The classic “dinner & a movie” is made easier with the creation of AMC Dine-In Theatres. With three nearby locations in New Jersey (Menlo Park, Bridgewater, and Essex Green) and only six other locations nationwide, the new concept is sure to become popular throughout the country (especially with the increase monthly subscription price for Netflix). AMC Dine-In Theatre was the best $15 spent this weekend!
My boyfriend and I finally decided to see Horrible Bosses (very funny by the way) at the AMC in Menlo Park Mall. Two options were presented when buying our tickets: Fork & Screen or Cinema Suites. Fork & Screen featured casual dining, while Cinema Suites offered a premium dining experience exclusive to those 21 & over. Since we both just turned 21, we paid a whopping $3 extra for the Cinema Suite to make ourselves feel like movie stars. 
When purchasing tickets, you also choose what seat(s) you would like to reserve in the theater. We arrived a little bit early, got carded while walking in to ensure we were 21, and made our way to theater 11.
There was no stadium seating, but instead, featured Homer Simpson’s dream: giant leather recliners across the room big enough to fit a man with a giant Duff beer belly, flat/carpeted floor, and enough space between the aisles to roll around (literally). We were searching for seats F1 & F2 and realized that at the beginning of each aisle, there was a carpet square marking the row – very chic, not tacky.
Once we found our seats, we sat simultaneously, turned to each other, and went “These are soooo comfortable!” We wallowed in this luxurious state for about a minute until a waitress came up to us to see if we had a chance to look over the menu yet.
The marble-esque tray attached to the recliner and pivoted to the side held the menu. Between the two seats on one side, there were cup holders. On the other side, there was a call button to access your waitress anytime during the film, along with a set of utensils with a cloth napkin, individual salt and pepper shakers, and ketchup.
The menu featured a variety of items, all reasonably priced (not typical for a movie theater). It featured everything from normal movie snacks, to burgers and pasta, along with a variety of alcoholic beverages as well. Being that we were newly 21 and fascinated with this movie theater, we bought the popcorn (only available in one size, but came with unlimited refills) to share, a strawberry margarita for me, and a beer for my boyfriend.
The margarita and beer came out extremely fast and were delicious! Any place that puts sugar on the rim instead of salt is a keeper. The popcorn came out in a large ceramic bowl that was about as large as my arms in full-circle. Trust me, there was no need for refills and it was a bargain compared to typical popcorn prices.
The movie started and all was well. We didn’t need anything additional, but those who did need something weren’t bothersome or even noticeable. Because of all the space in the theater, no waiters or waitresses got in our way of enjoying the movie.
Into the movie, waiters and waitresses brought over samples of new creations AMC is considering to place on their menu. We received a candy popcorn creation, covered in white chocolate and sugar for free.
Our waitress towards the end of the movie gave us our bill, which was surprisingly cheap, and we paid when we were ready. Soon after, individually wrapped moist towels (REAL terry cloth, not that crap they give you BBQ joints) were distributed to everyone. Am I in Buckingham Palace?
As if that wasn’t enough, when we left the theater, a friendly staff stood outside giving salutations while handing out dark chocolate Ghiradelli squares with white mint filling.
Theater 11 at Menlo Park AMC, you officially have my heart. I normally don’t enjoy movies (mostly because of my short attention span), but the experience was so cool that we plan on going back frequently.
I always was concerned in this topic and stock still am, appreciate it for putting up.
Excellent read. I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. He just bought me lunch since I found it for him! Thus let me rephrase: Thanks for lunch!