Lots of pin action at Kings Lanes in Rosemont

Kings Lanes, Lounge & Sport operates two locations in Massachusetts and opened its first Midwest spot in May. Not your typical bowling alley, Rosemont's Kings Lanes offers a full evening of entertainment under one roof.

Motif: While Kings Lanes is nothing like the bowling alleys of the '60s, it tries to hearken back to that era with a retro vibe. Black-and-white pictures of people in '60s attire line the outside below a huge sign made from sparkling oversized sequins that ripple in the wind. Disco balls and hanging blue, orange and green pin-shaped lights cast colorful hues around the 27,000-square-foot space and the décor is covered in stars, from the bright blue walls to the silver bar top.

Comfy couches around the lane provide a nice place to eat and drink while you play. There are TVs tuned to sports everywhere, including at the end of the bowling lanes so you'll have to be careful not to be distracted when it's your turn. If you want to eat before you bowl, the large dining area features leather booths, chandeliers and more TVs. A separate bar area overlooking the lanes has plenty of small tables and a wall of TVs above a ticker showing sports scores. The bar also has a room with pool tables, couches and TVs that connect to the Kingpin private party room and can also be rented for events.

Crowd: Families flock to Kings Lanes on weekends before the spot goes 21 and up at 6 p.m. After that it turns into more of a destination for dates and groups, with the ages ranging from twentysomethings to seniors.

Service: Our server was very good at explaining the drink menu, offering suggestions based on what's popular catered to our tastes. When we had an issue with our lane's scoring, it was dealt with immediately.

Food: Kings Lanes works to distinguish itself from other upscale bowling alleys by offering particularly good food, and it succeeds. The spot features a menu of crispy pizzas with an eclectic selection of toppings including asparagus, roasted peppers and shiitake mushrooms. Along with Buffalo wings, the bar makes sesame ginger wings, whose sweet taste is complimented by the spicy chili sauce they're served with. The buffalo wontons are another novel starter, packing plenty of flavor into the fried bundles. The menu also features a selection of sushi rolls, but none of them were particularly impressive.

Liquid consumption: Each of Kings Lanes' two bars has its own cooling system to ensure the draft pours are as cold as possible. They also offer a full menu of quirky specialty cocktails like the Gummi Bear Martini, a blend of raspberry vodka, peach liqueur, sour mix and lime juice served with the namesake candy, and the Orange Creamsicle, which mixes vanilla ice cream with orange and vanilla rum, triple sec and orange juice. If you've got a big group, you can order up one of their “big balls,” drinks made for two or four.

Parking: There's plenty of free parking, but it can be hard to get in and out of the lot because of the construction at the Park at Rosemont.

Overall: You don't have to be able to break 100 to have a great night at Kings Lanes.

Kings Lanes Lounge & Sport

5505 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 233-0099; kingsbowlamerica.com/rosemont

Hours: 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday