Reviews of Patterson Bowling Center (Bowling Alley)

David Gardner

Machines broke down frequently, the person behind the counter seemed less than excited to help us.

Brett C

This place is great! It’s an old out dated duck pin bowling joint. Come here as a couple of with a large group of friends. This place is BYOB so don’t forget a few cold ones before you get here. If it’s last minute...Johnny Rads directly across the street does beer to go, grab some food too even. This is a staple joint for my friends and I. Easily low key fun that we can all get together in, drink some beer and laugh at each others terrible duck pin skills. The staff I have had has always been helpful, I never knew how to keep score or what duck pin really was prior to the explaining it to me. No real need to even keep score I guess, it’s a lot of fun no matter what. Sunday’s is a good deal if your looking for something to do that’s even cheaper than it already is. If you live in the area an keep driving past this spot you are missing out. It’s a gem.

Dan Samp

Nothing worked very well while we were there (bowling lanes, vending machines, etc.), but we still had fun. BYOB, but plenty of places around to buy some beer. They wouldn't give water and instead had us buy bottles from the broken machine. They gave us a pass for free bowling due to all the mechanical issues. Parking is rough like all of Canton

Wesley Oliver

Currently bowling. Ordered 4 lanes. Only got 1.5. SMH. Happy birthday to me :(

Sandor Dornbush

Patterson bowling is a Baltimore institution. It's truly a blast to be there. If you have never tried duck pin bowling you have no idea what you are missing. I like duck pin much more than the now standard 10 pin. The place is rather small. It is smoke free, and byob. So it can be a really cheap night with some natty bohs. The machinery is really old and will frequently break, but that is part of the charm. Relax and have a drink as someone fiddles with the pins till they work.

Bonnie Gebhart

Patterson Bowling is interesting because I love duckpin since it's different, but it feels super expensive. $18/hour per person, especially on lanes that don't always work. However, it is BYOB and Snacks, so I can't complain about that too much.

Lynn R.

Historically Oldest Bowling

Dan

Authentic

Mimi brown

We reserved lanes weeks in advance for a party tonight. At 4 pm that day they decided they were going to close the bowling alley for a "family emergency." The woman working there let us know that she was not part of the family in fact none of the staff was and it wasn't a staffing issue. On top of that they couldn't even refund us that day. Talk about unacceptable business practice. I will never again go here and would never recommend anyone to reserve lanes since clearly they don't know how to uphold to or deliver their business promise.

John Slate

We had a great time! It's BYOB, so be prepared! Definitely a great way to save some money. We had a few issues with our lanes, and the manager gave us a free round of bowling to make up for it.

Angelique Snyder

Fun place to go. The reset buttons don't always work, which is part of the experience. Some staff are friendly and others were neutral.

M Martin

mid-renovations right now. hopefully it improves. when we went the lane worked about 50% of the time and required constant repairs.

Kelsey Bettridge

I love this place. They're in the middle of renovations and all their improvements are great! Duckpin bowling is insanely fun, and this place is BYOB, new lanes and balls, with a jukebox, and you can reserve lanes ahead of time. Would totally recommend to all my friends!

Herman Val

Went there for a dad’s night out and had a blast. Most single stars reviews are because they dind’t read up on the place beforehand. No food and no beverages available but Johnny Rad’s is across the way and you can bring it in with you. Beer store is 1 block away. Just a little effort and you’ll have a fun time. Manual score keeping is actually better because you don’t have to wait for someone to bowl if they are away doing something else. The owner Kenneth will be glad to give you tips and a tour if you show interest. The staff was great! Knowledgeable and friendly including the young man working behind the scenes in the machine room. This was the first time there but not the last. Will be back soon.

Jonathan

Duckpin Bowling is so much fun! Heads up... you have to score by hand and the bathrooms are not that inviting. It is BYOB and BYOFood. Which is fine to me... but it would be nice if it was a little more clean and had I not been able to keep score, our group would have been in trouble. But duckpin bowling is a lot more fun than normal bowling IMHO.

Heather Karns

Our plans for New Year's Eve suddenly changed and duck pin bowling was something that my dad had been wanting to do for a while and we found Patterson Bowling Center, it was a great change that did not disappoint. They were able to make reservations for us on short notice for our party of 7. The employees were really helpful in explaining the rules and helping us out when some of our lanes did not work the way they should have. (Hey, it is an old place and things don't always cooperate). Our whole group had a good time, the teenagers had fun too! I would recommend this to anyone looking for something fun and different to do and we would definitely go back!

Gerardo Espinoza

Staff is incredibly helpful and fun. Place is EXTREMELY outdated but that's part of its charm. Biggest problem is that it was too much fun that the group after us had to wait longer.

Ryan D'Angelo

Should get zero stars. At a party that had reserved 4 lanes. On arrival only 3 working. Before we started bowling another 1 down. Got yelled at while we were there. Disrespectful and didn't even cut down the price. This place is a garbage dump

MICHAEL DAVIDSON

Cute little bowling center. They are doing great restoring it.

Paul Johnsen

Been coming here since 1974 (2014 really). Still as great as it ever was-a Baltimore hidden gem!

Avi Ginsberg

Friendly staff. Reasonable prices. BYOB. Lots of fun!

Natalie Cunningham

They we so accommodating!!!

Matthew Gaulin

Love that it is BYO and love duckpin, but this place has serious mechanical issues with the lanes consistently.

Alec Kisiel

When the machines work, 5*. When they don't, well...

Dan Johnson

I have gone to this place for a couple of years and just bought a house in the area so I was excited to have this place in my back yard. Additionally I was even more excited when I heard that the owner of Stoneleigh lanes would be remodeling this place...and then disappointment. Since taking this place over, the owner has done away with the electronic scoring. Sure the old machines were wonky and would be slow and unreceptive...but I have to tell you: pencil and paper scoring is awful. Trying to determine how many pins were actually knocked over for spares or just in general takes the casualness out of the game. Trying to go here with a group to just play a casual game, good luck. The owner was nasty when we told him how disappointed we were with the scoring system and when we asked for a refund he gave us half our money back after spending 30 minutes of 2 hours attempting to play. This is my first review ever and I'm glad I finally followed up with writing it because I hope this gets someone's attention. This place used to be fun on Fridays and Saturdays to have a few beers and go out. I don't think I'll ever go back. RIP Patterson Lanes

Xin Chan

Very very old machinery. Pins don't reset often. Balls don't return. The reservation is rather pricy for the quality of the place and service.

Sidifa Webb

Love it

Nicole Hart

Good family fun

Graham Peck

Came here for a work party and played upstairs. The scoring is by hand, the machines break sometimes, and the crummy TVs don't work but you can bring your own food and beer so that makes up for a ton of the flaws.

Tim Kurtiak

Charming, but the machines don't work reliably.

Andrew Corley

They need new management.

Jerry Adney

Old school classic duck pin. Also BYOB which is cool but I can't rate higher because the lanes and scoreboards have been essentially broken and barely playable for the past few years.

Stacey Hawley

This place is a quaint and personable place. It's rather private which is nice for simple, inexpensive fun for your family. Perfect place to take a date! Although there isn't food or drink offered here, there is good clean fun to be had by all

Todd Kindron

BYOB

Elizabeth Gall

Awesome vintage duckpin bowling! Because it's one of the oldest duckpin bowling alleys still operating, you have to expect a little clunkiness is some of the machines. Staff is very good about helping you troubleshoot stuck pins or ball returns. Everything is done by hand, from resetting the pins to scoring your game. (Check out that Space Age set up in the pics!) Major bonus points for their BYOB/BYO food policy! Grab a pizza from Johnny Rad's across the street, bring your favorite six pack, and enjoy a slice of Baltimore history.

Meghana Raja

Had so much fun duckpin bowling in this retro bowling alley!! Also, BYOB is awesome.

Ron Puller

Fun

brad t

I can totally see why this place gets some bad reviews. It's old, in disrepair, and things break down constantly. I must say tho, that the stars aligned the day i decided to show up, and it was a blast. Yes everything is older than dirt, and the lanes are always broken. One lane was open out of like 8, and no one else was in there cause no one could bowl due to broken lanes. I got to spend 2 hours bowling to my hearts content on the one open lane, and getting to know a woman named Debbie who works there. Ive never met a more sweet and personable woman working anywhere in my whole life. She showed me the ropes, and provided excellent company and advice. Id say the place gets 2 stars, but they are remodeling, and this quality can only improve. Im giving 5 stars to Debbie, one of my new favorite ladies in the world, and how much she added to the enjoyable atmosphere. I cant say youll have a good time, or even a functional time based on some other reviews, and it is expensive as hell, but Debbie made this visit one i wont soon forget. Thanks for being awesome Debbie. --Brad Tranquilli

Hannah Podratz

Fun place, however I made a reservation for two hours (10-12am) but the service alone (checking in, getting shoes) took almost half an hour. The clerk took his time finding our reservation when I arrived. Then after asking our shoe size turned to the group behind us to ask what they needed. Then after getting our shoes we stood at the lane for around 10 minutes before the game was actually set to play. Once the game got going (almost an hour after our reservation time) it was a blast! So we paid like $20-$30 more than we actually got to play. But it's byob which is fun.

simeon griffin

Cool place..it's actually the oldest duckpin alley in the country...the problem is the equipment isn't fully functional...takes a while to get balls back and for the pins to reset

rachel

This place needs a major remodel. They have a makeshift bathroom that was disgusting to say the least. I would put zero stars if I could...

Jedidiah Adams

Cranky lady at front desk would only let us bowl with our friends if we paid for two hours when we would only be there for one. Facility is in total disrepair. Equipment is rough. Random individuals kept appear in our lane due to constant maintenance issues. Will never go back, God willing.

Kidd's Corner

This place is horrible. They don't care for the business nor their employees. The people who own it aren't really a very friendly group of people. They have no respect for the people who come to spend their money to bowl on machines that are always broken. Their always closed or closing early. Yes. I'm an old employee and they don't have anything in order there. They suspended me for a week and never told me when to come back! The business should be closed down!

Edmund Lewis

I don't typically write bad reviews but my recent experience there was less than stellar. I appreciate what they are trying to do keeping the lanes open and preserving duckpins in Baltimore. First were the shoes that were completely destroyed and actually smelled terrible. Second was that the rest of the equipment was in such poor shape that the balls in our lane would veer to the right by themselves, the ball counting and scoring was wrong a majority of the time causing us to have to roll additional balls after each turn to get the pins to reset. Having to do this between every player got old fast and used up a lot of our time. Nearing the end of our hour, we asked if they could add enough time for us to finish and they hurried us along and gave us a whopping 4 minutes to wrap up. If you actually like to bowl then go somewhere else. If you like to goof off and drink and throw some balls down the lane at the same time then this is the place for you and you will have a great time.

Eric Emrick

Just a dreadful experience.

Tim Jurasevich

I want to like this place, I really do. But EVERY time I've been here there has always been some kind of problem with the pin setting machines. Every single time. The BYOB aspect is nice but I'd give that up in a heartbeat for actually being able to play for the full amount of time I paid for.

Shaun Adkins

Tried duckpin bowling for the first time. This venue doesn't have some of the modern amenities that a traditional bowling ally has (like automatic scoring) but is still great fun. Occasionally the ball returner can't quite spit the balls to the end of the ball return ramp, and in some cases the balls jump off the ramp into a bowling lane, but oddly enough, I feel this adds to the charm of playing here. For 1.5 hrs of play plus shoe rental on a weekend it cost me $24. I'd love to bowl here again

Rachel Routt

Small and pricey, no food. Not friendly service. Paid for an hour and thirty minutes they shut the lights off on the lane at one hour we told them we had more frames, they turned the light on and we bowled fifteen more minutes then they shut them off again and said they couldn't add additional time. It wasn't additional if they told us we were paying for an hour and thirty minutes and did not get that.

Michael Cohen

Fun bowling and byob!!

Toria Burrow

Fun duckpin bowling, byob, super casual, kind of divey (in a fun way)

Matthew Bailey

Great bowling. BYOB

Jordan Stock

I love bowling here. It's super old school and that makes it great. It's byob and you can take over a lane or two while drinking. It's also duck pin only and as of 3/17 they have hand scoring only. The staff are very knowledgeable and willing to help. What a great time!

Alexi Pacileo

This place is extremely pricy for what you’re getting. We waited an hour to play yesterday because all the lanes were down except one. You’d think you’d cut us a price break for staying when we could have and should have left. (Only stayed for the kids) You charged my family $17each while you only charged $17 for the other family with us when they left maybe 10 minutes earlier than us. It was complete bs! This place is also filthy and freezing. I wish I took pictures of the bathrooms. 100% not family friendly If you’re into duckpin bowling hammered this is the place for you. Or you could go to Columbia and pay way cheaper and get a clean friendly atmosphere

Melanie Zile

Expensive and poorly maintained. The lanes wouldn't clear properly at least 50% of the time. Byob

Becky Buesgens

I'm only giving one star because I can't give zero. We spent $20 per person for an hour and half of bowling. The machines broke constantly and we probably only got 50 minutes of play time. On top of that while we were there a worker got accidentally tapped (literally tapped) by a stray bowling ball while fixing a lane, and he angrily chucked the ball out into the lane with all his strength. It hit the gutter and literally flew through the air and hit a customer so hatd on the ankle that it swelled and bruised immediately. The worker wasn't even reprimanded. He was forced to apologize to the girl who got hit but then was allowed to go right back to work. It was ridiculous... please don't support this duck pin lane, if they can't show sympathy don't afford them yours.

Amaury Rodriguez

This place is run down to the ground. Pin setting machines routinely knock down pins or just stop working and some guy jumps in from behind to clear things up. Dingy, old, and it's not even cheap! This place has seen better days, but apparently owners stopped caring about customer experience many years ago.

Marshaye Mathews

why don't y'all have score boards? don't nobody like old school anymore

jennifer thompson

love coming here! the staff is a blast and super helpful. low key for when you need to get out of the loud city sound

Joey Sheffield

Cute little duck bowling place. Very friendly staff. Inexpensive. Lanes occasionally glitchy.

Clint Jiras

Soooooooooooooo f-ing rude. They can't decide on what the pricing is. They changed it several times. Just seemed very loosely organized. BUT... duckpin is super fun and we had a great time despite the ridiculous customer service. Karaoke guy was great. He saved the day. Because I found out that I am a very very very talented singer.

Michael Davis

Well run trip back 40 or 50 years.

Joe Tschida

OMG... This is a fun way to bowl.

Billy

It's really fun when everything is working. Can't tell you how often the lanes get jammed up though. If they would fix/ upgrade their equipment, i'd give 5 stars.

Jason Harnish

Don't. Just Don't. Mustang Alley instead.

Benjamin Laliberte

Reserved 4 lanes for 16 people. Only 1 lane is working and 1 partially functioning. Thus most were unable to bowl. At one point, a staff member very professionally jumped out from one of the lanes yelling "I'll shut down all your lanes." $31 is a lot to pay to wait for 2 lanes to "maybe" open at some point

Nate Kurtz

Small hole in the wall bowling place

Kyle Warner

Lanes are by the hour and we were placed on a lane that was just fixed. The mechanic verbally told us he wanted us to try it out after he just fixed it. Lane kept breaking down and we were not given more time to compensate. With so many other choices in the area I recommend you stay away!

Stuart Ray

Classic low end duckpin bowling experience; lots of mechanical failures slowing play. Very nice staff.

MagMatt James

CLOSED for remodeling but otherwise would be a great place

Syn Ichiganaki

The place was fine the only complaint i have are actually the other customers..one time i was there i saw the lady up front EXPLAIN the rules of the house to a couple of customer before me and no more then 20 mins later they say screw the rules the lady was reading not paying attention to them as they went ham on the lane ..well i had a prob on the lane and told the lady about it she seemed annoyed as tho i messed her up on her story..she called to the workers in the back with a little attitude and they responded back to her angrily quite funny...other then the occasional reset that i had to wait for ...i can say this is a funny place and i would like to visit again

Ian Blum

I bowled a 14. It's BYOB. Need I say more?

John Miller

It isn't cheap to go Duck Pin Bowling. Which makes the fact that everything is broken even more impressive. We were bounced between two lanes as the first lane refused to reset the pins. The second lane did the same. In both lanes we rarely, if ever, got a full set of pins to hit. Not recommended.

Michael Pickrel

Lanes are extremely over priced. Be prepared to take 2-5 minutes between turns and frames as the lanes don't reset properly and the computers controlling the reset seem to be very very slow

Fred Kaplowitz

We all had fun in this nostalgic old place where Babe Ruth once bowled?