The Painted Pin, located in Buckhead’s Miami Circle. This upscale bowling alley is not for those under 21 and certainly isn’t your parents bowling alley. There is an upscale, almost clubby atmosphere here. I recently was joined by a couple of friends for a very small birthday celebration and I’d highly recommend The Painted Pin for your next adult birthday party (with a couple caveats).
The Painted Pin doesn’t take reservations. Doesn’t matter how large your party is, unless you are are a baller and are willing to rent out the entire place. So, I decided a Sunday afternoon of bowling would be perfect, when there wouldn’t be much of a crowd. It was a perfect way to spend a cold, December afternoon with some friends my husband, brother and friend (hey, it’s super difficult to get people together during the holidays).
We had two lanes reserved, which I would recommend. See, the setup is this: there is one leather couch per lane, but two couches face each other, making privacy for your group an issue, not to mention a tight space for any more than 3 people. I also didn’t like how close the ball return was to the edge of the “alley” part. It sounds picky, but it was kind of a pain to have to walk around it after you pick up your ball.
Don’t want to bowl? Not to worry. There’s table tennis, basketball, darts, bocce ball and skee ball too.
The Painted Pin has beer, wine and some terrific cocktails to choose from. They even have seasonal specials like the brandy cocktail (so lovely I had two) which was perfect for the holidays. We also tried a delicious Moscow Mule slushie (see below) which is a good choice for those who want a cocktail vs. beer to pair with the bar food.
Speaking of the food, we sampled a bevy of items including the Oyster Sliders, Waffle Corn Dogs, Hummus, Tuna Poke Salad and a Spicy Chorizo Pizza. While the sliders were pretty forgettable, everything else was quite delicious. The Tuna was plentiful and fresh in the salad and the chorizo pizza lived up to the spicy kick it promised. I was most surprised by my love of the Waffle Corn Dogs. Maybe it was because I had pretty much sworn off hot dogs and hadn’t had one in forever, but that malted waffle encasing, perfectly cooked frank and a sweet soy aioli was a heavenly combination.
Personally, I think the space is so pretty, I wouldn’t rush out of there. While you have a server who’ll bring you drinks and food right to your lane, I’d prefer to eat separately at a table before or after bowling and just drink while I’m bowling.
Headed to the Painted Pin on a weekend night? Even with 20 lanes, expect a wait. As we were wrapping up around 5:30 or so, they were starting to get more full. But that’s okay, as they have a pretty large bar area to hang out while you wait. And although they only allow kids under 21 on Saturday and Sunday before 5, there really isn’t anything all that child-friendly about the place.
Sure, there are games like basketball, bocce ball and skee ball, but the posh place is more geared towards adults, not kids. Just because you can bring kids to an establishment, doesn’t mean you should. I know it’s selfish, but the skee ball queen in me didn’t like waiting until 5 for the kids to clear out so I could play a couple games.
Overall, I relished my afternoon at The Painted Pin and would highly recommend it as an adult birthday party option.
The Painted Pin website
737 Miami Circle
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 814-8736
