Whirlyball is awesome! Suits in charge of pricing are trash, though. Food is decent, and beer selection is good, if a little pricey. Pricing for doing whirlyball is misleading. They claim it costs $250/hour, but they tack on a mysterious 20% service fee after sending the contract that they explicitly explain does not go to service staff. Shady. Just tell people it's $300/hour. It is.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Thore Nielsen
1 Stern dafür, dass wir vor unserer Zeit rausgeworfen wurden. Der Grund war lachhaft, 1 Techniker war hinter der Abdeckung obwohl alles funktioniert hat. Der Mann wurde zu spät gesehen und es wurde trotzdem eine bowlingkugel geworfen. Ohne dass jemand getroffen wurde. Wir haben uns entschuldigt und wurden trotzdem rausgeworfen. Wir kommen nicht wieder
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Allison Campo
WhirlyBall Chicago is an absolute blast if you’re looking for something different to do with friends. We spent around $40 per person, covering a game of WhirlyBall, some bowling, and a round of laser tag—it was worth every penny. The WhirlyBall game itself is chaotic in the best way, like bumper cars meets lacrosse, and had us cracking up the whole time. The sports bar has solid food; we grabbed some nachos and wings to refuel between games. Perfect spot for parties or just a fun night out when you’re tired of the usual bar scene.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buffalo Wings
Thomas Gutheil
We went for a birthday party last night 1/25/25 and played laser tag followed by drinks and food. The food server was nice, food was mediocre, drinks were good.
That said, the laser tag attendant was the rudest prick and should not be in a customer facing position.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Milo-Sidlo Marcell
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WALLET ON YOU cards got stolen while we were playing laser tag
Inna E
We had a birthday party for a group of 16. Nothing I discussed in advanced mattered when arrived. The staff did what they wanted and could. We were even moved to another room midway though the event. They just ripped the table cloth of the table and I had to reset the new room my self- set up chairs, bring over the food etc. I think the staff is nice and eager to help, there is just no “adult” in the room to direct them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Kendra B
Whirlyball is so fun! We loved the game & laser tag. I would highly recommend it, but eat first.
My food was just okay, garlic parm wings and Caesar Salad. The salad had way too much dressing, and the wings were tough.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Joe Schmidt
Spam... If you go to any of their places and sign their waiver they all start spamming you almost daily. Unsubscribing doesn't work. Bad business practice.
Jon C
We've played whirleyball here several times, and had a great time every time except the last. The last time we played here the ref just up and left when we had 20 minutes remaining on the time we paid for.
When we tried to ask what was happening, one member of the the staff (I believe his name was Eric?) became physically aggressive with us.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Hendrik Woods
We recently hosted our company holiday party at WhirlyBall. I brought along my two kids, ages 10 and 5. While my 10-year-old was playing ping pong, he (inappropriately) sat on the table, and it collapsed. Initially, the staff was incredibly kind and attentive, ensuring he was okay and checking on us. However, the situation quickly escalated.
A manager approached me, claiming they had reviewed the security footage and determined my son was at fault. They demanded I immediately compensate them for the broken table. Wanting to avoid a scene, I agreed. I checked the price of a similar table at Dick's Sporting Goods, which was $249.
Then, about 15 minutes later, a different manager came over and insisted I pay $449, claiming they had spoken to "corporate" and confirmed the higher price. Despite my protests and showing them the cost I had found, they threatened to charge my company for the remainder if I didn’t pay in full. Reluctantly, I paid the $449 to avoid further conflict.
I want to emphasize that I could have been the type of customer who argued, pointing out that the table may not have been properly assembled, but I chose not to. What I didn’t expect was to be treated with such hostility and nickel-and-dimed over something that could have been handled much more professionally.
As a lifelong resident of this city, I’ve never experienced anything like this at any establishment. Rest assured, I will never set foot in WhirlyBall again, and I would urge others to think twice before spending their money here.
Worst talking to Toby, the GM has no ability to work with adults and doesn't train staff to make sure they abide by the rules. Charges extra on petty things, I would not recommend coming here or hosting events at this place. She ended the call midway twice instead of being a responsible adult to work through the issues. The staff was respectful both at the party and at the bar, but unfortunately, I can't say the same for the GM Toby. As much as i want to support them, I likely won't be coming back based on how poorly it was mismanaged.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Erika “Rikki” Diemer
My son was invited to a birthday party on 11/10. The kids had a blast and he loved the pizza. As for myself it was really chill. There was a wonderful lady, with an accient that I didn't catch. She was so nice and accommodating. She made a drink and the mother wasn't crazy about the "twist" on it. She was like no problem, I'll make you another no charge, no attitude and no hesitation. So, party is over and my son can't find his self phone. The extremely kind young lady at the laser tag, looked she let us walk through there, holding up other's. Again, no attitude no hesitation. So, I go to the front counter to leave my information in cae someone turned in the phone , but there was the dream team. Starring Jen, Eric and Josh, when I say these young folks thought of and did everything. The went through games, put an app on my phone after looking it up on line and found the phone in about 10 minutes. So thankful for them.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Matheus Belleboni
TL;DR: Management will try to trick you into overpaying your bill, the service is terrible, and your lane will break at least once. Go somewhere else instead!
I’m usually against writing extremely negative reviews because sometimes a business is just having a bad day—lanes break; that’s life. But that’s clearly not the case at WhirlyBall Chicago. They should seriously reconsider their management (incident occurred on the evening of 11/8, if it helps).
I’ve visited WhirlyBall Chicago several times for bowling and laser tag. Although it’s not our favorite spot, the location is convenient. Normally, we have a small team of four or, at most, five people, so we always book a bowling lane online for simplicity. This time, I invited a larger group to celebrate my birthday, with some friends coming from out of town. I wanted to be mindful of any delays and considered booking the lanes in person once everyone arrived.
Since I know that many bowling places can be quite sketchy with their online booking prices versus in-person rates, I made sure to call the number on their website (773-486-7777) to confirm. I asked whether there would be any price difference if I booked ahead of time, as usual, or if we just showed up and played when ready. I called on 11/7 at 6:29 pm, and the person who answered assured me that there would be no difference: it would be the same $100 per lane per hour.
We arrived at the venue well before our intended start time to grab some food. I checked again with the bowling staff and asked if I could book a lane for around one hour from then. The response was, “Why not, sure.” This was likely one of the managers, a bald man in his 30s or 40s. Halfway through the process, he mentioned that I didn’t need to book the lane because most lanes were about to be free, and I could just come back when we were ready to play. Sounded great, right?
When it was finally time to bowl—after nearly two hours at the venue—I was shocked to learn from the front desk that we needed to pay a $25-per-person walk-in fee instead of the $100-per-lane rate. So, our expected cost of $200 plus tax suddenly jumped to $300 plus tax. On top of that, they charged me twice, and I’m now disputing the amount with my credit card company.
I tried to speak to a manager (not the one who had originally advised me not to book ahead). This new manager, a man in his 20s or 30s, showed up with such an attitude. I explained everything that happened (because SERIOUSLY???), but he kept insisting that it was what it was, and he was unwilling to discuss or negotiate.
With 12 people waiting to play, I had no choice but to go along with it. Of course, we experienced lane issues, and no additional time was added to compensate—standard operating procedure for them, it seems.
This wasn’t the first time we’ve had issues there, but it was by far the worst experience I’ve had.
I strongly suggest going somewhere else if you can.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Bryan Oser
Awful server. We could not get anything taken off the bill. Servers should not matters with kids that are not theirs into their own hands. Really made my son feel bad on his birthday. Message me for their name.
Whirlyball is awesome! Suits in charge of pricing are trash, though. Food is decent, and beer selection is good, if a little pricey. Pricing for doing whirlyball is misleading. They claim it costs $250/hour, but they tack on a mysterious 20% service fee after sending the contract that they explicitly explain does not go to service staff. Shady. Just tell people it's $300/hour. It is.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
1 Stern dafür, dass wir vor unserer Zeit rausgeworfen wurden. Der Grund war lachhaft, 1 Techniker war hinter der Abdeckung obwohl alles funktioniert hat. Der Mann wurde zu spät gesehen und es wurde trotzdem eine bowlingkugel geworfen. Ohne dass jemand getroffen wurde. Wir haben uns entschuldigt und wurden trotzdem rausgeworfen. Wir kommen nicht wieder
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
WhirlyBall Chicago is an absolute blast if you’re looking for something different to do with friends. We spent around $40 per person, covering a game of WhirlyBall, some bowling, and a round of laser tag—it was worth every penny. The WhirlyBall game itself is chaotic in the best way, like bumper cars meets lacrosse, and had us cracking up the whole time. The sports bar has solid food; we grabbed some nachos and wings to refuel between games. Perfect spot for parties or just a fun night out when you’re tired of the usual bar scene.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buffalo Wings
We went for a birthday party last night 1/25/25 and played laser tag followed by drinks and food. The food server was nice, food was mediocre, drinks were good.
That said, the laser tag attendant was the rudest prick and should not be in a customer facing position.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WALLET ON YOU cards got stolen while we were playing laser tag
We had a birthday party for a group of 16. Nothing I discussed in advanced mattered when arrived. The staff did what they wanted and could. We were even moved to another room midway though the event. They just ripped the table cloth of the table and I had to reset the new room my self- set up chairs, bring over the food etc. I think the staff is nice and eager to help, there is just no “adult” in the room to direct them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Whirlyball is so fun! We loved the game & laser tag. I would highly recommend it, but eat first.
My food was just okay, garlic parm wings and Caesar Salad. The salad had way too much dressing, and the wings were tough.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Spam... If you go to any of their places and sign their waiver they all start spamming you almost daily. Unsubscribing doesn't work. Bad business practice.
We've played whirleyball here several times, and had a great time every time except the last. The last time we played here the ref just up and left when we had 20 minutes remaining on the time we paid for.
When we tried to ask what was happening, one member of the the staff (I believe his name was Eric?) became physically aggressive with us.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
We recently hosted our company holiday party at WhirlyBall. I brought along my two kids, ages 10 and 5. While my 10-year-old was playing ping pong, he (inappropriately) sat on the table, and it collapsed. Initially, the staff was incredibly kind and attentive, ensuring he was okay and checking on us. However, the situation quickly escalated.
A manager approached me, claiming they had reviewed the security footage and determined my son was at fault. They demanded I immediately compensate them for the broken table. Wanting to avoid a scene, I agreed. I checked the price of a similar table at Dick's Sporting Goods, which was $249.
Then, about 15 minutes later, a different manager came over and insisted I pay $449, claiming they had spoken to "corporate" and confirmed the higher price. Despite my protests and showing them the cost I had found, they threatened to charge my company for the remainder if I didn’t pay in full. Reluctantly, I paid the $449 to avoid further conflict.
I want to emphasize that I could have been the type of customer who argued, pointing out that the table may not have been properly assembled, but I chose not to. What I didn’t expect was to be treated with such hostility and nickel-and-dimed over something that could have been handled much more professionally.
As a lifelong resident of this city, I’ve never experienced anything like this at any establishment. Rest assured, I will never set foot in WhirlyBall again, and I would urge others to think twice before spending their money here.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Worst talking to Toby, the GM has no ability to work with adults and doesn't train staff to make sure they abide by the rules. Charges extra on petty things, I would not recommend coming here or hosting events at this place. She ended the call midway twice instead of being a responsible adult to work through the issues. The staff was respectful both at the party and at the bar, but unfortunately, I can't say the same for the GM Toby. As much as i want to support them, I likely won't be coming back based on how poorly it was mismanaged.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
My son was invited to a birthday party on 11/10. The kids had a blast and he loved the pizza. As for myself it was really chill. There was a wonderful lady, with an accient that I didn't catch. She was so nice and accommodating. She made a drink and the mother wasn't crazy about the "twist" on it. She was like no problem, I'll make you another no charge, no attitude and no hesitation. So, party is over and my son can't find his self phone. The extremely kind young lady at the laser tag, looked she let us walk through there, holding up other's. Again, no attitude no hesitation. So, I go to the front counter to leave my information in cae someone turned in the phone , but there was the dream team. Starring Jen, Eric and Josh, when I say these young folks thought of and did everything. The went through games, put an app on my phone after looking it up on line and found the phone in about 10 minutes. So thankful for them.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
TL;DR: Management will try to trick you into overpaying your bill, the service is terrible, and your lane will break at least once. Go somewhere else instead!
I’m usually against writing extremely negative reviews because sometimes a business is just having a bad day—lanes break; that’s life. But that’s clearly not the case at WhirlyBall Chicago. They should seriously reconsider their management (incident occurred on the evening of 11/8, if it helps).
I’ve visited WhirlyBall Chicago several times for bowling and laser tag. Although it’s not our favorite spot, the location is convenient. Normally, we have a small team of four or, at most, five people, so we always book a bowling lane online for simplicity. This time, I invited a larger group to celebrate my birthday, with some friends coming from out of town. I wanted to be mindful of any delays and considered booking the lanes in person once everyone arrived.
Since I know that many bowling places can be quite sketchy with their online booking prices versus in-person rates, I made sure to call the number on their website (773-486-7777) to confirm. I asked whether there would be any price difference if I booked ahead of time, as usual, or if we just showed up and played when ready. I called on 11/7 at 6:29 pm, and the person who answered assured me that there would be no difference: it would be the same $100 per lane per hour.
We arrived at the venue well before our intended start time to grab some food. I checked again with the bowling staff and asked if I could book a lane for around one hour from then. The response was, “Why not, sure.” This was likely one of the managers, a bald man in his 30s or 40s. Halfway through the process, he mentioned that I didn’t need to book the lane because most lanes were about to be free, and I could just come back when we were ready to play. Sounded great, right?
When it was finally time to bowl—after nearly two hours at the venue—I was shocked to learn from the front desk that we needed to pay a $25-per-person walk-in fee instead of the $100-per-lane rate. So, our expected cost of $200 plus tax suddenly jumped to $300 plus tax. On top of that, they charged me twice, and I’m now disputing the amount with my credit card company.
I tried to speak to a manager (not the one who had originally advised me not to book ahead). This new manager, a man in his 20s or 30s, showed up with such an attitude. I explained everything that happened (because SERIOUSLY???), but he kept insisting that it was what it was, and he was unwilling to discuss or negotiate.
With 12 people waiting to play, I had no choice but to go along with it. Of course, we experienced lane issues, and no additional time was added to compensate—standard operating procedure for them, it seems.
This wasn’t the first time we’ve had issues there, but it was by far the worst experience I’ve had.
I strongly suggest going somewhere else if you can.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Awful server. We could not get anything taken off the bill. Servers should not matters with kids that are not theirs into their own hands. Really made my son feel bad on his birthday. Message me for their name.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Great experience with the kids! A lot of fun!
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