Bowl & Barrel — Restaurant in Houston

I really wanted to like this place. Our first visit to Bowl & Barrel was actually decent, which made us confident enough to book a second event here — big mistake.

Trying to make the reservation was already frustrating. I was left on hold for 15 minutes, then hung up on. When I called back, the person who answered said they weren’t a host but would “pass on the info” to the right person and that I’d get a callback within 10–15 minutes. I waited over an hour — nothing. I called again, and a different employee told me they had “tried” calling me (they hadn’t) but confirmed our reservation.

Once we arrived, the experience completely fell apart. The host gave us our lane and tossed the shoes on the floor, then walked off quickly before anyone could even thank her. Her attitude was cold and unprofessional.

We waited 20–30 minutes for a server — no water, no greeting, no one checking in. The place was nearly empty, just us and a small family, yet all the staff were gathered at the bar chatting, giving us the occasional stare, and continuing to ignore us.

Eventually, I had to get up and place our order at the bar myself — just waters and one draft beer. I returned to bowl and we waited another 20+ minutes… still nothing. The drinks were just sitting on the counter the entire time while the staff kept socializing. My sister finally started walking toward them to ask what was going on — only then did they suddenly rush to bring the already-warm beer and waters that had been left sitting out.

This place is nice in theory — the bowling setup is modern and clean — but the service and attitude from the staff are unacceptable. No professionalism, no sense of urgency, no visible management. It felt like being served by a disinterested group of teenagers at a fast food joint. If this is the standard now, I don’t see this business lasting much longer.

I wouldn’t recommend Bowl & Barrel to anyone looking for a smooth or enjoyable group experience. There are much better spots in Houston where customer service still matters.

Update(8/18/25): I emailed the email they commented below saying sorry for the bad experience and to please email them so they can make it right I sent the email on Aug 14,2024 they still haven’t responded to my email just so everyone is aware they don’t care to make it right or care if you email them. Them saying that is just for looks to act like they care about the customer...

I would give zero stars if I could. My son went to a birthday party here last Saturday. Myself and two of the other parents (the ones who paid for the party) were sitting at the bar space beind the lanes we were close to. There was a super large party happening right behind us that was only getting larger. Suddenly one of the male workers Michael very rudely comes over and says "we need you to move, you are making the other party uncomfortable" We were confused and asked him to clarify because after all it was open seating, and we had arrived first. He restated what he said, and asked us to move, in an effort not to cause a scene and ruin our kids party we moved.

I ended up leaving because the moment ruined the vibe, however my friends stayed and said they were rudely asked by Michael to move again because they were at a table (directly behind the lanes they paid for) that another party paid for. Keep in mind this is the table they told us to move to because we were making the other party "uncomfortable" So exactly where are they supposed to sit? Understandibly they refused to move again, so This worker got his manager and the situation escalted. My friend paid 200 plus to have a party there, only to be treated as if we were in the way, the staff is rude, and unprofessional and they need to limit thier party sizes to accomodate thier customers since this location is so small. I will never return!! Professionalism and how you speak to paying cusotomers is so imprtant. They need to take note from Chick Fil A :) Becuase this experience was no...

Two couples went thinking this would be an upscale bowling night with some food and drinks. We made a reservation 4-5 days in advance. Upon arrival, they check us in and tell us to go to lane 1. We go over there and previous customers hadn't even left, all there leftover food, plates, drinks, shoes and everything along with the customers were still there. We went back and was told they would get it cleaned up. We waited for about 5 minutes. Then we had to ask them to set time correctly because we paid for 1.5 hours vs 1 hour. When they did that, they immediately started the clock. We still didn't even have our shoes to bowl (you have to wait for them to get them. You cannot get yourself). So once we finally got our shoes, 7 minutes had passed on our playing clock. Ridiculous. The clock shouldn't start until the first ball is thrown.

We ordered pizza (pretty good) and stuffed mushrooms (ok). We had to ask for plates, silverware and napkins after our food was delivered. The staff only came around one additional time to check on us. We would have ordered more drinks but...

When we were done, we went to bathroom to wash our hands. My friend stepped into a huge pile of throw up in the hallway to bathrooms. Disgusting.

It was a complete disappointment. We have gone to other upscale bowling alleys before and it was actually upscale. This seemed like a bunch of kids trying to run a place that was way over their head.

Just skip it and go somewhere else. We definitely won't be back. Way to expensive for what it really...