The Gutter L.E.S.

This bowling alley was nice. I love the vintage vibes. It had games and a huge bar. The staff were all nice and pleasant. They had several tvs with different options to watch different things. The pizza was not all that but the quesadillas was good. I enjoyed the fact they had hard ciders because not many bars or establishments do. Definitely a spot to come to on a late night and just have a drink for real even if you don’t plan on bowling.

Such a great atmosphere! Vibes were cool. Sky, Caleb and Sam were all employees who worked there and they were all so nice and welcoming! Anything we needed, they were available. Hope they get some from this review you beyond a pat on the back, they deserve it! We will be back!

Nice vibe only a few lanes, so it was full when we first entered, but it has a nice bar and pin ball machines to keep you occupied. Even the bathroom mirrors have a cute antique aesthetic. Tho, the prices were a bit steep at $90 for 4 ppl for an hours time, but that included the shoes. The space is also wheel chair accessible with an elevator and ramp to go to each level. It was a good time with good music and kind staff. I did see other reviews about the rudness of the front security and we didn't encounter that on New Years night when we went. We got scanned like any other bar even when we came in the second time. And they allowed my friend in with a Passport as valid ID.

I had a wonderful time at the Gutter this afternoon. I found the staff extremely kind and helpful and were willing to go the extra mile to accommodate and enhance our experience. Great music and atmosphere here too.

Came with a big group of friends & had a great time! It was my first time here and it was a great bowling alley and very nice bar. Regis at the front was extremely helpful and kind. Also Liv the bartender was super sweet and hospitable!

Visiting from out of town and had the best experience here. Great employees and great vibes all around!

Bartender Barrie was great love his energy, was very much giving come back again, and Becky front desk controlling pins great, love her energy they both need a raise they make ppl feel so comfortable and want to come back. very great at communicating with others, made us feel very welcomed definitely will come again and definitely told my friends about this place

The place has a great, retro vibe, and I've been here a few times. Last night, I had a great server named James who was extremely friendly and helpful. I can't recommend it enough.

Staff were great! Me and my friends not so much. Had a great night with my friends here. We were all pretty intoxicated and staff were amazing. Chris the bartender and Jesus! Very patient considering how rowdy we were. We didn't get to order food because the kitchen was closed. But honestly big shout out to the staff for allowing us to have a good time!

The way we were treated was inexcusable. We ordered drinks last night (Friday 1/24) and they never came. When they were on our bill and asked for the manager (*some guy with glasses), he accused us of having them and not wanting to pay for it? What the what???!!!! Really cute, cozy place... decent food but terrible service. We came out for a good time, never got our 2nd round of drinks and we're called liars. He eventually took it off the bill, but embarrassing and poor form.

My friends and I happened to stumble upon The Gutter the other night. We walked past its small, nondescript lobby with stairs down to a basement, providing little hints as to what the place was like. We decided that bowling would make for a fun evening, so we walked in, surprisingly had our bags checked by a security guard, and headed down to the subterranean main space. The sprawling floor plan included a few bowling lanes in the front and a few more in the rear (12 in total). Between the two sets of lanes were a massive bar and a good deal of tables. From the hanging Tiffany lamps to the wood paneling to the full-size pinball machines, the whole experience felt like we were in a 1980's basement. The atmosphere was very casual, but that did nothing to reduce its crowd. We tried to reserve a lane, which were all first-come, first-serve, and were told there was a 2.5 hour wait time. At that point, we decided to just settle for enjoying some drinks, and we made ourselves comfortable at a large booth. The server dropped off some menus, and we were confronted with a huge beer list, including mostly drafts available as pints or pitchers. I was excited to discover that they had my favorite sour beer, Hudson Valley Brewery Peach Silhouette, and we decided to order a pitcher of it. The tart, sweet, and almost effervescent brew was loved by all. We paired the beer with a large Pin Deck Pizza, which was topped with spicy sausage, potato slices that tasted like French fries, fresh mozzarella, rosemary, and fiery Calabrian chilis. It was an unique and absolutely delicious pie! We were just debating if we should order another round of food and drinks when we were told that we could claim a bowling lane, only about an hour into our, what was supposed to be longer, wait time. Bowling rates varied by day, but were based on each half-hour of play. However, shoe rentals were always priced at $5. We swapped sneakers with the front desk staff, committed to playing for an hour, and went over to our classic ten-pin lane. We tried out a few of the balls and found a couple that were 10 pounds, though many were more like 12-14 pounds. We played our game with no issues and had an amazing time! For a vintage bar and activity lounge, The Gutter sure had swagger! Definitely check the place out!

Costumer Service: B+ Cleanliness: A Ambiance: B+ Food: C+ ----- Went here as a "team building" activity for work. I thought it was a pretty decent Bowling alley/bar. The costumer service was okay, some of the staff were more helpful than others. I found the people working the bar to be great, the others to be - not bad, but could have been a bit nicer/more helpful. The place was clean and had a nice atmosphere. It was a bit of a maze at times, but nothing that should ruin anyones time. The food was meh. You don't expect the best pizza at a bowling alley but with it being NYC you do hope for it to be good. It certainly was edible, but it was rather bland and - floppy, for lack of better words. I would not order it again. Overall, its a decent place. I can't say I'd recommend it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend against it.

Phenomenal place. Bomb service and drinks and food, the bechamel pizza was incredible. Regis was a doll and Tracy was on my sht (don't tell his girlfriend). Loved it!! Thank you!!

We went with a group of five on a Friday late afternoon. There was plenty of space and the staff was welcoming and nice. We bowled for two hours and had a few drinks after - we didn't have to wait for anything. Overall we had a blast and would return.

The location is great, but unfortunately, the manager, a white man named Troy, came across as racist and unprofessional. Upon leaving the bowling alley, I witnessed the manager falsely telling a group of black kids that they were closed, even though the alley had two more hours of operation. Staff members mentioned that the manager's actions were racially motivated, a behavior they claim happens frequently. It's disheartening to see discrimination in such a diverse neighborhood, and due to this experience, I won't be returning to Gutter LES.

I really want to rate this place higher, but the bowling aspect is overpriced and kind of annoying to deal with. The bowling cashier was too aloof and didn't really know how to answer our questions about prices. Classic teenager of, "Why are you bothering me." It's 30 dollars for 30 minutes. Not 30 dollars for one game, which most places are. Very annoying. The 30 dollars doesn't include the shoe rental either. What are they trying to do here? If you want to play a game of speed bowling, this is the place for you. A lot of it was just stressful trying to get your moneys worth! The bar staff and wait staff were excellent though. The vibe of the bar is very good for a bowling alley. Makes you feel like you're suddenly teleported to a suburb in the midwest. There is food, but it's overpriced and didn't look that appealing. They're looking to hire a pizza chef, so maybe hold off on ordering until they get one. This place is a cute surprise in the middle of the LES, and would be a 5/5 experience if they fixed their lane timing/prices.

Another reviewer captured my sentiments of this place quite well. I've always liked the Gutter's Brooklyn location as a cheaper alternative to pricier bowling alleys in the city, and even though the scoreboard and pins often malfunctioned and the whole place felt a little dirty, you can chalk it up to the place having grungy charm. The bougie part of me was glad for a brand new location to open, hoping for a nicer, cleaner space. Trying to bowl here is indeed a frustrating experience, with the cost being $30 just for half an hour per person, and the person working the ticket station who could not be bothered to help us or answer any questions. The ticket lines tend to be very long-- we waited 2 hours playing scrabble and drinking beers at the bar before our ticket for a lane was called up. As with most places, this is likely a better experience if you don't go during prime time-- but bowling on a midweek afternoon is rarely in the cards for me, so in the hall of shame The Gutter will stay for me.

I could not have asked for a better bowling experience. We stopped by The Gutter LES to let off some frustration by knocking down a few pins, and I have to say that this location is my favorite Gutter . . . so far. We visited on an early Friday evening so there was not a wait for a lane. This will probably change as we move through the summer months. The prices were pretty much in line with other bowling alleys in the city (maybe slightly cheaper); however, you have the option to pay per half hour, which I think is rare in NYC. Since The Gutter LES opened early in 2020 (I think) everything is new, nice, and shiny even with the retro vibe. Our bartender, Nick (or was it Mark?), was very friendly and a nice guy to chat with. Although he was the only one handling food and drinks, we did not have to wait very long for our beer refills. Actually, the entire staff was pretty nice and friendly. While we did not have any food at The Gutter, we did enjoy a few pitchers of beer. Let's say that The Gutter has a pretty extensive list of draft beers (in addition to the full-service bar) so there is something for everyone. COVID protocol (June 21). The Gutter requires that folks be vaccinated to enter the alley. However, I was a bit surprised that they did not ask for any verification of vaccination status. But, at the end of the day, if I customer does not feel comfortable entering a place that does not verify vaccination, they do not have to enter.

This place is really horrible dont go here all staff are so rude evan they have so bad attitude. They are fight with one of groups there not with our frds but... we know when we enter that place is not good for anyone And same things are happening with one of group's next to us we are trying to solve the issue and they come to my face so we just left from that place and we take that group out side to because that security guard wont real fight with them... Evan manager was there but he dont evan stop anyone of staff That is the one of the horrible place I ever went

Really enjoyed our time here on a sleepy Sunday. All the staff were lovely, food looks great and will try next time we come. It's not cheap, but who would expect it to be?? A good sized bowling alley in the east village. Not perfect, a few problems with the lane and pins but the lady who helped us paused our time while they sorted it out. Overall, a convenient and fun spot for a quick bowl with great friendly staff.

Was amazing and very cool, nice chill place good is really good and was just a great time. Very much recommend.

My favorite place to bowl and I celebrated my birthday there Now I want to bowl on my own so I can improve I did pretty good I want to know how much to rent a lane to practice

Corinna is so great! Went bowling at a work event and she was so friendly and helpful!

This is a really fun spot to go bowling in the LES! We went on a Wednesday night and were surprised at how busy it was! We had to wait about an hour for a lane which was fine because they have a bar with food and lots of seating. A really cute addition is that you can ask for board games to play at the bar, so my friend and I played Scrabble as we waited. The drinks were good and you can bring them over to your lane when you are bowling. The bowling lanes were great! We had such a fun time bowling and the place was very clean. My only complaint is that there aren't waiters that walk around and take orders while you are bowling. You have to walk back to the bar which stinks since you only get a limited time at your lane. Also, we ordered food that never came and then when we asked about it, the bartender realized the kitchen was already closed. Other than that, it was a super fun night out and I would definitely come here again!

The place is not maintained well, some attitude on manager. Asked for more time till they fix it when they ddnt get back just asked to leave

This is such a fun place to take your friends, a days or even kids for a parents night off. The staff is amazing from the host that check you in (Quiana) to the bartender who helped me (kyle) and the server who brought our food (Hailee). They really make you feel welcome and are there if you need anything. Slowly becoming a regular highly recommend!

Joanna runs the league and is terrible at it (organization, customer service, etc) - she tried to get 16 teams of 6 bowlers to bowl on 4 lanes! Not 4 double lanes, literally 4 lanes. Also, there are only 2 games over 2.5 hours with 3 bowlers/game, so you only get to bowl one game if your entire team is there. Each team is charged over $1000 for this. Oh and at least 4 teams dropped out after discovering this so there are "ghost teams" - very exciting. The league is literally 20 people crammed between 2 lanes. Worst part is when I tried to give feedback to add more lanes, she acted as if I was trying to cancel the league. Joanna is extremely difficult to deal with and just tries to rip people off so the league makes $$$$$$. I heard last year they had a normal league where each time has it's own lane, but they didn't make enough money so decided to let 48 people bowl on 4 lanes to make money.

Posted up to watch the Knicks play on Sunday at the bar and got lucky enough for Nick to be our bartender! He was super attentive and made the vibe much more fun (even though our team started losing). Heading to The Gutter seemed to actually be better than heading to a sports bar. Hope whoever reads this gets to catch Nick in action at the bar!

Overall a decent bowling place with nice wait staff, spoiled by jobsworth management who refused to add time back for a broken lane. We paid for an hour of bowling, but when we got to the lane and our timer started, the pins weren't set and the machine was broken. By the time the machine was fixed, we were down to 50 minutes on the timer, before we were able to start. We explained the situation to two guys (mechanic and manager?) and their immediate response was to be very confrontational and say "no way has it been 10 minutes" and "I've heard this scam before", even though you could clearly see the time remaining (which they refused to check) and that we hadn't had a single frame yet. They claimed they would add five minutes as a gesture, which unsurprisingly never got added. When we explained the situation to the kind waiter who first noticed it was broken, he said he would ask them to add back the lost time, but he told us they were still refusing to add any time. Also, there were free lanes around us the entire time we were there, so it's not as if they were fully booked.

It's a fun retro bowling/bar place only if you are white. I was greeted pretty well at the door by security, but ordering a drink at this place was just shameful. I waited patiently for my order to be taken along with many others, yet everyone else's orders were taken BUT MINE. Three white people walked up to the bar after I did and they were all almost immediately serviced. I thought it was just a misunderstanding so I ended up flagging the bartender over by waving my hands out like I was hailing a cab (politely of course cause I really did think it was a misunderstanding). I was serviced and I tipped because AGAIN mistakes happen and it is what it is. Later on that night, I overheard two other people from my party talking about how they also were ignored and when they called the bartender out. They had a busboy of color assist with them who was pretty funny. LOL. it was then that I realized, if you're not white, you are automatically placed last to be served at this bar. I went out to have a chill night and instead was reminded that my friends and I are nothing but second class citizens. Te food was pretty good such as: pizza, onion rings, and chicken tenders. However, the bar and bowling service were not great. The lady in charge of the bowling was pretty rude, making false accusations, and I will admit that my friend ended up returning the same energy to that lady. We tried to be cordial but sometimes it's just hard to be the bigger person. #sorrywearenotsorry We ended up leaving and going to the Gutter in Williamsburg and had better service. Morale of the night: If you are not white, save yourself the trouble and don't come here.

Came here with friends and after waiting 3 hours they skipped our number. The pitchers of beers were ok but man these drinks at the tiki bar wow 5 stars

DISASTER COSTUMER SERVICE!!!!!!!! FRONT DESK CASHIER LADY IS JUST HORRIBLE. We were absolutely so excited to go out tonight. We arrived at the place and received the most wacky, cold welcome from the cashier lady. She is absolutely horrible, she doesn't know how to give a respectful costumer service. Honestly, she doesn't know how to even treat ppl with respect. I honestly don't understand how out of all the people in New York City they decided to hire her, and keep her. Even if we enjoyed the game, i would think twice before coming back just because I wouldn't want to deal with her again. The place is so cute, and has so much potential, the manager is cute, bartender is amazing. Cashier lady- not.

Awesome bowling alley! I like how it's pay per half HR instead of per game. It's nice to know you'll pay $60 or $70 an HR for as many people as you want. My son normally busts through games like it's nobody's business and by the time I look up he'll blow through 10 games at $12-15 a pop at the other spots in the city (bowlmor). They have a huge bar here and the food is pretty good too. They're scooter friendly. You can take an elevator down from the street and park your scooter/stroller right under the stairs. Friendly staff and they're really cautious with the sanitizing. I'll have to come back during the week before 6pm when it's half off bowling.

My favorite establishment in NYC by a landslide - the staff deal with hundreds of customers every night yet maintain relationships with regulars while appeasing both with class.. I've lived in NYC my entire life and The Gutter LES is on the short list of places I'd bring visitors to the city - they play great music and have good drinks and the food is surprisingly delicious for a bowling alley - just an all around great place to be - Karina and Rebecca are specifically top notch hostesses - not a surprise everyone gets their high score at the Gutter - I want it to be a secret but also they deserve to be known! God speed

While I respect that have gluten free options, I have to say that they are very careless about allergies. My company had an event here last night and they were good enough to order a couple gluten free pizzas to accommodate my allergy. The server told us that one was gluten free, but came back five minutes later to nonchalantly say that it actually wasn't (after I had eaten a slice). One of them had fried chicken on it, clearly not gluten free. The answer to your question is that I did in fact have an allergic reaction and have been sick from it. Hopefully the Gutter finds this feedback useful.

Horrible attitude by everyone on staff. When we walked in, the 2 hostess at the front were smoking a vape and sitting on their phones. They paid no attention until we interjected ourselves into their conversation. The bartender was a rude and dismissive person. He stood talking to a single couple rather than take our order. It took him about 15 minutes to take our order (soda and a beer). After 15 more minutes of watching him talk to the same couple and not getting our drinks, we got up and left. Do yourself a favor and go to anywhere else in Manhattan.

This review is based on a birthday event I hosted here on July 15th. I am normally one to stray from big birthday celebrations but I decided to give it a try this time around. Booking the event was pretty smooth and simple. I sent a booking request via their website and heard back from someone within 24 hours. Any questions I asked were answered promptly. For a reservation, the minimum requirement is 2 lanes for 2 hours with 6 ppl max per lane, which will cost you around $350 (food and drink not included but shoes are). There is a kitchen and guests are able to order typical bar food. The other Gutter locations were about $90 less but don't offer food. We were allowed to bring in a cake and treats as well. When I arrived for my 6 pm reservation at 6 pm, all lanes were occupied. They apparently forgot to reserve two lanes for my event. They were not apologetic at all. Instead they offered the people playing several free shots to free the lanes. I made a joke about a free shot for my birthday and apparently it was not funny because the host had a stone cold face. Playing was fun and my guests had a good time. The interior of the bar is cool and the over all concept is a good idea. The staff helped store the cake and were available to help bring it out when we needed. At the end of the two hours, they stopped our game promptly, which surprised me. Though I understand the principal, there were about 3-4 other free lanes and the place was not busy at all. No one asked if we wanted to add more time and considering our late start because we waited for people to clear the lanes, they could've at least given us an extra 5 minutes. I would return to this location to grab a beer and bowl with a friend or two but would not host an event here again.

Do NOT come here to bowl. They will tell you 30-60 min but girl at front takes CASH to get you the lane before your number. Worse than DMV. We waited THREE hours to get a lane while others walked in and played and our number never got called guess we didn't know it took a $20 bill to bowl. It was a Tuesday. Straight trash. They put their's first. STAY AWAY unless you just wanna drink.

Fun place to enjoy happy hour with friends and family. Clean restrooms and bowling alley sitting. Great food and a wide selection of artisan beers & ciders. I tried the watermelon cider with wings. The staff was quick and kept the bowling area disinfected between changes of the bowling balls and tables for each guest. Wouldn't recommend for children under 12 after 6pm. Establishment had an elevator and ramps leading to bowling area which is great for wheelchair accessibility or other physical disabled individuals.

Hey so if you're looking to actually go bowling then make sure you book in advance, there was a 3 hr wait and we ended up leaving so we didn't bowl! There is a bar so the bar was cool for conversation with a date. The vibe was cool though, great people!

not on a Saturday. we are part of the bowling league for several years. we just left there and the staff at rental desk was completely disrespectful . just go to the one in Brooklyn. this place is just disorganized and a mess

This place was an amazing way to spend a Saturday with friends. 6 of us bowled for an hour for only 100 dollars, including the cost of rental - I'd be hard pressed to find another activity to do in New York City at that price point. The entirely place has a nice, vintage vibe, and you can get food, drink beer, bowl, and play arcade games all in one. The staff are also so nice, and will give you board games to play while you're waiting or in between your turn to bowl. I definitely want to come back for their half off deal on Wednesdays in the future!

Went tonight for the first time in a year and the place has really gone downhill. The lane we were on kept breaking which resulted in lost time that cost over $60 for an hour. To make it worse, the front desk staff was entirely incompetent and we had to go up to them multiple times to get the lane reset even once. All in all out of the 60 minutes we paid for we only were able to actually use it for 40. with about 5 minutes left the lane broke again and we were forced to just give up since the staff was zero help. 0/10 look elsewhere, even if it costs more to bowl in NYC.

staff is hilarious, bartenders are really nice and the person who works at the front is awesome. i always love my little shoes. they are so cute and have little like buckle straps and are red and blue like suede?? how LUXE. good arch support and they have that beat up golden goose look that the mid town girlies would DIE for. i don't think i could run long distance in them, but i do feel like if i had to I could sprint a couple blocks. they also are a mens size 3 which is like makes my feet feel sooooo small, literally i love when she asks me my size and i say "3 please!". also like a young famous couple (out of respect for myself i will not name them) were there and like standing holding up the line and the person working the front desk didn't give a rats ass, treated them just like us common folk. (not in a mean way, in like a your being annoying please stop way) it was awesome. TLDR i love my cute little shoes, i wont steal them but like if i had to steal shoes these could be it.

The Lower East Side needed its own bowling alley so bad. This is a great addition to the neighborhood (when most people I know were schlepping to the Brooklyn location). It's conveniently located by the Delancey St subway entrance, as well as the lovely Essex Street Market [food hall] across the street.

Dinner and bowling vibe. I would love to return here. Drinks were decent, I had 4 presecco and was lot bowling

my friends and i love the gutter, we come here one or two times a month on the weekends. it's open late and we always have the best time. Genesis is lovely and is always a friendly face to see!

The management here does not care about their employees. A bartender got assaulted by a celebrity, with no apology or precautions by management, and continued to work with a black eye and broken tooth. A workers hair got caught in the lanes and remains there because no one wants to clean it up. No management response, no regard.

Gives a nostalgic suburban bowling alley vibe without trying *too* hard. The decor is like an old pub with mismatched light fixtures that look like they were picked up at old Pizza Huts and Applebee's. The machines and lanes all feel very 1999, but I guess on purpose(?) the beer is kind of cheap for this area these days ($27 for a pitcher). Shoe rentals were fine but the price for a game was ludicrous. $70 and hour. I guess it has to be priced this high so it's not too overcrowded, if it was cheap then you'd never get a lane because people would just hang there all day. I get it. I would go back but not very often.

Cute place to sit, chat, eat, and play board games with friends but def listen to these reviewers and don't bowl at this place. Some lanes can be broken like we had tonight and we got no refund, rain check with " ill recognize your face next time" and their solution was 30 minutes free game with 20 min wait time a total of 50 minutes for THEIR MISTAKE. Horrible. If you like to gamble your luck with lanes that work with scoring. Don't come. If u don't care and just want to see your friends knock pins or not, then its ok to spend 80 dollars an hr.

Came here on a Friday night to bowl and it took forever to get a turn, but we had some food and beers while we waited and got awesome service from Max!

Terrible experience. Bowling balls never recirculated in a timely manner. Had to reach out to management several times to get them to recirculate the bowling bowl machine. Additionally, our pins were never fully cleaned up (see photo). Had to reach out again to management to correctly clean knocked pins. Then, our game was paused several times. We never received our time back like we were promised. Last, we were the first people to arrive on a Wednesday at 5 PM. So to place a large group right next to us in an empty bowling alley was the icing on the cake. This just did not live up to our the experience we imagined for our first work team bonding event.

Do not go here. We waited 4 hours and were told over and over would be 20 mins. Purposefully misleading

WHY WOULD YOU NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS?! I've tried to come here on 7 separate occasions and have actually bowled 0 times. Minimum 3 hour wait UNLESS you want to pay $2k. What in gods name is the thought process behind no reservations? You're not conveniently located. People go out of their way to come here. Terrible establishment. NYC needs a solution for those looking to bowl with their friends. 0/10 do not recommend.

this place actually sucks so hard. i've been here 5 times and have had 2 great experiences maybe. The other 3.... maybe start taking reservations if you're going to have 4 hour waits like okay? I get if you're a club or hot restaurant trying to make your name and have wait for clout but you're a BOWLING place. Maybe have a wait time online. It's 2022. You can have technology in your business model easily. like lololol it's so embarrassing and everyone who works here is a complete piece of poor service. so hope i can come back to a great experience soon!

This place seems great at first until you walk in and meet the woman at the front. The second you meet her she is already annoyed and mad at you and extremely disrespectful. As a first-timer, I was expecting some instruction about how it works and what to do, but it seemed like she didn't care or want to be there and was cold and mad when we asked. When our number was called after an hour or so for our lane, she never told us which lane we were and when we asked she again was mad. Don't bother coming here if you want to deal with this person.

Really bad food really bad drinks really bad bowling really bad staff. Overall: no bueno.