Columbus Square Bowling Palace

It was a little over priced. We paid $ 40 to bowl two games with two adults and one child. It’s been awhile since I was here last but it has not changed much. Food was a little over priced. Paid $ 2 for a 20 oz bottle of pop. But overall it wasn’t half bad. My nephew had a blast. He especially loved the game room.

You can bowl here, so I did. At the time I went you could bowl for 3 hours for 10 bucks and shoe rental was $ 3. The shoes were BEAT UP as were about half of the balls. The customer service was ok. This only thing that I can see that has changed here in the last 30 years is it’s now nonsmoking, which is cool. If you like bowling I guess it’s a good place for it? I dunno I’m not a bowling expert. I do know when I took off those busted ass shoes and put my slightly less busted shoes on it felt like I was walking on air.

I enjoyed the hell out of my time here.
First, the retro atmosphere is PERFECT. It feels like my childhood in a great way. It’s clean and well-​maintained, so it doesn’t feel «run-​down» old, it feels comfortable and amazing. It reminded me of going bowling with my dad when I was a wee Susie.
The staff is super friendly. Everyone was helpful while we were there for an event. The pizza was pretty good and they had a good range of cocktails and beers/​beer-​like beverages (including hard soda and cider) for an establishment that isn’t primarily a bar. We were being served out of the side bar rather than the main bar, so they might have had even more options there.
I noticed that they have a special on Tuesdays where lots of stuff is $ 2 (shoe rental, games, stuff like that), so that’d probably be a good day to go check it out.
I would definitely take kids to this alley. It’s extremely family-​friendly, and huge so you don’t have to be in the middle of a crowd of drunks or anything like that. (Not that most people go to a bowling alley to get hammered and misbehave – do they?) They’re also open 24 hours a day (!!) so you can go bowling literally anytime. I love that. A+, Columbus Square.

Got together with other Unilocalers to go bowling and what a great night we had together! We got to meet Bill, the owner of the place, and he came out to greet us and give us a little history of his business and welcome us to his establishment. We enjoyed some delicious pizza (cheese, veggie, and meat pizza) and drinks and, of course, bowling!
I asked Bill if he would bring out the bowling ball rail, which is normally for kids, but I thought it would be fun to bring that out since it didn’t seem that anybody was familiar with it. We had fun putting our ball on the rail and letting it go a whopping 5 mph down the lane only to bounce off the pins or fall into the gutter.
My group bowled 4 games each, and used muscles we didn’t know we had!
The bowling alley is very clean and has lots of lanes and great lighting. I loved the digital boards to keep track of the scores. We used the intercom a few times due to some user errors, and the people working there were very prompt and fixed the problems right away.
I really like how the bowling balls were all in a central location with a color guide on the different weights of the balls. That made finding a ball super easy, and while bowling, the color of your ball was easy to locate.
We had a great time!

This tried-​and-​true bowling alley has tons of things going for it!
Starting it off big-​time style: Open ²⁴⁄₇! What?! Yep. Since opening up shop in 1983, this bowling palace is open all year round (minus the early closing on Christmas Day, I believe the manager/​third-​generation-​son explained)! The son also explained they’re all about the customer; and they love suggestions!
There’s plenty of parking. Two CPD cops are on patrol during the weekends to keep an eye on things inside and add an extra feeling of security.
Doesn’t smell like smoke! Great lighting. Lots of tables and seating. Plenty of balls. Good condition shoes. Lots of lanes. Relaxed atmosphere!
We feasted on Palazzo Pizza, the Palace’s own personal restaurant inside. Soft, chewy crust; sweeter, tasty sauce; lots of onions mushrooms and green pepper throughout!
The splendid customer service only heightened the experience! I recommend you check it out.

It’s a little old and out of the way but we’ll kept as far as I can see. It is a little behind in technology when compared to other establishments in the area. Prices a a little high but not so bad as to deter me from returning. Staff is friendly.

Great place to bowl. They have specials at different times to play cheaper. We played with four people for three hours for $ 40 including shoe rentals.

Ok. In the parking lot. Tall parking blocks border their lot. Pulling into the lot off Forrest Hills they are impossible to see, especially with the sun in your eyes. I hit one, destroying the underside of brand new car, lifting car off the ground and breaking a motor mount. Staff including the police working inside says it happens all the time. But the manager says nope… Never happened before. Liar! I feel the placement of these is very hazardous and they should be at least partially liable. My vehicle suffered heavy damage and deductible is 500 $. My fault yes. But they should be partially liable. These blocks are not marked and like 8 inches tall and very very heavy. Extremely upset.

Nothing to brag about and the fact that every time that I’m there, Columbus Police are ALWAYS present in case of a fight in or outside the place. Some people that might have looked suspicious to police were frisked smh. The bathrooms were not properly cleaned with unmentionables of us girls not properly disposed of. They need to upgrade the place period especially the shoes. Some of them you cannot spray and get the funk out those shoes. PU! If you don’t bring your own bowling ball, chances are that you’re gonna get an extra heavy ball or a ball you can’t put your fingers in. Upgrade to the 21^st century please. Bowling rates are pricey. Of course food isn’t hot. More like medium warm.

Customer service is lacking… The bar service was great! Made our way to the main counter and almost left. From the multiple «eye rolls» to the other employees eating behind the counter, didn’t feel close to welcome in this business. Small requests, you know, like asking to use a credit card, were meet with sighs and a rude demeanor. Very off-​putting. Two more bowling alleys within 2.5 miles. You might consider your options…

This is not a bad place to bowl. It might be stuck in the 80’s a bit. Everything about the place is fine, but nothing special. Their weekday lunch deal is pretty solid, $ 10 for lunch and two games of bowling w/​shoes. I like the value there if you are able to go during the week. The venue is pretty kid friendly, and it was darn near empty on a Wednesday.
It was pretty gross to see an employee with a giant dip (tobacco) in his mouth. Is that even legal? The food was just okay. Grilled cheese was good, but fries were not great. And what’s up with no free refills?
So, it’s certainly not a bad spot to bowl, but I’m not dying to go back. Would it be too much trouble to move a rack or two of bowling balls so you don’t have to walk the entire length of the place if you are bowling over by the pro shop?

This place is what it is… a bowling alley that hasn’t been updated in a very long time. However, my League has been coming here for years & I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think that’s what bowling alleys are supposed to be… right?
They actually have really good pizza at their bowling alley «restaurant» though! They are also open 24 hours… so you can truly enjoy yourself all night long!
Service is helpful, some of the lanes need work, but honestly… it’s a bowling alley!

Good prices. Clean place. The lanes\scorekeeper thing didn’t jam or lock up once. I’m not really a bowler so can’t comment on the quality of the lanes but I had a really good experience here. The check in process was nice and the girl at the counter was very helpful! I will be going back!

Vintage bowling fun
The Palace has that common bowling alley feel with the dull colors and plain lanes. There is a bar, arcade, and little food area to provide something for all ages even if you do not plan on bowling. Not sure how the prices compare to other bowling alleys, but I thought 5.25 per person per game was a little high especially isnt you still have to rent shoes if you are only a casual bowler. The lanes operate fairly well, did not need to reset or have lanes attended to that often. There are a bunch of lanes so not having one available is doubtful which i find nice.

The Palace is a nice facility, but I often feel like just a number here but the bar was great back when I used to hang here more. The alleys are fine, but I think there are better places in Columbus and I have experienced way better.
Watching tournaments here just sucks. There was not near enough seating and they constantly reminded people to stand near the back where I could not see my kid if you had to stand.
There ARE better houses here in Columbus. The only thing the Palace really has going for it is that they are always open.

I’ve recently switched this as MY go-​to alley. Being open 24 hours leaves a lot of room for procrastination so get there before midnight for the pizza place (the veggie pizza is the slap). The bartender is always polite, heavy-​handed, quick and she doesn’t roll her eyes when you order 6 white russians.
I’ve only gone for «all you can bowl» prices. Which is nice because you can suck your first round, get determined the second round, and do worse-than-you’d-hoped the third round; fourth round is like the drunk-​idgaf-​round (where you always score the highest).
Music scores points here too.
My only complaint is the option of bowling balls. The size ⁸⁄₉ balls have too tiny of finger holes and there are less size 10 balls. Always takes me like 10 minutes to find the right size.

Nice modern equipment and plenty of lanes means open bowling is easy to find a lane. They charge more per game than other nearby places, but they have good weekday rates where you can bowl as much as you want for a couple hours. They do a good job on lane maintenance and the place is very clean with lots of parking.

Anytime you have the urge to go bowling, you can drop by the Bowling Palace. With over 60 lanes and open 24 hours a day, there’s nothing that can hold you back! They even have a full bar and mediocre looking bowling alley food.
If only this place was more convenient to get to…

When I was a kid, this was THE place you wanted have your birthday party, and where all your friends wanted to have their birthday parties.
Now that I’m older, it looks… almost exactly the same. A seemingly endless vista of alleys greets you as you walk in the door, while the staff in the large central island will take your money for a lane and shoe rentals. There’s a «grill» serving up pizza, subs, burgers, and lots of fried goods, and two bars — one apparently remodeled at some point into a tropical theme, and the other a bit more old school. There’s a video arcade at the middle of the alley (it seemed larger when I was a kid, but I’m honestly not sure if that’s true, or simply the haze of memory), and a surprisingly deep pro shop.
The open bowling rates are a bit high compared to other alleys in town, but the beauty of the Palace is that it is ALWAYS open. It is the only 24÷7÷365 bowling alley in Columbus — hell, it might be the only one in the entire midwest.
They don’t close for holidays.
They don’t close for weather.
They don’t close for maintenance.
The bombs will fall, roaches will inherit the earth, and as the shellshocked survivors make their way out of their bomb shelters and vaults, someone will still be sitting at the desk in the Palace, ready to give them a pair of hideously coloured size 10s and set them up on lane 16.
If you ARE of the late night persuasion, and you want to roll, there’s good news: They start offering discounted rates for anyone coming in after midnight, and anyone bowling between 3am-​8am can get three hours of unlimited bowling for $ 5.
A true story: Back about eight years ago, I was stuck in Columbus due to weather and flight delays on Thanksgiving, while the rest of my family was out at relatives’. I needed a place to eat. I called a few friends who were similarly stuck in town, and after some investigation we concluded the only thing open was The Palace.
15 minutes later, we had ordered a couple of pizzas and were setting up to roll.
As some have mentioned, 161 and Cleveland is no longer a «prime» part of town, and sometimes the clientele can get a little sketchy, but I’ve never had any major problems here. Rich, poor, crooked or straight, people generally come here to bowl more than anything else.

This is bowling at it’s classiest. I bet 30 years ago this place really was the Palace of bowling. I love the classic seating and overall lounge style of the place.
Being that it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ makes it always an option for something to do.
The prices are so-​so. A little higher than HP Lanes.
The house balls are dirty and I wouldn’t recoomend rubbing your eye after you’ve used ones. The shoes are standard. Not the grossest I’ve seen.
The staff is pretty efficient and they have a heavy handed bar tender if you like stiff mixed drinks. Their drink specials aren’t that special.
In the end, I would choose HP Lanes over the Palace, but the Palace isn’t so bad :)