Family Night at the Movies: Star Cinema Grill in Arlington Heights {& A Giveaway 5/27/15}

**Disclosure; Star Cinema Grill did provide us with complimentary tickets and a giveaway prize to bring this to you. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own.

Dinner and a movie. What a very common way to spend an evening whether it is date night or with the fam. However, sometimes it is hard to finagle a good dinner time based on the schedule for a particular movie. If you opt to skip dinner, you are often left with less than desirable choices for food at the theater or filling up on popcorn or toughing it out through the movie with a rumbling stomach. Fortunately, Star Cinema Grill in Arlington Heights provides an option to COMBINE dinner and a movie--to enjoy a meal during the movie rather than trying to get the schedule to work out. Plus, Star Cinema Grill has a full service restaurant which expands food options greatly past that of a standard theater giving you more choices.

Last week, we visited Star Cinema Grill for the first time to see Avengers: Age of Ultron. Of course, my 10-year-old was THRILLED to see the movie but she was equally THRILLED to try out the meal service at the theater. We very rarely eat in the theater, so this in itself was quite a treat. But, we were soon to learn what fun it really is and how nice it is to not have to get up YOURSELF in the middle of the movie.

When you walk into Star Cinema Grill, you immediately notice that it isn't your typical theater. There is a pretty impressive full service bar that would be a cool place to chill even if not taking in a movie. The decor is slightly more upscale than a standard theater. The lack of vending throughout in contrast to what is found in other theaters keeps the inside quite a bit calmer and with less mess. This I very much appreciated! I always find theaters with vending all over to be a little less than clean! (Ahem.)

Many of us are used to stumbling into movie just as the previews start. However, arriving earlier here is advantageous because it gives you a chance to read the menu before the lights are out and to put in an order before the movie starts. Drinks, snacks, meals and everything in between are ordered from the seat. Once you decide your order, you press a button and a server comes to either take the order down or grab an order form (filled out when ordering during the movie). The servers seemed to float throughout the theater pretty fast, so not much wait. Since this a restaurant, the wait time for food to come out will be longer than in a standard theater but really not terribly long.

Our visit to Star Cinema Grill was quite the fun family outing! My daughter definitely LOVED the novelty of having dinner served to her during the movie and obligingly scarfed down half of a club sandwich, chips and salsa and two fresh chicken tenders. The menu is quite sizable, so I am sure she would love to return again and again to try out menu items! I really think this type of theater is a big hit with kids! Another family in the theater was noticeably excited about ordering dinner for the movie! When we shared details of our visit with our nephews, they also chimed in with how much they like this type of theater! Totally a win with the kids--which means a win with parents! With all of the rain lately, truly an option for surviving a rain day with the kiddos!

Want to try the theater our? Star Cinema Grill has graciously provided us with 1 Family Four Pack of Tickets and a Free Large Popcorn Voucher to award to one lucky family! Please enter the giveaway below for your chance to win. Giveaway ends 5/27/15 and is open to entrants 18-years-old and older. Good luck!


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