Time to brush up on your Lebowski quotes, because the first of two new bowling lanes in the city is here. Opening this Thursday March 8th in SoMa is the first San Francisco location of LUCKY STRIKE LANES, an import from Southern California. The former Borders location near AT&T Park has been transformed by Ray Azoulay (owner and creator of Obsolete Gallery): there are 12 state-of-the-art bowling lanes (the QubicaAMF bowling system has a string machine that reduces power consumption by 60 percent), giant projection screens featuring local artwork, a 40-foot bar with reclaimed 100-year-old wood beams, lounge seating, and “Alice in Wonderland oversized lamp shades.” There are a couple private rooms, including the Einstein room with two pool tables, two ping-pong tables, a competitive trivia game on a flat-screen TV, vintage chess and checker game tables, a carnival claw game, and a private bar (sure to be the setting for many a start-up IPO celebration party). Fun fact: Grub Street found out that the Giants’ Brian Wilson is an owner/partner, and that they renamed Lane 12 to Lane 38, his jersey number.
You can look at the eclectic menu here, which includes everything from a variety of sliders (prime rib French dip, cheeseburger, roasted chicken) and tacos (short rib, green chile, grilled fish) to sushi, Belgian fries, fondue, mac and cheese, and more. For dessert, there’s organic soft serve ice cream from Straus and Parisian macarons from local L’Artisan bakery. Hours are Sun-Wed 11am-12am, Thu 11am-1am, and Fri-Sat 11am-2am (21+ after 8pm daily). Reserve a lane online. 200 King St. at 4th St., 415-400-8260.
Some of the groovy lighting. Photo from Allison Speer.
