THE CITY // Lane7

I might be marking myself out as something of a freak by saying this, but in my almost-30-years on the planet, I reckon I've only ever experienced one, maybe two, "nights out." It's not that I'm anti-social - I want to be able to enjoy nights out in my friends' company; it's just that I'm anti-making-a-total-fool-of-myself and this has often crippled me. I find nightclubs - with their darkness, sticky floors, drunken antics and too-many-bodies - deeply unnerving and the idea of dancing in public gets a big fat 'No!' from me and my anxiety. 

I feel like I've missed out on all these usually-enjoyable experiences, when perhaps all that was really missing was a dance-free activity to focus my night around. 

Well, that opportunity is missing no more, thanks to Lane7's arrival in Aberdeen! 

Licensed 'til 2am on Fridays and Saturdays (or should that be Saturday and Sunday?), Lane7 offers a boutique bowling experience and a great alternative venue for your next night out, right in the centre of the city. 

Opened on Friday, the old Tiger Tiger site on Shiprow has been transformed into an open and inviting space, decked out with clever signage and quirky graphics (including a shoe selfie circle!) that bring a relaxed, tongue-in-cheek vibe to the place. 

Some friends and I were kindly invited to their preview night on Wednesday and gladly popped down to drink and play.

First up there was the bar ("Beers here."), with a well-stocked selection of wines, craft beers, spirits (hello, all of the gin) and soft drinks, and a menu of cocktails, mocktails and hard or soft shakes. I opted for a Whitley Neill rhubarb gin and light tonic, complete with a garnish of pink peppercorns, which went down an absolute treat! 

Next up came the bowling ("Shoes here.") , where we exchanged our shoes, submitted our names and headed to our lane. There are six lanes altogether (cheekily missing out number 1 to get the 7 of the name), accommodating up to 7 players a piece, with optional bumpers available for any kids (or grown-up cheats). As it was, I probably should have asked to put up the bumpers as my "skills" were somewhat lacking in this particular game and one friend out-bowled the rest of us quite considerably! Still, it was a good laugh and on the plus side, my bowling efforts were far less humiliating than my dancing attempts would be!

If bowling isn't enough, the competitive among you can continue the battle over the collection of arcade games, pool and ping pong tables which occupy the rest of the space. We never quite managed to secure ourselves a table on this visit but enjoyed watching the wide range of table tennis "skills" on display, while having a good old nose around and grabbing a few photo opportunities.

If all of that competition works up a bit of an appetite, they're currently in the process of installing a kitchen so that they can serve up pizza and nibbles alongside their drinks. If the Newcastle menu is anything to go by, my hopes are fairly high for some tasty sounding treats! (Beer cheese fritters with sriracha sauce, please.)

All in all, I really enjoyed my little Lane7 sneak peek and am delighted to see something like this popping up in the centre of the city. Open 7 days a week, with kids welcome 'til 7pm and a live DJ playing every Friday and Saturday night, it seems like a great venue for a variety of different occasions (especially in the run up to Christmas!) and I can definitely see myself making a return.

Lane7 

1 Shiprow, Aberdeen, AB11 5BY
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