The Dart Bowl Cafe

Good burgers, enchiladas, and chicken fried steak.

My favorite type of food is Tex-​Mex. My favorite dish, and measuring stick, is the cheese enchiladas. This places serves up a heaping pile of cheesy goodness and I love that you get pickled jalapenos with them. This dish was soooo delicious, I’m salivating thinking about it. The rice and beans that I ordered along with the enchiladas were awesome too. Most places that aren’t tex-​mex (and even a few that are), totally miss the mark on good rice, but they hit the target with their rice AND beans here.
Then, there’s the homemade bread that they make in house, slice, butter, throw on the griddle and serve up hot. Wow, it’s incredible and something you’ll never get at any other place that serves cheese enchiladas.
I think I’m going to have to go back ASAP!

The nachos. Period. So simple to cook, right? But they make them so great here, better than I ever could. I hear the enchiladas are amazing. That’ll be my next choice.

I really didn’t have high expectations for this café to begin with, I mean it is a hole in the wall in the back of a bowling alley. However some of the greatest food comes from little hole in the wall places like this. That wasn’t the case with this café The food was ok nothing spectacular it was very mediocre the service was by far the worst part about it. One lady running the whole café and she obviously couldn’t handle it we sat for a very long time for her to come and tell us she would be back soon. She never asked us what we wanted to drink and the food took almost 30 mintues. She dropped it off ran off and she never came back to check on us once. One thing that I didn’t understand was I saw several people in the back of the house and not one of them came to help the lady nor did she ask for help. It seemed as if she would rather leave the guest sitting there neglected than ask someone to assist her. I was extremely dissatisfied and will never go back nor will I ever recommend anyone else to.

The kids and I never visit Dart Bowl without also eating at the café. Bowling tends more to be the excuse for visiting the café actually. It’s honest food at an honest price.
I almost always order the enchiladas with eggs. They aren’t huge or anything, but they are certainly yummy and homestyle. Must choose the homemade toast option to sop up all the enchilada sauce with.
My kids have had the two egg w/​bacon breakfast, the huevos rancheros, and the hamburger. I’ve also had the bacon egg cheesburger and fries.
Their fries are real, fresh cut fries. Superior.
The burger patties are small, so just expect that. But the complete burger is very good. The bacon happened to be missing from my bacon egg cheeseburger, I think it made it’s way onto my daughter’s huevos rancheros plate with her other bacon. I like this place too much to really care.
The huevos rancheros plate is a lot of food, and my daughter enjoyed every last bite and was nice and full (I have to order her a 2^nd breakfast someplaces, she’s an eating machine).
I suggest eating inside the café instead of out in the lanes for a variety of reasons. The people there are always so nice.

There is only one choice on the menu. Everything else pales in comparison. CHEESE ENCHILADAS! This world famous bowling alley delicacy comes with ground beef sauce, jalapeños and onions on top. And if you’d like a little bread to suck up the beef sauce, ask for the thick Texas toast with it.
Do it. Die happy.

Peggy is the best!!! You can’t go wrong with the Spanish omelette or their enchiladas with a fried egg on top.

Their home made bread separates this café from most in the neighborhood. Add in the love and care that goes into this down to earth cuisine and you have a winner. Their enchiladas are great, but if you’re like me you will want to try the Migas Supreme. Delicious delicious delicious.

I know everyone comes here for the enchiladas because they are dirt cheap and fantastic. However, I ain’t going to recommend anything short of the hamburger and fries. For less than $ 6 you can get a delicious & dang good meaty cheese hamburger with all the fixins’ before you get your bowl on.
Please take some time to show up a little earlier than when you are planning to bowl so you can sit down in the café and eat. Everything on the menu is delicious and so so cheap!!! I cannot believe this place isn’t packed every weekend or night! PLUS you have a whole bar inside the café for you to get your whistle wet with drinks ranging from Pearl canned beers ($ 2.50) all the way to what I really liked and got a nice buzz from the Grape vodka and sprite wells drink ($ 2.75). Come thirsty and get some grub before your name gets called for a lane. This place is unbelievably tasty!

This place is basically the snack bar inside Dart Bowl, although it’s much better than your typical bowling alley fare.
If you’re planning to eat inside the dining area, order from there. Apparently they give you your food on «real plates» and it tastes better (according to the very nice manager). Good to know. Although we ordered from the bowling alley side & were served on disposable plates, I wasn’t complaining… at all.
My enchiladas were very good. Cheese enchiladas, hold the onions. I ordered the veggie enchiladas, so it came with red sauce instead of their chile. I liked it. I should have ordered something on the side, though. I guess I’m so used to enchiladas coming with rice & beans, I didn’t even think it would not be enough food for the hungry girl. It was not. But I’ll know next time.
So…really decent bowling alley food. And great service.

Delicious enchiladas, especially for the price. And the hard-​working women who run this joint are as sweet as they are funny. Thanks for the dinner, ladies!
xx from the girl who’s name isn’t actually Brian. Or Kevyn with a «Y.» :)

The Dart Bowl is old and smells of history, sweaty bowling tournaments, a once-​smoky interior, and I love everything about it.
But this review is about the café.
Not only are the enchiladas some of the best in town, they come in a cast iron skillet, covered in cheese, chili sauce and served with tortillas or toast. They are absolutely delicious. Rumor has it Brad Pitt has stopped in a few times for a plate of enchiladas.
The chicken fried steak is a standard chicken fried steak, but it’s very good.
The bar has reasonably priced beers and well drinks, and the sweet bartender will remember your name forever after the first time you go there.
I bowl there on Monday nights in a bowling league, and we often eat at the café, and I always have drinks at the bar. This is a great place, and I look forward to frequenting it for years to come.

Came to watch a friend bowl in a tournament. Had a really good time in the bowling alley.
Unfortunately the café leaves a lot to be desired. I had the turkey sandwich combo and my friend had the ham and cheese combo.
First off it to 25 minutes just to get our meals. Then the sandwiches were on cold toast, the ham and cheese was greasy. The fries were hot but appeared to be cooked at the wrong temp and held under a lamp for a little while.
Although the employees did work with a smile, they definitely do not work with a sense of urgency to satisfy their guess.

They take pride in their cooking here. Dishes come out the same way every time, which tells you a lot. They have an extensive menu with surely something to please everyone. You really can’t go wrong with their enchiladas, which are served piping hot in a classic cast iron skillet. The also have a wide selection of club sandwiches and burgers. With hundreds of nostalgic beer cans lining the walls, this place is a true slice of Americana where you can come shoot the breeze with your friends while eating no-​frills delicious diner fare.

I was born & raised in Austin, and have been going to Dart Bowl for years. I went back again the other night, after not having gone for a few years, and it did not disappoint. Same yummy greasy food, same bowling alley feel, and same decent service as always. LOVE the consistency over the years!

Before you read this review, I should remind you that this is a SEPARATELY owned business. The bowling alley is nothing short of amazing… way to keep it real and don’t you dare change a thing, you guys… you’re effing awesome.
Ok, on to this so-​called «café»
I went to throw a few balls around the other night with my boyfriend, and we decided to pick up something to eat while we were there. I ordered the supreme nachos and a few beers. When I got the nachos, I was anticipating getting a plate with a mountain of nacho chips with all the fixins… nope…quite the opposite. I was slightly disappointed by the fact an old school bowling alley in Texas didn’t go all out on these. Judging by the aesthetics, one would think you’d be getting an obnoxious amount of food… oh well…
The nachos were cold, the refried beans and cheese looked like a failing middle-​school students science project, and the chicken that came with it didn’t look too appealing. Instead of being a dick and returning it (because I almost NEVER do that… I’m a former service industry worker… I hate those kinds of people, let alone being one) we both decided to eat them, and wash it down with the beer we got.
The part of this experience that really bothered me was the fact that both my boyfriend and I spent the entire next day sick to our stomachs, and the ONLY thing that could have possibly put us in that state was the terrible nachos we scarfed down in under 5 bites. I’ve had food poisoning before, I am very familiar with understanding the differential symptoms of the flu and food poisoning. We definitely had the latter of the two.
I want to emphasize that I really wanted to love this place as much as I love going to bowl at this establishment. It’s such an important thing to have in this ever-​changing city; a place that still looks, smells and feels the same as it did over a decade ago. I DO NOT want to see this place go, but I do want some damn health inspectors to step up in there and intervene in whatever is going on in that kitchen.

This is an Austin icon that continues to deliver great food. Tender, perfectly cooked CFS. Real, made with potatoes, mashed potatoes. Iceberg lettuce salad. 2X, with ranch dressing. Half gallon sized glass of tea. $ 7 or so at lunch.
If it was yellow gravy vice white, I would swear the ghost of the Stallion Drive Inn drifted two blocks west to here.

Okay… So three stars is not really BAD… it’s good for me, it’s just that this was a serious, serious greasy spoon. I got the burger w/​egg on it – one of my favorites after living in Germany. It was excellent. Greasy and lovely all at the same time. I got to taste the famous enchiladas as well. Tasty, but I’m just not a great big enchilada fan to begin with. The toast is super yummy and helpful to have to sop up that enchilada sauce, for sure. But overall, if you’re looking for a heart attack on a plate, come here for some artery-​clogging goodness. Tasty, just not the healthiest joint in town.

What’s not to love about this place? After all, it’s in a bowling alley. Don’t go there expecting gourmet food because you will be disappointed. Instead you will find food you might have had 30 years ago at a café or diner.
One of my fav things to get here are their famous enchiladas. They are best served with a couple of fried eggs on top. When you cut into the eggs that lovely yolk pours out into the enchilada sauce… yum. Do NOT stick your nose up at what you haven’t tried. If you’ve never tried it, you haven’t earned the right to be a hater.
I’ve also tried their chicken fried steak and burgers. The chicken fried steak is a bit odd but ok. The gravy is yellow. Not sure what they do to make it that color but it’s not bad. The burgers are good. Much better than any fast food burger but not as good as Casino’s burgers.
Bottom line: good food, inexpensive, fun place to go.

I have LOVED this place for years! Great for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu has nachos, chili fries, sandwiches, burgers, chicken, chicken fried steak, enchiladas– even with eggs on top, and breakfast items. Staff is great. It’s inexpensive. It’s in a freaking bowling alley. What’s not to love?