This is a place that we drive past every day for the last few years, it is in a light industrial area and I've always wanted to visit to do some blowing with my oldest daughter. Recenly, she tried it out at a friend's birthday party and found that she really enjoyed it, so maybe it will be a nice little family trip later in the year.
Anyway, attached to the bowling alley is a restaurant (a Bar and Grill), which I've always thought looked pretty decent... but my wife as pooh-poohed. A few weeks back, we had the chance to visit it, as we had an hour or two to kill during lunch. So, was my instinct right or was my wife right?
The Space
When you first step in the door (past the teenagers hanging out for the bowling alley...), you are met with a pretty grungy bowling alley impression...
... however, when you take a left turn towards the restaurant, you find yourself in quite a nice atmosphere. Decked out with lots of icons from the '80s and '90s!
... of which, some are borderline tacky!
However, in general, the seating area is quite comfortable and there is really a lot of room (during the day, it was not very busy at all... perhaps on the weekend or evenings, it is much busier with the after work crowd?).
There were ample table seatings with good space between, and the lighting was generous with lots of Sun if you chose, or much darker corners if that was your preference. I was with my wife, so it was the light side that we sat in....
... and living up to the name. There is a well stocked bar, which I guess would come alive in the evenings and weekends. I will have to revisit to see!
The Menu
There was a nice selection of mains and other dishes on the menu. The menu was in English... either my Dutch was terrible, or they were catering to the large expat workplaces nearby (European Patent Office and Shell Research).
Prices were surprisingly affordable, and all the dishes sounded quite interesting. Not just a grill with no thought...
There was also Green Egg options, which is a type of Barbeque slow/pressure (?) cooker that I've only just heard of. Apparently, it is really a good way to cook meats! Perfect!
The Food
My wife went for the Goat's cheese salad.... which she said was really very good. I avoided it, as goat's cheese and I have a mutually disagreeable relationship.
In the end, I settled for the Fish and Chips. We didn't have that much time, and so I needed something that was relatively quick. All I can say is... WOW! You don't expect this sort of quality from a bowling alley Bar and Grill! Everything was tastefully presented, and the chips were nice and crispy (remember, nothing is worse than soggy chips!)... and the fish was just perfectly cooked. The interesting vegetable accompaniaments just the icing on the proverbial cake (how is that for a terrible out of place metaphor?)...
As a bonus surprise, the coffee was also amazingly good! Good coffee can be hard to find in The Netherlands, this was not the place that was expecting to find it!
The Experience
So, in the end, my hunch was right... which proves that even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
The ambience and space was perfect, with only a small lunch crowd of mainly working professionals from the surrounding expat workplaces. It would be a nice place to have a work meeting or just to come down and sit with a laptop and have a coffee.
The food was unexpectedly high quality. Again, it's not really what you might have expected from a bowling alley restaurant... I will definitely be coming back here many many times!
Opening Times
Monday 11am–10pm
Tuesday 11am–10pm
Wednesday 11am–10pm
Thursday 11am–10pm
Friday 11am–12am
Saturday 11am–12am
Sunday 11am–10pm
Contact Details
Address: Volmerlaan 7C, 2288 GC Rijswijk
Phone: +31 70-3194021
Email: info@ballysbowling.nl
Website: http://www.ballysbowling.com/restaurant
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Restaurant Information
Bally's
Volmerlaan 7C, 2288 GC Rijswijk, Netherlands
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