Bryant Lake Bowl
Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice, Bar, Other
Hours
Daily
- 8am - 2am
Profile
Neighborhood
- Lyn-Lake
Smoke-free?
- Yes
Reservations?
- Not Accepted
Wheelchair Accessible?
- Yes
Accepts
$$ - average
American, Tex-Mex, Eclectic (Fusion), Eclectic (Varied)
30's bowling alley & cabaret theater with yummy local food, full bar, open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, & late night
Bryant Lake Bowl is very vegetarian and vegan friendly, and always trying to be more earth friendly. We strive to get as much product from local farms as possible. BLB has an extensive beer and wine list, and a full bar. Too many 'best of' awards to list here, see www.bryantlakebowl.com for the current menus. Our cabaret theater has shows almost every night of the week, and the bowling lanes are almost always open bowling.
Corner of Lake St. & Bryant Avenue 2 blocks west of the Lyndale and Lake intersection. See www.bryantlakebowl for a map.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Brunch
- Happy Hour
- Kid-Friendly
- Large Group-Friendly
- Live Music
- Outdoor Seating
- Romantic
- Wireless (free)
Added by Kim Bartmann on Feb 17 05 (updated Nov 20 08)
Reviews
Nice atmosphere, good vegan food, good bowling. Not too shabby, so if yer in the neighborhood, stop in for a bite and I'm sure you'll enjoy the food and have a good time.
Absolutely loved the mock duck rolls! If you go during "happy hour" (3-6 weekdays?) they are only $4 an order!
Bryant Lake Bowl is fun.
For dinner, I'd definitely recommend the Mock Duck Pad Thai. Excellent, fresh spices. The mock rocks!! :-)
For Sunday brunch, the "Reds & Veggies" breakfast is all right (red peppers, broccoli, onions, other vegetables (?) and potatoes) and they seem to give you a decent amount, which is always a plus in my voracious book of appetites.
Ambiance: I can recommend the noisy, joking, and 20-somethings-in-typical-Uptown-screen-print-tee-shirts atmosphere as well. It's a nice place for alternative bicyclists. Bowling is always fun, especially if you have your own shoes. (They only have the usual leather rental shoes, if you want to bowl.)
Service: Usually good. I would like to dance with Johannah. ;-)
Drinks: Beer fans will appreciate the large draft selection. Avoid the $8 Bloody Mary's, however. Ouch. Coffee is so-so, but not bad for a non-cafe location.
Overall, great atmosphere and a few good veggie selections for substance.
As mentioned before, the "reds and veggies" are pretty good for breakfast, and the tofu scramble is decent. It's nice to have another option for vegan breakfast in town.
As far as lunch/dinner goes, I really like the mock duck rolls, but *maybe* not quite for the price and amount you get, but the sauce is awesome. I would like to see at least one or two more vegan entrees other than a veg burger and pad thai.
All that said, I love that they have a billion condiments on the tables. And I love the BLB fries, which are thinly sliced red potatoes fried up and criispy and greasy. Yum.
The Bryant-Lake Bowl is a queer-owned business, and has been since its inception.
There are few restaurants in town that cater to vegetarians and vegans to the extent that the BLB does. It's worth nothing the previous poster's confusion regarding the difference between "vegetarian" (in which case cheese is fine) and "vegan" (not so much with the cheese). The BLB has many options for both.
The BLB is one of the leading lights for queer-friendly and vegan- and vegetarian-friendly dining in town. Don't cheat yourself by skipping this wonderful, wonderful place.
Great beer as well.
DON'T GO THERE! Boycott the Bryant Lake Bowl! They are con artists and liars, and just the opposite of what they claim to be. They get to host the Uptown Pride Block Party, yet one of their waitstaff lied to me and said that they weren't hosting any Pride party in the near future. The staff are homophobic and they hate glbt. They will single you out for abuse and tell you they are giving you special treatment because you are gay. If you go bowling, they will put you on the other side of the lanes from the other bowlers so you won't disturb the heterosexuals. They also charge anywhere from 20%-25% gratuity on top of everything you buy, including bowling games, shoes, tickets, drinks and even tax. Their registers automatically charge a gratuity, even on top of the gratuity you have left. Don't bother leaving any tips, you will be very unhappy with how much they actually charge you the next day! Also, watch out for the thin girl with the black hair and pigtails who serves the bowlers. She is scary!
As far as vegetarian fare, everything they serve has cheese in it. Don't go there!
It's nice that they have vegan food, and it's a fun atmosphere, and the bowling is fun, but the food is overpriced and not that great. The "spicy black bean burger" is a frozen amy's patty on a bun and they charge $7 dollars for it.
This place definitly has options for Vegetarians and Vegans. On their menu they Vegan options such as the Pad Thai, Basmati Rice and Vegetables, and Curry Mock Duck. They also list on the menu if a Vegetarian item can be made Vegan.
They have a few options on the Breakfast Menu for Veggies. There is a Tofu dish mixed with veggies and a side of dirty rice or toast. They also have a hashbrown dish with veggies.
They also have a Veg Chili which was very good.
Overall they have good options for Vegetarians, but I feel their quality of food has gone down over the years
Ratings Without Reviews
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Let's Eat!:
I haven't been terribly impressed by Bryant Lake Bowl's food and service, though I do think the place is fairly cool and has an unusual concept that keeps the neighborhood edgy and smart (unlike, say, Tiger Sushi around the corner).
First, on the few occasions I've been to BLB, I've noticed the service is slow and not overly warm.
Second, I'm not impressed with the food. There are only two or three vegan options on the whole menu and none of them were particularly good, in my opinion. The tofu scramble was slight and bland. The mock duck spring rolls were decent, but only worth getting for the happy hour price of $4.50 (normally they cost a whopping $8). I've also had a black bean burger, which is only vegan if they serve it to you on a baguette, instead of a bun. Well, baguettes and burgers are not meant to go-together, so that was a mistake on my part; also, the burger itself is clearly just a Gardenburger patty you could get at a grocery store.
BLB, you got a nice concept, but you need some new dishes (how about a seitan burger? or a faux chicken burrito?) to get my business.