Bethesda Row Cinema

My favorite movie theater in the DC metro area. Lots of excellent indie film choices and a great location near many fine dining restaurants and wine bars. I’m there at least once or twice a month.

Bethesda Row Landmark Theatre is very charming! I love the movies they play, and the theatre itself is gorgeous. The seats are very comfortable, and the theatre is rarely crowded, so there’s plenty of room to relax. I do think it’s strange that you have to pick your seats before you go into the theatre, though, because it’s hard to tell where I want to sit before I get in there. It’s also a bit difficult to find parking, especially since the surrounding area is so busy. Overall, though, the theatre is great, and I love all the movies they elect to play.

Great movie theater! I love that they have assigned seating so you don’t have to get to your theater super early for a good seat. Parking is best done at one of the nearby municipal lots, which are free on weekends. However, the one nearby on Bethesda Ave./Elm St. can be a madhouse, so if the weather’s nice, perhaps park in the the one at Old Georgetown and Woodmont and walk a few blocks. There are plenty of great dining options nearby.
Also, the vegan cookies they have at the concession stand are amazing! And I generally dislike all things vegan, but whoa, these things are the bees’ knees.

Awesome experience from beginning to end!
The theater was close to the free parking garage, free is always good, so after a brisk walk we arrived to theater. As soon as you walk in, there are huge and vibrant interactive computer kiosks to pick up your tickets; you can still purchase tickets outside at the box office as well. I’m really enjoying how movie chains are following suit with the reserve ticketing aspect, it makes wanting and selecting your favorite seat much easier.
We headed down the escalator and were greeted by the Ticket Taker Gary, who was seasonally pleasant.
I couldn’t help myself when I was coming down and saw the display of libations that was neatly staged in a glass cabinet. Their Landmark Theatres Alcohol Policy is posted visibly anywhere you turn to and you will need to have your photo ID as you will get carded. & if you want a full bottle of wine to take back to your reserved seat, make sure you have two, and yes two valid photo ID’s. The bottle seems like the smarter route since you’re only served one drink at a time per ID. Sitting at the nicely designed round bard is an option too, as you can watch TV before your movie starts.
I was very impressed with the layout and décor. I understand the theater went through a major renovation a few years back, and from what I saw/​experienced, nicely job done.
Of course you can’t skip the Concession Stand when seeing a movie. This was a mini excursion all within itself. It really gives me such foodie joy to see the evolution of the no longer standard popcorn, soda, hot dogs and Jujubes LOL.
Alvin (I hope that’s his name) was a friendly salesman as he knew his stuff of tasty items they were offering. It was hard to choose from the vast variety of healthy and tasty snacks, as they even offer some vegan friendly picks such as the Sweet & Sara Rice Krispy Treat and Alternative Baking Company Cookies. I was in greedy mode so I happily selected the Watusee spicy Cayenne Chickpeatos (another Vegan option), those were sooooooo yummy (a little noisy, but I crunched appropriately), a bottle of Honest Tea/​Unsweetened Lemon and a Pumpkin Delight Cookie from ABC.
After we got our movie goodies, we headed to our seats, and were greeted two more times from the Ushers… and one even kind enough to open the door for me, I was much obliged. We got to our seats, and they were extremely comfortable and spacious. The screens were enormous and the sound system was crystal clear.
I made a pit stop to the Ladies Room before the movie started, and my OCD was very pleased in the cleanliness and order of the restroom, especially the stalls and sink area. Glad to see the Dyson Airblade hand dryers in addition to the hand towels. No matter the evolution of hand dryers we will a always need the hand towels to open the door with.
Steve Jobs was a great movie. I enjoyed the sophisticated and grown folk atmosphere of the theater and much kudos to the staff as every person we encountered exuded such great professionalism and customer service.
I will definitely be back for their Wednesday Movie Rewind and a bottle of wine!

Lately, the customer service has been great. Also, the picture and sound are very clear.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Landmark theaters, especially the Sunshine one in NYC. They are known to be dedicated in exhibiting and marketing independent film, as well as offer a variety of diverse selections of foreign films, 3-​D, Hollywood, as well as smart films. They currently have about 50 theaters across the major cities, offer gourmet concession items, in-​theater sales of DVDs/​books/​CDs, screening lounges at select cities (Berkeley, Dallas, and LA), and digital projection. The staff are pretty friendly, and the price of the tickets are usually a flat fee (they also do student discounts — yippee!) — they also allow you to choose your seats, which is a great plus! I am a huge fan of their white cheddar popcorn seasoner (which seem to be always out at this particular location T_​_​_​T Catching later shows, do however, only have stale popcorn and limited snacks at the concession stand T_​_​_​T The movie-​going patrons are pretty respectful, as Landmark is totally serious about having high standards in the experience (which I totally love!). I like their comfy leather seats, as it makes your movie-​watching that more pleasant. Parking is a little iffy, as downtown Bethesda has limited 2-​hour metered parking (but, free after 10PM); there are also plenty of paid parking garages as well.
+located around Mon Ami Gabi, next to Haagen-​Dazs
+student discounts: D
+assigned seating available: D
+comfy seats: D
+limited metered street parking
+parking garages available

Bethesda Row Cinema is a great little theater. Nestled under the concrete jungle of Bethesda you’ll find a cozy theater with large comfortable seats, liquor at the concession stands, and a fine variety of independent films and classics. My only complaint, however, is that the prices can be high. But for a Sunday afternoon viewing of The Godfather or a Friday night independent flick, this is a great venue.

Since being renovated this theatre is a very pleasant place to see great movies. They offer quality films, both art-​house and high-​quality offerings. There is plenty of parking nearby which, on weekends, is free. There are many restaurants in the area for lunch or dinner.
One complaint I have is that they instituted assigned seating for no positive reason I can discern. This ties up the ticket line tremendously when you just want to pay and get inside to see your movie. If the management got rid of this awful irritant then I would give this place five stars.

Great indie movie theater.
This place is popular so if you are going to see a hot film on a Saturday night, buy your tickets well in advance. They have reserved seating so you can pick where you want to sit, but if you wait until 30 minutes before start time, you may only have the edges to choose from. Fortunately, the edge seats are not that bad.
They don’t use Fandango, so I need to figure out how to advance order tickets.
And it has a bar!

Boy this place has changed?!
Landmark cinema is a chain that sometimes works with showing more independent and foreign films once in awhile. Back in the day it was a bit sterile, a bit cookie cutter and offered some good choices but not the most memorable or intimate experience.
Now however, fast forward 8 – 9 years later to the present the place has really changed. The downstairs lobby contains a full bar, opposite the side with the snack and concessions. Wine beer and cocktails… to the ready and can be had.
The theater also has changed their seating. Seats are now… reserved and assigned. They are also larger and recline, and are more akin to house furniture than something in an ordinary movie theater. Really surprised by these changes, although much of it is great, it makes me wonder how they enforce assigned seating (there mush be ushers more prominent at the bigger shows).
Still it makes for a real more memorable viewing experience, and the sound and picture quality and sight lines are solid as always too.
Good place to now see a show and remember the experience too. And yeah Force Majeure is great go see it by the way.

I can’t believe I have not written a review for Landmark Bethesda.
I guess they are going by Bethesda Row Cinema now, but everyone in town refers to them as Landmark. in any case, they show independent movies in a stadium style setting, serving beer, wine and drinks as well as a bit more than just popcorn and soda at the concession stand.
Landamark lets you pick your exact seat, which is good and bad – good because you can skip getting there well before show-​time to get a decent seat, but bad because you have to do some planning to get a decent seat and I have always been a bad planner.
The seats are comfortable, though the rows a little close to each other. The location is well below ground, so no cell service down there, which is kind of nice. The parking is not good at Bethesda Row, but you can park on the other side of Wisconsin Ave and walk two block (it won’t kill you).
I have not used the full bar but its nice that it is there. They offer things like sweet potato tater tots and other ‘real food’. The concessions have the same outrageous pricing that defines other cinema food, (its like they think – «we’re at the movies – $ 6 for a small bag of popcorn or $ 8 for a Slurpee sounds about right!») But here I feel like I am supporting a good business that is bringing movies worth watching to my community.
I do wish they would turn off the light sconces in the theater. They are too bright.
Us the kiosks in the main entry and skip the ticket line. Or book on-​line to reserve and pick your seat.

Great place to see indie movies (and regular old blockbusters, too). In addition to super fancy leather seats, it has a bar, so you can indulge in grown-​up beverages as well as the usual suspects like soda and popcorn. It would be super nice if they would follow suit with places like &pizza and put in some craft sodas — fig and pear soda, anyone? — but I’ll take a good wine any day. While street parking is kind of nuts, there’s a huge public (read: cheap) garage a block away near Bethesda Ave.
My only complaint is that the rows of seating are very narrow, such that in order for people to get by, we literally had to get out of our seats, walk into the aisle, and then seat ourselves again — the experience was not unlike being on an airplane.

I absolutely love being able to order a glass of wine (they have a pretty good Argentinian Malbec) at the movie theater and here you can do that, plus you can order delicious popcorn to go with and then you can enjoy both items while sitting in a super comfy leather chair while watching a great (hopefully) movie.
I love this place.

It has a bar. ‘Nuff said.
Ok, annnnnd the staff is really nice, parking in a pain but it’s a popular area, what can do you.
Movie selection is great, seats recline, never crowded.

If you’re looking to just watch a movie and aren’t worried about IMAX, you could go anywhere. This place works.

I just read someone’s review saying they don’t really dig the movie selection here. Ummm… Hello, are we talking about the same theatre?! The best part about this theatre is their movie selection! I can’t even count the number of offbeat movies I have watched here — it’s just amazing! The fact that the seats are super comfortable just adds to my already stellar experience here.
Know that the theaters themselves are a tad bit smaller than say an AMC or regal, but picture and sound quality is also amazing. Another thing that I love about this place (and I think it comes with the fact that they are an indie movie theatre) is the awesome offbeat movie trailers — all of them are awesome and give me an excuse to come see the theatre again since they will most likely play these movies.
The fact that this place is bang in the middle of Bethesda downtown is yet another added benefit — I always plan such that we can grab lunch or dinner at jaleo or some other awesome place. Service at this theatre is old fashioned awesomeness — everyone is always smiling and ready to help. Yay for Bethesda row cinema! :)

The Bethesda Row Cinema provides the best theater experience I’ve ever encountered. There. I got that out of the way early. I mean, one day I might have millions of dollars for a lavish home theater setup, but short of that, Bethesda Row is where it’s at.
My one beef is the price. Tickets are usually more than ten dollars, but the accoutrements justify the small extra expense. The lobby is spacious with many arranged chairs, a big snack bar (considering there’s only 8 screens), and a recently-​added full bar. The entire theater was shut down and renovated recently, and everything is very clean and state-​of-​the-​art. Full-​color digital screens adjoining individual theater entrances pierce the slightly-​dark ambiance of the lobby area to announce each film in vivid detail.
Inside the theater, each chair is as comfortable as a recliner, but they’re not retractable chairs! They are wide and well-​padded — really as comfortable a seat as seems possible in a movie house. This is a good idea for the oft-​lengthy independent and classic films forming the Bethesda Row Cinema repertoire. I’ve also never encountered a problem with noisy or irritating guests in any of the movies I’ve seen.
So grab yourself an italian soda, a latte, a beer, a bourbon, or whatever’s your fancy and enjoy movies the way they are meant to be at the Bethesda Row Cinema.

Bethesda Row is a hip & cool theater with a recent overhaul. Independent and Foreign films are the type shown here, so you can go to Regal Cinema up the road if explosions, Vin Diesel, and special effects are your forte.
So, Bethesda Row is all the rave as they are supposedly on par with E Street Cinema because they sell alcohol. The elevator entrance is quite grandiose, with a circular bar and chandelier. You can now buy your tickets online and choose which seats you want as well as have large non-​flapping seats to fit America’s growing waistline, perhaps in preparation for the only food types you can get there.
Speaking of which, I do have some constructive criticisms. As all or most movie theaters do, the food is greatly overpriced, being generally as expensive as the tickets are, per person or so. I once got a hotdog there that they must have forgotten to microwave, because it was cold inside (At least it was refrigerated). The worker was apologetic and gave me one which was heated.
One thing that really got me was the customer service. The bartender handed me a warm ink pen from his hair! Yes, a food worker took a pen which was sticking in his ponytail and had a customer sign with it. My beer was apparently fine, but I shouldn’t have been surprised when a guy with bolts sticking out of his lip handed me a pen from his greasy hair. I’ll just sneak my drinks inside, from here on out!
In conclusion, they need to step up their customer service, maybe have a dress code, and if they’re trying to make a great theater, getting some better food would make more of a difference than leather seats. Also, they have a really nice staircase that is never open. What’s with that? At the end of the day, it’s a fun place to go, and I’m pretty loyal to it.

I used to come here all the time with a client of mine and it has remodeled for the best!
The outside looks exactly the same but now the ride down the escalator is like traveling to another time and place!
Directly in front of you is the new bar area. Beer and wine at the movies? Yes, please!
The concession area is pretty much the same with coffee, gourmet chocolates and your regular movie fare. They now have combos for those of us Unilocalers always on the search for a bargain!
Right next to the concession is a comfy collection of cushion-​y couches! Very stylish and very contemporary. Reminded me of a chic lounge as opposed to a movie theater! I guess this is where you wait for your movie companions while they visit the restroom (which has not changed).
I saved the best for last!!! Inside the theater the seats are all LEATHER! They are larger and so comfortable! There are head rests too! The arm rest are padded with a giant cup holder for your icy beverage (alcoholic or non!)
Thursday evening ticket was $ 11.50 to see Chef (great movie if you get a chance to see it) and $ 8 for a «bargain» combo (kid size popcorn and small drink).
I have always enjoyed Bethesda Row Cinema and now I LOVE it!!!

In Korea all theaters have assigned seating. I just came back to the States after living there for a few years and even though at first the seating bothered me, I grew to really app retain it and actually dreaded coming back to theaters without assigned seating. Now there are some drawbacks, as some others have commented on but, for me at least, the positives far out way the inconvenience of having to plan ahead. There is much less stress going in. You don’t have to worry about saving seats for friends or family. No wondering if the person with an empty seat next to them will be annoyed if you sit right next to them. More freedom to take the time to get refreshments, which are wonderful at The Row ;). Which leads to less squeezing past someone who has staked their claim to an area.
There is one area I would ask the theater to improve upon…
Please offer more nonalcoholic drinks for those who cannot partake. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a craft brewed rootbeer? Or a nice ginger beer? Rather than the same old nasty coke products.
Maybe I’m the only one who wants that, but I think others would dig it as well :)