Timber Lanes

This is the best time I have ever had bowling, period. Wood lanes, juke box, bring in your own food. This is a place to bowl, drink and have a good time. Not fancy, which is good cause it’s bowling. They are also proud to support the lady Huskers bowling team. George is so sexy!

I think this is the type of place where you really have to be in the mood to enjoy it. If you ever wondered what bowling alleys were like in the 1980s, this is a great place to experience it (with the exception of the music… which was definitely 90s).
I came here this past weekend to celebrate my friend’s birthday and it was definitely a throw back. Everything from the bathroom to the balls seemed like it was straight out of the 1980s. The most notable features include a
communal hand towel machine in the bathroom and some serious throwback shoes. There are somewhere between 4 and 8 lanes in this facility (I cannot remember the exact number of lanes but the place felt very small). There’s also a bar across from the lanes (perhaps this is something to consider if you’re planning on bringing children – everyone in my group was drinking and it felt awkward –to me – because there were small children just a few feet away. Every time I threw a gutter ball I felt like I had to keep my cuss words to a minimum). We ended up sharing a scoring station with the folks next to us, and you probably will too, depending on when you go, because there’s not a ton of space. If I remember correctly, the cost was $ 3pp for shoe rental plus $ 2.50pp per game. We have 4 people and played 2 games… with these costs, plus the cost of beer. We ended up paying a total cost that was only slightly cheaper than what we would have paid if we went to a fancy bowling place that had updated amenities, individual handtowels in the bathroom, and a private room.
P. S. I think it’s cash only!
P. P. S. If you’re a POC, you will likely be the only one present – which may not matter to you, but for some people it’s nice to know.

Loved the old school feel! Had a small birthday celebration there, and the owner was so nice! Gave us a knife to cut our cake, candles, matches, and even an old bowling pin to sign for a keepsake. So nice!

Your website does not work.
Google warns that your page may be harmful to my computer if I continue to go on into your site, its says that my personal information would be put at risk. Are you doing something about this? You are loosing customers for your online presence ad. One more thing, I tried calling your phone number as stated here by Unilocal does not seem to work, I called 2X nobody is answering.

Loved the place. Sad that it is gone

Old school bowling for sure. The place is very old and you have to keep your own score. I really wasn’t fan of keeping scores.
The cost was good: shoes $ 3, on Saturday $ 20/​hour per lane, $ 12 pitchers of beer.
We had a great time there. The place was actually busy. We may go back, but I prefer bowling where I don’t have to keep scores myself and I can just relax and enjoy the game.

Charming old school bowling alley where you record the scores by hand located right off the Irving Park brown line stop. Every time I’ve come, the bartender or owner have been very welcoming and, once, the owner even gave my friend and I a tour and explanation of how the pin system works. At just $ 2.50/person/game, it’s a cheap and fun time. Has a fully stocked bar, some arcade games, and a couple tvs, this bowling alley is a diamond in the rough.

Timber Lanes is a really old-​school bowling alley. There are 8 bowling lanes total. The place is very cozy, and the staff is very welcoming and super helpful. As I was bowling, the guy that works there noticed that my ball was too heavy and he brought me another ball, which was perfect and it helped me score higher. I came here on a Saturday night around midnight, so the place was somewhat empty. There’s a full bar as soon as you come in. Overall, I had a great time in this bowling alley. The prices are affordable as well, $ 20 per hour. I highly recommend this place.

Cheap bowling and beer. Manual scoring. Only knock is that they only are cash only.

What a great place! We reserved a few lanes yesterday afternoon for an adult bday party. Staff was amazing! Very helpful courteous and fun. Old school with awesome booze prices. You have to score yourself but it’s good to practice your math skills. The guy behind the counter handle a million things at once, including a wild badly supervised 6 year old party with patient efficiency. Loved every minute!

Really great experience. My wife called ahead and they reserved a lane for our family of 4. We have 2 little kids and they made sure to set up bumper lanes and the roller for my youngest. Staff could not have been friendlier. Beer was so reasonably priced. Nothing flashy about this place. Just fun. Looks like it can get crowded so calling ahead is a must.

I’m not a huge bowler, but I can fully support what Timber Lanes is doing here — manual scoring, questionable shoes, a nice musty scent — it’s about as retro/​hipster you can get without a lick of that retro/​hipster pretense.
It’s just good, old-​fashioned fun. Granted, I have no idea how to score manually, so that’s left to someone else. But there was something unique about bowling and not having flashing lines or disco balls. About a weird backroom with scattered and mismatched bowling balls (treasure hunt for the prettiest).
Full bar — though limited in selection, super reasonable in price. Cash only. Quick jump right off the Irving Park brown line L stop.

Hard to get a hold of the owner but we made it into one of their leagues. looking forward to a great season!

This review is a bit late, but this place was great. I went here on my birthday with some friends and we all had a really good time. It’s very old fashioned, in a good way. There are no distracting lights and no stupid effects, just bowling. One thing I did enjoy was having to figure out how to score with pencil and paper. Bowling has some strangeness to its scoring. Anyways, they also have a bar in there as well for those who want to wet their whistle. Great pricing, really chill, and I would definitely recommend for those who just like to bowl.

Definitely not a place for people that love the new high tech bowling places. This place is so old school that you even have to write your score down on paper, the shoes are really comfortable but probably out of the 80’s! There is a jukebox that offers great music. Carefully though, they don’t offer any kind of food services but they do allow to order from outside. All in all, every time i went to Timber Lanes i had a great experience! Totally must see for Old School Bowling Fans!

What’s not to love about this place? I feel like I’ve walked on to the set of The Big Lebowski when going to Timberlanes. It’s so 1970’s with 1970’s drink prices. The staff are incredibly friendly and you’ll be sure to have a great time. I’m so lucky to live 2 blocks away! It’s a neighborhood gem.

I went bowling at Timber Lanes last night for a friend’s birthday. It is a pretty old school bowling alley with a small selection of libations at the bar. They don’t have food, but they do allow you to have outside food delivered. They have a juke box and photohunt, which were nice surprises. The shoes seem kind of old, but they weren’t too terrible. They are so old school that they don’t have computers, and you are responsible for manual scoring.
They seemed super accommodating about the birthday party aspect. A friend dropped off a cake and some other party supplies earlier in the day, which they were great about. They provided a table for food and cake. They also were able to loan us a knife and matches to light candles when cake time came around.
Overall, I had a great time. This is a nice chill, older bowling alley, which is a nice change of pace from some of the more updated and crowded alleys around the city. I would definitely come bowling here again.

I like old-​fashioned, and not only in its liquid form. Gentlemen holding the door for you, reading a book with a cover and rustling pages, writing a letter instead of sending an email — all these things appeal to me more and more with my old age and I am not ashamed of it.
I embrace my lack of modernity fiercely… until I am at work, outwizard-​ed (it’s a word) by kids young enough to be my own who know all the secrets of Microsoft and beyond.
The same goes for bowling alleys.
Now, admittedly, I am an awful player. Or rather, let’s say that I am an inexperienced player who shows up once every 5 years for a game and max at 25 points with an impressive series of scratches. Oh well. That’s how it goes. But Timber Lanes makes it tolerable because it’s such a no-​frill place. You leave your shoes in front, you grab your tools for the night, order a drink at the bar and just go to town, hopefully with someone who knows how to keep score on top of kicking your ass. It’s so low-​key, you don’t have to think about your hair twice, I promise you gals.
I am quite unclear on the pricing since I wasn’t the main person involved, but 3 lanes for 2 hours came up to $ 120. My Blue Moon was billed $ 5, and the shoes (not that bad, I should add), only $ 3.
But beware, gentle bowlers: the place is cash only. Thankfully, an ATM is just outside the door for all your green bill needs.
A solid entertainment option in North Center.

Thank God they don’t serve food here. We were here for a work party and there were these 2 ladies that came in with their dogs. Fine whatever but putting them on the counter is not acceptable. Not like for a few min, but the whole time we were there so were the dogs on the counter top. That’s gross.

Timber Lanes is a very cool, old school, bowling alley. I would describe it as «divey», but what bowling alley that isn’t Lucky Strike isn’t? This place is Southport Lanes for people that actually want to bowl, don’t want to get ripped off, and don’t mind hangin out with people we would refer to as, «bowling regulars».
First off, the owners/​managers of the place are awesome. Very friendly and helpful, actually had my reservation on the list when I got there, and seem like people that enjoy running their business. Ok I admit, I threw the previous lines in there because the guy bought me a beer later in the night, but still… Beers in general are pretty cheap at this place, and you can bring in outside food too so you don’t have to eat cardboard tasting frozen bowling alley pizzas (which I admit I love), or hot dogs that have been rotating in a warmer since the Cubs won back to back World Series titles.
I don’t remember the exact prices for lane rentals, but I recall it being pretty cheap ($ 15−20/hour), especially if you are there with a group. Also, people will describe this place was having a certain «charm» to it. Bowling charm = manually keeping score. Personally, I like concentrating on bowling and beering, but if someone else in your group is keeping score, it’s a cool concept. If you don’t know how to keep score, buy a regular a beer and have them teach you.
Fun random fact to leave you with — Nelly and Lil’ Wayne are freakin’ awesome bowlers

This place is great. I bowled the best score of my life (256!) here and had witnesses!
I swear Lane #1 is rigged or something because I just couldn’t miss.
The staff is friendly. The place is kind of dumpy, but that’s kind of why you go here.
I definitely want to come back here over and over.

Can’t get anymore old school than this place here.
We had a little going away party one of our Navy Recruiters and this is the only place where the bar (who bowls without having little booze?) opens early.
$ 2.50 per game
$ 3.00 per shoes
$ 3.00 per beer
And you get to keep your own score? Of course I had to keep the score being the only asian in the party but needless to say, I still won 1 out of 3. And no, I didn’t cheat. Honor, Courage, Commitment. That’s our motto biznitch. Word.
Don’t expect comso bowling in the place.