Parkside Lanes — Local services in Aurora Township

Been here several times and the attention to detail and service has been getting worse and worse. The staff just has a "I don't care attitude", from The service desk to the food crew and beyond. We come here with our kids to have a good time and bowl. Buy some pizza and soda to pass the time and make memories but Parkside Lanes just doesn't care about their customers. The kitchen was supposed to be open (we were there recently at 3pm on Saturday) and we were told they were closed and then told that they were restocking. Whatever it was they just weren't open for service, yet a birthday party was being served pizza and drinks, which by the way was not accommodating to the guests of that birthday party. I overheard the mom complaining of not having enough food and drinks for her guests. But that's her to review this place for the displeasure of service. As I was paying for my Lane and sets of bowling shoes rental I had asked for the bumpers to be raised for my 13 year old son who is on the spectrum of autism. She said the bumpers were for children 8 and under. I mentioned my son was on the spectrum and she rolled her eyes at me while announcing over the intercom for bumpers on Lane #. There was no need for the attitude, I'm glad to pay extra if need be but the eye roll was not necessary. Overall this place is downright trashy and unwelcoming. If you're light skinned, you may have a better time. I tend to keep race out of the picture but you can just tell when you're the wrong color and everything bothers the establishment when you ask for the proper service to be done right. Not coming back and I'd stay away from this place and waste your hard earned...

I am leaving four stars for the following reason:

I arrived with a large party of 12, we reserved for two lanes with a projected wait of an hour, and a half which ended up being only an hour wait- great right?! We enjoyed ourselves at the bar meanwhile we waited for our lanes; drinks were good, vibes were great! There was a mid high volume of people, but far from crowded. Our problems started once it was time to claim our lanes & rent out shoes. We were assisted by their employee REGINA. when we approached her to buy shoes, she rushed us and had an attitude. I then proceeded to follow my party to the lanes they claimed. I came back to talk to Regina because we needed to pay for our game (I had forgot to do so at first.) She ended up over charging me bc she charged me for shoes. Once I let her know, she claimed I did not pay for my shoes. She said I walked away without paying. Terrible attitude, she acted like she was overwhelmed with her job, and like we were bothering her. I work customer service (management) & it’s absurd to have this type of attitude, while holding a customer service type job. She only refunded me because a man who was behind the counter advised her to do so. We went back to the counter because we had troubleshooting with the game & she claimed we were half way through our game (we literally had just started.) I think they should have someone with a more welcoming attitude as their front desk person. Other than that, food was great, vibes were there! Good...

Been here several times for casual bowling, league bowling, and league practice games. Generous pricing for league ($20 for the week which gets you 3 league games and 6 practice games to use any time during the week - comes out to barely over two dollars a game) and in addition you get a $125 gift card for this league - they implied this isn't always the case so this may just be an extra for this league or due to the more casual nature of this league.

No real complaints. Some lane variance in oil condition, but I mean get real if you're going to consumer grade alleys expecting pro tier oil. You will not find better elsewhere without some official branding next to the name.

The overall aesthetic is dated and I don't love the way individual pods are layered. They're too close together. Booth style pods allow for teams to sit more comfortably without feeling pressed up to the other team, and god forbid anyone stands with two full teams in the pods. Crowded city. This isn't a complaint and more just desire for improvement some day (which may never come -- oh well).

Food is actually quite good but it's greasy alley food. Don't expect much, but it is generously priced. Staff as a whole are totally fine too, nice even.

All in all, compared to other overpriced alleys and overly modern/messy lanes, or bare-bones/barren lanes, this is a happy medium for that 80's/90's style alley where you can almost smell the cigarette smoke and hear the roar of the league rolling...