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Alamo Drafthouse
Rating Details »
2700 W Anderson Ln
Ste 701
Austin, TX 78757
(512) 459-7090
Ste 701
Austin, TX 78757
(512) 459-7090
- Good for Kids:
- No
138 reviews for Alamo Drafthouse
The Village Alamo and the staff get 5+ stars in this update for many reasons.
Firstly, in my original review, where I gave a lukewarm assessment, I complained about the Royale with Cheese we ordered and the fact that we could not get a Buffalo Chicken Salad. For everything else, I gave a glowing review.
The Village Alamo management contacted me to let me know that my review was taken seriously and the staff had a chance to read the review and make the necessary adjustments. And they did. In fact we were sent a food coupon that comp'd the burger. I was informed that even though the Buffalo Chicken Salad is no longer on the menu, it can always be ordered.
We finally made it back to the Village Alamo last night to see Avatar. We ordered the red pepper hummus, which came with warm pita slices and uber fresh carrot and celery sticks and pepper slices, the Royale with cheese, and the Buffalo Chicken salad. Everything was excellent and arrived in a decent amount of time. The salad was huge! My wife and I split the entrees, so we had a chance to try everything. The servers were efficient, courteous, and checked on us during our meal.
It's refreshing to see a commitment to customer service and top notch communication coming out of local businesses like the Alamo Village. I am revising upward the star count to five from my previous review. The manager Michael and the entire Alamo Village crew definitely deserve it.
We like all the Alamos, but the Village is our personal favorite; it always has been. From the looks of things, it always will be. Thanks guys!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/29/2009
I'm big fan of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. They know the real deal about films. With a surgeon's… Read more »
Hooray for the Alamo Drafthouse. It is peerless in every way. Once you've been, it's not even a matter of choosing what theater to go to, just which Alamo location to go to.
And choosing hinges entirely on where you live and what you're going to see. Special events are held almost exclusively at the Ritz, with a few exceptions. One such exception --and one of my favorite Alamo events -- is Kung-Fu Movie Night, held at this location on a monthly-ish basis (pick up a calendar for details or visit the website). So that will often make your decision for you. When it comes to recent films, it's just a question of whether you live closer to the North, South or Village location.
Again, order tickets online and arrive WAY early because seating is almost always limited in comparison to the demand for seeing a given film. This lack of seating keeps me from giving a fifth star to the South location (the sheer volume of special events make up for it at the Ritz), and seating would land this place in the four-star range, too... were it not for Kung-Fu night. That event marked the beginning of a deep and torrid love affair with the Alamo, for me, and it gives my subjectivity enough of a boost to top out the stars for this location.
I like the idea of eating a meal in the movie theatre. Not only do they gouge you when you buy a ticket, they also charge a high fee for their food.
Other than that, I like the experience. I'm not a drinker, so that part of it does nothing for me. However, I wouldn't be opposed to returning here.
Movies I want to see? Check.
Booze? Check.
An absence of the obnoxious crowds and even more obnoxious popcorn stands at a normal movie theatre? Check.
A *bucket* of booze? Check.
I fail to see how this could ever rate less than five stars.
Would I rather pay twenty five bucks at a regular movie theater for a withered hot dog, greasy popcorn and a soda, or spend the same amount of money at the Drafthouse and get three Magic Hat #9's and a grilled three cheese sammwich with roasted tomatoes?
That was a rhetorical question.
There are things that annoy me about the Alamo. The staff moving throughout the theatre can be a distraction. The food is just OK and the prices aren't cheap. I believe $9.00 a movie is as expensive as it get in Austin right now.
As far as Alamo's are concerned, this is the least desirable of the "Original Alamo's". It's an older theatre that has been open for at least 20 years. That said, this does not have stadium seating like most other places have today.
They do have, what it seems like daily event programming and they show fun things on the screen for the 30 minutes leading up to screening. This of course better than bad advertising and promotion for soft drinks and cell phone companies that the big chains show you.
AS AUSTIN AS IT GETS with friendly staff and the movie selection so very, very eclectic. (I am posting this on ALL the Alamo sites because some folks don't know about discounts if you're really supporting local businesses.
But not cheap. The food is okay and expensive, but where else do you get to see first run movies on the same screen with really cheezy 70s horror movies or pancake theater?
Use your Go Local card and get a 10% discount on food and drinks.
Use your Austin Film Society card or your KOOP Radio card and get a deal on most ticket prices.
Try the moulton chocolate brownie with Amy's ice cream and swoon in the aisles from insulin shock.
One goes to the Alamo for the experience- there's nothing else like it.
Alamo drafthouse is probably the best way to spend 2+ hours. Think about it. You get a movie, dinner, and alcohol. Enough to get tanked if you want. And if you're not driving you may as well! I know I would (Consequently, anyone want to be my DD and let me crash at your place? Please? It's been so long since I've done the aforementioned) I mean you could get tanked at dinner at a regular restaurant. But it's so hard to endure the boredom that comes with staying at the same place an hour after you've finished your food. At least for me.
I really enjoy the premovie entertainment. The "commercials" they make for Master Pancake, the Sing-alongs, etc and the random trailers of old movies, 70's Indian pop videos, etc are far more entertaining than anything that comes on TV, even if you have premium channels. And, depending on the movie, sometimes the premovie entertainment is even better than the movie itself.
This is the best way I know to describe the greatness of the Alamo mini-chain:
The gf and I saw at least 30 movies at the Village/South Lamar locations over the course of a year.
In the 6 months since we moved away from Austin, we've only seen three or four movies in the theatre.
And, let's be honest, it's not like we had fewer choices for what to do with out evenings in Austin ('cause, you know, we had more friends there...).
The food is not a highpoint. However, I can readily recommend the fried pickles and the Once Upon a Time in Mexico salad. Also, I have friends that swear by the mac 'n cheese and the chicken strips. Other things like the sandwiches and the pizzas are...passable.
The beer selection is fantastic - much better than it has to be. I could always order something that I was excited about trying or go back to an old standby like a Fireman's 4. The pricing is fair for a movie theatre (even more so if you're willing to commit to a bucket).
The wine list never impressed me but I can be kind of snobby about that. However, you can definitely find something that you're happy to quaff for two hours (sorry, couldn't resist going all Sideways there).
The movie selection is great (even better at the South Lamar location). The picture quality and sound are good. The overall atmosphere is inviting. The special events are fun (outdoor Lebowski screening following by bowling will remain a nice memory for a long time). All in all, an absolute model of how to give your customers pretty much everything they could want.
How do other theaters exist in Austin? Who spends money there? This has always baffled me.
Normal theaters:
~$10 / ticket + ridiculously overpriced snacks/drinks
Alamo Drafthouse
~$8 / ticket + Chili's-priced meals
The whole experience is spectacular. For example, when I went to the opening night of Snakes on a Plane, they had live snake trainers with live rattle snakes up front! Quentin Tarantino was standing in the doorway of our theater watching the snake trainers (I guess the screen he got tickets to didn't have the snake trainers)! The Drafthouse crowd is also a lot of fun and only rowdy when appropriate (opening night of Snakes on a Plane was appropriately rowdy). Then there's the events like open-screen nights, singalongs, master pancake theatre. GO TO THESE. I have never gone to an Alamo event that I've regretted.
I'd like to note: show up early if you want to get good seats in a group. Don't worry, you won't be bored. The Drafthouse hand picks quality video clips in some way related to the movie you are about to see.
TVs have a 15-year sales cycle. We're half-way through the first-gen HDTV cycle, and just a couple years into mass-market priced HD. Will exhibitors survive this fierce new competitor?
Those that do will take a page from Alamo Drafthouse's book. Singalongs. Quotealongs. Festivals. Real food. Drinks. A killer Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.co...). Loyal customers. A community.
Retailing commodities is not fun unless you're Wal-Mart. And a night at the Drafthouse is anything but a commodity.
Good news for those of us not in Austin: Landmark is wisely dipping their toes into this pool. But they need to read the AAPL and NFLX 10-Qs and pick up the pace.
Normally I'd give a theater of this quality 2 stars or 3 at the most . . . it's ANCIENT (and looks it), I'm still waiting to find something on their menu that I can say is really good (although I hear the pizzas are pretty good), and the parking is completely annoying.
HOWEVER . . . there are major benefits to this Alamo. #1 - they have a large number of theme events at this location . . . which in itself almost brings this to a 5 star rating. I'm still hoping I can catch the "butter beer" for the next Potter film. #2 - they have a lot of special showings at this location. Where else can you go to a Michael Jackson sing-a-long or watch Real Genius on the big screen? #3 - there is a decent beer choice, and there is nothing better while watching a movie than a cold brew. #4 - it's just so darn close to my house that I could walk, so why complain about the parking? #5 - even eating so-so food with your movie is well worth it.
It is a little pricey, so I don't usually go to an Alamo unless it's for a special occasion, with a group of friends, or for a special viewing . . .but if they would update the theater, I would quickly change to a 5 star rating.
The drafthouse village is wonderful! One of the few places I enjoy watching movies. Nothing beats their gourmet menu! Be sure you go to one of the non franchise ones, because service and food there sucks. I am giving it a five for the Alamo village only.
Had a good veg option and the cinema was clean. I was a very happy camper.
The staff is really eccentric and outgoing. The theater is clean and their food is great. I would recommend Alamo to people who are looking to see a good movie with good food. The only thing is that it's not for people looking to eat and dine on a budget. Yes, you can get somethings pretty cheap, but overall the movie ticket - which is too much anyways at any theater you go to - and then the food is a little pricey.
I also like how they do the Rocky Horror Picture Show on most Saturdays at midnight. The cast is hilarious and interactive. Definitely something to see at least once.
This is not my favorite Alamo but still love this place.
Thumbs down: You have to wait in line outside (this is like five thumbs down...if one had five thumbs...), parking lot and location in general sort of shady.
Thumbs up: Digital projection. You can at least bring a beer outside in line (recommend a tag team - one person gets in line, the other buys booze). Restroom is RIGHT NEXT to theater means you can be there and back in no time (dont forget to check http://runpee.com for when to go!). Speaking of the restroom, the storage room where they keep the beer is right there and the door is usually open. (I do not advocate stealing, but i'm just saying...) Tickets do not sell out as quickly at this location.
All the Alamos have the same menu so I will comment on food separately: My fish tacos were fantastic, guacamole was super garlicly (which i loved). One Sunday morning I saw UP here in 3D and had some pretty tasty french toast and yummy scones. You can also buy mimosas by the bottle (+carafe)!
An Austin gem. I always enjoy a night out at the Alamo. Great movies, movie-watching fare and drinks. I am always impressed by the table service, too.
So Mike, you're moving from Austin, TX. The home of live music and some of the best tex-mex and creative restaurants around. What will you miss?
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE.
This is the greatest place ever. EVER! If I had the money, I would open one of these in my home town. After enjoying this place, it makes you want to burn down regular movie theaters. This is the way a movie theater should be.
I've personally ran a movie theater before and it made me want to cry. We were so close to something like this and didn't quite come to this idea. Wow... absolutely fantastic.
The food is great and it's definitely far beyond anything you will get in another theater. The prices are more in line with a restaurant than a theater and the seats are always comfy.
Theory- 100 stars.
Food- 3 stars.
Every time I go I get so excited about the convince of eating while I watch a new release, but every time the food is just edible. Most of the "Mexican" inspired meals- salsa guacamole, tacos, etc. has way to much garlic powder (or at least that's what it tastes like). The pizza are decent, just a step up from frozen. You really must order something fried, because they haven't screwed that up.
Also, I do appreciate the selection it has for beer/wine.
Dinner and a movie anyone? Alamo Drafthouse has the best of both worlds because you can do both! Besides the luxury of watching a new movie with a beer in hand, the Alamo's quirkiness is what I love best. Plus, they have fun events each month to keep things interesting. I really enjoyed "videoaoke" which is video karaoke - its when a person from the audience picks a scene from a movie and they act out the audio to the scene. The best part was that this event was FREE! Nothing like free entertainment in my book. Not all Alamo events are free but if you keep up with their events you will find them in there somewhere. Enjoy!
First off, there is no better place to see a movie if you are over 6' tall. Or if you prefer real food and a fine adult beverage over dirty popcorn and watered down Mr. Pibb. LOTS of legroom and Chef John Bullington's menu still rolls with the marquee. I just had a Romulan Ale while checking out Star Trek. Tasted fine and was bright f**king blue.
Their hot wings have always been a personal favorite. I'm not into the soupy buffalo sauce variety, and these are crispy and spicy, but not overly so. Strangely, we seemed to have lost the hot wings lottery during the movie, as 11 of our 12 delicious wings were winglets/tips, not drumsticks. Not sure that's the correct hot wing nomenclature, but it has to be statistically impossible for someone NOT to have separated the drumsticks from our order and passed them on to the lucky winner watching the Terminator in Theater 6. Either the Alamo has instituted some pretty draconian cost cutting measures or today was not my lucky food day starting a couple of hours ago. They still tasted great, though.
I'd agree with the general comments about consistency at the Alamo. You have to cut them some slack because better-than-chain-restaurant food is just hard to do in a really high volume setting like that. They must have something like 100 tables sit down at the same time every 2.5 hours. For example, they used to have the best damn BLT a couple of years ago, but the same sandwich now is mediocre and inconsistent. I must have tried a dozen times in a row to chase that BLT dragon (there I go with the bacon again), but just kept spinning downward in a hapless shame spiral while my wife smirked over her pizza in amusement. I still have to read it on the menu every time I go there for old times sake.
Now that that's off my chest, the food and beverage menu is diverse, tasty and reasonably priced, particularly by movie theater standards. After leaving the concession stand at the megaplex, I'm not comfortable with feeling that my ass kind of hurts before I've even had a chance to enjoy the "roomy" stadium seating.
As a result, the Alamo is hard to beat, not to mention all of the amazing events they have year round. Remember, it's a movie theater that serves real food, not a restaurant that plays movies. Keep that in mind and you'll enjoy the show.
(howling winds and lightning strikes)
Meet my little girl Gaby. She's 5 months old and her favorite hobby is gouging people's eyes out. And I swear that when this cute little girl is going for my face with reckless abandon she's really seeing the face of the line cook at the Alamo who served her mother an undercooked hamburger in her second trimester. In the dark.
That evening, all of my rage was thickly lathered upon the manager-on-duty whose hands were shaking and whose voice was trembling by the time I was done. Hell's Kitchen hath no fury like the husband of a crying pregnant woman.
(cue the sunrise and hopeful music...)
Then I got busy having a beautiful and healthy baby who's as smart as a whip and is freakishly strong. And I've cooled down and remembered what it is that I love about the Alamo: Their devotion to the art of film. The theater is dark, the projection is bright and the sound is great! And those wind-up film clips which are played 30 minutes before the feature make for a film lover's dream. Take for example a James Bond movie. The Alamo will dig up obscure promos and goofy 1960s appearances by Roger Moore and Sean Connery to regale you prior to the iconic Gun Barrel opening sequence.
That's not to even mention all of that other wack stuff the Alamo does to keep Austin weird.
Even before the undercooked organic hamburger incident I never cared for Alamo's food. This is NOT dinner theater. It's theater with snacks that can stain your shirt. If they actually had decent food there would be an uncomfortable tension between the stomach and the mind which could lead to indigestion or, better yet, brains exploding. You can, and probably should, stick to the beer or a root beer float.
Cheers, Alamo. All is forgiven if not forgotten. Still, I have half a mind to bring Gaby out for "Baby's Night" and introduce her to the line cook on duty.
(fade out twilight zone theme with notes transposed to avoid the licencing fees)
fast talking legalese: this review was edited by the Yelpicture Association of America to bring it into compliance of decency statutes, a PG rating, and to absolve all parties of any guilt expressed or implied by removing all inflammatory remarks, liable, slander, unsubstantiated references to the phrase "bloody raw" and other cussing. tax and titling fees not included. Individual results may vary. you likely won't lose a damn pound fatso but thanks for watching.
Loved it everytime I've been there. They show cool, relevant, fun stuff before your movie starts.. big plus over the traditional wait-through-commercials crap that other theaters put you through. It's always clean. Staff is friendly and hasn't gotten my order wrong ever. They really seem to have a good grasp of just about everything that goes on and it's rather impressive.
I'd honestly never go to another theater if I didn't "have to".
Food is great too. Not really even overpriced. I LOVE the cheese fries. $5 shake is a bit much, but it's good. Potato skins are some of the best I've ever had.
Okay, dammit.
You know what? I really like Alamo Drafthouse. I've been thoroughly spoiled and I admit that and USUALLY I love them.
But enforce your own damn rules.
I went today to see Up! I know it's a kid's movie, I know that I wanted to see a matinee, and I know that today was Baby's Day. Which is why I specifically caught the 4:15 show when it was NO LONGER baby day and could reasonably expect no child under 6 to be in attendance. Because them's the rules.
Oh no. A family with two small children sat right down next to us. We raised a flag when the movie started being peppered with the following:
Mama? Mama? MAMA!
Shhh.
(sounds of glass falling)
You have to be quiet you know.
Doggie!
Yes sweetie, that's a dog. Do you like the doggie?
Oh. my. god. A waitress FINALLY came by to say something, and there was frantic whispering from the mother about how it "wasn't her fault baby day was sold out." Oh please. Finally, during a quiet, tender moment on screen the toddler started making a fuss and someone from across the theater said loudly "Please take your baby outside." One parent and one child left, leaving the mother and the inquisitive one sitting next to us. On her lap. Where he was free to poke my girlfriend in the arm and tug on her leg.
It's sad, Alamo, that a patron had to do what you wouldn't. That your ticket-taker was dumb enough to sell them the tickets. That the rule I look forward to the most wasn't enforced from the very beginning. I'm disappointed. And I should have gotten my money back, now that I think about it. ONE STAR.
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Further edit, 6/3/09.
I'm moving Alamo back to 4 stars just because last night, just hours after I posted the above review, Mike from Alamo contacted me. That means a lot, when businesses are not only smart enough to pay attention, but are willing to talk with their less than pleased customers to see what happened and how they can improve. I'm pleased and impressed, guys.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/8/2009
Dear Alamo Drafthouse:
Before I moved here, I had no clue you existed. There was a theatre in the… Read more »
I miss this place so much. Watch a movie with good food and QUALITY BEER. They have a ton of beer choices. Place can get a little pricey with a date. The servers at this place are the best. The pizza and wraps are to die for. Good desert! I think they also show independent moves here.
They have themed nights where they show old movies and have a special menu for that occasion. There is nothing in the world that can beat The Alamo draft house. Nothing!
Dear 8lb 6oz baby jesus, thank you for midnight movies at the Alamo Drafthouse. I had honestly forgotten how much I love cheesy Kung-Fu. After a wonderful warmup of 1960's Kung-Fu trailers were were treated to a free showing of Jackie Chans "Rumble in the Bronx". Wonderfully terrible, my favorite Chan next to Drunken Master. Good cheesesticks and a Hooegarden make me a happy camper. Keep it coming Alamo.
When I lived in Austin, this was my favorite Alamo (perhaps because it was close to where I lived....). The service is awesome, the food is tasty, and who doesn't like a beer with their movie?;)
Sometimes this theater can be a bit busy, but I think it is a much better movie-going experience than your run-of-the-mill mall megaplex. Yeah Alamo for doing this and doing this right!:)
Alright, I admit. I'm an adult that likes animated films. I get excited anytime I see a new trailer for a Disney/Pixar film, and I've even attended midnight openings of a few (alright, make that ALL OF) the Harry Potter films. But until I moved to Austin, I dreaded going to see these movies in the theatre because of annoying, screaming children.
Alamo Drafthouse is the perfect solution. Not only can I see childrens' movies without my chair being kicked by a fidgety little terror, but I can eat some tasty chicken strips or a freshly prepared pizza instead of a bucket of stale popcorn with artificial, butter-flavored topping.
And if that wasn't enough to make Alamo Drafthouse stand out from the usual fare, they host a wide array of special events, from TV shows, to cult classics, sing-alongs, quote-alongs...ENTERTAINMENT.
After all, that's what we're there for.
What's not to love about this place! Watch first run movies, have a drink and chow down some grub. My only question is: why isn't this the norm for cinemas?
Been to 3 locations, they all have a different feel. I prefer the W Anderson lane location. Downtown is great for the sick and twisted festival (truly sick, twisted and funny as hell but that's a topic for a completely different review).
When in Austin this is the only place I'll watch a movie. Why go anywhere that doesn't serve beer?
Yeah whatever, I'm just bumping up my review total. I'd see every movie here if they showed them. The special events are the best though: 100 Greatest Kills, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter events, sing alongs. Too cool, everyone already knows how great they are.
Heeeeee! So today, I finally saw the latest Harry Potter flick, after the bruhhahah died down. I admit, I love the Potter books and movies. They are a great show!
Moving on...
We got there at about 10:45am, feature to begin at 11:15.
Our waitress was cool as shit.
Asked us within *plenty* of time what we wanted/neeeded, as well as said that this particular flick was 2 1/2 hrs long and we had plenty of time to decide. No rush. Could we place a 'drink order'. YES YES YES. ButterBeer, please. (ended up having two!)
After about 10 so minutes ( they were being attentive, tho), we did receive our drinks (thus the movie had not begun yet, for about another 20 minutes or so) and ordered our food.
My first sip of the 'butterbeer'?
Orgasmic yum. If you like "johnny-jump-up", you will like this drink. Very light, cold and, full of flavor.
The food:
Fried Pickles. Crisp. Not oily. Perfect.
Their onion soup (Ms Weasley's veggie onion). Very very good. Considering that most veggies canNOT eat onion soup around these parts, this was pretty tasty. Veggie broth of mushroom with onions and toasted/breaded cotswold cheese. Very good.
My guy got the chicken strips with fries; they were large pieces of chicken, not greasy at all. The fries that came with that were crispy, non-greasy and good. All in all, he gives that an A.
When it all comes down to it, simple creatures ask for simple creatures to make it simple.
AlamoDraftHouse.
It's just that simple.
All theaters have bad nights, nights when something happens to the film or the projector, etc etc. So last week when the screening of the Battlestar Galactica finale ended mid-screening due to some technical difficulties, I was understanding. They at least were honest about the problem, and were very apologetic. Believe me, this is better than most theaters.
But I was blown away by what they did to make it right. Not only did they give us passes that day to any movie at the Drafthouse, about a week later they showed the finale again (along with the episode prior to the finale) in digital projection for the people who were in the ill-fated screening. They gave us $9 in vouchers, offered prizes, and even gave us champagne. And the digital projection looked amazing.
I've always loved the Drafthouse, but this just made me love it more. Keep it up!
To start, I just want to say that I LOVE the Alamo Drafthouse. That being said, the Alamo Village is my least favorite. It doesn't have the bohemian factor of the Alamo on South Lamar. It's not nearly as nice as the Alamo at Lake Creek. And it's just not nearly as exciting as the Alamo Ritz.
Compared to the three other Alamo's listed there is just a lot to desire. The location is mediocre, the parking is not great, and the theatre itself is pretty hideous.
Again, to clarify, this review is in comparison to the other Alamo Drafthouse locations not to other movie theatres (because the Alamo is clearly superior).
Since I live in Far West, the Alamo on West Anderson is the most convenient theater to visit, yet I still find myself visiting the Alamo on South Lamar more often.
First of all, I'm not a fan of the seating. At the South Lamar location, the arena seating makes it impossible for your view of the screen to be obstructed by heads of people in front of you, while here, that may very well happen.
The tables are also a bit awkward (in the middle of every row, the tables divide in two, leaving whomever who is sitting there without a real spot to put their food/drinks).
Food and service-wise, however, I'd say this location is comparable to all the others. My favorite dishes? The Puerco Guisada, Royale with Cheese Burger, anything from their pizza line, and the chips & queso.
This place is great! The whole idea of eating a meal while watching your favorite old time 80s movie is the best ever!!! I have gone to three different locations and have always had a great experience. My husband does not care for eating in the dark though...me I don't mind so much, I know where my mouth is!
I know I am not alone when I say I love Alamo Drafthouse! Sure they have some draw backs like the need to arrive around an hour early to ensure you don't sit in the front of the theater and that you usually have to buy your tickets early in the day for a new release because they typically sell out. But once you know those tid bits of information, I don't know why you would go to any other theater. Last night I chose a Greek Salad and a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter while watching the hotness of Liam Neeson kick some Armenian ass in his new movie, Taken. I have been looking all over for the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter to try, who knew all I had to do is go see a movie to try the beer! The Greek salad was a good proportion of toppings to romaine and the lemon vinaigrette was quite tasty and not to overpowering.
About a month ago we went to another theater to see a movie (we waited to long and Alamo sold out) and we did not like the experience one bit. Our theater was full of kids (I'm 34, so not that old) that talked through the movie, constantly checked their cell phones to see who text msg them, and were entirely too squirmy through the entire movie. I like that Alamo doesn't have hordes of kids running around their theaters and that is worth a few stars in my books,,, right there with being able to enjoy a beer or two while watching a movie!!
So, we all know the Alamo is great. I mean, what self-respecting Austinite wouldn't love it? Sure, sometimes the food isn't the best, and maybe it's a _bit_ pricier than it ought to be, but when it comes down to it, you get to _drink beer_ and _eat decent food_ at a movie theater! And best of all, there are _no children allowed!_ I've gotten so spoiled by now that I try not to go anywhere _but_ the Alamo to see my movies if I can help it!
I did want to write a review specifically for the Alamo Village, too, as the staff has been really accommodating so I figured I'd praise 'em for it.
On one occasion, we'd bought tickets online, but then my boyfriend realized he'd left his credit card at home, once we got there. He hadn't bothered to print out his confirmation e-mail either, but the guy we talked to said that was okay, and he led us to a little back-room office, where he let my bf log in to his account and retrieve that confirmation e-mail. Thus, we were good to go for the movie. The guy could've easily been a dick and turned us away, but instead, he put in a little extra effort, and we got to enjoy yet another movie experience at the Alamo Drafthouse.
The Alamo makes me glad to be an Austinite.
hey dudes, i love the Drafthouse, and so this review is meant for good and not evil.
i had a little sampler of the live oak primus and after i drank it, i noticed the glass was sticky. so i held it up to the screen, and it caught the light so that i could see that it was the filthiest glass i had ever had the misfortune of drinking out of.
i took it in stride, assuming that my immune system was stronger for it, BUT, i really wish it had never happened. i was embarrassed to order a beer in case someone else had seen my first glass.
maybe Alamo shouldn't be responsible for THAT neurosis, but maybe they should wash their glasses!
especially with that huge screen available for all patrons to examine their glass through!
also, i still love the Drafthouse so much!
I truly believe that the Alamo is the best movie theater in Austin. Not only does it show the new movies, but it gives space to oldies and cult classics.
Last Saturday I went to my first "Rocky Horror Picture show" midnight show. I was a virgin. It was really fun! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow much as there were like 20 people yelling all different things at the movie and it was hard to understand what they were saying. I guess regulars already know what they are supposed to say!
Beer is good, food is tasty, I love their burgers. Just one tip, warm the pita that you serve with the falafel, it would make a huge difference.
Don't get me wrong: I adore the Drafthouse concept in general and watch practically every film there. Since I live literally two minutes from the South Lamar Drafthouse, I generally do my movie-viewing at that location. Recently, however, something I wanted to see was only playing at the Village location, so I made my first visit there ... and was, regrettably, depressed at what I discovered.
I know that the Village Drafthouse used to be the Village Theater. What I didn't know is that they didn't convert it to stadium seating when Alamo bought the place. Perhaps my biggest pet peeve in movie theaters -- aside from screaming children and people who have the audacity to not only leave their cell phones on during the film, but also ANSWER INCOMING CALLS (which, of course, you'd never see at any Drafthouse) -- is not having an unobstructed view of the screen. The Village has the "traditional" style seating that fell out of favor at least a decade ago once the stadium-style theater made its debut, and thus, I had to spend nearly three hours watching "Watchmen" with two tall dudes' heads blocking a big chunk of the screen, which seriously impaired the quality of the movie-viewing experience for me. Am I picky? Well, yes, but I imagine most Drafthouse regulars are picky.
Alas, I will not be making a return visit - and I'm only giving it four stars instead of three solely because it's the only Drafthouse in town with 4K digital projection.
