Westgarth Theatre

Great intimate cinema with comfortable chairs. Hot to love the wine deals and being able to bring your glass of red in to the show with you!

Fantastic cinemas. Thoughtfully renovated over the years. A nice space has been made even better and more functional while retaining heritage characteristics. Usually has a good range of movies on. A good seat is assured with planning. Snack bar works. All round, a terrific place.

Bought two fix supposed to be on the aisle. There is NO aisle by those seats. We’re parked in front row, woman in second aisle has parked her bare feet over the seats. No supervision here.

Westgarth is my first choice for a movie theatre in the inner north. It’s got beer, wine, and sometimes cocktails, popcorn prepared with olive oil, choctops, and fresh cupcakes among the concessions. The seats are some of the most comfortable around and even if you’re in a packed showing, you don’t feel like you’re sitting in the lap of the person next to you. I can’t say the same about the closest Hoyts!
They generally have 4 – 5 movies on the go at one time, usually a good mix of blockbuster, children, and indie. I think this is probably the area they could improve in as at times, as every now and then the selection leaves a bit to be desired. But for the amount of space and screens they have, it’s definitely one of the best neighbourhood theatres in the area. The surrounding area on High Street is fabulously convenient if you need to have a quick or long meal before your showing, with a few bars and cafes around as well if you’d rather drink your pre-​movie treat.
The theatre itself is a lovely building and they have clearly tried to keep the integrity of the original theatre intact. When you get the luck of the draw and they show your movie in the largest theatre, it’s especially cool.

With the exception of the Astor (which is really its own class), the Westgarth is my favourite of the indie Melbourne cinemas. My friends would disown me if they read this, but most of the independent cinemas in Melbourne are a bit shit. It’s not their fault, really, it’s just the economics. They want to show independent cinema, which doesn’t draw crowds. Means they can’t compete with the chains on comfort or space, which means they can’t pull in large crowds for the more commercial films they show.
Why none of this applies to the Westgarth, I don’t know. But it’s an independent cinema (well, more or less) that combines the stylistic aspirations of the old cinema culture with the comfort and convenience of the new chains. And they still show a whole load of independent film.
Final note: on Friday nights, they do a midnight screening of a cult movie every week.