Reviews of Diversey River Bowl (Bowling Alley)

Vanessa Lech

Good way to spend a rainy Chicago afternoon. We got there around 11:30 ish which was good because by the time we left it looked as though there was quite a wait. They've got a decent bar and food (which I didn't try). Pool tables in the back. The shoes actually looked very new and in great condition - I was very pleasantly surprised.

Liz Flynn

Best bowling alley in Chicago! Tons of lanes, nice score keeping system, and they even have light-ish balls with large enough finger holes for adults. They have really good bowling alley/bar food, too. I especially like the pizza with little cardboard pizza slice boats so you can est pizza between frames without worrying about what you've touched recently.

Chris Pennant

One day I'll figure out the shot they put out.

Maily Perez

Nice spot for drinks and bowling!

Bobby White

Great place to have a low key night with friends!

Orlando Santiago Jr

Went for kids party. Had loads of fun. Great pizza friendly staff and clean facilities. Couldn't ask for anything better!

Joshua Meyer

Great lanes, good atmosphere, just a little too pricey per hour. Always good beer options. Pro shop is good too for ball drilling approx $45

Amanda Sayers

Really well run bowling alley

Michael Leb

Had a great time celebrating a family member's birthday with bowling and the fantastic crispy thin crust pizza!

JOSE TAPIA

great place

tara jones

Good place to practice and have relatively quiet time during the weekdays. Great mon-tues bowling specials. Attentive staff, delicious food and by city bowling alley standards very clean environment as well.

Destin McIntosh

This place buzzes with youth and life. Diversely has multiple bars, food choices galore and of a higher quality than most bowling ally diners, and a pretty organized method of filtering people in and out of the lanes. It’s a little pricier than I would like, but it’s one of the better ally’s in the city.

Jacob H.

Food is good. Unfortunately the lanes are so oily that you have to clean your ball after every roll.

BARRINGTON R.A.R GREEN

Place was okay, poor customer service.

Tamara Vazquez

I love it when is super dark and they put the black lights on and is super fun

Jake Muscat

Great bowling alley

Oskar Kovac W

Such a great place for fun, good exercise and relaxing time. This was my first time here and i did had fun. The drinks might seem a bit pricey but otherwise is a great place

Lynn-Bridggette Wright

Great place to take the kids for some old fashion bowling

Tobiloba Bakare

Awesome! The free parking idea is just on point! Nice place moderate price.. Bowling was great

Imran Ahmed

This is by far one of the worst places I have EVER been to. I went in for a bowling night with a few friends and my wife. I ate their food and all of us got food poising from their pizza. My wife was the only one safe since she eats super healthy ,and she had not eaten a single thing from them. Save yourself the trouble and go at your own risk.

Alejandro Zuñiga

Nothing I didn’t see before, it was okay but not for 45$ per person to be honest

John Schaffer

Awsome place to hang out.

Eric Martin

Please stop Danielle she's too good.

Al KING

Lots of lanes though expect to wait during peak hours. Plenty of parking. Most surprisingly is the quality of the food. I have not had a bad item from the menu, from grilled tilapia (yes tilapia) to pizza, it's all been very good.

Tiffany Davis

Danny the supervisor was. Very rude and unprofessional.. Told them I only want to bowl for hour and they let the game keep going without telling me my bill was doubled. Spoke with Danny he refunded me only some of my money but he threw it at me and got smart so I told him K would be reporting him and he walked from behind the counter and into my face talking smack.. Very unprofessional to be a supervisor.. I wouldn't recommend this bowling alley to anyone

Thaba Boggs

Love this place! The food there is amazing too! Best barbecue sauce ever!

James Anderson

I went here yesterday for the first time and unfortunately had a poor experience- the staff was rude, used profanity around my young son, didn't explain their unusual process and was very expensive. On the bright side, it was empty and had several lanes open- assuming others have received the same service. Plenty of potential here.

Anthony Calek

My mother was a regular in the 60's-70's and it's still around. Pizza was ok for a bowling alley, they have a great big beer for sale and a good selection of ales, liquor. It's a fun place with a wide range of people enjoying themselves.

Valerio Timoteo

Great place and environment

Drea Jones

Always a great time. Last night we stayed late enough that they had cosmic bowling which was so fun. I also appreciate that they have about 8 ciders at the bar to choose from. Prices are good!

Ted Cybulski

It's your standard large bowling alley. It's cleaner than some, but not particularly nice. All automated scoring, if that's your thing. Decent selection of beer and not too egregiously priced, if that's also your thing. However. We went on a Saturday afternoon and were quoted a 30m wait time for a lane. It ended up being over an hour for the lane. That was a bummer; I know they can't control how long people bowl, but it was unfortunate that they couldn't give us a good estimate (we probably wouldn't have stayed). If you go, get a lane reservation.

Casey Jepsen

Fun hole in the wall type bowling, bar, pool

Kristin O'Brien

Great, no-frills bowling alley. I've been doing leagues here for a few years now. A little pricey (15-20/week), but worth it. Bartenders are the sweetest.

David Herbst

Great lively place to bowl that also serves great food!

Simone Morris

Fun time bowling with friends

Tom Wilschke

It's dark, dingy and awesome. I feel like the Dude every time I go here. The bowling rates and shoe rentals are cheap and the beer is cold. If you're going on a weekend, call ahead to make a reservation.

jay marsh

Very Nice Environment. Good Music. Good food. Great Service. AWESOME PRICES.

Zax Pearson

Very and I do mean very narrow design to the building but don't take that to mean it's a small location, it's just longer then it is wide by a decent margin. The food is your standard affair were you to be at a food truck stop/state fair except no fried sugary sweets or cotton candy. You'll be getting ye'ol hot dogs sandwiches with copious levels of fries etc. However don't mistake the bar for the location where you order traditional foods from, after coming in the front door 1 the 1st locations you'll see with seating arrangements is the bar area but the bar can take orders however they're not initially supposed to be the primary location but due to it coming before the ordering booth people have a tendency to get confused when they go into the bar room and the restaurant style seating, it's a simple mistake nothing that can't be fixed with a small sign or even truly needs to be fixed. The bowling lanes and seating are well kept as it is most likely the primary source of income for this place, there are of course private rooms you can rent and if memory serves a small pool hall with traditional tables the all wood heavy kind of tables. I use the term family friendly because many locations or business's just use it to try to increase how much money they can potentially get but this place truly does have that family friendly atmosphere you could see anyone from old souls retired trying to get out, to 7th or 8th birthday party gatherings happening here, but since they're open late night and in a good location believe me when I tell you they can turn into a party bar after dark. This is one of the few times you're gonna get literal fun for all ages and not be in some type of convention.

John Brown

I've played the fun timers league here for a few weeks now. And I've had a great time. I've only ever bowled with friends occasionally. Joined this league with some co-workers and it's been great. Friendly bartenders, guy that works the shoe room is cool. Cool scoring systems, food is decent for a bowling alley, fun people. They just did some construction and opened up the bar at the front. It's really nice and compliments the place great. It can get pricey if you drink and bowl a lot quickly. but IMO the fun will outweigh it.

Adil Syed

Loved this place. I do not drink so not sure about how it is and didn't order food so don't know about it's quality (even through the smell was good). We played bowling it was fun. They have good service; provide shoes for the bowling floor. Overall a nice place.

Brandon Williams

Its too damn cold at this establishment, the bar chick was rude and management wasn't too friendly either. I went for the first time with a friend and i will never return again.

Michelle Aguilar

Someone had a gun and police showed up

Meg Wileman

Cheap bowling, a bit of a wait...

Phillip Doyle

Best bowling in the city.

Samuel Okechukwu

Great bowling alley. Food also available.

Leslie Robles

I've been going here since I was a lil nugget! Love This Place! Great food when your drinking! lol

Yari rodriguez

Went with a group of 6 and had a blast. Very clean, and great staff.

Vikki Deloache

It was fun at first, we got there while the games costs $3.00. When I went to pay for another game the price went up and a different man was at the counter and he was not as pleasant as the first man. I probably would not return

Alicia Swanson

Basic bowling ally.

Jorge Ruiz

Nice place to have fun!!

Anthony Martorina

I love this place. They have great weekly bowling specials. Mondays are dollar games starting at noon. Saturday nights get crazy with there cosmic bowling. The music gets turned up. The fog machine starts smoking and the blue lights come on. Everything is glowing. It is so much fun. Best part is that they are not trying to rip you off like those downtown fancy bowling alleys. This is bowling. It's not suppose to be expensive.

judy cardona

Always a good time!

Bryce Rowe

Paid $3 for shoe rental and 2 games. Such an amazing deal. The feel is super great. They have a great selection of bowling balls. It is fun as well because you get to take a pic that corresponds with your turn, so when it's your turn, your picture comes up. It gets busy quick, so come prepared for crowds and a good time.

Ian Lever

Bowling was great. Food was not so good. A fun way to spend a cold winter weekend afternoon. It does get pretty busy though.

Charles Cycholl

Best bowling in the city, the best staff around and the best drink prices. Make a point of staying into the evening when the lights go down, it's really the best bowling experience you'll ever have.

Rebecca Headrick

Always a good time at DRB.

Hugo Boss

Fire

Bob Jones

We love Diversey Rock & Bowl! Plenty of lanes, great music, clean everything, and bumpers for the kids. We were there tonight and saw guys with HUGE tubes of beer that had a tap so everyone could share. The food menu is pretty extensive and they have billiards and TVs everywhere so you can watch sports while you're bowling. Great time!

Ivan Garcia

They have a great deal with pizza.

Taylor Jones

I came with my 5 year old son and we had a great time. It’s Very clean, had decent food and the staff are VERY nice !!

Choy Jang

Nice bowling alley always super busy

Kimberly Thornton

The bowling was great but the food wasn't.

Benjamin Duhr

Drinks, bowling, fun.

David Littman

My favorite alley in the city. Tommy and the rest of the staff run that place incredibly well. The pro shop has a limited selection if they do not have what you are looking for, they will order it up for you. They aren't trying to close a sale and maximize how much you spend, they just want you to get the right equipment. The rates for bowling are extremely fair. The food is solid, especially for a bowling alley and the drink prices and specials are fantastic. One mistake is that they just renovated the electronic scoring system and it was basically a downgrade, the new ones stink! But I won't deduct a star because I love this place so much.

Isidoro Arreola

Best place. Great staff

Nick Mark

Some of the best bowling alley food out there. Would highly recommend the beef stroganoff, best in the city. Bar has good selection and good specials.

Eric Olson

Pricey. Two hours if bowling was 72 dollars. Lanes were in pretty good condition and the music was a nice eclectic mix of nineties b hip hop. Lots of Beastie boys which I can get behind. Bar had a nice selection if local and craft beer, even if the bartender was a little surly

Greg Hardigan

Favorite alley in Chicago. Fun, great for kids and big groups. Then Rock and Bowl at night, with the lights and music is the best thing ever.

Richard Brown

Great atmosphere and staff. D J is a great help and lanes in good shape.

Ainhoa Indurain

It was an okay price for a weekend. The darkness and loud music was annoying, you can't even talk to your friends in that atmosphere. Seems more like a pub to get people drunk who also happen to be bowling.

Taylor Gillen

A classic bowling alley with beer towers, arcade games and billiards. It's a fun place to spend time with friends and feel nostalgic about how people used to spend their Friday nights.

Michael Jacobs

A Party place for sure and they gear up for it.

XxKazxX xoxo

Love this place to bowl... bathrooms are clean which is great, it's almost always full on weekends so if u wanna save money, go on special days during week days if u want to ditch the crowd... they're just missing better arcade games like the competion. Good food and service is fast... one of the best bowling alleys in Chicago

ed woo

Great cozy bowling alley

Katie Barrick

I love this place.

Amanda Dillavou

Favorite place to bowl with my friends and leagues! Shout out to Amanda @ the main bar for always smiling and reminding me to relax

Elizabeth De Vries

I went there on a whim with a friend when we were visiting for the weekend. It was such a blast and the employees were super nice. The place is clean and since we had to leave early, we got a small discount on the price. I would go back again!

Tori Schmitt

I really like this bowling alley:) The shoes look brand new and the balls are decent. The games move really quickly, more quick than usual it felt like! Had a great time!

charmain hawkins

This place is pregerdist.. one of the workers tore up 3 parked cars including his own In the parking lot & the owner took his side as if he was the victim.. they snuck the man outside the back door and we didn’t see him again.. this place is rude & very disrespectful!

Rob Grace

I saw a lot of reviews, but none from a serious bowler's perspective. I could not care less about cosmic bowling or kids' parties. If that's your thing, that's cool, check out the other reviews. I go to bowling alleys to work on my game. The house shot here is tough. If you pull the ball it will hook, and if you push the ball it won't come back. It plays like a medium to shorter sport pattern. I've found the most success recently by playing inside the 3rd arrow just fading the ball toward the 3 pin (I'm right-handed) with a shinier ball that doesn't grab the lane too much, like an old school fall back shot. After a little less than one game it's time for a 2-and-1 move further inside. There are definitely multiple lines and angles you can use to get to the pocket (anything from outside of 5 to inside of 20) depending on speed, rev rate, etc. You'll have to work to find out what gives you the best look so move around and experiment a bit. It's really speed and angle sensitive. The lane beds themselves appear to be in great shape (synthetic, fyi), the shot seems consistent from week to week (it's always tough), and almost everyone I've talked to behind the counter knows what's going on and how to take care of people.

Raphael Akomeah

I had a blast there. Great place

JANUARIO ORTEGA

Great place. Should of order the pizza without peppers.

J Pitts

The place has received some major work to improve the restaurant and the facility. The cosmic bowling was fun, and the food was pretty good. It's probably the best bowling alley on the north side, not including some of the tiny ones.

J Shepard

One of a kind. This is a great place to have fun. I wouldn't eat here or expect superior mixed drinks or anything, but c'mon it's a bowling alley. It's popular with a pretty diverse crowd but everyone is here to have a good time. Many happy memories at this place. No place I'd rather bowl in Chicago.

Eve lopez

Nice had my grandson birthday party here

Jack Pochop

Diversey River Bowl is $45/hr on Saturdays. The pricing and actual lane rental is insane here. Shame on me for not checking first before going out, and really, more power to them if they can get away with it. The lanes are nice, but it was too loud for me. Honestly the price and unusual process really threw me off. You basically have to do everything with the front desk person and do not pay for the games upfront. It's just hourly all you want until you rack up your bill and check out with what is bound to be an unfriendly number.

Quintin Williams

Cheaper during the day. $2 games Monday, $3 games Tuesday and Thursday all from noon-5pm. Lanes are pretty oily.

Juan Ayala

Insanely high price for bowling on a Saturday night. It was just 3 of us bowling, we rolled 4 games each and the total was $120. We werent allowed to pay per game. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because the food is reasonably priced.

Griselle Hernandez

Ok. Went for a car show

Jacqueline Simmons

The only downside is that, to me, it's way too expensive for simple bowling and a few beers or pitcher or bucket. Otherwise, I had a great time at Diversey River Bowl. They have an array of other fun amenities such as some video games and I think I saw a pool table but not sure about that one. Does anyone know for sure? Anyway, they also host different special nights posted for what's going on throughout the month such as comics and singers advertised live, discounts. And they do have different party packages for different sized parties; this is catered more for the 21+ crowd with different alcoholic beverages included in packages. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something fun (and funny if you're not quite a frequent bowler but you're a good sport like me lol ) to do and you like to socialize! But if you plan to have any of their choice domestic and imported beers or other alcoholic beverages please have a designated driver so everyone has a good time at Diversey River Bowl and afterwards.

Clay Hicks

Great bar! Great food! Bowling is spot on! Love this place.

Pedro T.

People at the bowling alley are so nice lady at the bar took care of us very fast carrying clean pool table games good price for bowling this is the place I'm going to continue to go to thanks a lot Diversey River Bowl made my day!!!

Sharon Johnson

Fun place for a group, loved the socks. Nice selection of food.

jose gutierrez

Bought my first bowling ball here

Christopher Mazza

It's a solid bowling alley. No frills just the basics. Everything you need to bowl.

Cocoa Barz

I went there with my dad and brother to play pool on Friday, 12/28/18. I was there around 9 PM. There was a bartender with short brunette hair working the bar alongside another woman. Both sides of the bar were open and I had seen previous people order drinks on the side closest to the pool tables (where we were). The bartender saw me walk up. She was in the middle of something so I waited. 5 mins passed and she still didn't say anything to me. Okay, it was moderately busy but I said okay i can wait, no big deal. 10 mins later I'm still standing there and hadn't been helped. She looked at me and mumbled what I believe was "one min." But that turned into another 6 minutes of no one coming to take my order. Mind you people are getting served to the left of me and the other side of the bar. So I went back to where we were playing pool and told my dad we shouldn't spend our money here. & he was like I saw you were waiting there a while, it's okay I'll go over there and get the drinks and you guys can play pool. He goes over there and stood there for another 10-15 mins and was not helped either. He then had to walk to the other side of the bar in which he was served. Now mind you, I already said people had been served on the side I was on. Not to mention, if we were supposed to be served on the other side one of the bartenders could have said that (there were no signs indicating anything). This girl who happened to be white who was playing pool next to us saw what happened. She walked over to us and asked us if we wanted shots on her. She walked to the SAME side of the bar that I stood at for 15 minutes and was served in a matter of seconds and she got all 8 of her shots on the spot. Then she told us she got us the drinks because she felt bad and thought it was messed up that they treated us like that. If you are black I would think twice about being a patron at Diversey Bowl especially by the pool tables. I liked the place and had been there before to bowl without issues. This was the first time I encountered this and definitely will not be back because of how we were treated! Nothing puts a damper on a night like good old fashion discrimination!

Vanessa Vargas

Love this place

Jason Klingler

Great bowling alley on the northside of Chicago. The lanes are nice and they have a selection of beverages and food. It's also a great place to have a kids birthday party.

впытв ваыивфа

So good places for have a fun time

Josue M Orozco

Awesome place for cosmic bowl and the attendant was awesome thanks.

Erin Dashnaw

I always have technical issues with the score stand, but it's a fun place to bowl and the drinks are super cheap

Aman Gudluri

Fun spot to hang out with your friends. The beer is cheap, the food is alright, but the lights and music are amazeballs. Also, did you know that credit cards have hidden logos you can only see under a UV light?

Carmelo Alequin

Nice place to spend with your family and friends

Nirajan Khadga

Had a great time! Clean, many lanes, friendly staff!

Diana Maanum

Awesome food, great bowling and fantastic atmosphere

Mari Mar

Don't try going on the weekends unless you make a reservation. It's a decent bowling alley.... But a 2 hr wait for a lane, is not worth anyone's time!

Paul Martin

Best real bowling alley in Chicago.

Dyres Walker

We we're going to my mom's house

Christopher Lee

Cheapest drinks in town. Fun time. Food was basic but okay.

#christyles Golden

Very cool place to knock down some pins

Keila Quiles

A little expensive but had a great time.

Delmar Thomas

Nice place to have fun with good food and drinks

Rai krupa

Fun place 4

Jaden Borges

Good deals about bowling and food. Pay per hour. I highly reccomend this place.

Lakisha alowonle

Nice music wait time wasn't bad. The person who cleans up kept emptying our drinks we paid for unsure why. They did give us replacement drinks. I had an awesome time and the prices are lower than Brunswick.

Mohan Vegesna

Wonderful place to enjoy and go bowling. Prices are cheap for Chicago. It is really hard to find such a price for bowling within the city. The lights by the bowling alley may get annoying, at for me.

El Capitan

Super fun place. Good food.

Reverend ChicagoDom

Noisy but cool. Good for groups and non-serious bowlers.

Wilson Acosta

I had fun but spent more than other bowling alleys I have gone to in the past. Over $50 for just one hour of bowling with my girlfriend. A bit too pricy for just bowling. The food was so bad, not that I would expect anything good anyways, but it would have certainly helped.

Rachel Bires

I love bowling, but I think I went here on the wrong night. Unless you want to spend over an hour and a half waiting for a lane while inhaling fog vapors, do not go on Rock n Bowl night. The one upside was their bar menu. They have a great beer selection! And the staff was very helpful and friendly.

Greg Buford

Always great service and fun atmosphere. Recently remodeled bar area which also looks nice.

Phyllis Sieburg

Had a lot of fun

Robin Harris

Nice clean modern equipment..great food..fun atmosphere

Don Mazza

Great place to bowl and drink

Stephen Bindbeutel

More like Rock N Roll cause this place Rocks AND Rolls. They should have made that the dang nab name of the place! Oh they have the bowling abbeys here too where the Midwestern people throw on the waxy floor for sporting.

Michelle Ruberg

I had a surprise birthday party for my boyfriend here without ever having been here before the day of the event, and it went great. They ended up having a summer package deal (that wasn’t listed online or mentioned the couple times I called) that was perfect for us and made having the party here soo much cheaper than it would have been else where. I think everyone had a lot of fun and I was really happy to have picked to have it here.

Vanessa Sotelo

Bartender is great! She knows what she doing

Malyna Santiago

Was a good place, my daughter was their for a birthday party.

Marion Guinday

We love Diversey. Always take advantage of their deals. Cosmic night is the best. Ambiance is great. Drinks are decently priced.

john roggeveen

The spot to bowl in Chicago.

Arushi Bajaj

Strobe lights, cosmic bowling, cheesey 90s videos. Super fun time for older and young ones. Took my 18 year old sister there and she had a blast, even without beer. One of the few bowling alleys in Chicago that isnt 21+ after 9 pm.

Lynn C.

Great fun and good drinks and food

Irma Zavala

Clean,fast service,good food,no waiting line,available parking.

Latanya Watts

Nice

Greg Klein

Remodeled. Looks really nice inside. I wish it still looked like a crappy bowling alley though. Tuesday afternoon's tremendous deal which I happily participated in last week was $15 for one lane from 12-5. My two pals and I got in 7 games each. Shoes were three bucks a person. Great time, great deal. Good beer specials too.

Delores Orozco

Fun place to bowl and the food was excellent! Never been to a bowling alley where the food was good.

Erin Strick

Stupidly fun to go on a Friday night for Neon bowling. The DJ keeps the music fun and diverse. The crowd is incredibly diverse and welcoming. Good drink prices.

HIMA REDDY BURRI

Fun spot to hangout with friends!

Erika Kenworthy

The place is not wheelchair accessible and it sucks

Elijah Adams

Great place for bowling

Joe Gondolfi

Well-oiled lanes, 100oz towers of Daisycutter, and a delicious honey mustard chicken wrap make DRB a good place to spend 48 hours.

Brian hill

Super fun, great bowling, some video games, pool tables, and beer towers!

Sylvia Ramos

Fun for all.

james sramek

Great bowling alley, price seemed a little high but maybe Im old and use to prices long ago.

Michael Hemmann

Decent deals, even on alcohol.

Christina Horbatenko

I had a blast me and my

Stephanie Gomez

Had a good time here with my girlfriends. The employees were very helpful and the bathroom was clean!!! They also have drinks and a pool table area and a bar!! 9 outta 10 !!

oscar diaz

Great place for bowling although a bit pricey. They food, drinks, and video games for the kids.

Ernesto Espinoza

Very fun place

Randy Wilson

Very clean and well maintained. I want a pair of those bowling shoues. Great pizza available, too.

its axon degracia Degracia

It was fun

ml Chung

Very nice and clean facility. The family deal package including shoes, drink and pizza is a steal! We have so much fun there!!

Mr. Spraggs

Great place for family and friends to bowl. Also, the restaurant inside serves a variety of foods are a great price.

Waseem khatai

Great Bowling experience

Kevin Kalafut

They have good free mot stiks here

ron krass

What a fun and lively place! Food is good and the staff is friendly!!! Great place to take your bride or date.

Konner M

Beautiful decorated, good prices

Zachariah Paul

Great bowling alley! Had a good deal even on a packed Thursday night with league play. Guys were super chill and my friend enjoyed his bday experience.