Dog Bowl, Black Dog Ballroom, Manchester

Manchester is so great. Like, just really great. Throughout my incredible hometown there are so many unusual haunts, which means living here never gets boring. More recently, there’s been a whole host of Black Dog Ballroom’s popping up over the city – from the Northern Quarter to New Wakefield Street, Black Dog chain of bars have brought out a new place to chill. The other week, I ventured back to one of my favourite places in town to spend a lazy afternoon; Dog Bowl in Black Dog Ballroom‘s Whitworth Street.

Based in the ‘studenty’ end of Manchester city centre, Whitworth Street is just off Oxford Road and pretty close to both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan. It’s right need Oxford Road train station and student accomodation there, and inside, Dog Bowl definitely feels like it probably sees a lot of student groups. However, it does have a sophisticated twist to it – it’s clean, it’s very Americana and it definitely feels grown up.

As you walk in, you enter the general bar/restaurant open area before walking to the bowling area at the back. It’s nicely separated without the bowling area feeling too cornered off, and there’s definitely plenty of room. Because we didn’t want to eat right away, we grabbed a couple of drinks and headed over to try our hand (or paws!) at a game of bowling*. Enquiring about the prices, it turns out there’s a lot of special offers on for bowling, which is great, but typically the on-peak bowl price is £8 per person, and £6 off peak, both of which I think are very reasonable prices.

Again, the bowling area feels pretty sophisticated – definitely more of a bar than your average ‘mega bowl’ and personally, I am all about that! It’s a really nice size, too; spacious enough to fit in 5 lanes with enough room for spectators to watch or perch with a glass of beer on bar stools behind, but intimate enough that you could easily fill the whole area with a large party for a special occasion. We (a group of four) actually headed over on a late Saturday lunch time and thought it would be packed – however it was very quiet and it was only us and one other couple bowling, which was a real pleasure!

Although it was quiet, the atmosphere was really lovely and we actually relished it – it almost felt like a private bowling session! I was very surprised at how quiet it was, as I’ve previously been here on a Thursday evening a few times and it was absolutely packed: tables full, bowling crowded, everything! We pre-booked for this session, but if you’re in town and at a loss for something to do, I would definitely try your luck at Dog Bowl. It was a real treat.

I feel like I always forget what a fun activity bowling is. I end up not going for years and then going, having a great time, and wanting to go back every few weeks! I also think it makes a pretty nice date night idea – yeah, kinda overdone, but it’s true that it let’s you have a chat whilst doing an activity to keep you both busy. Whilst we were there, I saw a right mix of people bowling; from a couple, to a family, to a large stag do!

After the bowling, there’s always food! And we shared a whole variety of different American style mains and drinks to re-gain our energy after our exhausting bowling session. Phew! Good job Black Dowl Bowling had a lot to choose from.

There’s a good choice of food menu at affordable prices, all with an American-diner theme which fits the theme of the restaurant exceptionally well. We chose a mixture of American, Mexican and Italian classics including Ribs, Mac and Cheese, Burgers and Fajitas, all of which came within great sized, generous portions.

There was a great variety of choice, excellent prices and generous sizes which kept us all lovely and full after a brilliant time bowling. Bowling, drinks and food – what else do you need? And, as well as being fun, the added twist of grown up food and cocktails made it all feel a little bit more sophisticated than your average trip bowling. If you’re looking for a different night out this Winter, give Black Dog Bowling, Manchester a go.