Bowling · Finsbury Park
Rowans, Finsbury Park
- Old-school bowling with karaoke, pool and a bar attached. No tech, no gimmick.
- £9.60 to £15.80 per person for one game, once you add the admission fee to the game price.
- Over-21s only after 19:00, photo ID required. This rules out a lot of teams.
- The cheapest play in this set, and the only venue here priced per game rather than per hour.
Photo of the venuePhotograph by Tom Page, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
What is Rowans?
A bowling alley in Finsbury Park that has been there a long time and has not been redesigned to look like everything else. There are lanes, a bar, karaoke rooms, pool tables and a dance floor, and it is cheerfully unpolished in a way that suits some groups very well and others not at all.
It is the only venue in this set that is not a purpose-built competitive socialising brand, and it is by some distance the cheapest.
How does it work?
You pay per game, not per hour, which is unusual here and changes how you budget. Two games is a realistic evening and takes roughly 45 minutes for a normal-sized group.
There is also an admission fee charged on top of the game price, which is easy to miss and materially changes the total on a Friday or Saturday night.
The age rules, which matter more than the price
- Over-21s only after 19:00, with photo ID required. This is the operational trap: a team with anyone under 21 cannot go in the evening at all.
- Sunday to Thursday, under-18s must leave by 22:00.
- Friday and Saturday, under-18s must leave by 19:30.
- Under-12s are not admitted without an adult at any time.
- Monday to Friday between 10:30 and 18:00, under-10s are admitted free with an adult, though bowling is still charged.
Check your group before you book. The over-21s rule after 19:00 is enforced with ID and will strand a graduate intake or an apprentice team at the door. It is the single most common reason a booking here fails.
How much does it cost?
Two charges, and you need both to get to a real number. First the bowling, per person per game, with shoe hire included.
| Day | 10:30 to 18:00 | 18:00 to close |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | £8.60 | £9.70 |
| Friday | £8.60 | £10.80 |
| Saturday | £10.40 | £10.80 |
| Sunday | £10.40 | £10.40 |
Per person, per game. Shoe hire included. Children 12 and under get 50p off the game rate.
Then the admission fee, charged on top
| When | Admission |
|---|---|
| Every day, 10:30 to 19:00 | £1 |
| Sunday to Thursday, 19:00 to close | £1 |
| Friday and Saturday, 19:00 to close | £5 |
Per person, once per visit. Verified September 2026.
What you actually pay
- Thursday evening, one game: £9.70 plus £1 admission, so £10.70. Two games is £19.30.
- Friday evening, two games: £21.60 plus £5 admission, so £26.60. The Friday admission fee is where the cheap venue stops being cheap.
- Monday afternoon, two games: £17.20 plus £1, so £18.20. The cheapest activity in this whole set.
- For twelve people, two games on a Thursday evening: around £232.
The Friday admission jump is the thing to plan around. £5 a head on top of a higher game rate means a Friday night costs nearly 40% more than the same two games on a Thursday. For a team of twelve that is close to £90 of difference.
What else is there
Karaoke, pool, a dance floor and food are all on site, and none of it is priced in our research yet. As a second activity in the same building it is genuinely useful, since it covers the part of the evening a 45-minute booking leaves open. Karaoke and pool are priced separately and we have not sampled either yet.
What is the food and drink like?
Bar food and a proper bar, in keeping with the rest of the venue. Nobody is coming here for the kitchen, and that is fine, because Finsbury Park has plenty of alternatives within a few minutes' walk.
We have not yet priced the food and drink menu here, so budget for that on top.
How do you get there?
Finsbury Park. Victoria line, Piccadilly line and Great Northern mainline services all stop there, which makes it a much easier journey from north London than anywhere else in this set, and a slower one from the south.
Finsbury Park station is step-free, but we have not verified the route from the platform to the venue or timed the walk.
How do you book?
Whether Rowans takes group bookings at all, or is walk-in led, is not confirmed. This matters for a team of twelve and should be established by phone before publishing. ]
Bring photo ID for anyone who looks under 25 if you are going after 19:00, because the over-21s rule is enforced at the door.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if your team is all over 21 and you want a night out rather than an experience. Rowans is the cheapest thing here by a wide margin and the least polished, and both of those are the same fact. Two games on a Thursday evening comes to under £20 a head, which no purpose-built venue in this set can touch, and there is karaoke and pool in the same building when the bowling runs out. Go on a Thursday, not a Friday, and the admission fee stays at a pound.
Right for
- Teams entirely over 21 who want the cheapest proper night out in this set
- Anyone in north London, where the journey is far easier than to Greenwich or Canary Wharf
- Groups who want a whole evening in one building, given the karaoke and pool
- Weekday afternoons and Thursday evenings, before the Friday admission jump
- People who would rather have a bowling alley than a brand
Wrong for
- Any team with someone under 21, who cannot get in after 19:00
- Friday and Saturday nights, where £5 admission undoes the low game price
- Groups who need a confirmed booking rather than turning up
- Anyone expecting the polish of a Flight Club or a Toca
- South London teams, for whom the journey is long
Common questions
- How much is bowling at Rowans?
- Between £8.60 and £10.80 per person per game, plus an admission fee of £1 or £5. A Thursday evening game works out at £10.70 all in.
- Is there an age limit at Rowans?
- Yes. It is over-21s only after 19:00 and photo ID is required. Under-18s must leave by 22:00 Sunday to Thursday and by 19:30 on Friday and Saturday.
- What is the admission fee?
- £1 at most times, rising to £5 per person on Friday and Saturday after 19:00. It is charged on top of the game price.
- Is shoe hire included?
- Yes, shoe hire is included in the game price.
- How many games should we book?
- Two is a normal evening and takes roughly 45 minutes for an average group.
- What else is there to do?
- Karaoke, pool, food, and music and dancing, all on the same site. Prices for those are not yet confirmed.
You might also like
Similar venues in London