Rowan's
Tenpin Bowling
10 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, N4 2DF
Sun to Thurs 10:30-12:30 / Fri & Sat 10:30 - 2:30
£1 entry fee before 8pm / £3 after (last entry 11:30 / 1)
Rowan's is a fun-loving, no-frills, cheesy tune's kind of night out. If you're missing the 90's and the care free days of youth where all you had to worry about was what top you were going to wear to the school disco or how you were going to tell that guy you fancied them over MSN, then you should probably pay this place a visit to curb your nostalgia (and rid yourself of the desire to listen to Peter Andre).
Complete with two bowling areas, a games room, pool tables, a karaoke room, a dance floor and two bars: the fun really does never stop. We went to Rowan's in aid of a friends birthday, arriving at around 7:30 for our bowling kick off at 8:30. There were around 20 of us and we had to split into 4 separate lanes before the games could begin. It cost around £6 each for a round, which was reasonable enough, as well as £1 for shoe hire. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy bowling, however, how bad I was at it was definitely expected.
The bar upstairs where our bowling lanes were was much quieter than downstairs, however, there was only one person working it so it took AGES to be served (luckily the queue for the bogs was much quicker). I genuinely waited until my next bowling turn at least twice before we were eventually given our pints of Grotsch (yes, it was that or Carling...). Beer was around £4.20 and you could get a single spirit and mixer for a mere £3.50, although be warned of the small glasses and excessive use of ice...
After the bowling, we headed into the games room, which was essentially a massive arcade like those ones you get on not-so-posh seafronts. Inevitably, we found ourselves on the dance floor soon enough, where we were reminded of Sugababe's songs long forgotten, and the brilliant lunacy of Axel F's Crazy Frog. By this point we were tipsy enough to avoid taking ourselves too seriously and eventually headed over into the Karaoke room, which we had booked out from 12:30-2. A solid 90 minutes of terrible singing was welcomed with what seemed to be the only functioning air con in the whole venue.
By the time we got to the karaoke stage of our evening (say no more), the venue was in full swing and had got pretty packed. It was filled with an unusual crowd who were older than I expected. It seems as though people had paid to come an enjoy Rowan's merely as a club night rather than to engage in any kind of bowling or karaoke malarkey, each to their own I guess...
Overall, Rowan's provided us with a cheap and fun activity, nostalgic banger's and cheap enough booze to keep us feeling childlike and silly till the early AM. If they could sort out the wait time at the bar, and potentially take 'Bob the Builder' off the playlist, then this could maybe be considered as a last stop after the pub closes. However, as it stands, I think you're better off going to Rowan's for some serious bowling, and then see where the night takes you...
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://rowans.co.uk/
