All Star Lanes

01/27/03

Good time, cheap beer

by jdawg at Citysearch

Went to All-Star on Friday night and had a blast. You won't find a cheaper place to bowl or cheaper beers in Los Angeles. Yes, you must score the game yourself, but it is worth it. My friends and I plan on going back again soon. If you are in the mood for some fun and don't mind the dive atmosphere, check it out. "Hipsters" need not apply.

• Pros: Cheap, Dive, Fun

12/03/02

Disappearing....thank God

by netter1 at Citysearch

I've had to frequent this run down dive many times over the last 20 years. It was a dive 20 years ago, and it's still a dive. The staff is unfriendly with mountains of attitude. The restaurant has been through several incarnations as a standard coffee shop, a Hawaiian "local" diner, and now a low quality Chinese restaurant. The equipment on the lanes is ancient and worn down. The games in the "arcade" (also known as the hallway to the bathrooms) is outdated and run down. I don't particularly like the idea that the place is slated to be turned into another self-storage facility (something we definitely don't need in the area), but the time for this alley has come and gone...by at least 10 years.

• Pros: neighborhood hangout
• Cons: run down

08/17/02

Come for the bowling, stay for the food!

by Kayotae at Citysearch

I've been a regular at All Star Lanes for almost two years now. It's hard to find some "old fashioned" bowling anymore. It's all about automatic scoring and artificial lanes now, but if you want a blast from the past, to score your own sheet, and to bowl on real wood lanes, you've found your alley!

The recent addition of XM music is sometimes a gift, sometimes a curse, but it helps add some more ambience to the place. A bar and chinese restaurant (The Red Dragon) are adjacent, and both offer good deals. For $10, you can bowl an hour, and can win a free half-hour if you get a strike when the loaders give you a red pin. It's a good deal, and a great place!

• Pros: Atmosphere, Price, Rarely any wait
• Cons: "Iffy" equipment, No air conditioning, Bad karaoke

07/31/02

All star? In what league

by jerry_watkins at Citysearch

When you come into this sub-par, below public standards bowling alley the employees give you a half hearted attitude. Like they're doing you a favor by letting you bowl there. One time me and my friend walked in to bowl because we seen a large crowd and a radio station at the place. We walk in and see an event called "Bowling for a car". Well we walk in and the owner is like what are you doing here you got to get out. It was 8pm the door was wide open and he's telling willing paying customers to leave! Then the star 98.7 spokesperon runs up and trys to put his 98.7 sticker on my shirt. I'm like no thank you your stations horrible "I listen to 105.3 san diego that stations bumpin". Ill never go to this bowling alley again! They're video game joysticks dont even work.

05/23/02

How Fun.

by dawnmariesmith at Citysearch

My friends and I met here for happy hour bowling one night. We had a blast. The cocktail waitress was attentive and kept the drinks flowing. It seems to be a really popular place since it was totally packed all night.

05/21/02

Americana at its Best

by taradelis_citysearch at Citysearch

A friend of mine swears the All Star Lanes lie at the very heart of Americana. Sometimes I have to agree, like at their Friday night karaoke. It's fun to watch because most people really aren't the best singers, which is a refreshing change from most karaoke nights where everyone's waiting for their closeup. Nope, these are regular folks and a diverse mix of people at that.

What I also find interesting is that karaoke here isn't a simply a spectator sport. People actually get up and dance to it -- slow and fast songs.

The rockabilly nights can be a lot of fun as well. There's usually a cover charge of around $8, which includes the band, bowling and shoe rental.