Jump to: Bowling | Football | Curling | Bingo | Crazy Golf | Darts | Shooting | Ping Pong | Cricket | Boules | Shuffleboard | Axe Throwing
If you've been tasked with organising an office outing or want to meet up with friends and do something a bit different, London's ever-growing competitive socialising scene has a lot to offer (with plenty of food and drink too). So, grab your colleagues or mates, and get ready to play cricket, boules, curling, high-tech bingo and even axe throwing.
Bowling
All Star Lanes
Holborn, Brick Lane, Stratford, White City
Slick bowling lanes with good food offerings can be found across London but if you’re looking for something for a work outing, then we'd say All-Star Lanes edges ahead of the competition, particularly if you're after a slightly more high-end experience.
Food and drink: There’s a decent selection of burgers, buns and tacos on the food side. The pretty extensive cocktail menu takes in classics, their house specials and a lot of margaritas.
Rowans
10 Stroud Green Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 2DF
The OG North London fun palace, bowling is just one of the many great group activities going on at Rowans, which has been attracting Londoners and the odd celebrity for years (Paul Mescal was spotted here not too long ago) In addition to the lanes there are a few karaoke booths and a late night DJ.
Food and drink: We won't lie to you, it's pretty basic so you're better off eating locally before you come through the doors. Here's our pick of places nearby.
See also:
Bloomsbury Lanes is another good option, particularly as it has its own retro diner which serves up giant 26-inch pizzas.
Football
Toca Social
The O2, Westfield White City.
Toca Social brings football to the competitive socialising arena, created by former Fulham and Leeds footballer Eddie Lewis. Much like some of the other games below, you'll be kicking that ball at a huge screen to get points.
Food and drink: The menu here has all the usual fast food hits. You can order boxes of sliders, get bao buns, Philly cheese steak sandwiches, tenders, you name it.
Curling
Queens
17 Queensway, London W2 4QP
If you've ever watched the Winter Olympics and have positioned yourself as an armchair pundit for this sport, maybe it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, get on the ice and try curling for real. At least there's (slightly) less opportunity for falling on your face when compared to ice skating.
Food and drink: You'll find an outpost of MEATliquor here, so are guaranteed good burgers along with properly strong cocktails. Surely a couple of their Grogs can only help your game?
Other activities here: Ice skating, bowling and darts.
See also:
The Curling Club (Chelsea Illuminations, 26 Nov; Vinegar Yard, 1 Nov; Marceline Canary Wharf, 14 Nov) - A winter-only, but ice-free pop-up that's about to open.
Bingo
Hijingo
Shoreditch - 90 Worship St, London EC2A 2BA
This hi-tech version of bingo is light years away from any perception you may have of the classic game. Hijingo provides live entertainment, pumping music and a lot of audience participation making it particularly good for groups, plus pretty decent prizes to be won. With two cocktail bars plus a VIP section for special occasions, there’s room for the whole office to enjoy themselves here.
Food and drink: Food-wise expect street food with an Asian twist, so there are tofu katsu tacos, pea fritters with wasabi mayo and oyster mushroom loaded fries among the offerings.
See also: Bongo Bingo is a headcase bingo meets dance off kind of party that pops up around town.
Crazy Golf
Swingers
15 John Prince's St, London W1G 0AB
The founders of Swingers were the first to coin the term ‘competitive socialising’ when they launched their pop-up crazy golf spot in East London way back in 2014. They now run an impressive space in the West End with a course inspired by 1920s British seaside.
Food and drink: They have a strong food offering with a menu featuring the best of Pizza Pilgrims, Breddos tacos and Patty&Bun burgers.
Puttshack
Bank, White City
Puttshack’s London venues are neon spaces with tech-inspired courses which feature balls that work out your score for you - handily avoiding any inter-departmental wrangling about points.
Food & drink: The food here is a global showcase with everything from empanadas, potato tots, and baos through to samosas. As for drinks, alongside the cocktails and wine, there’s a particularly impressive rum selection.
See also: Junkyard Golf Club (Shoreditch) - the Mad Max of London golf clubs with a more out-there take on courses. There's no food, but they do go big on boozy slushies.
Darts
Flight Club
Angel, Bloomsbury, Shoreditch, Victoria
Social darts, courtesy of Flight Club, introduces Londoners to a complete reinvention of the game (essentially doing away with the blackboards to keep score), making it perfect for groups to get involved in.
Food and drink: The menu at Fight Club is largely focused on sharing dishes – whether that’s pizza paddles, veggie/meat platters or cheese and bacon waffle fries. As for drinks, the alcoholic slushies are worth a look, but there's a strong no-alcohol option here too.
Oche
105 Strand, London WC2R 0AA
Another popular West End digital darts spot. Play out in the open or in your own private booth and they also have VIP areas for larger group gatherings.
Food and drink: The USP of this digital game haunt is that the food offering is as strong as its digital darts section. And the menu does stand out from other competitive gaming spots with options like pumpkin arancini and brie and prosciutto tarts on offer as well as more conventional pizzas and burgers.
Indoor shooting
Clays
City of London, Canary Wharf, Soho
Forget having to don your plus-fours on a muddy country shoot, this interactive shooting range is firmly for city dwellers. Watch HR thrash Accounts on their huge screens before enjoying food and drink all pre-ordered in your private booth.
Food and drink: Handy interactive screens make it easy to keep the food coming. The pizzette are particularly good for sharing, while trios of sliders, croquettes and more make it interesting.
Ping pong
Bounce
Battersea Power Station, Old Street & Farringdon
Ping Pong, whiff-whaff, whatever you call it, there’s something about this game that unleashes everyone’s true competitive spirit. At Bounce you can play the traditional game or opt to take on rival teams at Beer Pong.
Food and drink: The menu here is sourdough pizza-led with sides ranging from BBQ beef poppers to tempura fish bites
See also: Bat & Ball in Covent Garden and Stratford goes one step further, offering Prosecco pong for group fun.
Cricket
Sixes
Shepherd's Bush, Stratford, Wembley, London Bridge, Fitzrovia and Fulham
One of the newer sports to be turned into a competitive socialising activity - cricket at Sixes sees groups battling it out either at normal batting nets or with high-tech glow-in-the-dark UV nets.
Food and drink: Andy who used to run Mac & Wild is behind the menu here making it a cut above the average spot. In Fitzrovia the menu is courtesy of the guys at Kricket.
Boules
Boulebar
South Bank and Spitalfields
Also known as petanque, Boulebar (which first launched in Sweden and Denmark) is an indoor version of the very French game of boules. There are multiple lanes and job is to get your ball as close to the jack as possible.
Food and drink: The French theme continues, with bistro-inspired food including pâtés, charcuterie and cheese boards with French beer, crémant and pastis alongside.
Crazy Boules
Mercato Metropolitano, 42 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6DR
Crazy golf but played with boules balls instead. It's stupidly good fun in the 'why hasn't anyone thought of doing this before?' scheme of things.
Food and drink: They have their own bottle bar and cocktail offering, but the great thing is that you have all the street food at Mercato Metropolitano to enjoy too.
Shuffleboard
Electric Shuffle
King's Cross, London Bridge & Canary Wharf
Having ‘supercharged’ the old pub game, Electric Shuffle now uses tech to work out where your pucks are on the board with big screens so everyone can keep score.
Food and drink: There's a focus on sharing platters with tear and share options, charcuterie boards and more.
Axe throwing
Game of Throwing
136 King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 0QU
What better way to relieve any tensions that have been building up over return to the office teething issues than hurling razor-sharp axes into boards to a suitably banging soundtrack? You'll get a safety briefing and an instructor on hand during your session to avoid any dangerous mistakes.
Food and drink: As you might imagine, this is a soft drink only situation, but there are pizzas to be had.
And not forgetting...
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