A Bowling Alley with a Dress Code?
Sure, Washington, DC is a suit & tie kind of town, but a dress code to go bowling?
Relax, there’s no need to rent a tux, but do leave the sweats, sports jerseys and tank tops at home, at Lucky Strike at Gallery Place, in Washington, DC’s Chinatown district.
It’s a combination hip bowling alley and trendy bar/restaurant. And the minute you walk in you know it’s DC’s ultimate uber-cool bowling lounge.
With about a dozen bowling lanes, and at least that many big screen TVs, comfortable booths, relaxing sofa pits, and three pool tables off to the side, it feels more like a private club than a bowling alley.
The place is well insulated so there’s not the normal high noise level, typical with a bowling alley. In fact, you might not even hear the bowling from the bar or dining area.
The extensive list of "bar food", is upscale, so yes, items like Buffalo Wings are transformed into crispy Buffalo spring rolls and the pizza list includes a Thai chicken with peanut sauce version. For a late night (or early morning) snack, try the breakfast burger, topped with bacon, cheddar and a fried egg.
Think of this as an upscale Strike Bethesda for the see-and-be-seen crowd.
Lucky Strike operates 13 bowling lounges around the county, including one in Miami Beach as recently described by Katherine at The South Florida Traveler.
Lucky Strike
Galley Place
701 Seventh St. NW
Washington, DC 20001 (map it)
Dates and Times - Sunday-Thursday - Noon to Midnight, Friday & Saturday: Noon to 3:00 a.m. Starting at 5 p.m., youngsters under 21 must have adult supervision, and after 9:00 p.m., it’s 21 and over with ID.
Costs - Costs range from $4.95 - $7.95 per game, per person, depending on time and day. You can also reserve lanes by the hour - $55 - $75 (reserve at least one day in advance, 2 lane/2 hour min.). Shoe rentals $3.95. Billiards $14/hour.
Nearest Metro Subway Station - Gallery Place-Chinatown - Red, Green and Yellow lines, then a ½-block walk or use the DC Circulator.
Parking - Metered street and garage parking is available.
Images - from personal collection ©2008, Jon Rochetti
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6 Comments
Jon,
Interesting post. Your headline brought me in. Nice job. And I wanted to let you know we have a similar style of bowling alley in Phoenix, Ariz., at a shopping area called Desert Ridge in the north valley. It used to be called Jillian’s but was bought out, and the name changed. I’ll have to look into this and write about it at my blog:
http://www.thephoenixtraveler.com.
I’ll be back.
Jackie
Hey Jackie:
These bowling “lounges” seems to be everywhere these days.
[...] The DC Traveler blog has a review on Lucky Strike bowling alley: Sure, Washington, DC is a suit & tie kind of town, but a dress code to go bowling? [...]
Great review! I have linked to this at The DC Feed.
You don’t know how much I’m thankful for this post! I hate it when I see people’s butt cracks when bending down for the ball. HAH!
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Thanks,
Joe