Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

1120 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704, USA

Address:	1120 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704, USA
Phone:	+1 512-861-7040
Site:	drafthouse.com
Rating:	4.6

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Richard A. Garner

Unfortunately, the Alamo Drafthouse has forgotten its roots: the fans. Luckily, I was recently in Austin for a professional conference. Unluckily, the Alamo Drafthouse no longer values its faithful customers that have been coming for not years, but decades (yes, i have been going for more than a single decade). The problem: after seeing the most recent episode of Star Wars (and spending a not insubstantial amount of money on food and beverages, which is why I love the Drafthouse), I decided I should go ahead and extend my pleasant stay and see a double feature—any movie theatre’s dream: a customer who won’t leave! Unfortunately, my experience went downhill from there. The theatre staff told me that, no, I did not need to hastily buy a seat online, as I offered to do, but that if I waited in line at the front I could get a ticket and come right back. Being diligent, I asked again to confirm what they said. After all, they are the gatekeepeers, and they know their job. Unfortunately, I was lied to. To my face. After quickly buying a ticket on my phone to Row 1 Seat 1, I was told by a manager (Josh Stewart, though I would not be surprised if that was another lie) that I could not enter the theatre. Full disclosure: I am well aware of Alamo policy; I was simply following the explicit and direct instructions of Alamo employees. I bought the worst ticket in the house (1:1) to get back in to see a movie as quickly as possible. As a father of young children, I watch movies rarely and treasure those moments. To say that this was a bad experience is an understatement. Rules are good, but people in authority lying about the rules is the worst of all bad options. I was not asking for special treatment, but for the policy I was told to follow to be applied how I was told to follow it. When the manager, Josh Stewart, could offer no coherent explanation about why his employees lied to me, he threatened to call security more than once. I imagine that it was, in actuality, the manager, Josh Stewart, lying to me. What I ask is, do you really want to frequent a theatre that would act this way, going so far as to call in "the muscle" on a loyal patron? The answer is, of course, no. Or, at least, that you should be skeptical. This is how the new Alamo Drafthouse does business. Shame on them.

Brian Sukiennik

We always love draft house, but the Alamo on South Lamar should be avoided. If you want to go, go to the one on Slaughter. Every time we come to the one on South Lamar we have a bad experience . This time was by far the worst. We saw the movie "Deepwater Horizon" at 10:55 and had a server named Mike and he was very rude from the get go. The cherry on top is when I wanted to order my final drink. I ordered drink number three, which was a Long Island iced tea, and put the order card up (keep in mind I probably drink 3 times a year, max). He came by and said "I cant serve you a Long Island iced tea. Youve had too much to drink already." I literally only had 2 drinks before that (which were weak because they always make them weak at this location). I was awestruck because Ive never been denied a drink anywhere. I rarely even drink and he said it loud enough for me to be very embarrassed by this. A little time went by and my wife wanted a third beer and I decided to get another type of drink because I thought maybe I could order something different. Mike comes by, reads the order card and says "Im sorry, I cant serve you any more alcohol. The bar is closed." Its 11:55pm at this point, and the bar is certainly not closed. Keep in mind that I and my wife rarely drink and weve just been cut off by this guy after having 2 drinks. Not only does he cut us off, but he does it so loud that practically the entire auditorium can hear. At this point, Ive had enough of this guy and we leave. Ive never, ever stiffed a server before, but I left "Mike" a 0 dollar tip, not for cutting us off (because we werent even near the drink limit), but because he embarrassed us in front of the entire theater and made us look like alcoholics. This is only the most recent incident to happen to us at this particular location. My advice: visit the Slaughter location. The staff is much nicer and the service is excellent. Ive been an Alamo Drafhouse patron for a long time, but this was enough to keep me away from this location indefinitely.

Courtney Stollon

If you live in Austin, youre almost certainly familiar with the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain, and even if you live out of town theres a good chance youve heard of or visited a Drafthouse- the company has been franchising at an increasing rate, and more and more cities are getting a Drafthouse of their very own. These lucky cities are still in the minority, however, and few companies are as identified with Austin, making the Alamo Drafthouse an ideal location to take out-of-town guests. There are several Drafthouses around town, but I recommend the South Lamar location- be sure to check it out before it closes soon for a long expansion and remodeling. The central gimmick is that you can order food and drinks to enjoy during your movie, and while the Alamos menu can be a bit hit-or-miss, it is steadily improving- I highly recommend the green chile mac-and-cheese or any of the milkshakes (particularly those made with beer), and the seasonal specials are usually hard to go wrong with. The beer list is extensive and includes lots of local and limited-edition selections; use the opportunity to try something new. The real draw for film fans, however, is the wide range of special showings. From the weekly Music Monday, Terror Tuesday, and Weird Wednesday screenings to video singalongs, filmmaker Q&As, quote-alongs where youre encouraged to interact with cult classics, screenings of well-known and obscure masterpieces... the Alamo Drafthouse truly is a film lovers paradise. The strict policy against talking and texting in the theater, the bane of so many other movegoing experiences, just makes things that much better. The Alamo Drafthouse is a distillation of the passion, geekery, and attention to detail that make Austin so great, and an ideal way to show someone what this town is all about.

Aaron Arnold

It goes without saying that every Alamo is the best theater ever constructed, but even within Alamos there is a hierarchy (since you asked, the Lake Creek one is at the bottom of the totem pole since its located somewhere near Oklahoma, the Ritz is at the top due to its cool special features). I wouldnt put this one at the very top, but its still really good. Ive seen a couple of movies here since they opened and its great, zero complaints. The 400 Rabbits lounge is probably the main attraction of this location, but since you dont even have to be seeing a movie to get into it, it has its own Yelp page and I wont talk about it here. Its cool though. Theyve slightly changed the seating style, and though Ive never had to share a table since Ive only come solo during matinee, in a pair, or in an even-numbered group, I can see how that would be annoying for a single/third/fifth wheel. Somebody else mentioned that they preferred the stadium seating at the South Lamar location; to be honest I didnt even really notice a difference. Im fairly short and I had no problem seeing over people at any of my movies, so I dunno. The service is still top notch in my experience (its a small thing, but having a server compliment you on your beer choice adds a surprising amount to the experience, as well as their tip). Food is great as always. I have never had a problem parking, but though I can see how the strip mall-style setup might be annoying at peak times, I honestly wouldnt say any Alamo has "amazing parking" - ever had to park next to the dumpster in that alley behind the South Lamar location, or somewhere downtown by the Ritz? This is Austin, crap parking is part of the charm. Overall this is a great Alamo and an excellent theater. Maybe the real best Alamo is just the one you last went to.