Guild Theatre

This theatre super vintage and tiny which makes it feel so much more personal than multiplexes. I had fun and would definitely come back. Here are a few things I enjoyed/​appreciate about this theatre:
— They have a person going up to the front to announce when the movie is about to start and s/​he usually reminds everyone about the actors that are starring in it, general theatre etiquette, etc. All of this adds to the personal feel I was referring to.
— I didn’t try the popcorn but God does it smell heavenly in here?!
— They only do one movie a week (typically) with four shows a day and new movies start every Friday. This pretty much means that you can come back every weekend to a new movie. Not bad at all.
— I’m not senior, but if you are, there’s a nice 20% discount on the ticket. The face value otherwise is currently $ 10 which isn’t too bad either.
— Easily accessible by Caltrain.
— Great selection of movies ranging from the indie ones you’ve probably not heard of too much to movies from across the pond based out of UK and Ireland.
I’ll definitely be returning soon.

I randomly stumbled into this theater when I was looking to see «A Hologram for the King». I was a bit surprised at first, but the old vibes definitely began to grow on me. There’s a lot of history in this place (it was built in 1926), and I’ll definitely be coming here again! I spoke with John after the show, one of the staff who’s worked there for 20 years, and he was extremely friendly.
This place is definitely a special place. Before the movie starts, the staff came to the front and kindly asked people to turn their phones off. They also asked if anyone wanted the temperature or the volume changed. If you’re looking for a chill evening, this cozy theater and an indie film is the place to be!

Easily the oldest and funkiest single theatre cinema in the Peninsula. Small, creaky old seats, and some funky art deco doodads on the walls. Great indie selection of films, mixed parking reviews — parking can be easy or difficult depending on the time/​day you go to the cinema. All in all, a great place to watch a new film. Wish they would consider doing rep movies, I’d think they would have a good crowd for this if it doesn’t try to compete with The Stanford.
~Ms. Ali

This theatre is in shameful condition of disrepair. The reviewers that I see here must be out of their minds to give 5 or 4 stars to this piece of junk. I posted here a totally gross photo of their men’s bathroom sink because other fixtures would turn your stomach. Its sister theatre was worse but has been recently totally overdone is now one of the best in the area. As long as Unilocalers give this decrepit facility 4 or 5 stars what would be the motivation to fix it. The health department should intervene and red tag it!

Old theater, so you’re missing some of the modern amenities – stadium seating being one. But what you get in return is a neighborhood feel where they will start to know your face and are super friendly. That, plus the fact that this place is usually showing something that isn’t playing elsewhere makes it something I want to stick around.
We’ve been here multiple times now and it has been great. As Oscar season approaches, we are often hunting for the smaller movies that won’t be at the megaplexes for a few weeks/​months. This place delivers.

I especially like it when a theatre is easy to reach by train, and this one is! Small, comfortable seats, across the street from Kepler’s and Café Borrone.

Nice and cozy old theater!
I went to this theater to see a movie called Wild. The movie is not available at most major places, but it can be seen here.
I am a backpacker, so I needed to see it.
This theater is small but easily found on El Camino near Menlo Park downtown. Before the movie started, the staff told customers to turn off/​silent phones. Quite old fashioned but love it.
After the movie, my friend and I kept talking at the seats about the movie, and staffs started cleaning. We asked him if we had to leave but he said okay. They were very friendly and kind. I like this cozy place. If I find an interesting movie again, definitely I’ll come back.

I’ve drove by the Guild multiple times and when I went out to run an errand, I decided to catch a movie here and I love supporting small businesses. Don’t be fooled by the outside, the inside of the theater was gorgeous and the sound is great. I’d say buy a movie ticket and support the community.

Typical. you live somewhere your whole life and never know the gem’s that are right around the corner, which in my case was the Guild Theater.
The theater only has one screen so there aren’t many film choices but if you like smaller artistic movies this is an awesome place. Tickets were $ 10, a little bit less than most theaters, and the price of concessions was basically the same.
The staff was kind and the seats were comfortable. The theater is old and slightly outdated in a sense but it was a great experience and I’ll be back in the future.

I’m not in absolute love with this theatre, but I don’t think it is THAT cruddy, either.
On the positive side: the seats are pretty comfortable, the snacks are OK, and the movie selection (which is to say the movie that they’ve selected to play there — this is a one-​screener) is usually good. I’ve seen some great movies here over the years (and a clunker or two, but that’s on me; shoulda listened to my gut).
On the negative… it feels old, and not in the ooh-​this-​is-​fancy, classic Stanford Theatre experience. For some reason this doesn’t bug me as much at the Aquarius; perhaps I’ve just always expected that to be «funky.» And the parking… because this is smack dab on El Camino, you’ll generally have to park a few blocks away. Not so much of a problem during matinees, but in the evenings it can get a little tricky.
I generally try to avoid Unilocaling the clients/​customers of a place, but I’ll say that I have had the worst experiences here with people carrying on conversations during the movie. Bleh. People, you paid to watch a movie!

I didn’t realize until reading the reviews that this theater and Aquarius are sister-​theaters. I love them both! Any place that smells like old musty libraries are a plus, no sarcasm there at all! Went here for the first time recently to catch ‘Before Midnight’ and it was a great experience. Love the old décor, curtains and stage. I would love to come here again to see Rocky Horror, although I am intimidated haha.

Aw, snap! The Guild was closed awhile ago for renovations, but is back up and running in Menlo Park. I’m a huge fan of the Aquarius, their sister theatre and am happy to report that this location is just as great, if not better.
Though it’s only a one-​screen theatre, it does fine on its own. No squeaky seats and a wonderfully crisp projector. Seriously the nicest DLP screen and sound in the Peninsula. Just checked out their website and it used to be a burlesque theater, which explains the décor and small stage in front. And I totally understand why they host Rocky Horror on the regular.
They keep the snacks nice and simple: popcorn, sodas, a small variety of candy (M&M’s, Red Vines) but nothing too crazy. Jr size popcorn and small soda will run you about $ 7 – 8, not too bad considering what other theaters charge. I like the small shaker of salt on the counter so you can add however much you want, vs. taking little packets into your pocket.
Might I also add that both Aquarius and Guild have their staff walk to the front of house at the beginning of the movie and make a special «Thanks for coming, please turn off your phones» speech? Love it! Adds a personal touch that you don’t always get at the movies.
Support your local theater, go to the Guild!

Went here on a Saturday night to watch the midnight viewing of «Rocky Horror Picture Show» with one of my best girfriends. It was my first time to one of these and I had a blast. The ticket stand is located outside of the theater, so when you purchase your tickets to this movie, you have to wait outside until they let you in to the theater. I didn’t mind, since there was a lot of good people watching to keep us entertained. I would recommend bringing a jacket.
While waiting in line, we were welcomed by all the «Rocky Horror Cult fans». Everyone was dressed up as their favorite character from the movie. Most men were dressed in lingerie complete with fish net thigh high stockings, garter belt and see through bras and caked on trashy makeup! If you are a virgin (first-​time to a midnight showing), they mark you with red lipstick on your face. They drew three V’s on my face (forehead and on my cheek bones) so everyone else knew it was my first time.
They let us in the theater at 11:50pm and I was excited to pop my «Rocky Horror Cherry». The Guild theater is your average old school theater with red velvet curtains, a stage, large silver screen and old school red velvet seats. It smelled like stale popcorn inside. We sat in the middle of the rows and everyone stood up and started dancing! They had a live DJ playing «YMCA» and «Call Me Maybe»…then a drag queen came out and started giving lap dances! Not kidding! It was hilarious!
They had a live cast of actors mimicking the characters during the whole movie. They did a very good job ! I belive the cast was called «The Bawdy Cast».
I really enjoyed my Saturday evening at the Guild theater. I think we are going to dress up next time and take a virgin with us!

1 star * because this place actually still shows movies.
This theater was build in 1926… now what does that say? Lemme tell you, it tells it all.
Old musty, antiquated, old @$$ single screen funky @$$ movie theater.
Ticket booth & concession stand are one single combined small 5’x15’ area. Three people working in this area bumpin booties the entire time they are working there.
Snack bar only offers soft drinks, popcorn & a few select candies.
Above the snack bar area are 3 film reels with a few disgusting black birds. Must of been placed there when Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ came out in the 60’s. All dusty and gross looking.
Bathroom is atrocious!
Oh yeah, before the movie started one of the snack bar workers made his way to the stage area to make an announcement about no cell phone etc. How lame and lacking technology was that?
Interesting how this old, musty, crusty, technology-​less theater charges $ 9.75 for a movie in their disgusting old crusty, dusty, rusty, theater.
Wow, I doubt I will go back there again.

I love this little theater. The posters out front often show what is playing at the Aquarius (in Palo Alto) which also is an old-​timey sort of theater.
The staff is friendly and they manage a decent refreshment stand. I like the fact that they have an excellent tea offering. The parking isn’t a problem for me since I live within walking distance. After some of the films they do promotions with local businesses, such as taking your ticket stub to get a discount on a pizza. When I went and saw «Midnight in Paris» (the only film I’ve seen with lines for tickets here!) the stub got a free glass of wine at the nice bistro downtown.
I only wish the ticket prices felt as old-​fashioned as the façade!

We watched the mid-​night showing of the Rockie Horror Picture Show. Cute little theatre, don’t know much about it otherwise.
Limited street parking

80 year old «theatre» that has great menu of indie films. I have to agree that the seats are not super comfortable. But the popcorn + real butter is delicious, plus they have a great selection of tea (that I got on the way out because who wants tea during a movie).
NOTE the sign right in front says 3 minute not 3 hour parking, and luckily my husband pays more attention than I do to parking signs. That said we usually park somewhere in the neighborhood, I’m not sure if there is an official lot which is not super convenient.
LOVE the personal welcome to the movie given by the staff before each film, evokes very classic movie experience.

Funkaaaay
The seats are just barely sittable for 90 minutes, so only go here for short movies.
The movie selection is really special, limited release art projects.
Very art deco. There’s this hilarious guy (manager?) who comes out and introduces the movie and tells you to turn off your cell.
Parking is really tough. The theater says there’s a guy who owns one of the businesses around the corner who loves to have people towed away.

Oh wow I finally found a theater that shows «Rocky Horror Picture Show.» Shhhh! But I was a Virgin! I had a blast and loved this theater. It is a real treasure to the Peninsula. It makes me really happy when small theaters are still open.
Not an expensive place to see a film. Love they they show films that are not in all theaters. I used to go to the Cameras in San Jose that showed indie films. Here they have the moving curtain before the flick. Beautiful wall art deco and stained color lamps. A for sure that I’ll be going back here in the future.

Only at a Rocky Horror Picture Show can you bust out a friend for being a «virgin» and have a man dressed in fish nets, heels and a corset take red lipstick and draw a penis with testicles and a giant ‘V’ across your friend’s face and forehead.
I love how retro this theatre is. Yes, its a bit run down but it adds to its authenticity.
Check it out on the first and third Saturday of every month for a campy good time.