There comes a time when an invite drops into your inbox that you partly dread. I mean I’ll happily try new things but there are some things that, no matter how hard I try, I just cannot get right. That thing, my friends, is bowling. I’ve talked about it before when I let Dogbowl and All Star Lanes fight it out for the Manchester bowling crown (you can read the post HERE) but the time had come to go back. And let me tell you… I was nervous.
Choosing to dull the nerves the only way I know how I chose a porn star martini. I am a huge fan of this cocktail and had my first one ever at Dog Bowl. This one looked a lot different from the pretty yellowy orange drink I am used to with a slightly pink tinge. It tasted good though if a little overly sweet.
Desperate to get on track with healthier eating I decided to choose less calorific options than normal so we decided to share some starters. The chilli nachos were piled high with a garlicky guacamole and a fairly mild chilli with cheese and sour cream. They were quite good but not the best I have had. I like a mild chilli but I know friends would have been disappointed with the lack of heat. The BBQ shrimp skewers were plump and juicy with a touch of Cajun spice and smothered in BBQ butter. I really enjoyed them but couldn’t quite understand why they were sat on a warm piece of bread. It would have worked if the bread were more toasted but with the melted butter it ended up quite soggy.
Onto our mains and I had the Big Gun burger on Food Geek’s recommendation. The chicken was chargrilled and juicy with a fresh tomato salsa and lightly spiced South West sauce. I ate it without the bun and didn’t feel like I was missing out which is always a bonus! Unfortunately the chicken was cold and could have done with staying on the grill was longer. The fries could have done with a little longer in the fryer too but they were well seasoned.
Cheryl ordered the beef dip. It looked a bit sloppy on the plate but then the menu does say to eat with a knife and fork! The beef brisket was soft and ‘melt in the mouth’ with jack cheese being a nice touch. I think more stock for dipping would have been welcome but I’m sure it would have been provided had we asked.
We waited a fair while for our plates to be cleared and the dessert menu to arrive which was a little disappointing especially considering there were only a few diners left at this point. Going for sharing options again we ordered the big bowl sundae and the apple and muscovado cheesecake. The sundae was pretty simple with ice cream topped with marshmallows, brownie chunks, cream and chocolate sauce. It wasn’t what I would describe as ‘big bowl’ but it certainly hit the spot when I was hankering for a bit of ice cream. The apple and muscovado cheesecake was lovely but didn’t really taste as described. The topping was jelly-like in consistency and didn’t really taste of much. The cheesecake itself was delicious with the muscovado flavour coming through heavily so it overpowered the topping quite a bit. I’d rather they call is muscovado cheesecake and leave off the topping personally.
We ended our night here but unfortunately that hadn’t been the plan. We had been booked in to bowl but there was a large group whooping and screaming every time the balls hit the pins who were taking up all the lanes. Now I am not one to break up a party and I’m not sure if it is the layout of Dogbowl but every shriek pierced our eardrums like you wouldn’t believe. It was unpleasant and we weren’t the only ones looking around wondering what the racket was. The noise caused the doorman (on a Tuesday night!) to come into the bowling alley but he didn’t say anything to them. Perhaps a polite, “please can you keep the noise down” would help? It seems the wait staff were also keen to watch the bowling as we waited over ages for our final bill to arrive failing to be able to catch anyone’s eye for quite some time. I guess it was good for me as I got out of having to bowl but it was a bit unfair on the rest of the group.
We were invited to dine as guests of Dogbowl and weren’t ask to pay for our meal. Our comments were passed to the restaurant prior to this review being published so they were aware of the issues and could look to rectify them. We have since been advised these are in hand. As always this is an honest and unbiased review.
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