Back Alley Bowling - Northridge (formerly Matador Bowl)

Great place to enjoy friendly competition. Also, hearing the excitement from other bowlers. Clean restaurant and bar area. If you're close. It's a must stop. Didn't try the food. But the beers were ice cold.

Really fun night! Went for a friend's bday and we all had a blast.

Overall we really enjoied our bowling experience and will be coming back again very soon. Price was excellent-on a week-day before 5pm. One game for two people- had ourr own bowling shoes was $8 ($4 each). Woman's Bathroom was clean and no aroma. Employees were friendly. Not busy. Sitting area was nice and clean. Had cupboards to out your things underneath the seating areas as well as a table place food near siting area was nice. They will bring you food to your bowling area and their is food -service/wai

Small place. Clean. Good price.

My family and I always have the best time here! The kids love that there's also a little arcade. They sell delicious food and have a bar which is always fun! Great music and great fun atmosphere!

Wish they had the A/C going, all that were going was ceiling fans and I felt like a beached whale. But it's definitely a nice place I'd give it a full 5 if it was cooler inside

Horrible!!! Unfriendly young kids who have no people skills run it. Very rude, can not talk to them as the cell phone is more important then a customer. As if you owe them something the treat you like xxx. We cam there 4 time last 3 months nd today was the last straw! NVEVER WILL WE GO THERE. FAMILY OF 6. LOST OUR MONEY FOREVVVVVVER.

Great place for some fun bowling, prices are great as well. Kid friendly place too, they have a few arcade style games but most werent working. They also have a pool table available. Plenty of parking spaces in front of the business.

Had my Son's 10th birthday party here at back Ally Bowling in Northridge. Staff is AMAZING. This is our new go to place for family bowling ??

Great place with a very fun atmosphere! I don't know about the food but the games are great! Huge bowling area with strobe lights for affect, a pool/darts area, huge arcade-esque room, etc. Fantastic place to let off steam!!

I like this bowling alley. Old school. Nice people working there.

Very fun, nice staff! Make your reservations online so you dont have to wait. The staff always checked in on us to make sure we were having a good time and if we wanted to order food/drinks. We chose this place since they had a better deal! Each lane was $50 and each person who wants to get a shoe rental pays $5 (conpared to other places, their lanes starting at $75!)

We love the Matador. The staff is wonderfully nice here and the prices are out of this world for bowling addicts like us! The facility is very clean and modern. The lanes are nice and the house oil patterns work for us. The staff, yummy snack bar food and bowling "regulars" make this place our favorite!

My first time with my son and we love it, also I intend to celebrate my son birthday there this abril, hopefully we can do it.

Had so much fun. The food is great. Service is fast and reasonable prices. I loved it.

I used to bowl on a league here as a kid. Great times and learned alot that i still use to this day. I won my first tournament here back in '08. Definitely good times and glad to see it's still open and running. One day i will be back!

This is a wonderful place with a great atmosphere for families. They have pool tables and offer a great menu. I had a wonderful time .

Nice local bowling alley with booth style bowlers' seats, fun atmosphere, and good food. Looking forward to coming back.

We had a birthday party in Northridge over the weekend and it went really well! Special thanks to Amy & Chelsea for making sure everything was prepared and on time. This was one of the easiest birthday parties we've ever hosted. See you again soon!

Looks a little dark here. Many lines but 11 in my visit were off (probably out of service) while 10 were open. I gotta wait over 20 minutes even when I saw over 10 lines empty and I do still waiting. After 30 minutes decided to leave. Overall looks clean but I will drive to vanowen and winnetka now. This is a shame because it's close to my house but I think I will go to another bowling place since this place have so many lines out of service.

Pricing was confusing. I am still not sure how i was charged per hour for three people. I honestly dont know. By the game is not available after 5 i think. Really friendly staff. All were helpful and not rude or anything when we had issues. They were more than happy to explain or help out. I havent been here in over 10 years and wow. How much it has improved was impressive

This place was not that clean. Shoes were very old. It is confusing to put the navigation to Back Alley Bowling but reach to Matador.

Not really feeling this bowling alley. There's these ugly partitions up like they're stuck in the year 2020. You can't really socialize with other lanes. The bar is so hot like the heater is on all day. Someone needs to talk to management if they want to stay in business.

Good place to play bowling with friends and family. They play music above where you play, so it might be a little distracting.

Very fun and the people where very nice to me and my brothers

A great place to have fun with your friends! My favorite part of this is that when it turns to be 9pm all the lights go neon. I went there for New Years. I had a great time and all my friends won a trip to go to Las Vegas!

You'll enjoy a nice amount of parking & clean arcade at this establishment

I haven't been here for a few years. Now that I have kids. My daughter the older one and my son who is autistic. I convince my wife that we should give it a try. So I went with my daughter first for 45 minutes, then told me wife to bring my son and see how the noise level of the music and other people having fun bowling Just for my wife to run into the most ruthless stuff member and tell my wife she can't bring water for my autistic son in his favorite cup to be turn around to leave the cup back to the car

Loved it. Came here for a party and we all had some much fun.

Omg the security people working overthrew they asking for money old man an young man

Fun place nice staff running at food's good. Very happy to find an old tool bowling alley that still has to Tumblr machines in the back. Most modern places just have a pens on strings which just doesn't give you the same game.

Fun great environment and fantastic food

I had a problem with management charging me for time I didn't get and had some reach out to me and correct the problem promptly. I am very happy they fixed this right away because I have been coming here since I was a child and I have very fond memories of this place. Also, the food was amazing!!!

Can never go wrong coming to matador, especially Monday nights. $5 to get and only $1 per game, beat price in town. The black light bowling is fun too. The lanes are always well oiled too, Best time to come is after league so there is still some fresh oil left on the lanes. Food and drinks are good here, cheese fries and a pitcher of golden roads mango cart is the best combo. They have pool tables and darts to play while you wait for a lane on a busy night.

This is a review on their front desk clerk. I came in on a Sunday morning with my Asian family. There was one person ahead of us. It took awhile to help him. He leaves and this lady didn't say anything to us. They let us wait in front of her for another 3 mins not saying she'll be right with us or she's waiting for him to come back. Not a word. Finally, she asks how many bowlers. No pleasantries, no sorry for the long wait. We get our lane and are about to start bowling but needed help to get bumpe

This place is really fun to play at. The employees are friendly and did their job well

I go for the 9AM special on the weekends, which is great. Advertises no outside food but dose not offer any breakfast items or coffee. I'm not eating garlic fries and soda at 10 o'clock in the morning.

Came here for my nieces birthday and the service was amazing. They have a full bar for those who lack bowling skills and need a bit of alcohol courage and strength lol. My boys loved the wings and the chicken tenders. Overall a great experience.

We waited about 30 minutes to get a spot to bowl for myself and the fam bam. Which I guess was not bad because meanwhile, we visited the little arcade that ended up eating most of our tokens. There were little things here and there that could have made the experience way better. Overall, my family had a good time despite the 50/50 service. Hopefully next time it will be a different experience if not the last one there. P.S. be sure to not take a sweater it is an oven in there.

Love coming here either by myself or with friends. Great staff and prices if you go Sunday mornings. Has been updated since being taken over.

Don't book "extreme bowling"!! Their website promises something special if you come Friday or Saturday night, but it's a complete lie. What you will get is ridiculously overpriced regular bowling. If you want extreme bowling, apparently it's only at the Glendale location. Save yourself making the same expensive mistake I did. I can't recommend the customer service either, as I was hung up on and given the run around when I tried to get some kind of resolution for their FALSE ADVERTISING

We scheduled a corporate event on pretty short notice for about 70 people. To be honest, I didn't expect the level of service I received. From the moment we first called, the staff was extremely accommodating and friendly. They were able to meet all of our requests on short notice, and when we actually had the event I honestly felt like we were treated like VIPs. They had staff dedicated to us at all times. The food and drinks arrived at the right times. The quality of the food and drinks was much better th

Extremely friendly staff, great management. I went with a party of 10 on New Year's and we had a blast. Food was great. I recommend the Nachos lol. A Perfect place to take the Family.

This was rough. Looks like they're remodeling which is good, but balls got stuck and took a while to recover. Also the score board isn't very intuitive. Hopefully when fully renovated it'll be better

Had my birthday party they're tonight a surprise from my wife. It was super fun. Matador staff was on point to make this a great party. Channel our server was so great and friendly we felt like she was part of the family. The DJ really had the party going. Awesome time

Went here the other day for a friend?s 21st birthday after dinner. Obviously we went with the intention of having a good time and consuming alcohol. Everything was fine until an older lady that worked there approached us in a rude demeanor. She threatened to close our lanes if we didn't throw away two alcoholic drinks that some friends had brought in from outside. The drinks were practically empty and she could?ve asked politely. I don't understand what the problem was if they sell alcoholic drinks there to

I had a nice time in here with my family. It's a good place!

Fun place, it was very crowded, but that's good, people getting out and it's such a fun family activity. The shoes could be updated, they were somewhat old and I know they spray them, but there was a smell. I did enjoy the game we played and it was a very fun place. I would go again.

Had a birthday party for 4 year olds here and it was a great experience. From working with Ashlee, the event manager, to our day of coordinator, Mia, it was so easy and less stressful than other parties I've done. The kids had a great time!

Had very nice time buy is expensive.

Was great for my son's birthday . He had such a good time with his friends and they've never bowled before. Pizza was tasty but wings were too darn salty over other seasonings

The staff was friendly, place was clean, and so was the equipment. I didn't get a chance to try any of the food, but the alcohol service was good. Do yourself the favor and pay by the hour, its a better deal then per game if you have a group of four or more.

It was crowded, good vibe although a few angry people arguing with each other about their scores. The food there was actually good, the little flat bread pizza was good but really small ):. Had a good time.

Nice an clean. Lots of bowling lanes and saw some billiard tables. They have a kitchen for pizza and other fast-food. There is bar serving beer, liquor and cocktail drinks. The bowling screens are a bit slow, sometimes they glitch. The parking needs a bit of repair. Great place to spend

Nice bowling alley. My 3 year old had fun and discount prices on Saturday mornings.

We had a great experience. We had our sons 16th birthday. Staff was courteous and on top of our every need. The lanes were clean and organized. The party was planned well. Thanks for helping us have a great party.

THIS PLACE HAS A KIDS ARCADE, MORE THAN HALF OF THE TIME THEY DON'T WORK BUT GLADLY TAKES THE MONEY ANYWAY. THE MANAGER ALWAYS SEEMS TO AVOID MY CALLS AND WON'T CALL BACK. THEY BLAME THE OWNER OF THE GAMES YET THEY STILL KEEP THEM THERE.

Went there for the first time with my family, and the experience that we got was horrible. Poor customer service. I felt like we were being discriminated. Never coming back here again. You can't bring any drink inside from outside and if u do they will not let you and your whole family consume in there.

Good bowling. Service is very slow. Waited 1 and 20 minutes for an over priced pizza. Funny part is they kept announcing not to bring outside food! ?? well if your Service wasn't soooo slow probably people would have to bring in food.

I went with a group of 10 awesome service really cool stuff the best nachos I've ever eaten and didn't have to wait

Couldn't get a chance to play. Coz of 2 hrs wait time

Easy to get parking spot. Nice bowling alley? employees are friendly .

The place is alright, you can order food there and play bowling with some friends and family. They do have a policy to not bring in any food from outside. PS. I asked for water and they told me that they didn't have any but there is a vending machine for you to get water. One last thing, expect them to take a couple of minutes more to get the food out if you ordered any.

t the parking was a little confusing I was a little unsure of how to get there on Google Maps when I got there it took me to the other side where the gas station was at but overall the parking was okay convenient for disabled people and the food was okay as well I have no complaints. It was a nice environment and they had bathrooms for all genders which is kind of different they also have a bar inside so you can watch your sports and they have cosmic bowling at night which is interesting to they serve beer

Great place to bring friends and family. I'd give them 5 stars but there's only 2 pool tables. On a busy night, we have to wait. Maybe add another 2 more. I still come. Overall I like this place.

Found long strand of hair in our burger! If that wasn't enough they raised the charges differently from Receipt by almost $20! Fortunately we got that reversed. We'll never step in here again!

This is NOT a bowling alley for BOWLERS ... it is a Chuckie Cheese type entertainment for out of control undisciplined children. The manager is no help. They talk you into paying by the hour ... really poor customer service ... The children and ADULTS are eating on the actual approach .. Horrible waste of time ... This place is a BABYSITTER for undisciplined children or just pain old CHOAS! Have another BEER!

Our mortgage company had an event today and I really enjoy it, I was impressed with the food they serve, very nice. Clean and lots of parking. U will recommend for a great time.

Lots of fun!!!! The shoes were comfy, the way the TV shows how much you scored was funny to. The food was ok, did not expect anything crazy, but it did the job. And of course, the bowling was fun. And glad they had smaller bowling balls.

Very bad bad experience. Will NOT ever go again. Bad customer service even the manager, might be cheap to bowl there but not worth it. Not with that customer service. The only person that was nice couldn't remember the name was the employee working in the food station. The manager and some of her staff really need to take customer service class or something.

Went with my two daughters and bought two games. The food was exceptional, the people were really helpful, and the arcade was great with a mix of old and new games. Friendly for all ages. Even when we didn't play our second game because we were feeling tired, they gave every member in our party a free game for our next visit. Thanks Matador bowl!

Great place for parties and it's a great place for someone who just wants to bowl! The staff were really nice, they will answer all your questions! They are really kind and they want you to have the best experience there! I really liked this place and would be willing to come back!

Didn't bowl but had an awesome experience in their bar! 5 stars to the GM Jason! Great bartender, great specialty cocktails and a great atmosphere. We're coming back!

This was my weekend go-to place back from 2013 to around 2017, I came back last weekend and with the new owners, I notices a couple of changes starting with the price, which went up by a lot still fun to go for an hour but will cost you for sure, got upset when I ordered 2 pizzas and not they are 50% smaller and cost more than before. For the price, honestly,, there are much better bowling alleys.

I give it 5 stars because of the amount of fun you get to have here. There's an arcade, a bar, and they even serve food. Make sure you reserve online so you don't get stuck waiting for 45 min - 1 hour for a lane to open up for the non-stop reserves.

Ashley was mean and kinda ruined our family experience. The lane was broken and didn't get fixed... Ugh so glad the kids we had are easy to please and they had a good time.

it's a very fun place to take friends and family

Matador Bowl is a great bowling alley to go and play. It's fun. The staff are great. And when they do the "Cosmic Bowl ", it's great!! Neon colors EVERYWHERE!!!! It just enhances the bowling experience!! The food is great (a bit pricey. But I think worth it). Plus they do birthday parties. Great for the kids.

Great place to have fun. You can make a reservation and they added a full bar with in the last couple of years. Had a great time and will definitely be going back for another night out.

Such a great place to come and have fun with your friends and your family the lanes are beautifully lit they give you an area for you to sit and lounge. The prices are great. It does get a little busy in the evenings. The services is excellent.

EDIT: I get a comment back on this review saying that this didn't happen?! Hahahaha. So not only horrible service but ignorant owners too. How are you going to tell me this did not occur. Oh sorry I forgot you were physically there while it happened. I have no reasons to lie as you can check on my page and see honest reviews all ranging from 1-5 stars. Just because you get a comment you don't like you can't tell people it didn't happen. What a joke lol, no wonder I kept hearing Winnetka bowling is better th

We had our year end party there. All our staff had an awesome time. The food was delicious. Everyone absolutely enjoyed the food and the bowling. Would love if our staff come there after work on Fridays.

So don't go to matador bowl. They don't have parking for the crowds. They have a lead so that makes it rough to know when you can actually bowl. We got there at 7:30 they said come back at 9:15 A woman said the best time to play is on Monday. Even if you buy food they don't suggest eating at the bar (which is low key hidden) i bought Buffalo Wings and a foutain drink no one suggested to where I could seat and eat until i started to bowl. I never been ignored before i felt disrespected. sad to say my boyf

We had a lot of fun here for my daughters birthday small get together.

What a bad experience! I was assigned a lane next to a family with little kids. I requested to be moved to the one on my right side since the guy playing there just finished. And this was before I even started playing. But was told that I can't because the server was down. The place was virtually empty. I was told there was a league starting in a couple of hours so the gal in the counter told me I can only play one game. And that one game was terrible. The kids on the next lane kept running around including

Not sure why it's called Backalley Boowling on the inside but Matador Bowling on the outside. It's confusing. The bartenders were amazing as well as the attendees thank you! The bathrooms were clean and there were plenty of balls. The thing that sucked was the fact that we couldn't get a pitcher of beer nor soda or anything bc it was against the regulations. We had a pretty decent sized group of parents, adults mixed with teenagers and we were still not allowed. Lastly my nieces friends were getting picked

Great fun for young and old. Get the kids out of the house doing a safe physical activity away from the TV and having too much fun to think about phones and video games. Food and drinks and a safe environment.

Like bowling here would be a 5star except for a few easily repairable things. Place feels confined need to take down the separation walls. They feel like they are close to falling over as well. Pandemic is over so let's move on. Was interested in starting league and talked to Steven who was extremely helpful and friendly. Great guy was very knowledgeable, and informative. Steven also seems to be a great asset to matador as while we were talking several other employees came to him with issues that he was abl