The Garden Cinema — Local services in London

Charming art deco ambience cinema sequestered in a side street nr Holborn station. Blink and you'll miss the narrow entrance that isn't revealed until 30 minutes before the first screening each day. This cosy, neat, venue oozes bespoke hospitality. From the minute you climb the steps to the box office you feel welcome and comfortable in a way that is extremely rare amidst the usual blast em raza mastazz of the west end entertainment spaces.. You are even invited to grab a few free Xmas themed postcards as a takeaway gift. There's an access lift to the garden bar( see photos ) and the screens. All the seating in the lounge booths and adjacent to the bar are lush, plush and a great place to congregate pre and apres watching your chosen film. The drinks, snacks and screenings are all highly affordable at £5 on average. Astonishingly their annual membership also rocks in at £20 ! If you haven't bought a loved one their Xmas/ birthday/ anniversary gift yet and they live in greater London this is a very wise choice and possibly ensures you'll spend quality time with them in 2025. Big up the staff too who at the beginning of your screenings help you further relax by announcing there are no crass adverts, only trailers for other films. The auditoriums are small ; rows only go up to H with 10 seats ? in the row. I think the first 2 rows are too close to the screen if you wear glasses like me. We were in G ..l think my preference would be row D or E. Go on treat yourself to an afternoon or evening of true cinematic escapism. Last but not least you won't need to put in ear plugs to stop yourself jumping out of the seat in traumatised response to loud audio. It's set at a respectful Neuro divergent friendly level. My ears and sensory sensitivities are...

Lovely cinema with a great film selection. Today, my wife and I appreciated the personal introduction by a staff member including a reminder to turn phones off, and not eat food from noisy packaging (crisps, etc). I think they really make an effort so filmgoers can have a good experience. This is why I give the cinema 5 stars.

However.......

Once the pre-reel started with their upcoming films, more people came in late, who did not get the message about being polite. They were sat in our row, to the right and left. One couple sat down, then moved right next to us (not their seats) to get a better view of the screen. The girl got on her phone and started to text and look at her social media, very distracting. The woman on the other side next to my wife decided this was a good time to slather her hands in moisturiser for 5 minutes, then start applying something to her hails with a brush. perhaps nail polish? No idea, but quite rude nonetheless.

I left the cinema, because all these distractions and rude behavior just make the entire experience unpleasant. No fault of the cinema, but if you are one of those people who think it's okay to be on your phone or do you daily hand & nail care care while next to other people in the cinema, just know you are completely ruining the experience for others. I suppose it's all about you, most likely not just at the cinema. You are likely the kind of self-focused person that ruins it for everyone else. Thanks for ruining my afternoon at the cinema. I'm sure you could...

Well, as an ex member, I can certainly say that the staff are clique-ish and closed off. It's quite jarring and quite funny as the cinema is big on identity politics and inclusiveness. The rhetoric espoused stands in stark contradiction to the actions.

Secondly, I'm not really a big fan of the cinema screening options. They seem to screen very niche films that seem to be popular amongst activist students who have nothing better to do with their spare time. You could literally go to the Odeon, Picture House, or Vue and get a more satisfying experience. Plus, there's more variety of food there too.

#3, the ticket prices are a joke. Regular tickets used to be £12 with member tickets being £10, but have since increased to £14 tickets with member tickets being £12. That's right, a member's ticket is now what a regular ticket price used to be. Apart from that £2 discount memberships don't provide much else apart from exclusive events for which you pay.

So to sum up: staff who are selectively welcoming, unappealing screenings, and ticket prices that leave a lot...