Serra Bowl

Oh, how I’ve missed this place when it wasn’t so broken. This place gave my favorite ball a dent, but I got over it. I do miss bowling here though. As much as I like Classic now, I still miss Serra. I learned to bowl here, so there’s a lot of memories.

R.I.P. Serra Bowl

I’ve been coming to this bowling alley since I was a wee one. I still remember those Daly City Police and Fire fairs, where they teach you a bit about their jobs, and let you ride in different cars. Pretty fun, even for adults, as I think about it now.
Great place to hang out overall. Bowl some, billiard some, DDR some, drink some. Prices have gone up over the years, maybe because of slowing business? But they sure are busy during the weekends when I go. And also that boom right now with them… closing. Now I’ll have to settle for hipster bowling at the «newer» places. Sigh, time to get a full-​body tattoo.

i grew up in a bowling family… i’ve been bowling since i’ve been able to granny that pink ball down the lane when i was a single digit age. bowling is in my blood… and what i’ve learned is, it doesn’t matter how glamorous the bowling alley is… it just depends on the conditions of the lanes and how freakin cheap a pitcher of beer is at the bar.
serra has been my go-​to place since i was a child… i remember sitting there while watching my parents bowl league… i joined my first league when i was in 8^th grade… we were called the 3 stooges +1. i was terrified. haha.
league has always been pretty consistent at serra… when i scored the highest woman’s score during one of my league years, they gave me a nifty watch. not bad.
i’m really sad that serra is closing down… and being replaced by lame bowling alleys around norcal such as lucky strike… where is a true bowler supposed to bowl now? i don’t want all the glam and glitter… i want some legit bowling.
thanks for the memories serra… i will miss your lanes, your old machines, the cheap beer, constantly asking for a ball return, the junky filipino food at the cafeteria, and the dirty carpet.

I’ve only been here twice my entire life including last night and both times have left me with good memories.
The place itself is kind of shoddy. The arcade area is whatever (and it closes after 9 which I think is kind of lame), snack bar has standard traditional «American» food along with some Filipino rice dishes (because it’s in Daly City), the bar is super old looking with limited beer selection (but some pretty good ones), old bathrooms, bowling balls are greasy and chipped… I hated holding the bowling balls.
Despite shoddiness, it seems to remain an old favorite among locals which is why there is some endearment to the place. My friend wanted to go there last night because apparently this place is about to close down. Although I almost never go here, I find it kind of sad.
A group of 4, we decided to wait to pay for the $ 14 cover charge so we can pay for $ 0.50 shoes and $ 0.50 games. This only happens at 9pm though so we waited by ordering chili cheese fries and munching on them.
The fries are sad. Fries, canned chili, processed cheese thrown together. Not quality, but the crappiness of it seemed suitable and I ate it anyway.
By 9, we paid for our bowling stuff and later we bought a pitcher of beer for $ 6 because that’s one of their nightly deals I guess. We got Miller Light though…
Anyway, games were fun. I had no particular problem with the services at all.

Sympathy 5 star review as Serra Bowl sadly has lost its lease and will be closing April 15^th.
We went there for one last light night experience, and it was as good as it ever was.
I mean, sure, this place is dirty and greasy. The lanes often break down. The bathrooms. OH the bathrooms are horrible.
Some kids spilled a pitch of beer in our lane before we arrived (we later learned), so forget any slide action on your throw.
The snack bar is pretty horrible, even for «fun» bad food. its just taking the joke too far.
But when the white lights go off and all the disco stuff lights up… the weird Karaōke scene back in the gothic Bar Cave heats up. its just. its just something we will all miss. All the great diversity and ethnicity in the bay area wrapped up into one 3-​finger ball.
Sure, there is the fancy-​smancy Lucky Strike in San Francisco now. But at 2am they are going to kick your butt out. Not Serra Bowl. They might be sweeping up around you, but you are welcome to stay as long as you want, just keep bowling.
Serra Bowl, end of an era.

If you want to go bowling you have to come at off peak hours or else you will have to wait a very long time for a lane. The arcade has some ok games. The lanes and balls seem very greasy.
I used to come here as a kid for birthday parties. It was a lot of fun bowling with friends. The birthday kid got an actual bowling pin.
They have a very large parking lot.

A very nice gentleman works at the counter on Thursday nights. Will tell you the best deal if you want to save monies.
Everything is SOOOOOOOOO old. Not even old school, just old. This place brings you back in time.

I’m not very athletic. Any sport I’ve played in growing up, I wasn’t very good at it.
Basketball, volleyball, tennis. In fact, I suck at sports!
Except for bowling.
Somehow I’m good at knocking those pins down, who cares if I don’t have the right technique? whenever I see «X“s on the scoreboard I’m thrilled that I can pull off this sport. (If you sweat, it’s a sport!) I seem to always score low on the first game, hey, I’m warming up!
We came here on a Sunday night and it took awhile to get the lanes and shoes since there was only one person who checked us all in. It’s $ 26/​lane, but between 20 people, we somehow managed to have 4 groupons that we needed to use, so our games cost us next to nothing.
Pluses: there’s a full bar on site, a karaōke machine, near In N Out and this alley is OPEN 24 hours! So, who wants to put on their wrist master and bring on the «Turkey?»

There were lots of things I enjoyed about my Sunday night at Serra Bowl:
+ Cosmic bowling, complete with disco balls, black lights and music videos.
+ Speaking of music videos, *NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye.
+ $ 26/​hour for a lane.
+ People-​watching a few skanky girls wearing club attire. To bowl. Enough said.

I used to bowl at Serra Bowl a lot when I was in high school but not as much anymore. The last time I came here, it was on a Friday night because of their $ 15 special after midnight. $ 15 for two hours of bowling plus free shoe rentals. There were a lot of lanes available too so we didn’t have to wait at all when we came at midnight.
We aren’t pros at this so we were just trying to have a good time. For that reason, it was cool having projectors that displayed music videos, disco balls, neon lights, and loud music. We had a good time! However, if you’re looking for a quieter environment, I believe Classic bowl is better for people who want to actually practice without all the lights and craziness at night.

Update: CLOSED.
$ 27/​hour for a lane so that’s a deal only if you have three or more players. They are open 24-​hours, yes, they never closes so play on playa!
There are lots of lanes, so it’s every bit what you think a bowling alley is like. Finding and getting to this venue is easy. The bowling balls are not that pock-​marked, lol.

(See pics)
Have you seen the movie «Dan in Real Life» where Dan and Marie bowled under the disco lights with fun music? This bowling place has both.
Do you have a Saturday where you want to bowl late late night (or early morning)? Yes, 24 hours.
Would you like a beer or a glass of wine while enjoying a fun game and some cool MTV with your great friends who are like minded?
Yes, you have found Serra Bowl.

This place gets a little…“diverse” at night. You get a wide range of people from families, to high school kids, to college kids, amateurs to professionals. The karaōke area they set up on weekends is pretty hilarious. You’ll get a good laugh out of the people who sing or you may just want to go up there yourself!
Anywhoo, standard bowling alley. On the weekends or at night I think they do a rock n bowl thing. Pretty fun with the lights and music.
Standard lanes, standard stinky messed up shows. Slightly updated scoring board and setup. Plenty of balls for selection.
$ 6/​game after 5pm on weekends and $ 4 shoe rental. They do give you free socks though.

Can’t complain about a place that saves me every summer. That’s right, they participate in the Kids Bowl Free program. Just have to remember that everyone is trying to get a lane during this time so either be patient or forget about it. We lucked out and got a lane right when we got there in the mid afternoon. While I scored better in the first game, my son almost bowled a turkey in the second and whipped me. :(I guess its going to be a long summer of almost daily games. That is until the kids get super bored of it.
This is a great place for group outings. We attended a school reunion here one time, with the back room all set up for the food and the bar right there. It was a great time for the maybe 50−60+ that attended. So if you need a easy gathering place for a large group that has activities for all, check this place out. Right next to Sam Trans, Colma Bart and 280 with plenty of parking.

01.29.11
Late night special. $ 15 per person for two hours including shoe rental.
Brings back memories from high school days!

Daly City staple! just for being in my neighborhood you get an easy star
same ol Serra Bowl, been going here before they that the techno lights installed, started when I was young in a bowling league during summers
kids age range from 7−18yrs old they try to keep the lil kids with the lil kids folks so don’t worry about getting teamed up with an teeny. they also got bumper bowling for the super tiny kids that need assistance lifting a 6lb ball most of the time their parents assist by helping them up to the line and helping them push the ball down. definite photo opt section of the bowling alley
depending on the team you play, they still play by points and when playing a better team you are given a handicap to make it even.
on some nites there are $ 4 pitchers of beer all nite yes folks this is true i dont when are the exact days but i know it is weekly during the nite
food ** they got food, I would get it catered if you planning a party here dont get them to cater it haha
price $$ 2 – 3 games add up quick if you don’t have shoes or a ball add some more funds to that ever expanding black hole haha
service **** depending who’s working that nite they are attentive they try to help out on all situation on a busy nite good luck folks limited staff equals not so happy staff = (

We went to Serra Bowl for the first time on Sunday, 5÷2÷10. This is an OLD bowling alley. If you take a whiff of the ball retrieval mechanisms, you can smell the old smoke smell from years of bowlers smoking cigarettes in that alley from decades ago.
Despite its age, this is a perfectly good alley, with LOTS of lanes. We signed up here to participate with
. Through this program (which costs $ 49.99), our family can bowl two free games per day all through the Summer – all you have to pay for are the shoes and the food.
This is a good deal. While I prefer Sea Bowl in Pacifica, and Serra Bowl definitely has a different feel in how the ball interacts with the alley surface, it will certainly do in terms of taking my daughter bowling this Summer. Even if you don’t take advantage of this deal, Serra Bowl will provide you and your family with some fun if you don’t mind an older facility and the occasional smell of your grandparent’s basement.

This place is great for a rendition of disco bowling at night with a ton of songs and music videos to request even from the 80’s. Bowling with strobe lights in the dark takes the pressure off. The animations for strikes and spares are also great for entertainment. Moreover, the electronic system for scoring is user-​friendly.
The food, facilities and service are average, but parking is ample for a late night crowd to get together for fun. If you book lanes as a group, you can get discounts on beers with wristbands for $ 15 with shoe rentals too.

Fun.