Super Bowl Elephant And Castle

Remember when you were 13 and a Saturday night out involved going to a bowling alley where there were sticky carpets, an aroma of sweat and urine and, of course, slush puppies? Well this place is exactly like that. It’s so bad it’s good though.
For less than a tenner you can bowl and get a vodka slush puppy! You can also get four shots for just £10. Where else can you get that in London?
It’s dated and not in the nicest area but with the right people it’s good cheap fun.

Definitely not a place for tourists or hipsters, but it is wonderfully craptacular!
Sure it could do with some renovations, but it’s authentic Elephant & Castle.
This is what a bowling venue should be — unpretentious, working class, and you can walk in without having to book in advance, and bowl to your heart’s content.
Secret: It is the venue for the regular Mozilla Geek Bowling

I feel that for some, this place holds some charm. Some long-​held childhood memories or maybe a fondness for huge, blocky, tasteless buildings.
However, I have neither of these, and can confidently — and without regret — say that this bowling alley is a dump.
I am not claiming to be an excellent bowler by any means, but I can tell when lanes are made of warped wood and haven’t seen an oiled cloth in 5 years. Maybe they only oil the lanes at the end of each decade to commemorate another 10 years of not going bankrupt.
There is, however, one positive of this place. They do £10 pitchers of beer (and they are not small). I feel this is to ensure no one notices the quality of the lanes, but I was more than happy to go along.
tl:dr
— Never come here to bowl unless you want to beat your head against the wall with frustration.
— DO come here to drink cheap beer and practice trick shots like hitting 1-​hopper strikes with a 6lb ball.

I simply love the environment. Firstly the walk from the station is just lovely because one of the routes is via a lake feature with lots of ducks doing their duck thing and its about a seven minute walk to the bowling arena.

Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre is a prime contender for ugliest building in London, and soon it’s days will be over when regeneration plans for the area see it demolished. But in the mean time, I am savouring it for all its hideousness and even feeling a pang of sadness that I won’t be able to fling insults at it for much longer — it’s the perfect scapegoat.
I had never actually ventured inside the building until earlier this year, and sure enough it’s just as soulless and ugly on the inside as out… but there is one reason to visit, if only in an ironic sort of way — the bowling alley!
I went there on a Saturday night for a friend’s birthday and it was like stepping back in time to a suburban teenager’s weekend. It’s as though the whole place has stood still in time for the past xx years. luckily this is reflected in the prices, for both bowling and drinks, which are wonderfully cheap.
There is everything you’d expect from an 80s bowl — swirly patterned carpets, overly loud dance music, flashing lights, an air-​hockey table, microwave snacks, curly fries, pinball machines, old-​school bowling shoes, dust and of course teenagers. It’s amazing, and afterwards you get to walk through the deserted shopping centre.
So if you fancy a trip back into childhood, or just a true 80s experience, then get to the Superbowl before it’s gone forever!

After meandering through the vast network of subway tunnels under the round-​about at elephant & castle and emerging on southwest side of A3 (elephant & castle) you are immediately greeted by a small market set up on the pavement. Walk south another 100 meters and on your right will be an outdated city mall. Upon entering ascend the escalators to the third floor and then directly in front will be the entry to Palace Superbowl. After passing through a non-​descript corridor the reservation desk is tucked off to the right. We were able to secure our lanes easy enough (2 lanes were booked for us in advance), though there were plenty of lanes available if we hadn’t booked in advance.
The digital screen and control panel at lanes 21 & 22 was broken and out of place, however the bowler’s names were still able to be entered. From there we went to the bar to order a round of drinks. Either the «actual» bartender was on vacation or it is just really hard to find good help. The man behind the bar moved as slow as molasses and seemed to enjoy pouring a mug full of foam instead of actual beer. When asking for a lemon, he essentially said no because that would have required him to «go down to the kitchen». We wouldn’t any work going on! Once we received our drinks we were able to get down to business and enjoy a good time bowling.
Just to keep up the right mood, the background music was the traditional cheesy songs from yesteryear. The selection of balls to choose from was fine, although they could have used a few lighter balls in the 6 – 10 lb. range. The lanes worked well for the two games we bowled, except for one instance which staff quickly repaired. The air vent coming out of the ball rack at the lane seemed to be a bit clogged as it was more like a slow puff.
After the first game we ordered some food from the bar (a different one from the one above). The woman behind the counter must have been related to the bartender, or they went to same slow service training school. After hanging out behind an employee door for awhile I was able to order some food (a mixed platter and a childs burger and chips). The food arrived within about 10 – 15 minutes. I was very hungry so it was good to finally put something in the tummy. If I had been a little more selective I may not have chomped down on the half soggy grub.
Through all the service woes, the bowling was great fun! The shared company made for a fun evening. With all of its troubles, this is still a place to get out and enjoy a good time with some friends or colleagues. Just be sure to get home early, because as reviewed at qype, this is not an area of town you want to be walking around in late at night and especially not alone.