Strike.
Strike is a nightclub situated in Melbourne which has bowling as its main feature. There are multiple lanes set up across two areas with an arcade/dance floor style area in between. There are also Karaoke rooms beside the bar. The club is actually down one level from the street and the bowling reception greets you as you decend the stair with the first four lanes visible on your left as you enter.
Even though bowling is main feature, don't expect to find any bowling gloves on the clientelle. The lanes a strickly for show-boating. Complete with flashy lights and disco LEDs, the only thing missing was a smoke machine. The music is loud but you can still hear yourself talk.
The bar has beer on tap, and other drinks too. I didn't get a chance to purchase one, but I assume standard club prices with a slight markup. The karaoke rooms are quite large but not airlocked, so everytime you open the door, music from each area will spill into the opposing one.
The atmosphere is hard to pinpoint and it could swing either to bowling or to dancing at any given moment.
The good:
Atmosphere. The feeling of the place is a mix of the seediness of a club, with the pedestrian vibe of a bowling alley, but by having both intertwine, they create something fun with the potential to very entertaining.
Staff. The staff were exceptionally polite, and this includes the doormen. IDs were checked, even for the older members of our group, which might seem annoying but is reassuring in the end.
Registration. The registration process for bowling was painless, although by using pen and paper, a few names were lost in translation.
Shoes. The bowling shoes are comfy velcro instead of laces, and sprayed with deodouriser after each return. This is a cut above even some well established alleys. Original footwear is stored in a box with your group and was returned without issue.
Standing room. Not everyone likes to sit and watch bowling. There were a plethora of standing and leaning areas which still had a good view of the lanes.
The bad:
Lanes. The lanes aren't very good. Plain and simple, but as I pointed out before, they aren't being used for (official) competition. I felt there was a slight drift to the left on our lane which seemed to help the intermediate bowlers, but hinder both the very good and the very inexperienced.
Ball selection. The number of heavy balls available seemed to be less than the number of light balls, which seemed to indicate a more female biased crowd than the normally male dominated sport. This ties in to the club aspect with a high chance of being knocked back at the door to maintain the female:male ratio.
Toilets. The facilities for the males was sorely lacking. If the venue was packed, a trip to the toilet could end up being a long wait.
DJ. The DJ serving the music seemed very unenthusiastic. Maybe because no one was dancing, but that shouldn't discourage you from putting some effort into your set. Still, the music choice on the night was better than most clubs.
Pervs. As stated before, there are a lot of standing areas to watch what's going on in the lanes. With a high female ratio though, there were a number of onlookers who's interest didn't extend to bowling.
Price. Bowling was quite pricey and the premium is assumed to offset the upkeep of the other facilities.
Conclusion:
If you were looking purely for bowling, then you would be better served elsewhere. If you were looking to dance, there are better option. If you want to be able to hot the dancefloor or karaoke with an option to bowl, only then does Strike look like a good option and cuts down on the walking.
Overall, a niche place but not a bad one.
Score: 7/10
