Nicole!

Hard to believe you can go to a bowling alley and get a great steak dinner, but you can!!! I read the reviews and they seemed to be mostly positive, we were staying at the Wayfinder hotel next door so we decided to walk over and take a look. The menu and the decor of the restaurant reminded me of a pizza joint and everything inside me was thinking just get a cheeseburger but I rolled the dice on the flat iron steak with baked potato and Caesar salad and was pleasantly surprised. The steak was delicious, perfect medium rare nicely seasoned with a side of herb buttter. Mind you I'm literally 100 feet from the bowling lanes, it feels like the kind of place you'd get nachos or a corn dog but it was really a lovely meal and after 48 years I can say I had a great steak dinner at a bowling alley. Potato was good and salad was also. My wife got a grilled cheese with the potato soup and said it was very good! Service was excellent, very friendly small town hospitality, the waiter actually recommended the flat iron over the rib eye and it didn't disappoint. One review I read said best steak in town and now I know why. Great job !!! Thank you!

During our road trip I found this restaurant on Yelp. It had good reviews so we decided to try it. Glad we did! The staff were wonderful including the young man who seated us. Portions were large and included a salad. BTW - the restaurant is in the same building as a bowling alley!

Friendly service at this bowling alley restaurant. My steak was cooked to perfection however very thin ribeye. This seems to be the popular place in town. The bar has great view of bowlers having a great time.

So much fun. This is the place to be. And the food is good too. We came on a night where there was $5 bowling. And at night they have cosmic bowling. Great food, great drinks and a cool hang out. Will be back.

Imagine it's Tuesday at lunch and you driving from Mammoth down to SoCal and you see the line at Schat's Bakery with people eating outside in the heat. My kids aren't use to hot weather so I found the Back Alley. We walked in and there was plenty of seating, Cool AC and clean bathrooms. My husband got the Rib Eye lunch with side of soup. I had the taquitos and house soup. My kids had the kids meals which was plenty of food! For good food, cold air and comfort for a family with kids, this place is great stop.

Exterior and interior are clean and in good repair. Lunch. The wait staff is fast and friendly. They give great advice. Specifically, after the snowstorm, I asked for a recommendation: The potato soup is excellent. Yes. Toppings? Green onions, bacon, cheese? May I get a dollop of sour cream? Of course! I HIGHLY recommend the potato soup.

I know, I know...it's in a bowling alley. But it was GREAT! Excellent, friendly small town service, great food and excellent prices. I had a delicious chicken caesar and my husband had a burger and loved it. We will be back every time we are in Bishop, no doubt about it. Our good friends who stop in Bishop on their way to Reno a few times a year told us about it, and we are so glad that they did!

Our server, Joel, was very nice and gave us great service! The food, rib eye, was delicious. We will definitely be back to try the prime rib. The ambience is very casual but fun as there are bowlers on the other side of the restaurant.

The burger was delicious, the service was attentive but harried because this place was packed on a Monday night. I barely noticed the bowling noise from the next room.

The guy in charge of bowling was embarrassingly rude. They didn't seem to understand the concept of a waitlist, and did not explain their policy. They took our phone number and said it would be 30min-1hr so after it had been an hour, I asked about our spot. He was immediately hostile and said he gave up our spot to the first people to come by in the "window of time" he gave us, since we didn't "show up". (Side note, the entire time we were 20ft away waiting at the bar.) I asked why he took our phone number, if it wasn't used for the "waitlist", and he didn't have an answer. Apparently we were supposed to check in with him periodically, which would've been nice to know lol. I told him that and he said "well the locals know that's how this works, and now you do too." Needless to say, if you're not a local, their attitude is go f yourself. For reference we went in Saturday night, 5-17-25.

The food is amazing. Best steaks in town. But the garlic Parmesan french fries are to die for so amazing.!!

Great Food from Homemade soup to the best Ribeye Steak cooked to perfection. Great Service everyone is so friendly. The Live Music and other Special Events are GREAT. something for everyone in the family.

Stopped in for a game of bowling. Nice updated lanes. Had a couple of drinks at the bar. Nice selection. After bowling, set in the restaurant for dinner. Everything came out perfectly. Food was so good. Try the loaded nachos! My husband and I shared the steak and shrimp, was cooked perfectly. The server was so nice and on top of everything. Can't wait to come back.

We stop here to eat every time we drive through Bishop. The fried green beans appetizer is a family favorite and it never disappoints! The food is consistently good--always ask what the special of the day is! The service is always friendly and efficient, even when it's peak times. You know when the place is busy with locals, it's a good place to eat. And you can bowl before or after your meal!

Last trip to Mammoth, I saw a sign pointing to the back of a parkinglot for bowling and was really intrigued. Doing a quick yelp search to find the place and also came to realize it was rated well for food too! I'm in. Mixed it up again this trip and instead of BBQ we decided to come to Back Alley for dinner, some drinks, and a quick game of bowling. Our waitress was super entertaining and very attentive. We originally wanted the prime rib special but got there a little too late and went ahead and ordered some other items. All the boys got different cuts of steak, I went with the salmon dish, and another friend got the burger. Overall the serving size was very filling and pretty good. The steaks were a thumbs up for everyone around the table. The burger was alright, and I felt the salmon was alright as well. Not mindblowing but tasted pretty good! We had mozzarella sticks for appetizers along with the potato skin. I'm picking potato skin as our winning appetizer for the night. What was really good was their albondigas soup. Tasted super home made and very comforting. Another thing that was really good? Their cheesecake!! We got a few oreo cheesecakes for the table and that disappeared fast! I think its the middle layer of cream that tied it together. Our waitress did mention good things about their carrot cake, which I want to try to taste next time.

As you know town has been pretty busy this past week with all the high-school rodeo people in town on top of the summer tourist influx. We had a small bowling party for my son's birthday yesterday at the Back Alley and everyone was amazing. The bar tender Jessie went well above and beyond several times to make sure our party was taken care of even though she had enough patrons to keep her busy in the bar area. The young gentleman at the bowling counter was amazing as well and really wanted to make we were having a good time. Christopher and the rest of the staff also helped provide an awesome experience. The service was above well above par and well above what we expected as customers. The food was quick and tasted awesome as always. A shout out to the whole crew for a great time! Ashlee and staff, thank you for all that you do for our community and all of our visitors. And that goes for the evening crew as well.

Wait...Back Alley? As in bowling alley? Yep! A local favorite. I was tipped off to this hidden gem and thought to myself, no way could a bowling alley serve good grub. Well this one does! Steaks, burgers, fish, salads...I've had them all and they're all delicious. Homemade desserts are a nice way to end your meal. Highly recommended!

Convenient to hotels and surprisingly delicious. Steak, pilaf rice and veggies were amazing. Cool atmosphere. Nice employees. Great value, no complaints at all! Thought I took pictures dammit!

Wow..What can I say. Sat at the bar and was never acknowledged. Multiple customers helped before me. No look, I'll be right with you, no nothing. Left after 10 min. This is how you BK yourself with bad help.

Well the locals all hype this place up as being the best food in Bishop. So when we were invited to go bowling we decided to eat here instead of where we had planned. The place was packed. You have dining room to your left, bowling to the right, bar strait ahead to the back and about 3-4 tables that are self service. That is where we sat so you order from a window. I was the one that placed the order for my family. *Prime Rib medium rare * Lamb chops * Burger When mine came out it was rib eye they said that's what I ordered and they were out of prime rib. The meat was so tough and definitely over cooked. My sons lamb chops were the same. I gave my son my steak it was way too tough. My husband when asked how the burger was said "meh" so there you go nothing was enjoyed that evening. When I went up to pay and was asked how it was I was honest. The waitress said "well you should have said something" That is true and in most cases I would have. When we placed the order the kitchen was slammed and they had a hold on orders. So I am chalking up this experience that they were very busy and this might have been a fluke. The reviews read a different experience for others. So try it and see how it is for you. Our meal was $80 always disappointing to pay that much and not enjoy the meal.

Fantastic sweet potato fries. Local beers. Flat iron steak good. Price reasonable compared to other restaurants in area. Definitely worth a visit.

Had two salmon salads. First of all salad looked like it was straight out of a bag, and not a fresh bag. I would have loved some deep greens but no it was iceberg lettuce. $57 dollars. Never again.

We eat here every time we're in bishop. The prime rib and ribeye are delicious. Our server Angel was awesome and made our dining experience that much better. Don't let the bowling alley location fool you, this place is divine!

Yelp! You always take me to a great place! 18 dollar sirloin! Better than Larson's. Seasoned well and cooked to perfection. The butter for the baked potato was a pleasant addition. It was like a herb garlic butter! My husband had the ribeye and my kids the flat iron. Honestly, I didn't expect the food to be as good as it was! I pass thru Bishop At least twice a year and always stop to eat! First place that I can rave about in this town outside of Schatts bakery! It's connected to a bowling alley but don't be scared! Great customer service too. Everyone was so friendly too.

Best in class food of its kind. Fresh, hot, good service. Surprised to find it in a bowling alley and late night after a long drive. Burgers, fries, fish and chips all tops. If you find yourself in Bishop you should stop here.

Been coming here for over 6 years. We had not been here since 2022 and I was unaware the owners had sold and the place had changed...should have looked at the reviews. We were disappointed. The food was not as great as it used to be and the vibe totally different. On a Saturday night this place used to be packed with locals...not anymore. Wish they would have kept everything the same - menu, quantity and quality. This was our last time here. Will visit the other local establishments next time.

Horrible service! Don't bother coming here. We had a party of six and waited an hour and a half then were told that our food was now being prepared. We had a total of two drinks and two sodas and one appetizer but were done waiting. An hour and a half and they were only starting to prepare our food. We got up to leave and they still wanted us to pay. We did so, but they really should have comped it. We had two hungry kids with us. The manager didn't even seem to care.

Threw 1 personal ball down the lane and it got stuck. When it was finally returned there was a huge chip out of it! Then after they said they won't compensate for personal equipment! DO NOT USE YOUR OWN BALLS ON THESE LANES!

My wife and I ate here last night on Friday and our waiter was Michael. He is well groomed and very professional. He is very attentive to each of his customers, he checked on us several times through out our meal. Friday night they have Clam Chowder and it was the best, we both had that and my wife also had the salad. My wife had the Atlantic Salmon dinner and I had the shrimp scampi dinner and for dessert we shared the berry cheesecake, we both had a diet soda. Just as we finish having our dinner the entire town lost their power so everyone was sitting in the dark, Michael went around letting everyone know that they could only except cash at this time and their was several groups of people that I feel took advantage and said they did not have any cash on them and got up and left and got a free meal. I paid cash for our meal and gave him a $15.00 tip to also cover the tax since he did not add that to our check. Our meal with drinks came out to $59.95 The food was really good and I would highly recommend going to this place. This restaurant is inside the bowling alley and they have a full bar.

Great bar and grill with good food and service. Don't be fooled by the fact it is a bowling alley

Food is good, but overpriced. Service is incredibly slow. Multiple better options in Bishop like Schat's Roadhouse or Jndiego.

Food and service were decent but the kitchen had major issues the night we were there. Had a party of 7. Waitress was extremely pleasant but was handling too many tables to be attentive. 3 of the flat iron steaks were ordered medium well and came out extremely rare and had to be sent back. After a long wait they still came out medium rare. A Ribeye, while very tasty was ordered medium rare and came out medium well. A chili size came out with no hamburger on it just beans and looked soggy and unappetizing. Waitress immediately took it back to be replaced. She did her best to apologize for the kitchen. The steaks and baked potatoes were tasty but the asparagus was cigar sized, extremely stringy and unedible. Could have been an off night... or at least I hope so! I would give it another shot in the future since the steaks were good, just not cooked very well.

We were passing thru Bishop after a long day of hiking at Mt. Whitney. We were VERY hungry!!! My husband mentioned he had read a yelp on The Back Ally. I was a bit skeptical, because I imagined Bowling Ally food. Boy, was I WRONG!!!! We order Rib Eyes, they were cooked perfectly to our liking. Baked Potatoes and the works. We wished we had taken a picture. But we were hungry! Ha! The Waitress was so sweet!! She is a "keeper" employee. You guys convinced me that Bowling Ally food can be top rate food. I would give you a #10 Thank you so much. Even the restaurant had a family feel. We loved the whole experience.

Even though it's a local's place, I didn't feel awkward sitting at the bar as an outta-towner. Food was above average, especially for what you'd expect from a bowling alley. There might be more space allocated to the bar/restaurant than to actual bowling. Neighbor's steak looked perfectly cooked, though I didn't get a pic. Salad was solid but won't overwhelm if you're looking for raw eggs and anchovies. Side of fries was huge and offset any gains I made with the salad.