1044 Von Schilling Drive,
Hampton, VA 23666
Telephone: 757-826-7469
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| Cinema Cafe Hampton 1044 Von Schilling Drive, Hampton, VA 23666 Telephone: 757-826-7469 |
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| http://www.cinema-cafe.com/hampton.html | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� Have you ever wanted to watch a movie and drink a beer at the same time? How about eat a real meal while seeing the latest Hollywood blockbusters? The new Hampton Cinema Caf� Premiere might be the hot ticket for you! | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Cinema Caf� is located in Hampton across from the Coliseum mall. It's the old Regal Cinemas building remodeled into a Caf�/Movie theatre which has all the current movies playing. | ||||||||||||||||||
| It still looks like the old movie theatre on the outside. In the past the locally owned Cinema Caf� looked more like a small restaurant instead of a movie theatre. This version is much better since it is a converted movie theatre and not an old restaurant.. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tickets were $7.00 for the 7:15 p.m. showing of the Honeymooners with performances by Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, and Regina Hall. The movie prices are low compared to other theatres. | ||||||||||||||||||
| They were showing around ten different movies at the time, plenty to pick from. The show times are almost as plentiful as dedicated movie theatres. Movies were showing three to six times a day. This might be associated with the dinner aspect of the theatre. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� Once we made our way to theatre 15, I noticed there was regular stadium style seating. The main difference from a dedicated theatre was that every other row was tables instead of seats. Some of the tables were not fully assembled yet (signs of a rush opening). This could be dangerous to kids and clumsy people. The seats are of average comfort, not nearly as comfortable as seating at the AMC 24 Theatres. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� You could imagine the problems occurring in a restaurant with very little to no lighting. These problems are part of what is wrong at the Cinema Caf�. Your servers come out during the movie being very quiet and surprising in some cases. They bring your menu and give you some time to struggle with looking at it in the dark. You know how you come in from the outside into a dark place and can't see anything? Good advice is to bring some sort of keychain flashlight with you. The servers should attach one to the menu. Hey, what an idea! Maybe they could even install lights on the tables? After looking at the menu of good variety, we ended up with popcorn, ice cream sundae, and mozzarella cheese sticks. The cheese sticks were not very hot when they arrived, neither was the popcorn. This is one of the essentials I demand with cheese sticks. They have to be hot and melted on the inside, crispy on the outside, and served with marinara sauce. The Strawberry Sundae was acceptable. After going there several times, I have concluded the food is not very good in general. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� It didn't look like there were many entr�es on the menu. I didn't really expect a full course restaurant before going to the Cinema Caf�, so I wasn't disappointed. The assortment was simple finger foods, mostly appetizers. Burgers, pizzas, ribs and chicken are some of the entrees they provide. They have beer and wine on the menu, but it wasn?t available yet. It will definitely be a plus when they get a license for it. We ended up with some soft drinks. Later on, during another visit, I came to realize the alcoholic beverages are the best trait of the Cinema Caf�. The theatre, food, and service are of medium quality, but being able to go see a movie and drink a beer is a great. The other theatres need to try it out. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� I have to come back to the poor lighting situation. The server had a hard time writing down our order and they have to be quiet when taking your order also. There is a lot of whispering and squinting going on. If there were a rush of business, it would be very difficult to get everything done in the short amount of time allowed before the movie. If a large family wanted to order items at multiple times during the movie it would be a difficult task to accomplish. I think most of the staff was new and inexperienced. Once they get a system down, things should run smoother. Your best bet is to go 20 minutes early to order your food. The server visited us three times during the movie. The only serious down point to her service was at the end of the movie, she didn't come to get the check. I think the timing here is critical for the wait staff, to insure a good tip. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� The whole visit to Cinema Caf� cost around $30 for two. It would easily be around $40 to $60 with tip if there had been alcohol available. You need to add $10 per person when comparing it to a regular restaurant visit. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ����������� The Cinema Caf� is a nice change of pace compared to regular movie theatres or restaurants. If the movie isn't that great, you can at least get a meal out of the deal. During another visit we went to see the horrible movie Land of the Dead, thank goodness for food and beer! | ||||||||||||||||||
| This place could be a new trend in the local entertainment scene. I know the concept has been very popular in other areas. I have even heard of luxury-style restaurant/movie theatre combos with valet-parking, ushers, and full bars in the seating area. I don't think we are ready for that level of expense yet, but this one is an okay start for now. I give two-and-a-half stars out of five. If they improved the food quality, organization of the staff, and updated the technology of the theatre, this could be a three to three-and-half-star place in my opinion. | ||||||||||||||||||
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