Dinner and a movie has been around forever. Even before movies were invented, I suspect cavemen sat around roasting their dinner and watching the hieroglyphics on the walls. Today, dinner and a movie usually means to separate events, but there is one local movie destination where you can do both in one stop. Smitty’s Cinema, which is a small chain with theaters throughout Maine and one in New Hampshire, has table seating and a full menu so you can order dinner while enjoying the latest movie release.
While I love going to Smitty’s, it is a slightly different theater experience than other places. With that in mind, here are four important things to know when going to see a movie at Smitty’s:
- Arrive early. Unlike other theater’s where you might be able to sneak in right before the show starts, you really need to get to Smitty’s early otherwise you won’t be able to easily read and order from the menu. The theater generally opens up an hour before showtime. We usually get there about a half hour before the movie starts, which gives us enough time to settle in and place our food order.
- Pick your movie wisely. I never go to see a movie at Smitty’s that requires intense concentration because I know that there will be a few interruptions during the show as waiters bring you your food, check-in to see if you need anything else, and you settle up the tab. They wait staff is always respectful of the movie, but they do need to serve your food too. I build this expectation into my viewing experience and save my favorite new releases for another destination.
- Choose your seats carefully. Since this is a both a dining establishment and a movie theater, there are not straight rows of seats all facing the movie screen. Some seats are at an angle around a table and may have different views of the screen. They’re wonderfully comfortable seats, and they all swivel but just be sure you’re going to be able to see the screen, if you grab that back seat in one of the table areas. They do also have some bar type seating where the chairs are all facing the screen.
- Set your food expectations. While I’m always fine with the meal that I get at Smitty’s, it is nothing fancy. It’s basic bar food with appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and a few deserts. You can also get beer, wine, and cocktails. It’s not meant to be impressive food. Just basic comfort food. If you need your movie going experience with popcorn and candy, that’s still an option too. They sell both at the concession stand like a traditional move theater.
I love going to Smitty’s Cinema and we tend to head there a lot for family outings. It’s great to be able to grab dinner and see a movie all in one stop.
| Locations | |
|---|---|
| Smitty’s Biddeford | 420 Alfred Street, Five Points Shopping Center, Biddeford, ME 04005 |
| Smitty’s Sanford | 1364 Main Street, Sanford, ME 04073 |
| Smitty’s Tilton | 630 West Main Street, Tilton, NH 03276 |
| Smitty’s Windham | 795 Roosevelt Trail, Windham, ME 04062 |
| Smitty’s Topsham | 65 Topsham Fair Mall Road, Topsham, ME 04086 |
| Website | Smitty’s Cinema |
| Favorite ♥ | Nachos |
I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2016. I will be posting new content every day except Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Life in Maine, and each post will in some way relate to Maine. There are over 1500 other bloggers participating in the challenge. Click HERE to learn more.
Weekends in Maine 
Sounds like a great place. And most likely when all is said and done, not more much expensive than buying snacks from a concession stand at the big name theaters. wish we had something like this in our town!
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You’re right. Cost wise it really does come out about the same and you actually get a meal out of it.
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I wish we had a dinner and a movie place nearby – I have to settle for nachos and a movie if I want something close to that.
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Nachos and a movie can work too.
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Oh, it has in the past. As has popcorn and a movie (which is even less of a meal)! We do have a drive-in right near us (it’s technically the closest theater), so we could always picnic there and get a dinner and a movie.
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Drive-ins are so much fun. We have one close by too and love to go there in the summer.
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I think they tailgate at ours – but we missed most of the season last year, as we moved in at the end of August.
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We missed going last summer too and my girls haven’t forgiven me.We’re going as soon as they open this year. Have fun tailgating at yours.
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We will – I think our first trip will be relatively calm and probably the bare essentials of tailgating. After that, all bets are off!
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It’s good to ease into these things!
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This sounds so much fun! There’s a couple of places in Connecticut that do something similar. I wish more places did.
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It really is a great concepts. I’m surprised there aren’t more places like it.
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I love this kind of movie theaters and I had no idea that there were some in Maine and really close to my little vacation home. I’ll check it when I’m there. Thanks a bunch.
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You should definitely check it out. It’s a fun outing.
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Dinner and a show! My favorite date night event! This looks like a great place to go. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Julianne
Ink & Stitches – http://blog.jhwinter.com
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It’s a great place to catch a movie. We go a lot!
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This sounds like fun — but no gory horror movies!
Yvonne V
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I love it all but my oldest is not a fan of the horror genre either!
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Is it bright enough to see what you’re eating? Do you leave with food all over your shirt? Is the food relatively expensive for what it is, in true movie snack fashion?
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It’s bright enough to eat although seeing enough to pay the tab at the end is always a challenge. It’s a pretty typical bar food type menu. Not cheap but not that expensive either.
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We have a similar type theater in Des Moines. Once a week they do a throw back movie so we save our trips for those old 80s films we want to relive!
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Ours does it occasionally. I took my youngest to see Jaws there last summer. It was so much fun to see it in a theater again. That’s awesome that your theater does it every week.
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