Bowl El Paso

El Paso Bowl has been around long enough to mean something. This isn't just a rundown alley with cheap beer and broken dreams--though it has those too. Back in the day, ESPN cameras rolled through, and the PBA held events here when bowling still had a pulse in American sports. Legends have thrown strikes on these very lanes, back when the oil patterns mattered and the game wasn't just a weekend novelty for people looking to kill time before hitting Applebee's.Full disclosure: my family used to own the place. But that doesn't mean I'm here to sugarcoat anything. The lanes have some character (which is a nice way of saying they're warped), the rental shoes should have been put out to pasture years ago, and ordering a cocktail is either an act of courage or a cry for help. But that's what makes this place real. It's not some over-polished, soulless chain trying to sell you an "experience." It's bowling the way it's supposed to be--gritty, loud, and unapologetic.The food does exactly what it needs to do. It's greasy, satisfying, and made to be eaten with one hand while the other grips a pitcher of beer. The nachos are the kind of thing you look at with regret but finish anyway.This isn't just a business. It's history. It's the leagues that keep showing up, the old-timers who still talk about the time the pros rolled through, and the people who come here because it feels like home. If you don't get it, that's fine. But for those who do, there's no place better.

Omg I love this place the brisket nachos are delish and I love how less busy this location is! Plus staff is super kid friendly.

I've been here a few times. It's a no frills type of alley - I will say for a solo bowler it is very expensive. I believe it was 45 bucks to bowl for an hour, and I believe that's the most expensive bowling I've done; I'm a guy that brings bowling balls with me on trips so...y'know, - I'm a huge dork.

So, it's $30 per hour per lane, no matter how many people are playing. That's pricey for a dumpy bowling alley, but fine. They also don't want to give you shoes if you already came in sneakers. Weird, but rental shoes are gross anyway, so fine. We played a game and a half in the hour before time ran out and wanted to add an hour, but were told there was a one hour wait if we wanted to "make a reservation". So, that's obnoxious on its own, but there were 18 lanes OPEN out of 40. We counted. We were told some were resetting (I imagine that's code for "broken") and also that they keep lanes open in case one breaks down. That means they intentionally keep almost half their lanes completely unavailable. We even offered to pay for a full hour on one of the backup lanes, and if someone else needed it, we'd leave (so we'd absorb the risk). But, we were told that would be "unfair". My expectations for bowling alleys are incredibly low. I expect stale beer, garbage food, poorly maintained lanes, and (here's the kicker) being able to play when half the lanes are open. Apparently, my bar was set too high.

4 stars because the lanes need an upgrade for sure and there's never enough people workings The restaurant inside there is awesome! We love eating there and it's all made to order!

I can rate it ZERO stars. NO GOOD. I was literally raised there. All these years. I don't know if it's new management or what but never again. Pool table felt was all town and dirty. Pockets is way better. I would rather play at a Alameda bar than Bowl El Paso. Prices are insane. Never again

Everyone's rude asf. The manager is horrible all of them. The guys in the front are rude and stuck up. The wait is so long for a lane it's not even worth it

We purchased an hour, 8pm, the bowling alley closes at 9. We would've finished early, however our lane was giving us problems, they had to switch us lanes and we were still having problems with scores and pin set up. As the bowling alley was closing, we were at our last round, and they would not let us finish... had we not have had so many problems initially, we would've even been done before. Female employee (dont know the name) was rude. Definitely won't go back for bowling. Dancing maybe, but not the bowling.

No wonder this place is rated 2 stars. Turned our party of 8 away when we drove 35 minutes across town to bowl on a holiday night. Claimed it was "dead" but we watched them turn away two other parties for no reason. Oasis is better rated and has better business practices.

Terrible staff and terrible condition. The ball returns are so crappy not only will they eat up all of your time but they will damage your balls. Bowl El Paso raised prices but never fixes their machines and refuse to cover damage their failure and ineptitude to perform proper maintenance cause. The returns there will cause serious damage to your ball and they will just shrug. I even made a complaint to them on facebook. All Bowl El Paso did to take care of the complaint is remove my post about the damage their returns caused and then they blocked me from even seeing their page all together. They do not repair their machines and if you complain on social media they block you. Do not bowl there if you use your own gear. In fact being how unethical they are I would not bowl there at all. Go to FT. Bliss and do not give these clowns at Bowl El Paso your money. They don't use it do fix anything and when their trash damages your gear they tell you to go suck it.