Date Night: Bocce Edition

My husband Mike and I both grew up in Reno and have been dating for 14 years. That’s a lot of nights out, a lot of dinners and movies. We love to go out and explore Reno, but with kids, we have to decide what qualifies as a good enough night out to find, arrange, and pay for a babysitter — the number of movies I’m willing to see in theaters has drastically dipped since having kids (I’m about five Marvel movies behind at any given time).

We were excited to find that the Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel includes not only a great restaurant with balcony seating that overlooks the river, but they have also converted what used to be the casino floor into a bocce ball court, which made for a fun and unique evening out. Thank you to the Renaissance for providing us with a fun evening. We already plan to go back soon with a group of friends.

We started by grabbing dinner at the Shore Room restaurant. We walked through a bar and lounge area with live music and lots of comfortable seating before getting to the table seating portion of the restaurant. We were seated at an amazing table on their newly built deck space. We got to enjoy the best view of the Truckee River and downtown Reno while eating our dinner. The Shore Room is the only restaurant in Reno with seating right on the river, and the view is amazing. My server pointed me in the direction of the Mediterranean Mule, a great cocktail that hit the perfect spot between being full of flavor but not too sweet (Mike also liked it, and he is infinitely picky in his beverage choices). I really enjoyed the Pan Roasted Salmon with a blood orange glaze and plan to go back to try their braised lamb shank, which sounded equally promising

Mike and I rounded out our evening with a game of bocce at Bundox Bocce inside the hotel. If you are like I am and have never played bocce before, don’t worry: It’s easy to pick up on the rules that are well displayed in the area.  It reminded me a bit of bowling, without having to stick my feet in shoes of an unknown origin. I also was pleasantly surprised I could hold my own against my freakishly athletic husband. It made for a super fun and competitive game.

The Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel isn’t only a great date night location, it’s also super family friendly. The hotel is a non-gambling, non-smoking location, which is hard to find downtown. They have family time every Sunday from 12 to 4 pm (reservations highly recommended), where a family of four can play an hour of free bocce. The space is set up well for kids to be running around. In addition to bocce, they have a game of giant Jenga, ski ball, and a full bar downstairs with food options for kids and drink options for parents.

Bocce is $40 for 90 minutes of play for a group of four, with $10 for each additional adult and $5 for each additional child 12 years and under. Each game is played with two teams of one to four plays. Reservations can be made up to a week in advance and are highly recommended for both the outdoor space and for Sunday family time. Reservations can be made up to a week in advance by calling 775-321-5878 Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The hotel also offers free valet parking up to three hours for anyone dining or playing bocce (tickets can be validated at either location inside the hotel).

 

For other great date night ideas, check out Lynnette’s post full of different activities to do around Reno.