When you enter Bowlmor you descend stairs directly to the front desk and to an enormous, tall shelf filled with white bowling shoes. The overall feeling is very mid-century modern, with an emphasis on modern. There is a wall of huge TV's over the bowling alley lanes playing music videos and sports. It's a bit dark inside for the middle of the afternoon, and the music is pretty loud, but it was that way at the old alley, too. I noticed that the bowling lanes have been updated and they have a computerized scoring system directly over each lane. I also spied a new arcade all the way at the end, past the bowling lanes (more on that later).

Once we checked in and got our shoes, we went to our assigned lane. There are chandeliers over the seating areas and bowlers can relax between frames on their red and grey banquettes. This is a significant upgrade from the molded plastic seating of the alley's past. The fully automated lanes feature controls that set the bumpers to go up or down depending on each bowler's preference. That's pretty cool. I may be a terrible bowler and prefer bumpers, but a bowling purist who is out with the kids will love that personalized touch. I noticed that in the lanes next to ours, there was a party. Usually, when you're seated next to a party at a bowling alley, you feel like an unintentional third wheel because you're so close to the people in the next lane. Not here. Bowlmor has managed to create a space where parties feel somewhat separate, even though they're in the middle of the bowling alley action. Behind each lane, there is a bar height counter where the party food is set up, so people having a party can eat and mingle easily. 

Back to bowling... there were plenty of bowling balls to choose from in lighter weights, which is important because that wasn't always the case. We always had to hunt around for a lightweight ball with finger holes that fit. It's a little thing but it makes a big difference if you can start out with the right bowling ball. We started to bowl our first game when a very nice waitress came to our table to ask us if we needed anything. We asked for water and I took a look at the menu. I was so impressed by what they had to offer with choices like avocado hummus, baja fish tacos, mango chipotle wings, lots of pizza and flatbreads, a three cheese grilled cheese on sourdough, plus burgers, salads and desserts. There were some notable, and enormous, options on the menu like the 5 pound Behemoth burger and the oversized Monster Cookie Melt. I ordered some of their Loving Tenders (chicken tenders) and an order of Buffalo wings.The wings were respectable but the tenders were fantastic. My picky son declared them to be the best chicken tenders he had ever eaten. I had to agree that they were pretty darn good and asked the waitress why they were so tasty. She said they're not frozen but made fresh every day. All in all, the delicious, upscale food is a nice improvement and helps Bowlmor become more of a destination for bowling and lunch or dinner. 

After we finished our first game, we checked out the arcade. Bowlmor took out the last 10 bowling lanes and converted the space to a game room and laser tag arena. The game room is separated from the bowling lanes, but you can clearly see the arcade games from the bowling alley. There are a lot of big, bright video games, the likes of which you would see at a major arcade, as well as skee-ball and claw machines. You buy tokens at a kiosk which gives you a card to use on all the games (the card itself will set you back 50 cents) and you can collect virtual tickets and exchange them for prizes. We played some video games and peeked in at the laser tag arena, which looks like a lot of fun for older kids and adults. We bowled one last game before heading out. All in all, a great experience. 

I returned to Bowlmor a couple of weeks later with my son and daughter as well as a friend with her three kids. I would say the second experience was almost as fun as the first with a few key differences. We had to wait a really long time to bowl. We arrived on a busy afternoon during a school break, so we obviously had the same idea as everyone else. The staff at the front desk took our name and gave us a pager, but we waited for over an hour. I do commend the desk staff, they were doing their best. I give them credit for handling the crowds, but there was clearly too much demand for bowling and not enough space. Good for Bowlmor for becoming so popular, because Rip Van Winkle was never that crowded. If you don't mind waiting in the arcade for your bowling lane to become available, then you'll be fine. But if you want to walk in and bowl, I recommend calling ahead for a reservation.  

Finally, the price: Bowling will set you back anywhere from $3.49 to $9.29 per game, per person depending on the day of the week and time of day. Most family friendly bowling times will see a rate of $4.79 for weekdays before 4pm, $6.29 for Fridays before 4pm, $7.29 for Saturdays before 6:00 and $6.49 for Sundays before 6pm. Shoe rental is $5.49 per person, too. They also offer certain times with unlimited bowling or rentals included.

Bowlmor Lanes, 701 Connecticut Ave, Norwalk CT, 06854, 203-838-7501