Friday Foodie: Punch Bowl Social

What is Punch Bowl Social, you may ask? Good question because I’m only just figuring it out myself. When I heard we were getting one downtown, I tried to stalk the business online, but I did not find their website very helpful except for pictures of partying people (it has since improved). Their billboards didn’t help much either, just had a pretty slogan “Here’s to going out right!” with no further details. I quickly got to the bottom of this after some (more than I would like) digging and and discovered Punch Bowl Social is pretty much whatever you want it to be. It’s bowling and karaoke and board games and fried chicken and waffles and fancy drinks and an arcade and a juice bar and breakfast corner and corn hole and more! It’s like a one-stop shop for all your adult entertainment needs. Each room has it’s own style and decor that ranges from Victorian to lodge-y. You can watch the game on one of their many flatscreens or meet up with friends for dinner or dance to a DJ brunch or just bounce around from one activity to the next until your whole evening is gone and your car is still in the same place!

Punch Bowl Social is currently in eight cities with plans for about a dozen more locations coming soon, so I’m not expecting this “all in one” trend to go away any time soon. I made an initial trip with some girlfriends to check out the sights. We got some dinner (The “Knock Off Burger” for me) and drinks, took a lap around the HUGE (like football field-size) place, and ended up in a private karaoke room singing out hearts out to each other for a solid hour. I’ve decided that private karaoke is a pretty good idea since it allows a limit for the number of people to witness you embarrass yourself.

I made a second trip for a blogger’s meet-up and the staff really pulled out all the stops for us. We got to try bowling, games, and pretty much every food and drink item on the menu. I appreciated having things reserved for us because I’ve quickly learned this place fills up fast, so there is often a wait on activities (which isn’t such a bad thing because you can just pick something else to do in the same area). I’ve also heard a rumor that you can find some Colts players hanging out late night on the weekends, so that’s always a good sign for popularity. Busy gives it a cool vibe, though, because who wants to be bowling in a giant arcade by yourself?!

So, now that I’ve probably thoroughly confused everyone with exactly what Punch Bowl Social is, I’ll just clarify that it’s loud and crowded and happening and cool and pretty much everything. It seems like there is always something going on at any time since they host so many parties and late night specials and festive brunches. My take on it? It’s fun for the experience, but I wouldn’t go for the food. I thought the flavors were a bit bland and my drinks were a little watery and I think increased publicity will only make the wait times longer. Services is great, though, and downtown location is convenient. I’d recommend checking it out on an off-night, because even thought it’s a little crazy, it’s still a cool concept and you’ll want to check it out.

Anyone else been to Punch Bowl Social?

Rating: 3.5/5