Out front, before you even walk through the door, there’s an ice cream stand and a mini golf course. That’s the first thing you see from the street, and honestly, it’s a great first impression. The ice cream stand even has a drive-up window.
From the parking lot, it looks like a pretty typical bowling alley. No criticism to the folks at Lakeview Lanes, but nothing about the exterior is going to stop you in your tracks. And then you walk inside. You’re greeted with what feels like a standard bowling alley — lanes, shoe rentals, bowling balls, food. But then off to one side sits a massive bar with flatscreen TVs covering the walls showing whatever games happen to be on. There’s a substantial arcade room. And tucked into another section is a pool hall — I didn’t go in, but I looked through the window and it appeared to be a pretty big space.
Then there’s the restaurant. Lakeview Lanes actually has two separate kitchens — that’s how big this place is. One kitchen is dedicated entirely to pizza, while the other is pumping out made-to-order meals.
But before we get to the outdoor space, let’s talk about the food.
I was genuinely shocked at how fresh everything was at Lakeview Lanes. When I was coordinating my visit and going through the menu, there were a few things I wanted to try and a few things they insisted I try. One of those was the fish fry. Now, fish fry isn’t something I typically make videos about — I’ve just found that either you have good fish or you don’t. The difference between a good and a great fish fry is pretty small, so I’ve never gone out of my way to seek them out. That is, unless it’s somewhere like Doug’s Fish Fry — or somewhere like Lakeview Lanes, where they essentially forced my hand. What’s impressive here is that they’re getting fresh fish delivered five days a week. At a bowling alley. That’s worth noting.
The two sides that came with the fish were truffle fries and mac and cheese. And here’s where things get interesting. The mac and cheese is made fresh to order — they’re building the cheese sauce on the fly, and instead of regular pasta, they use tortellini. That’s right, their mac and cheese is made with tortellini, from scratch, every time. Honestly, the flavor wasn’t incredibly complex — it was just aggressively, overwhelmingly cheesy. The cheesiest mac and cheese I think I’ve ever had. I’d love to see them take it one step further with some garlic, crushed red pepper, parsley, or breadcrumbs — something to add a little more depth. But it’s still good.
The other thing they really pushed me to try was the Chicken Riggie pizza. I’ve talked about specialty pizzas a lot this week, and I’d put this one in the category of pizzas that I thought were delicious but aren’t necessarily my style. My issue was with the execution — this is a heavy, messy specialty pizza where the dough struggles a bit under the weight of everything piled on top. That said, the flavor and the effort behind it were genuinely impressive.
Here’s what got me: they make the Chicken Riggies to order. Not scooped from a pan that’s been sitting on the line all day — made fresh, right then, every time. I was actually standing in the kitchen waiting for the cook to move, and she was waiting for me to follow her down to the sauté station to film her making them. She looked at me and said “are you gonna come down here and film this?” I said “yes, when are you going to scoop the Riggies onto the pizza?” She said “I have to make them first.”
She sautéed the chicken, built the sauce from scratch, boiled the pasta, mixed it all together, and then passed it through the window to the pizza line to be loaded onto the dough and baked. The problem is that the Riggie sauce doubles as the pizza sauce — and it’s just so wet and heavy that the dough doesn’t really have a chance to hold up properly. Still, the flavor was great and the effort was legitimately impressive.
My favorite thing I ate that day was the jalapeño popper smashburger. Two smash patties, pickled jalapeños, cheddar jack cheese, and a jalapeño popper cream cheese — cream cheese blended with fresh diced jalapeños and cheddar — spread right on the patty on the flat top, then topped with the jalapeños and the cheddar jack. And you get all of that twice.
It was slightly spicy, really creamy, and genuinely delicious. I’ll be a little bit of a jerk here and say I think the execution could be even better. My instinct would be to put the smashburger with just the cheddar jack on the bun, then add cold pickled jalapeños and spread the cold cream cheese on the bottom. That way when you bite in, you get that stark contrast — cold, creamy, tangy cream cheese against bright pickled jalapeño against a hot, salty smash patty. I think that temperature contrast would take it to another level. But as it was? Still really good.
Now — the outdoor space. Lakeview Lanes has this outdoor area called The Yard, and it is something else. It’s a massive space. There’s a fully covered bar section with a big outdoor bar and TVs along the walls for watching games. Tables, chairs, and permanent propane heaters keep it warm even when the weather doesn’t cooperate. When I was out there it was drizzling and about 50 degrees, but under that covered bar it felt like early summer. Warm, inviting, and comfortable. Beyond the covered section, The Yard opens up into outdoor seating with fire pits, comfortable chairs, a large dedicated cornhole area for games and tournaments, and space for live music.
One more thing I’d be remiss not to mention — Thursday nights at Lakeview Lanes mean 50-cent chicken wings. And the wings were really good. But maybe that’s a story for another blog.
If you’re looking for a place where there is genuinely something for everyone, get yourself up to Lakeview Lanes in Fulton. Going solo for a drink, heading out with your partner, or bringing the whole family — it doesn’t matter. Bowling, arcade games, pool, cornhole, an indoor bar, an outdoor bar, live music, great food, and great deals. Highly recommend.
723 W. Broadway
Fulton, NY
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