Koz's Mini Bowl

Koz's mini bowling still seems to be a secret hidden gem, as I still meet people who haven't been there.The lanes date back 90 years, and the pins are manually set by teenagers that you tip after your games. There was a large group celebrating a birthday before us, and our lane reservation was for 90 minutes. NOTE: Koz's is cash only. My friends and I had a blast! Koz's provides an excellent family fun experience!

Feb2025: We stopped in for adult beverages on way to WKE. Airport! The ambience was so outstanding (We actually had a male pin setter behind 2 lanes. Bowling balls were softball size! )Koz offers mini bowling tournaments !

We had family here from out of town- what do you do for fun? Of course we went to Koz's! **Koz's is not wheelchair accessible, there is one or two steps to get in. Bring cash- or there is an atm. There is no automatic computer scoring - Download an app or do what I did- searched the recesses of my mind on how to score the game by hand from my long ago high school gym class. I think I got it right; if not, no one else in my party knew how to score by hand. Ha! Call ahead and make a reservation- there are only 4 lanes. Bring a few extra bucks to tip your pin setter- they work hard behind the lanes resetting your pins!. We had a blast, good drinks, great service, lots of fun and definitely takes you back in time.

Koz's is a Milwaukee institution! The bartender, Koz himself, is a trip and reason enough to go into this watering hole. The parking is on the street and never a problem. The real draw besides the great service, regulars, and cheap beers in the lanes.Mini bowling, or duck pin bowling, is a tiny lane with a tiny ball and human pin setters. It's wild. The rules are no walking on the lanes and the ball has to touch the floor before a pin (because that's a real problem).Go with some friends, score crazy high scores, enjoy cheap beers, check out the lion in the corner, have some laughs, and be sure to tip your pin setter. Remember, shoes are free with a lane rental!

Love this place! We had a company team building event here. Everyone had a great time. Service was great.

May not be the most well maintained or clean place, but that's not what we come to this place for. I have had an absolute blast everytime I've came! TIP: Come prepared to count as you keep track the score yourself

We had a blast here at Koz's! First time mini-bowling and first time in Milwaukee. This is a must-do, must-see original dive bar and mini bowling lanes. The local crowd is friendly, the bar staff is attentive. The mini-bowling is fun. The jukebox is always playing. Bring some cash for pull tabs, and to tip your pin-setters. Yep, no machines here...real live pin setters!

You guys!This place is so cool!Came here for a friend's birthday party, having never been here and having zero experience with mini bowling.Randomly, the week I went, WUWM's Bubbler Talk took a deep dive into the history of duckpin bowling. And, while, Koz's mini bowl is similar to duckpin bowling, it's a bit different (different lane length etc).It is super similar to that, though. If you also have no experience with duckpin bowling OR mini-bowling, here's the sitch:It's similar to regular bowling, in that, there are ten pins and a ball in which to attempt to strike down the pins. The differences:+The pins are a shorter and squatter+The ball, while clearly made of a similar substance, is smaller than a regular bowling ball (maybe just a skosh larger than a softball) and has no finger holes+Here, the lane is actually elevated a step. Because you never step on the wood floored lane, no bowling shoes required!+The lane is significantly shorter than a standard bowling laneKoz's is completely vintage (ie: guessing there have been no updates since they began business in 1978). Unlike more modern bowling alleys, Koz's has human pin setters (I'm not sure why I find this so completely throw-back-thursday delightful, but I do). Those same pin-setters also roll your ball back to you. You'll want to keep an eye on the track (and your fingers) as you grab a ball to bowl, they roll those balls back quickly!The good news?You'll likely bowl the best game of your life. Strikes aren't such a rare thing in mini-bowling. That's ok. You can still make everyone high-five you when you get one.I did.Beyond that, the bar is dive-tastic, serving simple, strong drinks as any good dive bar should. Bowling costs $5 per person and you should definitely make reservations (not sure if they take reservations for anything less than parties?) as there's only four lanes in the joint. You'll also want to throw in a few extra bucks to tip the pin setters. They are seriously hustling!All in all, a definitely, must-try spot in Milwaukee (sort of as Milwaukee as it gets, I think!).Get to it!

I found this tavern on a list of unique bars in the USA. They have Mini bowling with four small lanes. There are human pinsetters to set up the small bowling pins. What a cool place to experience in Milwaukee.

Koz 's is the most fun you can have in Milwaukee! We called ahead and brought the whole family : Grandma, Granpda, Dad, Aunt, Uncle and 10 and 7 year old. Everyone can play and we had the best time. There is a pin setter you should tip, and drinks to buy from Koz. But the game itself is easy to play...the ball gets cradled in your hand and lofted down the alley. Yes you score yourself! We will make sure to leave time for a few games every time we are in town. From the outside, the place doesn't look like much, but come on in! Koz is waiting for you.