Flix Brewhouse Des Moines

Reviews 3

JU

Justin Taylor

I recently patronized Flix Brewhouse on Monday, July 11th, for the 8:15 pm viewing of Purge: Election Year. I have been to Flix before, and I love the comfortable seating, the quality of the food, and I enjoy the fact that I dont need to leave the theater during the movie to get refills for my beverages, etc. However, this time I had a very poor experience. After being seated, the server took our order. This was approximately 20 minutes prior to showtime. At that time, the server took my beverage and food order. When my food arrived shortly before the previews began, I had still not received my soft drink beverage. I had pushed the indicator button for service when they arrived, and when I inquired about where my beverage was, she said it would arrive shortly. I was disappointed, whereas any other establishment Ive ever patronized has always brought me my beverage first, but this was tolerable. A couple of minutes later, my beverage did arrive. About halfway through my meal, I required a refill of my beverage, so I set it on the ledge and pushed the indicator button for my server. It took quite a while to respond. In fact, I finished the remaining half of my meal before the server even arrived. I was slightly agitated, because I wanted a refill more promptly. I had set the plate next to the empty beverage, and when the server finally did arrive, she asked what I needed. I thought by placing my beverage on the ledge it was clear I wanted a refill, but I told her such and she cleared my empty beverage and my plate. I continued to watch the movie, but then noticed it took quite a while to receive my refill. My estimate is at least 20 minutes. This was extremely disappointing. Shortly after my refill for my beverage was brought, my bill came. I was busy enjoying the movie, so I didnt analyze it, I just pulled my credit card and placed it in the holder and left it on the ledge. The server came and took it, and brought it back prior to the end of the movie. At the conclusion of the movie, while the credits were rolling, I proceeded to look at the bill more closely and noticed I had an error on my bill and that I had been charged for two soft drink beverages. I thought perhaps they had mistakenly put my friends soft drink order on my bill, but such was not the case. I pushed the indicator button for someone to come assist me. I waited. At the end of the movie credits, the lights came up, and no one came. My friend and I exited the theater, and we had to go locate one of our servers at the server station. I explained what had happened, and he apologized for the mix-up, then proceeded to refund the amount for the beverage in cash. This was disappointing, because this was not what I wanted. However, I was so frustrated with my entire experience that I just wanted to leave, and thus I did. I have always had a good experience with Flix in the past, but this most recent one leads me to believe I will not be returning.

JA

Jason Mrachina

My wife and I decided to try Flix-Brewhouse on our weekly date night. We had a really great time, and will definitely go again. Its was fairly priced, the food was much better than I expected, and it was very fun. We saw a 4:00pm show on Saturday. We were seated at about 3:35 and ordered our food at about 3:55. The food came out quickly (about 10 minutes). Ordering more food during the movie is convenient and surprisingly didnt cause much of a distraction. Plan on arriving at least 30 minutes before your showtime. I recommend that you buy your tickets in advance. The bar area outside of the theater was very comfortable and had plenty of wait staff / bartenders. There is a large selection of local and other micro-brews. Dont be afraid to ask for a sample or two - the bartenders are happy to provide them (for FREE). When your row is ready for seating, they put it up on the monitors. Place your order as soon as you can when you are seated, the wait staff seem to get busier closer to the movies start time. We ordered the humus - it was actually awesome, and the fajita tacos (okay) and a veggie burger (actually quite good). The french fries that came with the burger were really good - I was pleasantly surprised. You dont get stuck watching endless movie trailers before the movie starts... The theater was playing a variety of Liam Niesen themed shorts (Sat Night Live skits, Family Guy, etc). It was worth coming early. I found the staff to be friendly and competent. You push a button in front of your seat that notifies them when you need something. The table in front of you retracts in and out which is convenient, and very comfortable. The menu is printed with white letters on black (which helps to read in the darker light). Pros / "The Good" - Food was a pleasant surprise - many great choices - The beer selection is great. Talk to the bartenders, they really knew their stuff. - Comfortable seats, the noise level was fine during the movie - Fun atmosphere, especially in a group situation - Fair price. We saw a matinee movie, ate an appetizer two beers, entrees and shared a dessert for $52 (food) and $15 (matinee tickets x 2). Cons / "The Bad" - It can get crowded at night, and then the service might suffer during busy times - Most of the menu is "bar food", even if it is cooked well and tastes yummy Tips / Lessons learned: - I recommend going to a late-afternoon show if you are flexible. It was much less crowded than the evening shows. - Dont sit in a row that has its back to the main aisle. You will be sitting in a (comfortable) office chair, but it has wheels and looked annoying. - The bathroom facilities are way too small for the theater. Both the mens room and the womens room had long lines when our movie let out.

MI

Michael Spurgin

While I rarely take the time to write a review on any particular establishment, I felt that it was necessary to share my most recent experience at Flix Brewhouse. My buddy and I decided to take our kids to see a childrens matinee at the new movie theater over the weekend. I ordered the tickets ahead of time online and selected our seats which is a smooth process and part of the reason why I preferred to go to Flix Brewhouse. The issue starts when arrive at the mall only 3 minutes before the movie began. I wasnt too worried since I had already purchased our tickets. I went to the self-service kiosk to have my tickets printed. After a minute of swiping my card the wrong way I wised up and had my tickets printed. My buddy and I went to the ticket line with our kids and were told that we 2 minutes (3:32pm) late and would not be allowed to see the movie. I asked to speak with the manager who confirmed the same policy referencing the fact the once the theater door (theater 4) closes they cannot allow any new entrances. I was quick to point out that the door to our theater which was 15 feet from our conversation was not yet closed and we were only two minutes late. Ill admit I was rather heated at this point but I made sure to refrain from using any profanity as that would only make the situation worse and above all we were trying to see a kids movie. In closing, the manager was hell bent on sticking to their policy and would not allow my friend and I along with our kids to see the movie. Its worth noting that I checked the confirmation email I received when purchasing the tickets online as well as the print at home PDF file that was attached to this email and I see no reference of this extremely strict policy in the email or the pdf file. I made a promise to the manager that if he refunds me my tickets and does not allow us into the movie that I would not be returning to his theater again. He said that was fine and refunded me the cost of the tickets. My buddy and I left and went to a different movie theater since it was not in our plans to disappoint our kids who were excited to see a movie over a very inconvenient and very poorly communicated policy. For a business that has barely been open a month, I think a very clear and concise warning would have worked in this situation rather than flat out refusal but hey the customer isn’t always right… I guess.

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