Punch Bowl Social — Restaurant in Austin

I'm not one to ever, EVER leave reviews, but I'm really disappointed by the service we received on 5/20/2023. Perhaps I should say 'lack thereof'.

I took two of my friends out, who I haven't seen in person for almost over a full year, to celebrate us being together in person again. PBS sounded like a good idea; bowling, karaoke, drinks, and food.

Got there, got ID'd at the door by a lively gentleman who gave off a great impression; our bad experience was no fault of his own, and we were looking forward to a good time!

We made our way over to the activities area, and I suppose the gentleman working the counter was having a not great evening. We understood; all three of us have worked in retail and food service, so we get how crazy Saturday nights can be, and how it's not possible to be high energy, all of the time. What got us were his eye rolling when we tried to ask questions about wait times and about if Apple/Google pay were options, and his short, blunt answers. It was cold and uncaring, and it made the interaction super uncomfortable and awkward.

We arrived around 9:45-ish. No karaoke slots open. Okay, crazy Saturday night, no big deal... bowling is available right then and there. We take the lane.

As we sat down at our lane, we had numerous waitstaff ask us if we had ordered someone else's food, and we declined, but not once did they check back in on us, and when we tried to flag someone down to ask for help, we kept getting ignored. We're not having a good time anymore at this point, but we paid for the hour, so we play... until our bowling balls get stuck behind the lane.

I go to try to flag down someone working the activities booth to let them know, the new person at the counter rudely yells at me over the noise to "wait in line", as if I was cutting. My friend switched out with me, finds the same person from earlier who helped us, and 30 minutes of our hour go by where we can't play our paid for game without bowling balls getting stuck. No offers to extend the time we didn't get, no check ins for food or drinks, no offers for any other open activites... once our "hour" was done, we were so fed up we decided to leave.

I only regret not asking for a manager that evening, but I worry that we may not have been able to speak with one. I empathize with a rough and busy Saturday night crowd, especially as someone who works two jobs myself, but this experience was just all around unpleasant. $50 dollar bowling game for 3 people with no food, no drinks, and no fun. Hopefully this can...

I visited this location today around 2:00 PM with my girlfriend, hoping to enjoy some bowling. When we approached the counter to reserve a lane, the employee told us there would be about a one-hour wait. That was completely fine—we even asked if we could pay the $15 reservation fee to secure our spot in advance. The employee told us, “There’s no point in paying to reserve. Just set a timer for an hour and come back.”

Trusting his advice, we waited. During that time, we spent over $50 in the arcade and periodically returned to the desk every 20–30 minutes to check on our lane. Each time, we were told everything was still on schedule.

However, just five minutes before our hour was up, the employee gave a lane to someone else, claiming “They were here before you.” Despite the fact that we had been checking in and were at the desk before our timer ended, we were simply told “I’m sorry,” and “It’s not my fault.” The employee refused to let us pay the reservation fee earlier and then dismissed our concerns entirely.

To make matters worse, the employee (a larger man with long hair) was consistently rude, unhelpful, and refused to give his name. When I tried to express my frustration calmly, he threatened to “escalate the situation to a manager.” Throughout our visit, he often had his back turned whenever we approached the counter, making it difficult to even ask a simple question.

The venue itself was not particularly busy, so the refusal to accommodate us felt more like indifference than necessity. Overall, it was extremely frustrating to be misled, ignored, and disrespected after spending both our time and money there. We were genuinely looking forward to a fun outing, but the experience was soured by one employee's poor attitude and complete lack of professionalism.

UPDATE (7/17) - I emailed the manager after receiving a response from them the day of, but never heard back again.

This is easily the worst Punch Bowl Social location in Austin. Even people around The Domain mention how poorly this place is run — terrible customer service, constant staff turnover, and even fights breaking out on occasion.

If you're looking for a good experience, I strongly recommend visiting a different Punch Bowl. Do yourself a favor and skip this location. Also, lots of their arcade games don't even work, so either way you'll be wasting your time...

We recently visited this establishment with coworkers to celebrate and evaluate it as a potential venue for our Christmas party. Unfortunately, the experience quickly turned sour.

After each of us spent a significant amount of money on food and drinks, we decided to play foosball and ordered additional drinks at the bar. Although the game started smoothly, a server soon informed us that the area was reserved for a private event. However, there were no signs, security, or any indication that the space was off-limits. We acknowledged this and began gathering our drinks to leave.

At that moment, another server approached in an aggressive, condescending, and threatening manner, demanding that we “leave right now” or be forcibly removed. Feeling disrespected, we returned to our original table, which was still dirty from earlier. Shortly after, yet another server rudely informed us that this table was also reserved, despite there being no visible “reserved” signage.

I decided to speak with the manager about the staff’s behavior and our overall experience. Half of our group has a background in food and beverage, from serving to restaurant ownership, so we approached this conversation constructively. Unfortunately, the manager was dismissive, stating that the server who provided the foosball equipment was in training and justifying the behavior by saying the private party “spent way more than you did.” His tone was condescending, and he even rolled his eyes when I explained that no customer should be treated based on how much they spend.

This encounter revealed a deeper issue: the manager’s lack of professionalism sets the tone for the staff’s behavior. What should have been a celebratory evening turned into an upsetting experience, leaving us feeling unwelcome and disrespected.

Although this place came highly recommended by local friends and coworkers, we cannot endorse it. If asked for recommendations, we’ll advise others to choose establishments that treat all customers with respect, regardless of how much they spend. Restaurants rely on their everyday patrons, not just private events, and no one should endure the level of rudeness and disrespect we...