by Sarah Becker Andrea Newton Babbington and Benji Dotan
We were invited along to the opening night at Lucky Chuck’s, a brand-new £1m venue landing in Kettering town centre with the tongue-in-cheek motto “Proudly making good pizza and bad decisions since ’76.”
Opening at midday on Saturday, January 17, Lucky Chuck’s promises to reinvigorate the town’s offering with food, drink and fun – from oversized pizza by the slice to retro entertainment and interactive games designed for groups, families and nights out.
And from the moment we arrived, it delivered on the vibe.
A Market Square Glowing in Neon
Kettering town centre was glowing in neon, and we genuinely stopped to admire it.
Nestled next to the Kino Lounge, Lucky Chuck’s announces itself loudly and proudly – a beacon of retro fun.
The highlight? The food. No contest.
Settled into our booth at the front of the restaurant, we got ready to order.
Here’s where you have to make a decision; do you order one huge pizza or several pizzas by the slice? We went for ‘by the slice’ and had to choose between pizzas with names such as Mister Ray and Trust Me Bro.
The pizzas were very nice; super thin, super crispy, and absolutely loaded with flavour. The 20-inch pizzas are enormous – we spotted several people leaving with takeaway boxes.
A favourite was Honey Trap with shavings of cheese on top adding some surprisingly classy flourishes ✨ The sides were quirky. Fries loaded with vodka sauce, sausage and crispy onions and cheese, went down all too quickly.
Even the salad impressed – fresh, tasty, and definitely not just there to make the menu look balanced. Even the chips came with shavings of delicious cheese.
Top tip: order by the slice if you want variety and can’t commit to just one flavour. Decision-making is hard in a place like this.
The cocktails
The cocktails were a definite highlight, almost Instagram perfect! My pornstar martini was perfectly sour, satisfyingly sweet and crowned with a delectable passion fruit side — so good I played it safe and ordered another.
Eat first. Then play.
Once we’d eaten, we were more than ready to dive into the games – and Lucky Chuck’s doesn’t hold back.
Think retro entertainment with a modern twist: neon bar pong, pinball machines themed around Dr No and Jaws (still retro, still iconic), and crazy golf that feels part fairground, part disco dream.
Neon bar pong came with different rules for each game, but honestly?
We quickly adopted a simple philosophy: just get the balls in the cups.
Through rigorous “research”, we discovered the bounce shot worked far better than overhead or underarm — science in action 🧪
Once you start playing, you don’t really want to stop. Games are reasonably priced too – pinball was £1.50 a pop, but you get plenty of goes. That silver ball just keeps dropping in.
Full commitment to the vibe
Décor-wise, Lucky Chuck’s goes all in. Even the toilets got the full design treatment. No half measures here.
The staff were friendly, helpful and very much matched the atmosphere – shout-out to one server’s glorious retro shag haircut, which I couldn’t stop admiring.
The verdict
Very tasty food indeed, delicious cocktails Neon lights, huge pizzas, playful chaos and a proper throwback atmosphere with a modern edge. Lucky Chuck’s feels like a confident new addition to Kettering’s nightlife – one that doesn’t take itself too seriously but takes fun very seriously indeed.
Very groovy ✌️🪩