My boyfriend and I received an invitation to review Puttshack in Bank, London. Puttshack is a high-tech mini golf course, perfect for couples wanting to switch up their usual date night of dinner and drinks. As part of my series on Unique Date Ideas in London, I share my experience and provide tips if you’re looking for a great game of miniature golf.
Location: Puttshack Bank
A two-minute walk from Bank underground station, Puttshack is surrounded by pubs and cocktail bars for a quick pre-drink. Whenever I am on a date, it’s important that I am within walking distance of a tube and that I can have a drink within the first few minutes – I’m not one to advocate drinking on first dates, but sometimes that first glass can really ease tension.
Aesthetic & Atmosphere
Situated within the city, Puttshack Bank houses a lively, diverse crowd during the week with many city workers attending as a substitute for post-work drinks. Regardless of which day you choose, you should enjoy a fun, energetic atmosphere.
Upon entering Puttshack, you’re greeted by a large pink light fixture that compliments the bold blue walls. Once down the stairs and past the cloakroom, the place opens to a large complex with a fancy bar towards the centre, plenty of seat options and of course, the mini golf itself.
The place is bright, colourful and elegant enough for you to wear a work suit, dress, blazer and boots – though many guests also opted for jeans and trainers.
Puttshack London Menu
The cocktail menu is not extensive, but it holds a good selection to suit different tastebuds. My Pornstar Martini was as expected and I adored their Candy Crush and Hennessy Island. Before purchasing a full drink, you can opt for a cocktail shot at half the price.
For food, my partner and I tried the pepperoni pizza, House Seasoned Fries and their Signature House Fried Chicken. I made the mistake of sharing these with my partner – you absolutely must order separately. The chips were particularly delicious and felt too small as a portion.
Entertainment
I have visited a couple of different mini-golf games in London – Puttshack has many attributes that make it stand out. Their unique technology assigns every ball to one player with your scores automatically tracked as you go through the game. This means no annoying pen and paper as well as no cheating.
The course has lots of unique holes. You have the chance to win a prize, gain extra points by answering a true or false question and test your skills at beer pong. Many of the holes contain potential hazards and ‘supertubes’ where you can gain and lose points which further adds to the competition. I’m certainly an amateur at mini-golf and found the course tricky but everyone there seemed too caught up with their own fun to worry about my poor performance.
It seems unfair to criticise a place for being so good that it’s busy, however, this did cause some interference. We had to wait at the beginning and queue towards the end of our game.
On the other hand, there was a staff member specifically covering drinks for people playing mini golf which softened our wait time.
Overall summary: Is Puttshack London a good first date?
With great food and drink, a buzzing, diverse crowd and a fantastic round of mini golf, Puttshack provide an affordable and entertaining night for a date, including a first date.
The open space made it feel as though you were in a grand bar which also happens to contain a golf course. As the place is popular you’re likely to experience wait times and queuing but that’s expected when visiting central London.
My only other complaint is the golf course felt too small. There wasn’t enough opportunity to prepare a comeback and win against my partner. However, there are four different courses. If we had booked another, this would have been more than enough time.
Overall, we both had a really fun night and felt that Puttshack offers great value. I would definitely return.
Good to know:
- Book online and register each player before arriving – also consider booking a table for after.
- A 9-hole course takes around 30 minutes.
- Join Puttshack perks for exclusive offers, including a free round of mini golf on your birthday.
- A game costs £13.50 per person, at the time of writing. (Please double-check prices before booking).
- Puttshack also has locations at Lakeside, Watford and White City.
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