All Star Lanes Stratford City

Address: Unit 301, Level 2, Westfield Stratford City, 2 Stratford Place, Montifichet Road, London, E20 1ET, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)203 167 2434
Website: view All Star Lanes Stratford City’s website
Door: Open door
Style: Cocktail bar
Food: Bar Snacks

Review

This latest addition to All Star Lanes is located in the gargantuan Westfield Stratford shopping development, fairly unusual for this chain which usually favours more discreet, frankly cooler locations - all the more puzzling as this Westfield doesn't seem quite as upmarket as the west London one. Oh look, a Gregg's bakers.

Cocktails are served from a bar that's on a raised platform in front of the bowling lanes, separating the formal restaurant from a fluorescent lit, diner-style eating area: contrasting interior styles jostle for attention.

Anyway, we came to drink. The bar has a fairly good range of spirits and boasts 130 bourbons. The other spirit sections look a bit thin by contrast, although the brands are nothing to sneer at. Like the other All Star Lanes, the cocktail menu covers classic and more contemporary cocktails, including tiki and some dabbling with smokers. We tried four cocktails. Unfortunately we were disappointed by a general lack of balance. Presentation/theatre left a bit to be desired too - a Mai Tai was served in a rocks glass while glass tiki mugs looked on from the back-bar, and the Smokey Old Fashioned should hardly be so-called, as it lacks any stirring or dilution at all, simply served for guests to pour over cubed ice.

We're big fans of All Star Lanes, and these are presumably teething troubles, but even when they're solved Stratford is off the beaten track for most. In bowling terms, it's short of a 'strike'.