Cinema Cafe Chester — Local services in Chester

I'm going to round a 3.5 up to 4 and give them the benefit of the doubt. We attended on a Tuesday afternoon for our first visit. Ticket prices were extremely reasonable. Of course we planned to eat a late lunch there as well. They have a 'Uge kitchen, ready for some real business! However we had practically a private showing at that time of day. The foyer was nice with a large bar greeting visitors. The screen and sound were adequate. The seating was a bit of a disappointment. The recliners were comfortable, but I prefer Stadium seating, (especially IMAX, to get level with the center of the screen). We were in Cinema 4 with 3 rows on the floor and 2 "raised" rows in back. I understand that they have wait staff navigating the rows. But it still felt like we were on the floor staring up at the screen for over 2hrs. Even 2 steps per level would have been better than just 1. To even get up off the floor we were further back than I would have liked to be, but it was a decent sized screen. That type of seating is just not my preference. Others may not even mind. The wait staff was friendly, helpful and patient with our first visit learning the turf. I was content to overtip for the seemingly private showing and just thankful that there is finally someplace open, to go and eat out. We ordered the sweet tea, with refills included. We ordered the sampler which included cheese sticks, soft pretzels, loads of chips and salsa, hot dog bites (wish there were more of those!) and some huge chicken fingers. It also included a sundry of sauces. I'd say, the chicken fingers were the Most satisfying, followed by the corn dog bites and the pretzels. The cheese sticks were kind of hard and the chips were just a deluge of salt. They did include plenty of mediocre cheese sauce. The food had been highly recommended to me, but I would say it's OK, about what you would expect at a movie theater. We didn't try the popcorn. I know, I know. But I recently had Diverticulitis and that's a big no-no in my diet right now. Regarding the bathrooms, they were nice and clean. I only visited the ones just across from cinema 4. I did take note that they were surprisingly small for what I would expect to accommodate a packed Weekend crowd. There was only ONE stall in the men's room. I've seen larger bathrooms at a fuel station. Just sayin'. Overall, it's a nice new theater and a welcome addition to Chester's growing sprawl. Definitely worth a visit. I suppose I enjoy going out to a movie more now that it hasn't been an option for a year during the Wuhan scare. Blissful...

I just want to start this review by saying I often don’t leave reviews but I feel as if this experience left a bad taste in my mouth metaphorically and physically…

My girlfriend and I decided to come here on a whim and see the new fantastic four because it was the soonest movie showing, we were hungry so before going in we agreed on what we were gonna get.

We walk in and the lady at the front desk seemed to be bothered by our excitement and the questions I had. I should have taken this as a sign of how the total experience was going to be. However 8$ for a movie ticket in this economy is a good deal.

We get to our theater 10 to 15 min before the showtime and it takes a while for us to even get service, (about 10 min)we don’t get menus or anything others around us had physical menus. If it was not for looking at the menu online before walking in we would have been lost on what to order. However our server was great and looked as if he enjoyed his job.

I told him what we wanted and it came out in a reasonable amount of time. The cups for the drinks we got were a little small for a pitcher but I can’t complain too much about cup size. However where the issue began was with our megaplex sampler. The tenders were freezer burned, flaky and hard to chew one of them was so stringy I couldn’t eat it and neither could my girlfriend. The corndog bites were still cold, the mozzarella sticks… you guessed it cold. The only thing hot on the plate was the nacho cheese for the chips and pretzels. The onion rings seemed hopeful however there were so burned that the crunch alone was prolly heard by the whole theater. I have no complaints about the pretzel bites or wings they are just average

Now the grander issue lays with the pizza deal we got, we were excited to try the new mikes hot honey pizza. This bundle came with two pizzas and a popcorn as well as the pitcher of a drink of our choice. The popcorn was stale but butter was sufficient can write that off as it just wasn’t fresh. Th pizza on the other hand was so fresh that the dough hadn’t been cooked all the way my gf pizza still had raw dough. I know many of you reading this are likely it’s just cheese nah it was doughy. At this point we were roughly 35 min into our movie and we just got up and paid our tab and left.

The waiter asked if we wanted a box and I was like no and paid and left truthfully quite a disappointing experience I’m willing to give this place another try but to be out of a 100$ for this to have sucked as much as it did is disappointing. Get a food thermometer for the love of...

Out of the three dine-in theaters near me (within a 40 minute drive), Cinema Cafe is by far my favorite. My friends and partner all agree. It's the furthest away, but also the theater we've had the best experiences at. My husband and I love to go by ourselves, but we also have multiple friend groups that love to go together. I've been here at least 15 times since I first visited less than two years ago.

This theater is larger than the others like it, and I love seeing things in Immersive X. The Dolby audio is a bit loud for those with hearing sensitivities, so make sure to bring a jacket, headphones, or Loop earbuds to help dull the sound a bit. Those without sensitivities seem to enjoy it. The screen is great unless you're in the front row. We saw Barbie opening weekend and let's just say Margot's body proportions were wildly different from that angle, and I had to see it a second time to fix my poor brain. The chairs are very comfortable and you can lean pretty far back and have a foot rest.

The food here is delicious. They have one of the best cheese steaks my husband has ever had, and I love the chicken tenders, which are always crispy. I've only ever finished my entire meal 1 time, my friends usually enjoy eating my leftovers when the movie ends. The only thing I've tried that I haven't liked is the pizza, which I got with mushrooms. The mushrooms were canned, and they didn't strain them, they dumped them on, making the entire thing soggy. Desserts options are nice, I just wish they had milkshakes! The company does a great job marketing movies with unique cocktails in souvenir glasses. There are also usually promotional posters and cutouts to take photos with around the lobby, which has a bar.

Our only negative experience besides my soggy pizza was really during the Barbie showing. Half of my party had their seats double-booked and the theater was almost sold out. The only seats left were in the front left corner and front row, split up, where the visuals were worst. My partner and his friend took the worst corner seats so the girls could have a better view, but it kind of ruined it for all of us. Especially since the movie started and people were glaring at us and shushing us while the staff tried to find seats for us. They did give my friend, who bought the tickets, credits towards another movie. We gave them another shot and haven't had any...