Cinemark 12 Downtown San Mateo

Reviews 16

BE

Benjamin Wan

Im making this review as a collab between their Theater, of which I love, and their food, of which I loathe. The theater is great. I love their seats, I think its one of the more comfortable theaters in the bay area. The food however, was nothing short of disappointment. Im singling out the Super Nachos I ordered. First off, it took about 15 minutes to put together (joke I not). It consisted of opening up a bag of nacho chips, grabbing sour cream, salsa, and guac from the fridge in their predelivered pouches, and simply dumped on to the chips. Heres the best part. The guac...was SQUEEZED onto the nachos, yes I said squeeze. Take a look at my associated photo. The audacity to call it SUPER nachos and charge me $7!!! Movie was great though. Would still come back. But obviously not make the same food choices I disastrously made on my last visit.

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Derek Chan

This has been our local cinema for the last year, and weve come here about 5-7 times since moving to San Mateo. The cinema itself plays all the latest blockbusters, so the range of fares isnt very extensive if your taste runs to foreign/indie. That said, it is very adequate. The screens arent humongous like the Century theaters down in Santa Clara/San Jose. This makes for a more intimate, albeit less impressive, viewing experience. One thing that I really dislike is that some of the theaters are situated right next to the Caltrain tracks, so you can hear the trains whistling and running past.

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A Private User

This is my local theater, and I love it! I just came back from seeing Avatar in 3D, and this was also the place where I got my midnight showings for The Dark Knight (greatest movie ever) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (worst viewed movie of 2009). Nevertheless, they have satisfied my needs and then some! Megan and Chris are very dedicated, hard-working, and awesome employees! But especially Megan... words cannot speak the volumes of excellence that she creates for that theater. Kudos to you! - Brandon (the guy that asks for waters with ice)

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Angelica Webster

Awful. Two times in a row, our movie experience was ruined here. Loud, dumbass families talking at random with their kids who should not have been at adult films to begin with. Staff here exercises ZERO accountability and allow all sorts of unacceptable behavior. Theater feels/smells dirty, too. Cramped, older seats. Caltrain rumbles past and cheap walls dont insulate noise. Terrible excuse for a theater. Needs to be upgraded and ushers need to patrol films. With all the nicer theater choices out there, were never going back.

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ZM

ZmanIsTheMan

The parking situation is abysmal. I have no idea how they stay in business, given it is so difficult for patrons to actually get to the theater if they want to go here in the first place. Good food selection; pizza, hot dogs, pretzels, starbucks, ice cream, plus all your standard items. No assigned seating, standard seats. Always very crowded; if you want a good seat, give 45 minutes to find parking, and another 30 minutes to stand in line at the auditorium entrance waiting for a good seat.

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Michael Neuendorff

This is my go-to theater. Its easy to get to with a large parking structure across the street. They are always showing the movies I want to watch with my family. Being in downtown San Mateo they do sell out a show on occasion so be aware and use Fandango to lock in tickets when youre trying to see something really popular. The people who work here are pleasant and helpful. They also keep the theater tidy, which isnt easy with the number of people going through there daily. Nice job.

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Shauna Mork

The bfs company decided to do a movie outing here...and while I wasnt feeling great I had to be the super girlfriend and make an apperance...lol Let me say I was super impressed!!! Nothing like CLEAN comfortable seats! I also love the the arm rest goes up so you can snuggle up to your date/partner/husband. Clean lobby!! I am super sensitive to smells and this didnt have any of the usual stale popcorn or cola smells that most theaters have. I would definetly go back.

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Colin Madere

Decent enough theater, fairly clean, decent variety of concessions (for a chain theater). However, many of the theaters are too small for the price and its hard to tell which one youll be in when you buy a ticket. I go here because its close and not terrible, not because it would otherwise be my first choice. To improve they could let you know theater size when youre looking at movies to go to, they could keep the concessions area a bit cleaner.

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Jonathan Kong

Been coming here since I was in middle school. And not much has changed aside from the furniture and decor. This theater has kept its small town ambience which makes it a great place to bring family and friends for a trip to the movies. Also, centrally located in downtown with great restaurants near by and a (cheap!!) parking structure right next door. The box office sells tickets up to 4 days in advance which the only slight draw back.

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charlie a

Surprisingly small theater, when the location is taken into consideration. Went for a late showing of Ghost in the Shell, but lack of staff made for a confusing snack purchase. It took us a couple minutes to realize you go forward, get snacks, then go back to pay. Hopefully staff will be there to guide in the future. Otherwise, typical movie experience. Auditorium 8 was clean, the picture and sound good, too.

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MI

Mike Shaheen

A nice small town theater. One of the few Ive seen in my life with an outdoor ticket stand. It has the unfortunate Cinemark concession layout that encourages congestion and spills. Screens are on the small side. Seating is in good repair. You can hear and feel the trains go by with may add / detract from the experience depending on the timing with your movie ;)

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LA

Laura Oliver

This is a good theater. Parking is very difficult to find on a weekend night. It has gotten to be a very crowded place. Like every century, the tickets are super overpriced as well as the food. There are great restaurants around there. The theater is decent. The chairs are okay but the theaters are dirty and gross. The facade of the theater is really pretty as well.

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Joe Blaylock

Its a nice theater, but the best thing about it is its location. I like the proximity to downtown bars and restaurants, and the walkability. For a romance movie with your squeeze, budget an extra hour and a half and get cocktails at one of the several bars opening into the same alley as the theater, then walk over for your movie. Its great.

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A Private User

It was my first time in the theater and everyone was very attentive and helpful. Parking wasnt a problem at all (most movies only last less than 2hours now a days anyway). The movie house was very clean and right after the film ended there was maintenance staff ready to clean after the patrons had left. I give this movie house an A+.

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Tamara Farhat

I love the location of this theatre just next to a lot of restaurants and bar. Perfect for a dinner and movie date followed by drinks perhaps? Its clean, and the staff is good. I love coming here during the matinee session when its a little less crowded. The screens are good so is the 3D projection.

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Jill Stacy

Great place to catch a flick. Concession stand is somewhat messy and sticky, but overall, has more than plenty of a selection, from food, candy, drinks, treats, ice cream and more. And of course, you can count on it all being pricey, so go during a matinee, when at least your ticket is discounted.

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