Kings Dining & Entertainment — Restaurant in Dedham

We came here (10/11/2024) to meet up with our friend at the bar and go bowling for our other friend’s birthday. Our friend at the bar had asked us to go ahead and get a lane ready while they got the bartender’s attention for the bill (which was taking a while), we went to ask for a lane and got told we needed all of our party in order to get a lane cause we have to get our shoes and they have to see us on the floor to start the timer. We went back to our friends at the bar and told them what we were told. Our friend finally paid the check at the bar after a while and we walked back over as a complete group. When we went up we asked for a lane we were told it’d be an hour wait, our friend who’s birthday we were celebrating said if the wait was an hour we didn’t need to go bowling we could just finish our drinks and do something else. So we told the front desk people that we weren’t interested in bowling. While 2 of our friends step out to find something they left behind at another restaurant, we get told by another employee that our lane is ready. Not wanting to get charged for a lane we weren’t ready to play on & to save the staff some confusion, I went up to talk to the staff at the front and told them we thought we had said no to bowling and as of right now we’re not even a complete group. Considering the birthday girl didn’t want to go bowling anymore, I told them we’d have to wait for our friends to get back to figure out what to do next. The staff member at the counter with black glasses started being really defensive and mean for no reason. They started saying that they had put our group in for a lane when we first came up (as not a complete group), so the lane was ready now. And then tried forcing it by asking how long it’d take for the rest of our group to get back so we could still play, but I didn’t feel comfortable agreeing to playing since we’d need to decide as a group if we’re still down to bowl. Then the staff member said something about how we could have played on the lane and they would’ve added more time to it but “oh well guess not” in the most demeaning way possible. I left to go back to the rest of the group who were sitting at the table watching me and the staff member, they immediately asked me what was wrong, and I told them what happened while trying to hold back tears. I was made to feel like I/our group did something wrong for saying no to bowling, especially after being told conflicting information and never approaching staff with the kind of attitude I received. We left as soon as our friends came back and had a way more positive experience at The Escape Game and with...

First, I'd like to say that I understand that we came on a Saturday night. I understand that restaurants and bars are busy on the weekends. With that being said-

12/15/18 5:40pm

We had a party of 8 for dinner and reserved lanes. The service was very slow. It was difficult getting the attention of our server, if we saw her at all. I ordered the steak tips, and wanted to sub in the Mac and cheese for an upcharge. While they tasted good, the entire entree was ice cold. My wife ordered a burger and fries. Her food arrived a full 10 minutes after the rest of the party got their food. The Mac and cheese for my dinner arrived several minutes after the burger...and it was microwaved kraft Mac and cheese. A kid side of macaroni. My plate of cold steak and mic'd Mac was taken and I ordered a burger instead, thinking this would be quicker to cook and that I might be able to eat with the rest of the party. I was incorrect. The manager? came out and asked if everyone was done eating and if we wanted dessert....while I still hadn't received my food. That's when we received the first delay. She was offering dessert because our lanes were not available. The manager informs me that they are not charging me for the steak tips. The server comes back and asks if everything is good, and informs me that I won't be charged for the steak tips. I receive my burger and fries several minutes later and make an effort to speed the process along so we can bowl. I was incorrect. The manager comes to the table to inform us of a second delay, and offers us free game vouchers. This was at 7:45. We ordered dessert soon after. It's currently 8:02 and we have not seen our server or our dessert.

I'm not sure why I accepted the free game vouchers, as I would not wish this experience on anyone, let alone volunteering to come back and do it again.

Update: it's 8:15pm and there is no dessert to be seen.

Final update: at 8:20 we did not want to wait any longer and told them we didn't want to bowl anymore. They informed us that the lanes we're being cleaned up for us. We got the check and the desserts offered to us were still on there, including the one we never received. The manager fixed this and gave us all gift vouchers to return, though I don't think any amount of money would bring me back to this place.

I'm not posting this review to disparage any of the staff at this establishment. They appeared to be doing the best they could in a busy Saturday night environment. However, due to lack of staffing or severe lack of training, our party of 8 seemed to fall through every crack in the house at every step...

Short and sweet, this place sucks. It was my first visit tonight. Really excited about finding a nearby spot like this after recently moving to the area. It was definitely my last visit. For more details, feel free to continue reading.

A night out bowling should, in its most basic form, be a simple affair. Yet somehow Kings failed to deliver on nearly all fronts. The idea they had was right. Build a single place with a restaurant, bowling alley, arcade and pool hall, and then place a bar in each room to keep the people spending. But they forgot that it takes competent service and general maintenance/upkeep, so the whole thing fell apart. (Note: the only reason this place got a second star was because the waitress we had while waiting for a lane was great. Unfortunately that accounted for only the first 25 minutes of a 2.5hr visit.)

I’ll start with a couple maintenance issues. In the pool hall, cues were casually strewn about on the floor or propped up against the wall. Yes, that’s a bad move on the customer’s part by not returning the cues back on the rack. But judging by the condition of cues and the number on the floor, the empty pint glasses and random Cafe Nerro to-go coffee cups, it was clear the staff wasn’t concerned with keeping appearances. In the bowling alley section, nearly all of the wooden benches were worn in some areas to the point that holes had formed. The bowling balls all looked like they got in a fight with a lawn mower. Really not sure how they could all look like that. At least 2 alleys were experiencing computer glitches in which 2 or 3 pins down would be marked as 6 or 7 pins. Only one was corrected while we were there. Regarding service, the bowling issues I could’ve looked past if I at least had some beer. Or food. Or even water. We bowled for an hour at the “table service lanes” and never once encountered a staff member. The closest I got to either food or drinks was some smushed oreos and fries from previous customers on the floor near our lane and an empty glass on the bench. The worst part from a business perspective is that I was thirsty and really up for a few pints with friends. My 3 friends and I bought 2-3 drinks each while we waited for a lane, so we were on pace to at least double that. Would’ve been happy to spend more, but Kings never even gave us a chance. Other than our first (and only) waitress, we were ignored.

Go find a better way to get a drink or have an entertaining night. Not...