AMC Kabuki 8

Great place to grab a beer and catch a movie, all without the bother of worrying about finding seats! The option of beer is great, but the food upstairs is quite overpriced.

Tip: if you buy your tickets online, although you get one "ticket" in your email, you can forward this email to your friends to get into the theater (helpful if you're all arriving separately).

We had 30 minutes to kill before Interstellar and noshed on a couple dishes upstairs. We had main floor seating so couldn't bring beers in (balcony seats only), but that only made it more fun.

THE WAIT: There was a line of 7-8 people in front of us to order at the register, but it moved quickly. It was maybe 5 more minutes before our thingy buzzed and we got our food.

THE COST: Definitely pricey. $41 for 1 beer, 1 BLT, 1 Mediterranean plate. I asked what's a smaller appetizer-sized dish and they recommended the Med plate, but it was still over $10!

* BLT - 3.5 stars
pic: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sundance-kabuki-cinema-san-francisco?select=L9BeKpskOYFXOyR3L9bLNg#L9BeKpskOYFXOyR3L9bLNg
Not bad, not out of this world. Standard chips, standard BLT w/ toasted bread. I found the flavors a little bland, but this did the job.

* Mediterranean plate - 2.5 stars
pic: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sundance-kabuki-cinema-san-francisco?select=L9BeKpskOYFXOyR3L9bLNg#wkgrHQZYe308VCdmxUEmbQ
Also did the job but this was definitely americanized. I believe one of the containers was supposed to be baba ghanoush, but it tasted pretty bland. The bread was almost stale (though I liked that it was thicker/fluffier), the veggies kind of old, and the artichokes seemed straight out of the can.

What ever happened?

This place was a wonderful neighbourhood fixture for years, with great food, knowledgable bartenders (both about mixology and cinema) and a really good vibe.

AMC has completely destroyed everything that was good about this location and replaced it with a poor facsimile of itself. Gone is the top bar, gone are the multiple taps (and multiple bartenders.) No real butter for the popcorn, no coffee, hot dogs with buns as hard as a rock oozing fetid, acrid grease, sticky floors.. somehow even the bathrooms have gotten dirtier. It's only a matter of time until they figure out how to downgrade the assigned seating. Prices have also gone up.

AMC taking over this location is a microcosm of the problems with corporate American takeovers -- slash and burn, gut a unique company of trained and passionate staffers, load it up with debt and foreclose on the location as 'unprofitable' once you've taken it for all it's worth.

I'm so disappointed to give you one star, Kabuki, but nothing gold can stay.

Avoid going to this AMC theater complex, at all costs.

Two of us went to see a film last night, and, before the film was to begin, we were treated to more than half an hour of television style ads for all sorts of products, one after anther in what seemed and endless line of loud, boorish advertising drivel, the type you still see on commercial television, if you are unfortunate enough to still be a viewer of that medium. There were also many "coming attractions" trailers, all of which featured flying, burning cars, men shouting at each other with gross vulgarities, and women the same. The sound system at the theater works well, we found, since all this was trumpeted through the system at the audience at ear-blistering levels. This was so bad an experience that we finally got up and left, before the film started.

There are a few bottom lines that AMC would do well to honor. One is that, when you are charging the public such high prices to get in to your theater, there should be no ads. The ads are an insult in any case. Since they were all so clumsy and loud, the insult was even worse. Secondly, when I demanded my money back from the box office, the person told me that I should write to AMC corporate headquarters and complain. I demanded my money again, and was refused again. I expect that I will receive the usual, saccharine politesse in AMC's response to my written demand, as well as a further refusal.

If you value your movie experience, do not go to an AMC theater.

This is a sad day for me. After loving this theater for years, the recent purchase by AMC has absolutely ruined it.

What was once solid food and drink options with nice ambience, is now overcome by greasy gas station food coupled with an overwhelming stench of stale popcorn, sticking to your clothes and shoes.

Never has a great place been torn down worse by new ownership. Well, never in the local SF movie theater scene. Instead of a date or your kids, bring Lysol and Purell.

Been here a million times, never coming back.

Decent theater. I went into one of the smaller theater rooms and loved the intimacy. If that's NOT what you want, not the theater for you. Seats were comfy but didn't decline at all. Conveniently could put my feet up on the arm chairs in front of me. Small movie screen. Multiple levels with escalators. Clean bathrooms.

If you like getting your trills by feeling like your walking through the Tenderloin at 3am flashing a wad of cash and waiting to see what happens, come here!

I've watched this theater tank in the last few months, it leaves much to be desired.
- bathrooms are filthy and under stocked
- lobby is littered with popcorn and food wrappers
- always seem to be understaffed
- theater is ran by a bunch of high school kids, which explains why it looks like a playground
- fire alarm goes off for no reason quite often
- zero security

The best part is last two times I've been there's been a fight, yes, an actual physical altercation. This past weekend I watched a family get jumped by a group of rowdy teens. From what I gathered from other patrons, the offenders were a group of underage drinkers who thought Star Wars was their own privet party. Management did absolutely nothing to reprimand the movie offenders who should have been escorted out. Management had no idea how to handle the matter. It's frightening to know that in the climate we live in where mass shootings are an every day occurrence not even your local theater is a safe place. There is zero security at this establishment. This poor family came to enjoy an afternoon at the theater and left bruised and battered. General manager Eddy Beng showed zero empathy and frantically offered the family passes to come back to his poorly ran establishment. I left the theater speechless, needless to say I will never return and highly encourage the public to be cautious if choosing to do so.

So, showed up to pick up tickets and tons of elderly are waiting outside for $5 Tuesday. Yelp is wrong. They don't open at 11am and they leave all the elderly to stand in the SF fog outside. The delivery guy couldn't even deliver goods since the employees just ignore the crowd outside. Totally irresponsible theater. Maybe change your opening times, AMC. Your customer service is awful here.

Not open at 11:30am either, after a representative promised they would be. Just people milling about behind the counter.

Ever since AMC bought the Kabuki theater, it has taken a turn for the worse.

This used to be a charming place that was comparable to the Alamo drafthouse, but now it's simply another shitty AMC theater with horrendous seating, small screens, poor sound systems and ridiculously overpriced snacks.

The only reason I come here is because I live a block away. If you want to watch a movie, just go the Metreon or Alamo.

Wow this theater is so awesome. Especially on Tuesdays..

I don't know any other theaters in the city/Daly City that can beat a $6 movie, $6 popcorn, assigned seating, and being for ages 21+ only on a Tuesday evening.

Watched The Secret Life of Pets here. This movie is considered a "children's" movie. If I watched this at my usual theater at Century 20, I could easily assume there would be loud rowdy kids, crying babies, and high school kids talking (speaking from experience).

So decided to check out Sundance and could honestly say I don't ever plan to return to my usual theater unless it's for location convenience. This place was awesome. Street parking was easy to find because we watched an evening showing, but they do discount parking rates at the nearby Japantown garages.

They have a sitting lounge area by the bar where people can eat and drink. Alcohol is allowed inside while you're watching the movie too. A large bottled beer was about $17.

The assigned seating system and reserving tickets online is so convenient too- for both last minute planners and non last minute planners. This works better w scheduling (just in case you may be coming to the movie a few minutes late, but you know for sure your selected seat will still be there).

Their refund/return policy on tickets is fair too (https://www.sundancecinemas.com/refund_policy.html)

I really enjoyed the ambiance of this theater and mostly not having to deal with children (especially watching a movie after a work day). Regular showings on the weekdays are about $12.50, so I will definitely will be back here on another Tuesday.

Don't really see the hype.. Was expecting so much more.. It's a good place for date night but for just regular movie night..hmm do you really need overpriced drink during the 2 hours you are there?
Pros no kids yay 21 and over only
Reserved seating is nice for new releases
Cons prices are higher
3 stalls in women's washroom

It's a nice theatre but seats no more comfortable than others..

Value 3/5
Atmosphere 4/5
Service 3.5/5
Quality 3/5

13.5/20