Alamo Drafthouse Cinema City Foundry

I have to say, I’m pretty devastated to write this review. I was born and raised in Austin, and I have always refused to go to any other theater. Living in Austin, it was common to go to Alamo once or twice a week. Holy moly, we’d have to be making six figures now to do that. What the heck happened to this place? They’ve gone corporate and lost everything that made them special. No gluten free signs on their menu (I’m celiac), their menu is a fraction of what it used to be, a $4 up charge for a gluten free crust, $13 for a basic garden salad without any meat, and the slowest service I’ve had in St. Louis. The people next to us would not stop talking, and kept checking their phones. It took over 15 minutes for the server to come see our order card, and he immediately read it, looked at them, and said “guys stop talking!” and then left. They weren’t talking when he said this to them, so they were confused and just kept talking after he left. We ordered a pizza, chips and queso, a salad, and two beers…. It was over $100!!! If this was a local business, I’d be a bit more understanding during these times, but it’s a corporation. With an outrageous up charge for gluten free items, extra chips (after you finish the small plate of chips, you have half a bowl of queso left), and $10 for a 10 oz beer, there’s just no way we can come back here in good conscience. I’m also very skeptical of that 18% service charge. First of all, it’s not even 20%, and I’m sure there are many people who don’t tip because they think that’s sufficient. Additionally, the disclaimer says it goes to ensure fair wages in ALL departments. I’d like them to clarify what “all” is… are these charges going to the servers, cooks, etc., or are they going to management as well? Judging by the delay in opening our theater, and the amount of time it took our server to respond when we’d push our button, they’re obviously understaffed, so it appears that 18% isn’t enough to keep people around. Now I see why many Austinites have given up on Alamo. I’m sure the people of St. Louis like it just fine because they don’t realize how special it used to be.

Great venue to watch a movie! Gluten-free food is available