Garage Bowling & Bar

First time at Garage Bar & Bowl in downtown Waconia on First St. We visited late afternoon on New Year's Day and they seemed a bit under staffed but everyone was friendly and made the wait tolerable. They comped us our first game because of some technical issues and we used the time we were waiting to partake in some very good cheese curds from the happy hour menu. After bowling we had dinner - a Mega-roni pizza, a VooDoo burger, and a Garage BYO bacon burger. Probably the best bowling ally food I have had. The server told me about their Sunday BYO Bloody Mary Bar - sounded awesome and may have to come back to check it out.

My friend and I stopped in for a game of bowling after we had some coffee. Located in a small town. There's street parking in front and/or nearby streets.There were about 6 lanes. The seats were cushion, comfy and had a vibe to it. There was music playing from the 90's -early 2000's which was a bit reminiscent and fun to hear while bowling.Overall, it was a fun experience!

Came here on a Saturday afternoon. It wasn't too busy, and the weather was nice so they had their big garage doors open. We sat at the bar which had nice stools that swiveled and had a back rest, comfortable bar seating! The bartender was super friendly and clearly the other locals were vibing with him over the live twins game. Spicy Bloody Mary, spectacular. Came with a beef stick, lime, pickle, olives and a snit. The wings were equally as delicious. They were smoked, so the meat inside had a juicy smokey flavor while the jerk sauce was spicy. They were served so piping hot that I had to let them rest a little. Great place, I hear the pizza is good too so I'll try that next time!

I've been here a few times now when I've gone to visit my sister. This vacation we went here twice.The food is great. The pizza is delicious and the cheese curds are fantastic!! Probably my favorite cheese curds of all the ones I've tried while in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They serve them with (what I assume and what tastes like) homemade ranch. It has a nice, subtle dill taste to it too).The kids bowled on both visits. We also were there during happy hour on both occasions. They have a deal that is "buy one, get one for $1". Awesome deal! I just have one slight complaint about it... on the 1st visit, the waitress brought us our beer and then an empty shot glass for the 2nd beer. Which makes sense as you don't want your 2nd beer sitting there getting warm while you're drinking the 1st. But on our second visit, I orders cocktails and they made/served BOTH at once, I didn't love that. (Side note: my husband drank too, I didn't have all 4 to myself). HAHA! I felt like I had to rush and drink quickly as I didn't want the ice melting and watering down my drink. They were different bartenders each time so my advice is to get everyone on the same page and do the "shot glass" thing and not serve BOTH drinks at once.

Uff, wanted to enjoy, so super bummed it didn't work for us. Good part, great ambiance and nice server. Bad part, I am a solid Bloody Mary drinker and not a fan of their version. Super bummed. Also, dry rub wings were burnt, not ideal. Lastly, the poutine, curds are not fried and instead squeaky and melted. Could have worked but way too much and completely over done. Additionally, a huge waste as we had to scoop off the entire mound of melted curds to unearth the fries, bacon was raw. Nobody enjoys raw bacon. If we go back, we will try the pizza. Husband share that Surly Furious is a safe bet.

This is a very family friendly atmosphere with a bowling alley in the back. They have lots of nice natural light making the space feel open and inviting. They have a large drink menu with happy hour. I was expecting a bit more flavor and quality for the price of the food and because of the atmosphere. It about on par with bowling alley food. The pretzel sticks were my favorite with the beer cheese. The service was good overall. I loved the way the restaurant was laid out with plenty of round booth seating which allows for good conversation flow. Parking is on the street, but easy to find. I would recommend this place for a family get together with children or a playdate. I was also pleasantly surprised that the bowling alley part wasn't super loud.

Just stop reading this and get there, you will love it! Elevated bar food with old school bowling lanes in a revamped historic building... yes please!Seating is a "fend for yourself" as they didn't have hosts and when a table opens up, you just grabbed it. The honor system gets a good test with this way as you line up at the door checking the bar and seating for space. Food prices were far and the food was hot and delicious. Only dislike, the put the pizzas on a stand at your table and it's kind of more hassle, so we took ours off the stand.

Met up some friends for drinks and bowling here. We decided to get some dinner while we were there. The dill pickle pizza was absolutely delicious! I would come again just for the pizza alone. So cheesy and good! They have huge windows that pull all the way into the ceiling which I thought was neat! Let's you feel the nice cool outdoor breeze. All the servers were really nice and gave us recommendations on beers. They let us sample a few also. My only complaint was that the bowling area smelled like restroom.. we turned on a fan just cause the smell was getting so bad. It didn't smell like that in the restaurant side but specifically just the bowling area. But would still come again!

Impressed with the food here -- great appetizers, and the pizza is solid, too. We've tried to get the spaghetti pizza twice, but it's been sold out both times we've gone. I guess you've got to get there really early if you want to try it.

Pizza and wings were fantastic, the staff is great. Check for private events and call for reservations with a large group as seating is limited.