Big Al's, Inc.

I was amazed by the multiple side-by-side screens at the sports-bar. It's huge place, with several other screens as well... The bowling alleys seemed to be great as well (we haven't bowled on our visit).
There are several arcade games as well with air hocket, billiard tables, dart boards... and then there's give aways as well.
The service was good.
Coming to food, the chicken wings (hot sauce) were good, the chicken lettuce wraps & their french fries were all good.
My personal gripe with this place is that it seems in nowhere location, which means that there's absolutely no issue with parking :-).

Pros: Huge screens, several means to entertain

Cons: It's in Vancouver, WA

Posted 10/25/09

We went in for an event with my work during the day and it was fantastic. I was a little worried about the noise and capacity during the summer and my mind was definitely changed. The event staff was energetic and friendly and the food was delicious. My boss said the planning was easy and I can't wait to plan my party. The rooms were quiet and the outside lane noise was hardly noticeable. I would suggest this place to anyone wanting to book an event or just come and enjoy time with there friends and family.

Posted 07/04/09

What is this place doing in Vancouver? I made the trip from Portland to visit friends and apparently I "HAD" to see Big Al's because they were coming to Portland soon...they were right. Great time, lot of fun, had a blast and cant wait for you to come to Beaverton!

Pros: Beautiful facility, FUN!

Cons: ?

Posted 06/04/09

Stopped in to watch NCAA tourney with my wife and best friends. Terrible service and after 1 hour we were told we would not be served any more drinks due to "bartender decision". We are respectable adults and consumed a very responsible, minimal amount ( 1 beer for the guys and 2 coktails for the ladies ). I did not order a second drink and identified myself as the designated driver ( and I was not even offered a water, soda or food menu ). We witnessed many, many other parties being served multiple drinks, pitchers of beer, etc.
We spoke to the manager and in our opinion, the customer relations were far below respectable.
We will spend our hard earned money elsewhere.

Pros: ????

Cons: VERY POOR SERVICE & CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Posted 03/20/09

We just visited Big Al's for the first time last night during the Blazers Fan Appreciation Night. The experience was out of this world. The fun, laughter and great customer service added to the already great night. I have never seen a bowling alley set up or designed as this one was. In fact you can't even call it that because it is beyond a bowling alley. We even heard Blazer players and employees commenting on what an outrageous place Big Al's is. Everytime we turned around we had an employee asking us if we needed anything, giving us directions to where we needed to go and telling us where everything was. Everyone had smiles on their faces and really seemed to enjoy working there. Even though the food buffet was set up outside in tents, it was warm, clean, plenty of service and great burgers. We will definately be back now that we have found Big Al's and everything they have to offer for the family. Great job on whoever decided to build Big Al's and kudos to the management and staff for great service.

Pros: The atmosphere, customer service, bowling and the big screen!!!

Cons: Not enough advertisement about Big Al's

Posted 03/04/09

I recently visited Big Al's to celebrate the local high school's boys district championship for Union HS. What a great time! The players and "minors" partied up in the restaurant while the adults gathered on the bar floor away from the teenagers. Good food, good drinks, and great atmoshpere. It was a night filled with great fun and I wanted to say kudos Big Al's for a great place to celebrate!

Pros: Atmoshpere, things to do for all ages

Cons: pricey

Posted 03/02/09

We decide to drive to Vancouver from Tacoma for a Sonic burger (they are some of the best). We decided to look up something else to do while in Vancouver. We decided to go to Big Al's for some family bowling. We was impressed with the building, it's very nice, walked up to the counter to be put onto the waiting list for a bowling lane. They told me it would be about 30 minutes and gave me a pager (like the ones in a restaurant). My husband and I checked out the lounge while the kids checked out the aracade. It was very nice atmosphere. We waited for about an hour and still no page, I went up to the counter to see what the problem was. The girl at the counter told me that they forgot to put me on the list and it should be another 10 minute wait. I told them No Thanks and we was about to left when I decided to talk with the manager. I found the manager and told her the problem, she said she was sorry and next time we were in, she will get us on a lane right away. Now she didn't take our name or even asked our name. I wouldn't go back just for the lack of customer service. I understand that you can get busy and mistakes can be made but it's important to fix those mistakes.

Posted 02/17/09

Currently league bowl at the facility but it will be the last season I do so. Our team is moving to Crosley next season. Beautiful place but the service couldnt be worse and the prices for drinks and food are quite high. Not a good value...

Pros: Beautiful new facility

Cons: Poor service and value

Posted 01/04/09

too expensive, poor service! I went when it did not appear to be busy but it took forver to recieve any service.

Posted 10/26/08

I recently visited Big Al's for the first time with my family. Overall the facility was clean and inviting but the service was very, very, very poor. When I approached the front desk I overheard two of the employees (one appeared to be a manager of some sort) conversing and using foul language. I do not believe they realized I heard this but I think that is very horrible customer service and poor judgement on their part to not realize that there were people waiting to be helped. The bowling was fun, but a little pricey. My daughter loved the arcade. We ordered pizza and it was very tastey. I think that overall Big Al's could be fun but I think the management should be more on top of their game with their employees and themselves.

Pros: good pizza

Cons: horrible management

Posted 08/08/08

After my very first experience at Big Al's I know my family and friends will return time and time again. The managment was the best I've dealt with in years, and had the mechanical issue resolved on my lane promtly. My family and I came in last Monday and purchased the family four pack, I was surprised at what a steal it was for $49 we got two hours of bowling with shoes included in addition we also got delicious pretzels and my husband was very excited to know they carried his favorite orange soda. I had heard Big Al's had music playing along with videos I was a little on the worried side that it would be a little much for my seven year old daughter, but it was all very tasteful. After we had bowled for two hours my daughter wanted to play in the arcade, we confronted the girls at the front desk and they were more than helpful getting us set up over in the arcade with fun cards. The front desk even gave us a bounce back coupon for the next time we came in, so I know that I will be back soon. I highly recommend bringing your family to Big Al's for a night of fun.

Pros: Service all around was amazing.

Cons: Halfway through our game they had to turn off the music due to leagues.

Posted 07/07/08

Big Al's has the potential to be a really great place. The atmosphere is great, there's lots to do, and the food I tried wasn't too bad. My problem, though, is that any time I require service from the front counter (questions, paying for bowling, etc) I end up waiting anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes for something that should take a maximum of three minutes. The employees who work at the front desk are really good at pretending I'm not standing there waiting for help, and they are not at all personable or friendly. And oftentimes, there will be three or more people behind the desk with only one person helping customers (to clarify - customers are the people waiting patiently to give this establishment money in order for it to remain in buisness). I emailed Big Al's about this not too long ago and never received a response. So I assume the management staff doesn't care at all about the lousy service. But I see that someone in charge there is good at responding to comments on here... so maybe someone will take notice.

This is a place where I'm willing to pay higher than average prices just because I enjoy the atompshere, but because of the terrible attitudes of the employees, I will no longer support a business that promotes a terrible customer service policy.

Pros: Good atmosphere, decent food, good facilities

Cons: Poor customer service, no coat hooks for the arcade, not enough value for the money

Posted 06/28/08

Please be aware that this place has a horrible customer service management.
I was denied access to the Pool area since my driver license was expired 4 days ago. My driver license shows that I turned 31 years old four days ago. I understood that this is the rules and I had to provide another valid ID.
I provided a Federal Picture ID which is widely used in government agencies but the bouncer said this is not an acceptable ID here.
To make the story short, He called the Manager who said the same thing "you are not allowed in this area since you don?t have a valid driver license" .
Since I'm aware of the laws, politely I asked them to call the cops to consult with them. Once i said that they turned to be really nasty and rude and asked me to leave the whole store. I did what they asked me to do and waited for the cops outside the premises.
When the cops came I spoke to both of them and they were extremely surprised of how poorly managed this place since my federal ID picture is a valid picture ID even more powerful than my driver license.
To not make things worse since I had 20 friends from church with me, we just decided to leave the place in peace.
The waitress who seated my friends was extremely mad since she served us many times. and she couldn?t believe the bad treatment of the management and the bouncer.

Just a little advice to the owner of this place, It is your loss not mine that you did not let me in to your place today. Please educate your employees or hire people with better common sense.
I understand if I had just turned 21 how critical this might have been but to be off by 10 full years shows nothing but pure bad management or just you are hiring people who have racial issue since I was speaking a different language with my friends.
I would never go back to this place neither will over 40 guys and girls from my church who used to hang out there weekly.

Posted 04/07/08

This place has it all great Sports Bar for all the games, lots of bowling lanes, huge arcade! All the servers are extremely nice and the entire staff is very helpful with everything! Big Al's is the greatest place for a whole night of fun!

Pros: Bowling Lanes, Sports Bar with a HUGE big screen!

Posted 09/06/07

To all of you who are interested in going to Big Al's I would highly suggest in doing so! My family and I are so excited to finally have a place for entertainment not only for our kids but for ourselves too! Now instead of driving across the river we have a great place to go here around home. For the high quality and wonderful arcade, lanes etc. everything is priced well, when you compare it to other entertainment facilities and the food is wonderful. If you are a first timer Burger Love is an outstanding choice and they have the best fries in town! If you like to drink they make one of the best martini's and the staff is lovely. I know hold meetings there for work, which is really nice if you are looking for a quiet place during the middle of the day to hold a staff metting. One of the best things is the wait is not as long for the lanes as it was when they first opened so our kids just love it and so do we!

Thanks Big Al's :)

Pros: Great food, reasonable prices

Posted 08/29/07

Okay, so the hype of this place and its initial grand impression have worn off after a few visits. In the sports bar, the HUGE big screen TVs, the expansive crescent layout with a private club room in back makes this the ultimate meeting place to watch a game. But the food is of poor quality. I've eaten there four times now, and even the happy hour prices aren't worth the poor quality. The service is good in the sports bar, but outside of it around the bowling alley or private party rooms is very sporatic. The game room is expansive too, but the prices on the games, which can only be activated by prepaid cards, are outrageous. Plan on spending $20 here in less than 30 minutes.
There seems to always be an alley available for bowling. My company paid for a couple of lanes in slider's alley. While I was an avid bowler as a teenager, I'm just not that excited about bowling. But many seem to be enjoying themselves there.
If the food quality is greatly improved, I would return. Otherwise, I've moved on.

Pros: Atmosphere is truly awesome, a must see.

Cons: Poor food quality. Overpriced games.

Posted 08/01/07

O.K. - if you haven't been to Big Al's yet, you are missing out on the Couv's best kept secret - seriously!!!
Big Al's is one big massively fun experience - the place is massive; the burgers are massive; the big screen is massive!

But this ain't your regular, run-of-the-mill beer & burger sports bar joint. This place is decked out in really swanky decor and everything is totally state-of-the-art from the hundred or so arcade games to the flat screen tv's on every bowling lane.

Apart from being completely blown away by the enormity & aesthetics of Big Al's, the food & beverages are completely diverse (which means something for everyone) and absolutely delectable. And I'm here to tell you the burgers are deeeelicious - best I've ever had!

Thank you, Big Al's, for being a HUGE step up for entertainment in Vancouver.

Posted 03/09/07