Bowlero Bethesda

We had a pretty bad experience here, paired with very poor service. When we got there we had a 2 hour reservation and they assigned us to a lane that we later found out they knew was broken. One of the bumpers worked and the other did not. The guy behind the counter tried to tell us that was just how the software worked but that was a lie; the lanes on either side of us with kids had lanes with bumpers that could go up and down for each bowler’s preference. I asked to change lanes and was told no - even though there were 15 or so open. Then an hour into the reservation the sound system went off with a loud humming for minutes. After that our lane powered off near the end of our round. We spent 10 minutes trying to find someone to help but no one was available - they were all busy while I stood at the counter waiting for help. So after that we just gave up and decided to leave. After flagging someone down to check out, I asked for a partial refund because of the lane not working (it had been off for 20 minutes at this point - plus the bumper issue) and was told no refunds. However he did say “yeah that’s a broken lane we’re waiting for parts.” So, all in all, a bad experience. The one plus was a very nice food server who was attentive and helpful.

Great atmosphere, with TVs, music, mood lighting. They of fenugreek ball bowling and an arcade. The food came quickly and was good (standard nachos, chicken nuggets, fries). The only downside is the cost. It cost almost $7 to rent a pair of bowling shoes, then they charge per game rather than by the hour... And the bowling device jammed on us 3 times (lane 23). So two of us paid over $100 for only an hour there plus two appetizers!!! I won't go back because it's too expensive, despite how nice the venue is.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kristi Zakja was an absolute star! From the moment we were seated, she was welcoming, attentive, and super professional. He gave great recommendations, made sure we had everything we needed, and created such a positive, relaxed vibe throughout our meal. You can really tell he cares about his guests. Easily one of the best servers we’ve had—thank you,Kristi

We had a good overall experience. The lane and scoring system all worked good. The reservation process was easy and the lane was ready right on time. All the staff we nice and we all felt the food was good quality and size. They have small gaming area for kids as well. Tons of tv as well. Only negatives were amount of wait staff you work with. Their all nice but don’t really take ownership of your group and no really knows what your ordered. It was a Saturday night during college football and they had two games over 40 screens which was a little overkill, after three requests to switch one tv I gave up. I’d go back and recommend.

Always clean and most of the arcade games work fine. Bowling is always available.

A good place to have a child's birthday celebration. You can rent bowling lanes and have food catered for a fee a little expensive finger food chix tenders,fries ,hotdogs,pizzas,and drinks was good has a hot serving area.

Wow—first time at this Bowlero and I’m so glad we came! Everything was on point—the customer service, the food, the drinks, the vibe… just awesome all around. Huge shoutout to Jamal! He seriously went above and beyond for us. From the moment we walked in, he greeted us with a big smile, got us checked in fast, brought out our food and drinks in no time, and still managed to check on us even as things picked up. It’s so rare to get service like that these days, and it really made our day. We’ll definitely be back to bowl again—Thanks!

0 stars for everything you can imagine! We went there to have fun with our family and friends and we all left very disappointed. Lane 27 was completely malfunctioned. We tried to get the attention of management/staff and they were not fixing the issue. It was just not fun to play like that.( Attached pictures of how our lane was) then, I went to the men’s bathroom and it was disgusting, blood everywhere.. I don’t even want to know what happened ! The bar is extremely expensive, $16 dollars 1oz (very small) tequila shot!??? Really? Cmon people! You guys have plenty of business and obviously your establishment is very expensive. Why don’t you hire more staff? Well, I won’t be coming back for sure. Also, because I complained a few times about the malfunctioning of our lane 27 to the manager on duty, after I left, she said to my friend and that I was an as****lo. Funny she mentioned that because she was the one screaming at me…

I went to Bowlero for NYE with friends and booked a 2-hour bowling session. Overall, I'd give it 2.5 stars, because it really felt like a mixed experience, and I've been to other Bowleros before that were more organized. The lane itself was ok (there was a loose floor board I steered clear of!) and the vibes were lively -- as expected for NYE. The place was clean, which is always appreciated and the bowling shoes were pretty worn and a bit slippery, but no biggie -- more of an FYI than a complaint. Our issue was more with service. The service was all over the place. We ordered food and drinks, and while one drink came quickly, it took two reminders and about 40 minutes to get the rest of our stuff. We ordered an appetizer platter that was $36.99, and it was on the small side -- plus, some items were missing. Nobody gave us a heads-up that parts of it weren't coming, so we had to keep following up to figure out what was going on. It felt like we were advocating for ourselves the whole time, which got frustrating. Another FYI: The lane cuts off exactly at 2 hours. We booked from 5:30 to 7:30, but we didn't start until 6. No extra time for the late start -- it just shut off right at 7:30. As for the food, it's your typical bar food quality. Not bad, but we were pretty hungry by the time it finally showed up, so quicker service would've definitely made a difference. All in all, decent vibes but confusing service and slow food made it a mixed experience.

This might be an interesting review because we did not get a chance to bowl. Ok, it is highly recommended that you make reservations. Not having a reservation is probably the main reason why we did not bowl. We stopped by Bowlero around 6 pm to put our name and phone number on the list for a lane for two folks. I think we were number six or seven on the list. The check in attendant informed us that a lane would not be available until 8 pm. Ok, no problem because that's what bars are for. Around 7:30, I went back to the check in desk to see where we were on the list. The attendant told me we haven't moved up this list because several parties that were supposed to arrive at 6 pm had not started their games. Here's the thing. We were at the bar for about 1.5 hours and noticed that several lanes in our direct vicinity were not being used. Perhaps, those lanes were out of order. But I was like, we could have been used those lanes in the time the alley was waiting for the parties to arrive. I dunno but it seemed like there were a lot of lanes that were not functioning. Here's the other thing: Although left the alley around 8 pm, we never received a phone call let us know that a lane was ready. So you mean to tell me not a single lane became available from 8 PM to 12 AM? While we did not get a chance to bowl, we did enjoy our time at the bar. The alley has a decent selection of draft beers. I probably will visit again, BUT this time, we'll definitely make reservations.

We went on a Friday night and one drink took 40 minutes and the appetizer was forgotten about and we had to remind them several times about it . It felt like we were bothering them by being there . There weren't a lot of people there to begin with but after this service I can see why

After our experience here, I will never set foot in a Bowlero again. I reserved a lane for my friends birthday. After arriving, they told us that we couldn't bowl because their system was down. They didn't know how long it would take, they just told us to wait and keep checking back. After 45 minutes of waiting and checking in, finally someone behind the counter said that we could bowl even if we hadn't checked in yet. They took us to a lane, which wasnt operating and was filthy from the last group. They told us they'd clean up the lane and activate it so we could play. We waited for 20 minutes, asking for help, and no one set us up. After more than an hour we decided to cut our losses and leave. I emailed the company (specifically the purpose with whom I had booked the reservation), and they said they couldn't offer a refund, that they could only offer a coupon for free bowling, which I have zero interest in based on what happened.

They have several highly active wasp nests in the bases of the trees lining their property and the front sidewalk. It isn't safe to walk to, or around this location; especially if you have small children or pets with you. I guess wear long pants and bring your own wasp spray if you're determined to bowl.

It's fine. Crowded as always. Staff very friendly - machines could use an update as we had to keep resetting the pinsetter.

I've been here a couple times and have always enjoyed myself. I recently visited during COVID. I love the ambiance especially the lighting. It was nice, warm, and cozy. I had a groupon to enjoy 2 hours of bowling with shoe rental for $20! Seating was every other lane so we didn't have to worry about being close to other people. All food and drink ordering was on a touchscreen where we paid there too and the waitress brought out our things. I really liked this because you didn't have to wait for service. If you wanted to walk up to the bar, that was an option as well. My only con was that our balls kept getting stuck (lane 5) and we had to wait for someone to retrieve them for us. Overall, I had a good experience and would return.

The local staff are great. Mikey went out of his way to communicate and host. He confirmed our lanes were together. He got us shoes quickly and easily. He added a lane to our group. And he made sure our bumpers were up and running. The wait staff was attentive as well, fixing the odd issue and stranded ball. That said, the whole process is needlessly painful. My sense of it is that the local staff is hampered by a heavy handed corporate bureaucracy that tries to squeeze customers with hidden charges and heavy handed sales tactics. We wanted six lanes. You can only book two max online. Anything bigger is a "group" -- which means you put in a request and a salesperson calls you. As soon as I picked up the telephone, I knew I was getting a pitch. And sure enough, she offered me expensive packages that weren't a fit. We didn't need game cards, gift certificates, $700+ of all-you-can-eat food, a cake, and so forth. We just wanted to bowl -- and maybe order some food here and there. But no we couldn't do that through her. So we made three reservations online and requested that the lanes are together. Then, at the event, we ordered some food -- two platters for about $90. The bill came back at $250. A little high, so I asked for the breakdown, and I'm told "taxes and event fee." Sales tax is 6%, so that's $11. What's the $59? " "Event fee." What's that? The service. Hm, that's more than 30%, which seems high. But where's the breakdown? "That's from the corporate sales--I don't have that." Weird. By the way, it turned out, we had already paid $81 in event fees in our bookings, so that was about $60 on top of that. $140 in hidden fees spliced throughout! And I was asked to tip on top of that. Again, I think Mikey was doing his best and trying to do right by his customers and his staff. He appeared not to have access to the right information, or maybe the event fee doesn't go to the staff. I don't know -- wasn't clear (and it really should be). My suggestion to Bowlero corporate is to simplify this whole mess. Respect your customers, and make it simple, easy, transparent. Let folks book online. Let them get their lanes and shoes. Let them buy some food in advance or at the event in a simple straightforward way, pay and add a tip. Done.

We wanted to take our nephew for his first experience bowling and it was a great one! They were making sure all were comfortable. Overall we we're pleased with the services. The venue and bowling lanes were neat and organized with the proper bowling ready for the little ones. The staff was very attentive and courteous. A platter with some appetizers was big enough to feed 4 and still had leftovers. Thank you for making this experience a memorable one! Until next time!

Very unorganized, I have been waiting almost 3 hours an finally I had to leave while I was told to wait for an hour and half.

Zero customer service poor communication on wait time would go elsewhere. And most arcade games didn't function without staff having to repair

Shout out to Bowlero if you want a bowling place to play with your money and charged you the next month, when you paid for everything month before go to them. Seriously don't go here it's ridiculous, we work too damn hard for our money to be played with us and I'm highly upset!!!!

Out and about on Prez Day and we spied a nearby Groupon deal for 2 hours of bowling. Shoes included makes this a good deal. Following the trend towards darkened lanes, big screen TVs and tons of video games, Bowlero Bethesda is a real treat. It is not as big as the Annandale location, but it is still a good, clean fun, way to spend an afternoon or evening. Ordering from your lane is available and easy to do to keep the refreshments coming. We'll be back, as this is a fun place while out on errands or just roaming about Bethesda.

A super fun place! Bowlero Bethesda is a surprisingly nice bowling alley in Bethesda. This isn't a nasty oldschool bowling alley - it's surprisingly clean, modern, and friendly. The bowling is reasonably-priced. Better yet, the place has a bar, arcade, and a wide variety of food, so you can hang out at this place like it's the '90s. In terms of COVID precautions, this place really shines. My group had plenty of space, and we felt very safe, in no part because everything felt very clean.

Much better than the shady grove location! Good service and pretty good food. We had some issues with the bowling and getting errors and losing balls, so seems like they need to do an update on equipment, but overall it's the one best bowling place that's nearby.

Atmosphere: 4/5 Bowling Experience: 4/5 I've been to Bowlero Bethesda and Bowlero College Park. I honestly prefer Bowlero College Park even though both were pretty similar. They had someone actually working at the bar station at Bowlero College Park, so we could get a jug of water with some plastic cups. At Bowlero Bethesda, I didn't see anyone at the bar station for the few times I looked over, so we requested water via the lane station's screen (which was good under COVID-19 times). However, after the add-on COVID-19 fee, I was surprised that a water bottle was about $4 each. But, when we did order the water, it arrived quickly to our lane! As a money saving tip: if you're in the military and show your ID, you get a $3.50 per game. You could also bring your own bowling shoes if you want. I ended up bringing my own since they were more comfortable than the rental Bowling shoes, and bowling shoes are pretty cheap to purchase on Amazon. The bowling ambiance itself was friendly, youthful, and fun. I loved the lightning, the bright colors for the videos/ads, and that the place was relatively clean. The lanes were separated apart so you wouldn't have someone bowling in the lane next to you, for COVID-19 safety reasons. I was unsure of the COVID-19 mask rules, but plenty of people had them off at their lanes, so it was easier to just relax and bowl. Also, for COVID-19 safety, I wonder if they do spray down the balls with a cleaning solution after someone uses it. Would be something worth asking if you're concerned about COVID-19 but still want to have fun. One potential downside (or uncertainty I had) was that the bowling system seemed a little glitchy. I sometimes was given three chances to bowl even though I had gotten a gutter and didn't receive a strike/spare, etc. There might be a bowling rule that gives you three chances to bowl instead of the normal two, but I didn't see any consistency as to when that occurred, so I wonder if it might be a bowling system error. I had also noticed that the pin-picker-upper sometimes missed a pin when it swept up the fallen pins, so we were given more points the next bowling shot than we actually should have received. Recommendation: Have the bowling rules listed somewhere for each lane so the bowlers could also be aware of them if they want to learn more about bowling or so they are aware if something is a system error vs. a rule in bowling.

Love this place , first time bowling and my family and I had a great experience. Great staff friendly, I'll give it a 10/5 if I could

Last night all my cousins, we decided to do a family function and bowling was something everyone could do even the kids. But damn, didn't expect for this to be a disaster at this location smh. We started bowling and I went ahead to order food and my cousins had ordered the drinks. They were COMPLETELY under staff. It literally took us an hour to get our food, let alone the drinks weren't even made because there was only one bartender. We had to keep going back and forth to check on our order. The problem is, if it was this under staffed and y'all know that weekends are busy, maybe that's the first thing you should let your customers know that it will be busy etc. no one came to our sections until we kept on complaining. My cousins live in Maryland, I reside in Va. The fact that i had to drive out here and still receive such horrible service let alone waiting on the food and kids get hungry was complete trash. I wouldn't even recommend this place to anyone. Huge disappointment and then to drive back home still bothered.

This business is a scam. Held daughters birthday party there for over $1000 and they did not fulfill the contract terms, place was overly crowded and understaffed. We waited 30 min for them to bring out the cake.

Went on the day after Christmas with family. Had a good time overall except two days later there was an unaccounted third charge on my card. I contacted them and they couldn't find a record of any charges. The manager said she'd call me back and haven't heard from them since. They are so disorganized and have done nothing to rectify the situation. What out for your credit cards at this place.

I do not know if they were understaffed or if there was some other issue, but there seemed to be no capacity to serve the clientele. There were no napkins or sanitary wipes to allow bowlers to eat the food they ordered between turns: we had to get paper toweling from the bathrooms. Think about that the next time you stick your fingers into one of the common use bowling balls. No one was available to retrieve balls that got stuck in the gutter (and I slipped into the gutter while retrieving one as the lane divider disconnected on me). It took 20-30 minutes to get a fountain drink delivered. The people were friendly enough, I guess that is a positive. But as I saw that they are now publicly traded on all the signs in the bathroom, my guess is that they've decided to take a cost minimization strategy at the expense of quality. And it was still $150 for a family of four all in (no alcohol).

Almost every aspect of our Wednesday afternoon family bowling experience was disastrous and disappointing. The bowling itself was dysfunctional -- balls constantly getting stuck in the gutter, a constantly malfunctioning pin clearing mechanism -- and. I must have asked the attendant for assistance four times before finally asking to be assigned to a different lane. It took the staff 45 minutes to clear mountains of uneaten food and used plates and utensils from the lanes adjacent ours after the patrons in those lanes had departed. The chicken fingers were rubbery. The staff was well intentioned but disinterested. Paid well north of $200 all in for our family of five to bowl and three orders of barely edible chicken fingers. Utter ripoff. Terrible experience.

So the place was clean and the people were friendly, but we continuously had problems with our lane--lane 5 which was a significant inconvenience considering how expensive it was to bowl here. In addition (and far worse, IMHO, the draft beer was WORSE than terrible--it was DISGUSTING! It is clear they have not cleaned their beer lines--ever. They gave me the wrong beer at first (Blue Moon instead of Yuengling) but it didn't matter. The Blue Moon smelled rancid and tasted so bad we had one sip and returned the pitcher and glasses. The Yuengling was not any better. It's clear they do not properly maintain their beer lines. When I bowl, I expect to drink beer. I will never come here again.

Went in with my girlfriend to waste a little time. Couldn't play one game with shoes.. Told we could only purchase a three game package with the gaming card. Only way to bowl was 60.00 for one game... ridiculous

One of the best bowling alleys in/near DC. I love the retro vibe and how it kind of has something for everyone. The food is definitely the best of any bowling alley I've been to in the DMV, and even though it's a little on the pricy side, if you're splitting it with friends, it tends to be pretty reasonable. The mechanics of setting up the game are super easy, they have tons of balls of all different weights (plus I love that many of them have dual finger holes so you don't have to search high and low for the right size). The beer is cold, the cocktails are boozy and flavorful, and the space is really cool and fun. I also love that they do all sorts of specials, like $2 Tuesday, etc so there are plenty of ways to enjoy bowling without having to break the bank. Just wish the Metro was closer so I could visit more often!

Talk about pulling out all the stops, I've been to a few openings in my day, but this will go down as one of the best. If they keep this energy going forward, they might bring back the golden days of bowling to the Bethsda area. A bit far from home, but looking forward to future experiences. Now to the food and drinks. Food, great quality, everything was fresh from the hummus to the sliders. I threw away my diet and tried everything. The only thing that didn't thrill me was the grilled chicken stick, the chicken had an ok flavor, but it was so dry. Everything else is worth ordering. Drinks, exciting concepts, hard to remember the names at the moment (blame the bubbly). Unless you like liquid diabetes stay away from the one with sweet tea in it. The grapefruit drink was refreshing.

I'm going to start off with the good... we had a great time bowling and the ambience/music were great. The issues began however, the second we walked in the door. I purchased my admission online. The online confirmation specifically specified that I would be required to provide the credit card that I purchased the admission with and identification with matching name upon entry. No problem, and that's exactly what I did. Once I got to the check-in counter, I exchanged pleasantries and handed the employee my credit card and identification... I was literally looks at, as if I had two heads. He made it very clear that he did not want to see my credit card or identification. The employee said, "I guess you have a reservation, what's the name?" I provided my name and asked if it would be possible to select a specific lane, as there were multiple unused lanes. The employee immediately replied, "I'm unable to do that, the lane was selected by management when you made you're reservation." I asked if would be possible to change lanes, and was informed that it was not possible. I conceded, as I was simply ready to enjoy some fun with my family. After spending $162 on admission only, I was definitely expecting a much more pleasant experience... as the reservation stated, upon check-in, we were supposed to be met by a host who would take care of our needs, that never happened. We were pointed to our lane, and sent on our own. Not a huge issue, as we noticed that each lane had an electronic monitor for placing food and drink orders. Once we're were in our shoes and ready to start bowling, we decided to order some drinks. I went to the electronic monitor, and it did not work. We walked to the bar and informed the bartender of the issue, and we were informed that we would have to order from the bar. Now I'm not above ordering from the bar, however once again, $162 for 2.5 hours of timed bowling! If my bowling is going to be timed, I do not want to spend my time in line at the bar. I inquired about purchasing one of the fish tank beverages that they so proudly boast about, and the bartender advised me that she needed to see 4 identifications. I advised her that there were only 3 of us of drinking age (we had 2 children), and I was informed that the drink is only for 4 people and that they could not sell it without 4 identifications. So long story short, I love bowling and frequently take my family out bowling. Although I've never been to this particular chain of bowling ally's, this was the worst experience I've ever had at a bowling ally... and for $162, I had very high expectations.

Why is it almost $200 to reserve a lane for 2 people for 2 hours?? Absolutely NOT!! That isn't fair or right for your consumers. If it was a group I would understand but not a couple. You won't get my money, sorry!!

Went on the day of their reopening, host was energetic and friendly with us. Explained the process very well and made for an enjoyable experience. Food was SPOT ON! Music was in very good taste and most of all would recommend and will come again! Easily 5 stars and they gave a military discount which was nice considering I've been stationed here since Aug 2019 and only 2 other places I've been have ACTUALLY offered that. Thank you for the great experience!

Great fun at Bowlero Bethesda this afternoon bowling with family. This bowling alley is very clean. The staff extra kind and helpful. Special thanks to Andrew and Pedro. We choose 2 hours of bowling with shoes. Drinks and food were extra and could be ordered from the lane your bowling in. I especially like the wide selection of balls/weights and the low lighting made it easier to send the ball down the lane. Music was upbeat and there when you needed it. The scorekeeping was flawless! Will definitely be playing here next with friends.

It was the worst customer service i've ever had. They gave us the wrong food, food took over 30 minutes to show up, had to ask our waiter several times to bring us water, when the water did show up, their were no cups. The food that we ordered was dry and tasted old and the tenders tasted like they were bad . The bowling balls kept on not returning to us. Took forever, probably around 30 minutes to get our bill. I will never come back to this place specially after talking to two managers and they being the most rude humans I ever met.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! I wish I could leave the star section blank because that is what is deserves!!! I chose this location for a special day my husband's 50th birthday. We were expecting around 40 friends and family so I chose to have 2 platters and also paid for an open bar for my guest during the timeframe of the party. I a soooooo disappointed in 1- they were completely unprepared for my party. They still had to clear the areas they had reserved for us, the food platters didn't come out until almost 35-40 minutes once the party started, the open bar I paid for was non existent. Guest had to wait for drinks, there one 1 bartender that was taking care of regular patrons. I immediately went to the management and they just kept saying what can we do....well start by bring the food that I paid for and get my guest drinks that I paid for. They ended up pulling someone and I told them at this point someone need to walk around and get orders for my guest. Management was well aware that I was not happy and kept asking me what they can do. I said let me have the names of the upper management because someone needed to know that we DID NOT get what I paid for. At the end of the day I contacted Bobby who was our Sales Rep as well as 3 other Reps from the DMV area that never even returned a call or email. I had to call a rep from the Tysons Corner location to finally have someone return my call. Bobby finally calls me back to say everything was done based on the contract. Never once asked about the customer service that we didn't receive, the food that didn't come on time and the non existent open bar we paid for. His fix was to offer a 2 hours of bowling for free. Save your money and find another location specifically. DO not get Robert (Bobby) if you would like to have a Sales Rep that actually cares and is concerned about his clients. I contacted Rachel Bowmer, Charles White and Robert Howland and not one of them returned or even confirmed they received my email of concern. This is NOT a place I will ever give another penny to ever again!!!

Bowling is good. Food is pretty bad. Pizza is gross. Burger was disgusting with 2 scrawny patties of overcooked meat. Fries, tots and onion rings were pretty decent. The brownie with ice cream was ok. Food is overpriced and not worth it. Service is a little slow but friendly.

My friends and I went out for what we had hoped would be a nice evening of bowling. There were plenty of strikes to go around--not one for the Bowlero staff, though. The check-in process went smoothly enough, despite what we later discovered to be an absurdly expensive shoe rental ($19.95 for shoes and play till close). Things took a turn for the gutters when we started playing, however. We ordered drinks from the kiosk our lane, which indicated that the drinks would be delivered ($21 for a pitcher of beer, don't get the tower, it doesn't make economic sense). After waiting for about 20 minutes and seeing other bowlers receive their food and beverages, I approached one of the bartenders (who was on his phone) to ask about the drinks. He asked if I ordered from the kiosk, then said I should never do that because he doesn't receive the orders, then looked down to find the order ticket right in front of him sitting on the receipt printer. He then said he had to do dishes and would prepare it later. After 30 additional minutes of waiting (and noticing that bartender chatting with patrons who were bowling in sneakers), I approached the other bartender who pretended he knew nothing of my order despite hearing the earlier conversation and asked him for the drinks. He then begrudgingly consented to bringing them to our lane. He brought the drinks over, and of course one pitcher was about 25% larger than the other. The other major flop was the extremely subpar bowling technology. Hardly an experienced bowler myself, I nonetheless knew that the equipment was in dire need of replacement. About once per frame, our lane would shut down completely or refuse to return the balls on the conveyor. Of course, when we asked the bowling associates present, we received half-hearted assurances that the conundrum would resolve itself. Once a staff member brought us beer when we asked for the lane to be fixed, not intended as a kind compensatory gesture, but actually out of pure confusion on his part. In summation, do not attend Bowlero Bethesda. The decor and atmosphere is appealing, but deceiving. I have great memories of this place from my childhood, but now the bumpers are down and the pins aren't falling anymore--in fact, they haven't been put back up.

Beware of the special offers -- hidden terms and conditions may apply! My kids got charged much more than the advertised special rate. The staff required a college id to get the good rate, even though that wasn't listed as part of the deal. Tricky, tricky.

I've been there with my company several times over the past spring and summer this year and more than three times had a really hard working and very kind and attentive server named Samantha. She is amazing! I called a couple weeks and spoke to Jeanette and she said she would pass along my call to her manager and I was hoping to get a call back and haven't heard as yet. So please let Sam know how great she is; my company and other friends only come when we call and know she's there! I hope she's recognized for all her hard work and dedication.

I hadn't bowled in years but came here yesterday and had a good time. I had no idea it would cost me $80 to bowl 5 strings (with a shoe rental included) but it did. There were a few minor technical issues during this time but nothing major. Overall, the service was fine and we had fun. I'd probably return at some point but I'm also interested in trying out some other places as well.

I'm not a bowling alley gal and don't like to conflate opening nights with soft openings and VIP nights. However, I won't hide the fact that I really liked this place and plan on going go back. It's great for family group dates and time with your squad. There are a lot of things to do from the bar to actual bowling to pool to playing in the arcade (my personal favorite). There is a lot going on on the menu with crowd pleasers for anyone looking to snack or get quite filled. Speaking of which, the shareables or epic eats are a draw - pizza cake, a burger larger than your head and a hotdog train to name a few. Go check it out for yourself!

Arcade games did not dispense tickets. Food was soggy and greasy. The left bumper in our lane for the kids, did not come up, so we asked for someone to fix it, and they never came. All together this is the worst experience I have had in a long time!

We had a fantastic evening. It was our son 16th birthday and all the staff signed a bowling pin for us. and there's a lady behind the desk taccara She went above and beyond to help us to make our evening great.

I was actually going to go here with my family and friends to celebrate birthday on this Saturday, but the RUDENESS of the female who answered the phone canceled that!!!! No thank u! Lil girl needs an attitude adjustment if your establishment is going to continue to be successful!!

The atmosphere was nice. The food was decent but the drinks are HORRIBLE. Super watered down. My margarita tasted like the mix so I had to order an extra shot to put in it. It is kind of pricey and does add up quick if you're not careful. For 2 ppl I spent a total of 150 for 3 games, shoes, food, and one drink (plus a shot) per person. Better off finding a lucky strikes. 3 stars for our waiter tho.

My husband and I took the kids out on an early Sunday night to Bowlero Bethesda. Our initial idea was to bowl a couple of frames and eat dinner there while we had fun - we're terrible bowlers, but we thought it would be a fun night out. Spoiler alert: it was not a fun night out. When we picked up our shoes we asked about ordering dinner, and the person at the front desk said that wait staff would stop by to take our order. No one ever came to take any orders from us - not even water - for over 90 minutes. At one point someone came over to clean up for the people who had been in the lane next to ours, but he didn't even make eye contact with us and at that point, we were putting on our shoes and giving up because we were starving. Also, whoever was at the lane before us had left a bottle of kid's sore throat spray and it wasn't taken away or cleaned up - gross. There's no hand sanitizer anywhere to be found, and one of my kids saw the staff only halfheartedly spraying the bowling shoes and putting some back with no spray at all. Our lane was having a lot of malfunctions - a pin popped out of the rack and onto the lane. We had to find someone to fix it, meanwhile, we got timed out on rounds whenever there were problems. After 90 minutes of starvation and frustration, we gave up and checked out to go hit an actual restaurant. They did refund our second frame bowling when we complained about all of the issues with the lane, but we would have spent a lot more money if anyone had bothered to take an order from us during the 90 minutes that we were there. Needless to say, we won't be back.

I friend and myself went here for some bowling on a Sunday afternoon. The place was pretty busy which is always a good sign. The lanes were clean and staff were friendly. The only issue we had was with the bartender. I feel she genuinely hated her job or something as she was rude, missing half the time, or just didn't respond to customers requests. I ordered a rum and coke, something super easy and fast to make. For $10, this was the absolute worst made drink i have ever been given. The small cup was not even filled half way. I had tons of ice and barely any coke, and almost no rum. If you are here for solely bowling and no food or drinks, you will be fine. Otherwise, good luck with ordering anything.

only thing good about the place is the bowling and the ambiance. other than that, the service is horrible. it took over an hour for an order of fries that ultimately i cancelled. please don't waste your time at this place. it would've been different if the bartender felt bad and brought out the fries after but he only apologized AS I WAS CHECKING OUT AND WRITING THE TIP... this is what upset me as he only said this for me to still give him a great tip. i am frustrated and upset as this was a date night for my fiancé and i in which we rarely get. never coming back here again.

First thing's first, guy ask for your receipt and notice your charges. The server was great. She made me feel like home. She would be a reason why I'd come back but management is unacceptable. He was running the lanes. When it came time to paying, he gave us a total and when we mention we were paying separately, he got upset. I understand, I manage a restaurant. When we began to pay he used his phone to give us our total. Cool. He gave me my total and I paid. I noticed he was rounding the change. .86$, he will keep .12$. Cool. It's a Change fórmula I know from work. But it was strange. He told my friend .04$ for his change. Instead of giving him a Dollar, he kept the Dollar. When we asked him. He changed the total amount. When my sister in law paid, he voided the transaction. And gave a new total. When they paid. Their change was off 6$. When they mentioned it, he got mad and gave them the 6$. Then voided the transaction. I don't see myself going back to this location. But if you're reading this and have consider this place to bowl, get your receipt. Food and bowling.

Nice modern bowling alley, that appeared clean and newly renovated. However, prices are outrageous for bowling, as well as food and drinks (for Bud Light drinkers, that'll be $6 a pint reg price, craft beer closer to $9-10). I was also a little perturbed by the fact that they did not put prices on their drinks menu (this ain't a 5 star restaurant with market specials partner). Furthermore, when looking at their daily specials, beware of when they begin and end. College night happy hour starts at 9:00pm with $2.50 slices of, what looked like, microwaved pizza, and Bud Light, and abruptly stops 30 minutes later at 9:30pm when they close the bar, a full hour and a half before their 11pm closing time. Staff and bartenders were friendly, but had no sense of urgency, considering you're on the clock when you buy bowling by the hour. Would come back more frequently if they lowered the prices a touch and weren't so stingy with the specials.

Nice staff and clean, cool environment. It's quite pricey to bowl, but it is Bethesda. They have 5ish beers on tap, and the food is actually pretty good.

The Bowlero Bethesda is a very clean bowling ally with a really cool atmosphere. Its hi-tech with kiosks at each lane and a top of the line scoring systems with fun graphics. Our party had fun, but the experience was not perfect. When we called to reserve a lane we were sold a party package that was more than what we needed. It included drink tickets and unlimited bowl for 2 hours (shoes still extra). We would have been better off just paying as we went as this package really wasn't good value. We were greeted by a Manager who was very nice, accommodating, and helpful. The drink tickets were confusing as of who to give them to (bar or waiter) and ordering food was also a little confusing (kiosk, waiter, or manager). The nice menu was crowd pleasing. The food was average and a little over priced for the small portions. The food is what you would expect from a bowling ally. They were well staffed up, however the staff didn't seem that attentive when our lane broke down. We were told that it would be back up in 2 minutes, however after more like 15 minutes we finally asked a staff member and he just hit the reset button. If they were keeping a closer eye on things they should of had us back up and running in 2-3 minutes as we didn't know about the reset button and 15 minutes of our 2 hours was wasted. Overall I would say it was a fun, but expensive night on the town. I would definitely go back but stay away from the party package and lower my expectations around the food.