Spanning 20,000 feet across two floors, the Ballroom is a new bowling alley and restaurant in the entertainment district that can accommodate 900 guests. The space, at the corner of John and Richmond streets, has 10 tenpin bowling lanes—including two lanes with a private bar—more than 60 flat-screen televisions, ping-pong tables, arcade games, and a dining area that holds as many as 350.
The venue, designed by Marc Kyriacou of MarcKyr Design, has exposed brick walls and beams. "We really wanted an organic brick-and-beam feel," said Thanos Tripi, one of five partners involved with the project. (The others are Andreas Antoniou, Paul Donato, Warren Needler, and Matty Tsoumaris.) "We did not want to do a conventional bowling alley."
Design features include bowling-pin light fixtures, a mosaic wall, and barrels (from Wiser's Distillery) that serve as side tables. The team spent close to two months gutting the venue, the former site of Montana Restaurant and Bar, and another five months building the design.
The main floor, which has 10 bowling lanes, two V.I.P. booths, two bars, five projection screens, 20 televisions, and a private boulevard patio, can hold about 240. A semiprivate area known as the Turkey offers two bowling lanes and a private bar. The space can seat 40 and hold 80 for receptions.
The upper level—which includes the dining room and a games area with ping-pong, pool tables, foosball, shuffle board, and pinball—seats 350 or holds 700 for a reception. A separate space called the screening room, on the second floor, has a semiprivate entrance and a private bar. The space seats 75 and holds 150 for receptions. A sidewalk patio will seat 100 and a second-floor patio will hold 200 in the warmer months.
The menu, created by executive chef Tawfik Shehata, is described by Tripi as Canadian comfort food. Dishes include East Coast smoked cod cakes, braised pork potpie, house ground burgers, grilled chicken wings, and Ontario beef hot dogs. Ingredients are locally sourced and organic (where possible), and everything is made in house. There are 16 beers on tap.
The Ballroom is available for buyout. Groups of 20 or more are assigned their own bowling concierge, and custom menus can be designed for events.
