Bryant Lake Bowl

Ambience : 7.1
Food : 7.0
Service : 7.5
on a scale of 1 (worst) - 10 (best)
based on 8 Rater comments
Rate this restaurant

810 W Lake St
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone: (612) 825-3737
http://www.bryantlakebowl.com/
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Bryant-Lake Bowl is the strangest and best cross-section of the universe. Beer, music, bowling, spoken word, food, cabaret. Could you ask for more? The mix of 40s-era paneling, dreadlocks, bowling trophies, and ahi tuna somehow co-mingle in an electric atmosphere for anybody looking for something different. Over the past several years BLB's compact, 85-seat theater has become a hot spot for good local entertainment. If you're not in the mood for art, don a pair of ancient suede three-tones and work on your average. Chances are you'll have to wait for a lane--the six-year-olds on lane one are nearly finished, but the tattooed and pierced bunch on lane two is a smaller group. While you're waiting, snack on the local trout quesadillas with creamy chevre, spinach and red pepper or their tasty version of a Philly cheese steak made with thinly sliced organic bison. It's considered lucky to snarf down a piece of carrot cake before your last frame.

Rater Comments

10/29/2007

Ambiance 8.0, Food 6.0, Service 6.0
Quirky atmosphere, not surprisingly. The grilled cheese I had was on the happy hour menu, and nothing says happy hour like grilled cheese...

9/27/2006
Dinner, Number in party 1, Check total $13.86, Visited 9/12/2006
Ambiance 7.0, Food 9.0, Service 8.0
I was attending the monthly meeting of Books and Bars book club, and I decided to try something other than the normal California Burger. So I passed on the Bison, which as memory serves me is quite dry, and chose the Blue Cheese Moonburger, which is grass-fed beef. Personally I've not noticed the difference between "organic" beef and normal beef. The burger was fantastic, albeit a bit messy when the blue cheese sauce started to get runny. The only pan was the refills on pop aren't free.

8/14/2006
Breakfast, Number in party 2, Check total $24.00,
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
Good menu in this funky cafe cum bowling alley/theatre. Fun people watching, simply great breakfast. Really a good value on the breakfast menu. Did not drink anything except black coffee but that was also good.

8/3/2006
Dinner, Number in party 4, Check total $100.00, Visited 7/15/2006
Ambiance 4.0, Food 5.0, Service 7.0
Based on the vibe at this place, you might expect a lot of attitude on the part of the servers and some risks on the menu. But after several visits, I'd say the servers are uniformly terrific -- even in the midst of a challenging mob of diners -- while the kitchen often misses the mark.

11/4/2005
Other, Number in party 2, Check total $30.00, Visited 6/5/2004
Ambiance 6.0, Food 4.0, Service 7.0
I had the worst broccoli soup that I've ever tasted here. However, they have a graet beer selection and the waiters are sweet.

6/27/2005
Lunch, Number in party 2, Check total $22.00, Visited 6/27/2005
Ambiance 7.0, Food 7.0, Service 8.0
Good, better than bar type food. Always well prepared, served quick and hot. Price is extremely reasonable. Had the special scramble, and with the addition of the offered hot sauce, it was wonderful. The iced tea kept coming. Place was full on a Monday lunch- always the sign of a local favorite.

6/21/2005
Dinner, Number in party 6, Check total $90.00, Visited 6/6/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 7.0, Service 6.0
Every Monday is "Cheap Date Night" dinner, a bottle of wine (or two tap beers per person of which the selection is impressive), plus a game of bowling all for $25. I personally liked the dinner better during the winter, the summer salad with grilled vegetables didn't have much flavor besides charred. You can always order off the regular menu which isn't what you'd expect from a bowling alley. Think black bean burgers, or smoked salmon with dill havarti. A great place to become a regular.

6/20/2005
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $23.00, Visited 6/16/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
Bowling, theater, imported beers, and organic food make for a great place to hang out...I love that I can eat and drink and watch a play, but I get annoyed when I am distracted by the wait staff moving around during the performance.

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