So one day, I went to Alison Brod Marketing and Communications office where I got to chat with the amazing beauty director, Donna - and she mentioned something called iPic. She said it was like first class of movie theaters where you could not only watch a movie in a fancy pod with your loved one, but you can order gourmet food for your meal.
WHAT.
So of course, you know I had to check that out. My husband and I decided to venture out to the South Street Seaport on an extremely chilly, rainy, windy day (my umbrella broke because it went inside out lol) and arrived at iPic. It was relatively easy to find :)
When we walked in, we got our tickets and went inside. The inside looks like a museum and is decorated with cool, modern art and has rose velvet (!!!) lounge chairs to wait and hang out.
Before you arrive in the theater, they do have a bar and a food station where you can buy your fancy food! Also to note, the bathroom was only on the third floor (which was gorg btw), however since we were on the second floor, I was quite confused finding it lol.
When you arrive in the theater, the back, there is the premium plus seating which are seated in pods of two. It's $28 per person, which to me is pretty steep. However, you are not only paying for a private pod - you also have table service, reclining seats, a pillow and blanket and privacy (especially to put your belongings).
In the front, they also have Premium seating, which costs $16 per person (which is in fact way more standard costs for a movie). However, these chairs do not recline and don't include the table service. You can order your food beforehand.
Our waitress was super nice and we ordered two drinks (coke and ginger beer) as well as some sliders and fries. Although the sliders and fries were pretty expensive ($19, $10), the actual food was delicious. It was as if you were going to a fancy restaurant. I was glad we arrived 30 minutes early, because we were able to get the food a bit earlier before the lights dimmed.
Right before the movie started, a man came around with popcorn (free!!!) - I was so surprised! Even though I was way content with my fries, it was still nice to get some free popcorn (especially since it's usually so expensive at theaters).
We were watching Beauty and the Beast, so of course I was all feels and excited. It was quite lovely to enjoy that while picking and noshing on our food. The waitress came to us 3/4 of the way into the movie to ask if we wanted dessert and then near the end to give us the check. I wish we got dessert.... because it sounded so good, but I should've paid more attention to the menu before the movie because I had no clue what they had for dessert and I didn't want to bother figuring it out since I was watching the movie LOL!
The one complaint my husband had was that he was sad that he was full from the delicious food and then couldn't recline his chair until later because he was scared to get indigestion (omg... are we old....) but if that's our only complaint, it was a great night!!!!
I would say - the evening would've cost us a pretty buck for a dinner and a movie. With the cost of the movie ($56 for the both of us) and our drinks and food ($41, but it was really only one meal since we shared sliders), it would've cost us $96 + tip for the evening. So if you're a cheap date - this is not the place for you ;)
We THOROUGHLY had a great time at iPic theaters! Although it's costly, you do get what you pay for - an extremely luxurious experience. We are so glad we got to try this out and have an epic date night. Thank you so much Kate for sending us to iPic and for making me NEVER want to go to another "regular" movie theater again!!!
