Yes, we’re talking bowling. Or at least we were supposed to be – in our latest visit to Dog Bowl, Keeley had enlisted the help of Cheryl to her team and I still had Mr GFB – my not so secret weapon. He’s been kind of coaching me, so I can improve. I’m never going to be good at it, but better than bad is a start. Seriously, I’ll take ‘OK’ or even ‘fair to middling’.
Anything is better than crap.
The lanes were busy and, though we figured we’d probably regret it when we waddled around trying to bowl later, we thought we should eat first.
I couldn’t come to Dog Bowl and not have a cocktail or two – whilst Mr GFB is more fond of a beer, I was in the mood for something fruity and opted for the Black Dog Brown. Blackberries, Jim Beam, Liquor 43, bitters, lime juice in a prettily rimmed glass. Sweet, slightly rich and just what I needed while we awaited the ladies’ arrival.
Food wise, we’d decided to do some sharing. For me, certainly, a working lunch meant a full three courses was going to severely hamper my bowling ability – to the point where I’d be more likely to nap in a corner than actually be on my feet.
So we opted to share two starters between us – the nachos with chilli, guacamole and a new one to us, the prawn skewers. The nachos, whilst not pretty, were meaty, full of flavour and satisfying. I’d have taken a bit more seasoning and sharpness in the guacamole, but we more than happy to dig in, munch and chat.
The skewers, I’ll admit, confused us a bit. The prawns were great – juicy, just cooked, a good amount of spice. Underneath, however, the toasted white bread seemed to offer very little to the dish, except to act as a trencher for the oil from the prawns. Unpleasant. Given the usual quality we’ve had from Dog Bowl, this seemed rather disappointing.
However, drinks were flowing, chatter was too, and we moved on to mains.
We eschewed our normal burger options and selected something a little bit different – one of the new additions to the menu caught Mr GFB’s eye. He selected the smoked brisket with sweet potato fries, hushpuppies and South Carolina slaw.
And he wasn’t disappointed. In fact the hushpuppies were better than our last visit, so he was a happy chappy.
Despite an extra wait, I needed the fried chicken dinner – my love of gravy is well known. Sticking with the smaller of the options (3 pieces), I was rewarded with hot crisp chicken, and rich gravy, with toasted bread and mashed potato to mop it all up with.
The downside, however to ordering something with a longer than normal wait, is that the potato had (probably?) been on the pass a little too long and had developed a bit of a skin. Underneath this, was creamy potato beaten into submission with a good amount of butter and this with the chicken was just what the doctor had ordered.
Dessert loomed. And after such a big main, we returned to sharing.
The Big Bowl sundae was a no brainer – everyone could dip a spoon in and get a mouthful of sweet chocolate and marshmallow, or better still, chunk of brownie. Sometimes, simplicity is what works.
The Apple and Muscovado Cheesecake was our second choice. I have to admit I remain unconvinced – maybe this is down to the jelly on top (and my general dislike of jelly). Or maybe because the cheesecake tasted more like butterscotch, I presume due to the Muscovado, and any apple was a little lost.
I wanted to like it, but maybe this is a personal preference thing. It wasn’t for me.
We sat back, relaxed and pondered bowling.
This is where things fell down a bit for us. It took us some time to catch the attention of our wait staff and, when we did, the bill was incorrect – confusingly so. It then took us rather a while to catch their attention again to query it. We had no issue with paying what was due, but it didn’t make any sense.
And as for bowling? The large group of 30 or so, whose piercing squeals at every bowl had made it essential for us to shout at each other over dessert, despite being at the opposite end of the venue, had taken every lane. It would be impossible.
Disappointed, we sorted the bill and headed home.
After this disappointing visit, I contacted Dog Bowl and fed back our experiences and they investigated.
It seems our service issues were not isolated incidents and they shared our disappointment. They have, in fairness, put motions in place to correct these issues.
Thank you guys. We appreciate that our feedback was taken on board. As a customer (you’re quite handy for a work lunch you know), reviewer, blogger this is all we can ask.
The meal and drinks in this review were paid for by Black Dog Bowl. This wasn’t originally set to be a fully paid for visit, however, issues with the bill resulted in this. We thank Dog Bowl for both taking on our feedback and for being so kind as to cover the bill following the confusion.