West Brunswick Bowling Club

It's hard to find a good value experience these days. Go to the movies and you've easily spent $80 once you've paid for carparking, two movie tickets and some drinks and snacks to accompany the film. Yep, fun times are expensive in the big city and that's probably why I think the Brunswick Bowling Club is such great value when you want to get together with mates for an afternoon or evening of fun.

Here you can BYO food and hire a BBQ and feed your crew while drinking from the reasonably priced bar selection. The wine options aren't going to win awards, but there's plenty of fun craft beers to keep most beer hounds happy. Lawn bowls is a fun and social way to kill a few hours and if that doesn't rock your world, they're likely to have some live music playing inside that you can sit and listen to.

As the months get hotter, consider The Brunswick Bowling Club for your next social gathering.

My goodness do I love a good barefoot bowl. The crisp grass between my toes, the smell of snags in the air and the taste of cheap beer on my lips. Brunswick Bowling Club doesn't let you down on any of these fronts.

I threw my birthday party here on a Sunday afternoon and it was all I hoped it would be. $15 per person to play, BYO snags and all the cheap booze we could muster up. They have crisps and nuts available for purchase behind the bar and you can order in a pizza to be delivered by Compass Pizza just down the road.

The lovely bartender, who seemed to be the only employee on site all day, kindly taught me and my rowdy friends how to play, but let's be honest, we weren't there to be competitive. It was all just a bit of fun.

While Brunswick Bowling Club does not have the same old school, actual-bowlers-bowl-here air to it, it is certainly a gorgeous and fun destination for those warmer days and parties to be thrown in Summer.

Book early!

There's a very fine patch of green grass on a quiet street in Brunswick East, and it's called the Brunswick Bowling Club, a lawn bowls club at its humblest and friendliest.

The lawn is lusciously real and has recently been treated by an expert green-keeper and the weather is warming up, so it is an ideal time to book yourself and some friends in for a game of barefoot bowling. There's a BBQ by the green, in-house there's a fully-stocked bar, pool table and pinball machine.

You'll be made to feel very welcome by the members and regulars who I reckon think of this club as a second home; it has that feel about it. The atmosphere is very laid-back and casual, you don't have to have any experience at all at lawn bowls, there'll be someone on hand to give you a little coaching to get you started.

By the way, if you like your time here and want to get more involved, this club has won its division twice in the last few years, so become a member ($100 per year) and join a winning bowls club. But mostly, just come and meet some people and have a few drinks in the sun.

NB - the closing time varies and is dependent on when it starts to get dark in the evenings.

I just spent my Sunday afternoon in the sun, playing bowls and drinking cheap beer with friends. Even though I'm a crap bowler, I feel like a winner!

This was the second time I'd been to the Club, the first was for a birthday function which was fabulous and had us all declaring we'd be back once the weather warmed up to hit the green and enjoy all the club has to offer.

We dined on some fabulous gumbo from the Gumbo Truck which is parked on the premises most Sundays (keep an eye on their Facebook page for details) and listened to a fabulous 18 piece jazz band that is there every second (?) weekend.

As it's a sporting club, the booze is cheap and unlike *other* sporting clubs, their selection is fantastic - they're pouring some pretty ok wines.

There are a few BBQs about and loads of tables to sit and enjoy the atmosphere.

I'll be back, I'm considering a membership!