Bowl & Barrel Opens big with VIP party, cool vibe, really good food

Move over, TopGolf, there’s a new game in town.

Bowl & Barrel, Dallas’ first upscale, boutique bowling alley, is finally here, and it made quite a debut last night at a private VIP opening to show off the some drinks, and of course, the lanes.

The 15,000 square-foot entertainment destination, located at the Shops at Park Lane, features 15 bowling lanes and a full-service restaurant that serves American tavern food crafted by Chef Sharon Hage. The menu ranges from artisan hot dogs to oysters on the half shell, plus some seasonal changes. Like any respectable bowling alley, B&B also has an impressive beer hall, serving craft beers,  specialty cocktails, and wine, by the bottle and the barrel.

But while B&B owners Kyle Noonan and Josh Sepkowitz, both SMU grads, have kept all the staples of a traditional bowling alley, their new creation seamlessly fuses a classic game (serious bowlers may argue it’s a sport, but I am dubious) with a hip urban restaurant and bar. Aside from the bowling lanes, I felt as though I could easily have been spending the evening at a trendy new hot spot in Uptown.

Among Hage’s menu items sampled last night,  the cornish hand pies and oysters stood out from the pack. Of course, everything goes down easy with a large stein of cold beer and  bite-sized cups of butterscotch pie. Hage was on hand to expedite the line, but she told EscapeHatch’s Mike Hiller that her role as menu consultant ended last night. Hage, who now owns a restaurant consulting business and has no plans to open her own restaurant, begins two new restaurant consulting gigs in Miami this week.

As for the lane action at B&B last night, the idea was to let everyone mingle and have a few rolls rather than play out full-length games. You bowled until you knocked down all the pins, however many turns it took. That sounded like a good idea at first, until I realized that sometimes getting a clean slate after two turns is a blessing in disguise. I’m not willing to disclose how many tries it took me to pick up one tricky 7-10 split, but I freely admit I’ll be back again soon.

Bowl & Barrel, 8084 Park Lane, open Sunday to Thursday 5:00 p.m. to midnight;  Friday and Saturday 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.