Kew Gardens Cinemas — Attraction in New York

I used to be so disappointed in this movie theater because it is the closest one to me by a long-shot and yet they only used to show independent or foreign movies that I had never heard of and I honestly always wondered how they even made any money.

Thankfully, a few years ago they started showing big Hollywood movies and so I had finally went for the first time and I loved it. Went back a few times and saw Christopher Robin, The Lion King, Spiderman: Far From Home, a couple others, and most recently Shang-Chi.

Overall, it's a super small movie theater when compared to the bigger brands like AMC and Regal, but that's kind of a positive appeal to me. I love the way the entrance looks. It's very homey-feeling which is not something you get a lot of in NYC, especially not in a movie theater and you don't have to walk inside and feel like you're stuck in a crowded mess of loud people trying to buy tickets. It's a very calm and relaxing atmosphere with just a couple of employees who are pretty welcoming and nice. Their popcorn is great, classic tasting movie theater styled and as a soda-lover, they have so much to choose from. Management, if you're reading this, please never get rid of anything!

Their theater seat quality is decent at best and I believe a couple of their theaters are bigger than the others so if you're seeing a popular movie like a Marvel movie, you'll probably be in the bigger theater. Also, wanted to note that their restroom was pretty damn clean and I was the last person out of the theater after watching Shang-Chi so I'm assuming at least a handful of people would have used it prior to me entering. So thank you to the staff who actually pay attention to the cleanliness of the restrooms and attend to it when it needs work.

As for things I dislike, I wish their website didn't have a convenience fee for purchasing tickets online. Like come on. It's 2021 and during a pandemic. A convenience fee for purchasing movie tickets online? Really? I can expect that sorta thing from like Fandango or something, but it just doesn't make much sense to me to have an even bigger fee than Fandango when Kew Gardens Cinema is listing their tickets on their own website.

Another thing I wish they would improve is their seats. They're honestly not the greatest and other movie theaters have some great quality seats that recline and even have USB-charging and I would like to see an improvement from Kew Gardens Cinema. Taking that homey feeling one-step further would be a great step in the right direction.

This is pretty specific, but I think their chocolate chip cookies went little downhill. They used to be pretty good, but when I got a couple when I saw Shang-Chi they weren't warm like they used to be and were pretty crumbly and boring like they were just purchased as a pack from Walgreens or something. They just tasted processed like a worse version of Chips-Ahoy. Not really sure what happened there.

And finally, for a neutral point, if you're the type of person who likes to be surrounded by a loud and engaging audience when you see a movie that sometimes requires that kind of energy like Avengers: Endgame, you probably don't want to see it in this theater. Having seen many movies in this theater, the audience energy is pretty low which some people prefer and that's okay. But it's not for everyone, so if you prefer an audience who really engages with the movie, I'd probably go elsewhere.

Nevertheless, I love Kew Gardens Cinemas and will continue to go here, but I really do hope they consider modifying some of those things I mentioned to make going here...

2025 July: It's been over a year since I've been in the theater here. Went to see the latest Jurassic Park movie, and I recommend it for everyone except for little kids. A little too scary for little kids. Totally non-stop or virtually non-stop actions with two separate groups navigating an island of course where dinosaurs are and particular mutant dinosaurs. "One damn thing follows another" ( ODTFA ). It is a summer blockbuster movie, I recommend you see the movie. The theater itself hasn't changed, they still have coffee although if you're going to make the 12:00. Joe, I suggest you call them early to let them know that you're going to want coffee and they'll put it on for you. Otherwise you'll have to wait 10 minutes or so before the coffee is ready. The food selection is still what it was and for us food is frozen plain m&M's and popcorn. They still have the little side rooms is where the ticket Booth is that is open to the outside, but that's not used anymore. There is a sitting area in there. So afterwards if you or your partner need to use restrooms, one of you can wait there for a bit and relax. The folks there are very friendly and talk to you. This is truly a local business. Five star ratings and any category you can think of except for food, they're not Michelin rated. 2024: A wonderful local movie theater with six screens and a good selection of movies every week. It does have an interesting old school phone booth but the phone isn't working on it. The phone booth is a relic of an earlier time when no one had...

First I thought ok let me give this movie theater a shot don’t feel like traveling downtown granted low price tickets first walked in environment and energy was a good feeling 10 mins before movie start someone comes in to start cleaning Thought with all the chatting it would of been clean don’t get me wrong I’m all for having fun at work but take care of work first We order 2 super combos and a kid combo popcorn was cold and black stuff all in it my daughter went and complain they sent them back saying it’s burnt it’s ok popcorn not even burned When I went upfront they was really rude about it and saying g it’s noting they can do they eat it and pop it every 30 mins ain’t no way as cold and stale the popcorn is as well shouldn’t be no black stuff in my popcorn I been going to the movies for years never experienced it the machine is all black around where they pop the seeds they should do better cleaning as well looks like a employee off the clock stepped in and gave me a card saying to call and complain there was a gentleman behind the counter trying to be understanding and helpful but the females and other guy made him step back and shut down they eventually gave me a refund for the popcorn which wasn’t so hard to do so I do not understand all their fuss with out the popcorn experience and their energy change when being confronted it’s...