Reviews of Bow Tie Cinemas (Movie Theater)

Gene Chun

This applies specifically to theater 11 - extremely hot inside with no ventilation. Top that off with mediocre sound and a relatively small screen (for today's standards) and it all makes for a bad experience. This was for a week 2 showing for Avengers Endgame so it's not like it's some B movie that's been out for a month, playing in a cut-rate venue. I won't go back again.

Alex Cullison

Not impressed. Seats like you find in the economy section of a plane. Snarky concession help. Partially filled popcorn bags. Stingy with the butter. Parking is horrible. My last visit.

Ken Davis

Curtious staff and always clean.

Jason Bryan

Good theaters, family owned. Decently comfortable.

Terry Nicoll

I usually don't do reviews unless the service and product is very good or very bad. Unfortunately, this Reston theater falls in the latter. What is this seat assignment thing? Is this a movie theater or a baseball stadium. The seats are uncomfortable, the theater screens are small, and the staff and management are rude, especially the ticket taker lady. I will go elsewhere to see a movie or better yet wait for the rental.

Jason Braun

Theater was clean. The whole pick your seat is a bad idea. People come in late, after the movies has started, and disturb others while they try to find their exact seat in the dark. A nice idea but not practical

Natally Mendonça

Is a decent theater but not the best.

Brett Hansen

Comfortable seats, great sound, and have not had a problem with any show! Was just at Bow Tie for Washington West Film Festival that Bow Tie supports and 100% of the box office proceeds goes to childrens charity ... Great cause and festival!

David Stoicescu

Background: I'm a movie goes, usually see all new decent new releases in theaters. Bow Tie is an old theater, I've gone here couple of times simply because it's within walking distance from home. 1. Usually, seats are dirty, or broken 2. Screens are pretty old, most with white spots 3. Audio is terrrrible. Rattling is super annoying in some theater 4. Most of the time, movies do not start on time. 5. Most of the theaters are upstairs, half the time, escalators are broken Not sure what else you need to know about this place. The apposite of this theater is Alamo drafthouse in Loudon. Check it out, 10/10.

Su S.

Chairs are not as comfy as some other the reserved seating theatres are...popcorn not fresh and snacks are so overpriced.

crazymiss_san

Good show timings but they close the cafeteria even before the movie ends during night shows.

Michele Mejia

Very nice and clean cinema. Seats are nice and comfortable.

Yeksson Mendez

Great staff. I like to purchase beverages of the adult nature before catching a flick.

Nicholai

Great staff!

John Dell

Love the place generally, very convenient. The whole bowtie brand needs some updating, one escalator seems to be out of service half the time but comfy, easy, and living in Reston, it's my go-to theatre.

Zoe Thompson

Love Godzilla and Marvel!

Isaac Nakata

This theater is okay, I like it because it's really close to where I live. We went to see a movie on Easter Sunday and we're one of 3 families in the movie. That was great! One good thing is they sell alcohol!

Marek Zalewski

A better than average theater experience. Bow Tie strives to mimic old-time quality cinemas.

Ben Page

Don't charge me a dollar for my popcorn lid. How else am I supposed to eat day-old popcorn at 7am?

Ashley Ann

The chairs are comfy and the theatres never feel overly packed. I love coming here to see movies! Yummy popcorn too ☺

Kyle Kruger

I think they had an off day. 10:15am movie started 20 mins late. And it started as the wrong movie.

Hao Liu

Showing age. 10 years ago was one of better cinemas, but now seats cover was cracking, and made distracting noise when reclining.

Troy Willett

Surly and unhelpful employees. Old and musty smelling theatre. Beginning of movie froze on screen and it took 15 minutes for some slow employee to fix it

sarah s

I really enjoy the atmosphere here. The staff seems always willing to help. Concessions are expensive, just like everywhere else. :)

Damitra Gardner

Love $7 Tuesdays. Friendly staff. Clean theaters. Good for an indoor family outing.

Miriam Liggett

It's fine. Small theaters... so it's cozy. Drink holders available but my seat didn't recline. Other theaters have spoiled me. But it was clean and the popcorn was really good.

Drew W

Feels understaffed. Had to wait 15 minutes for someone to come to the limited beer/wine bar to help us. Also the interior smelled like feet, farts and curry. Dont know if it's always this way or just due to the patrons around us. Great location to catch dinner at a RTC restaurant then a show.

Paula Travers

Movie was terrible, theater was freezing cold, no instructions on how to validate parking.

TL Reynolds

Nothing that special or different than any other theater. Still good though.

hipu

Comfy seats and relevant movies. The ticket prices are reasonable, but the snacks/drinks/food prices are pretty scalpy (meaning expensive).

Sandy Schoen

Crowded seating, parking is a problem, no indie movies

Kelly Daly

Great reclining seats and not deafening unlike some other theaters.

Gretchen Riley

The facilities are really nice. It is close to home but we will be going to another theater from now on. We have had the problem of them double booking seats. It might be fine if we were watching a movie where there weren't going to be many people, but we go there to see new movies that are pretty crowded. We go to our seat numbers only to find people sitting there. We compared tickets and turns out we have the same assigned seats. We ended up sitting where there were seats left, which were obviously not good seats. We are sick of having this problem.

Paul Sawtell

Scheduled times online are different from actuality. Seating doesn't compare to more updated theaters

Vanesa Poggi

It's ok but I'd rather go to recliner seats theaters, and here the seats don't recline and they're quite narrow...for a big person I'm sure they can't fit on them....

Eliud Gil Samaniego

Great sound and confortable seats

Justin Shaw

Nice local theater with clean and friendly service renovated maybe four years ago. I would give a five star rating if the sound isolation were better. You can hear some action movie in the next theater during the quiet scenes.

Grace Be

I like that they have films that others in the area won't necessarily play. Good reserved seating process (no recliners) and comfy chairs. Love the bargain Tuesdays! They have new 'gourmet' popcorn and since it is in Reston Town Center …

Ava Schwarz

Nice theatre, good prices & friendly staff. Parking at Reston town center can be strange though.

Stefan Schwarz

Nice modern theatre with stadium seating, comfortable seats and plenty of varied concessions. Prices similar to other movie theatres, though felt the matinee prices here are more than other theatres in the area. All in all, a nice time and a good movie. I'll be back to see other movies here.

Ted Phillips

This is our local movie theater. We really enjoy going to movies here. It has decent seating and you can get pre-assigned seats when you purchase tickets online or at the kiosk. Many of the screens are relatively small, but they do have a few larger screens for the big picture shows. I rarely visit the concession stand, but they have all the usual stuff. Yellow greasy popcorn, boxed candies, sodas, etc. The theater is relatively clean and tidy - the floors aren't gross and the trash is picked up and carpets vacuumed regularly. Overall, a nice movie-going experience. Not the best, but far from the worst.

Stacey Ahner

When Bowtie opened there was such promise. Stadium seating, clean, great popcorn and eventually, beer and wine options. There was a manager who was enthused about cinema, about local breweries and about providing a great experience. But over the past 2 years, it has changed. Tremendously Understaffed. LONG Lines at concession, Dirty. Bar closed. We have kept trying hoping that a promised new manager could turn it around. But we are done. Last week it was like a ghost town in terms of staff. Whenever possible we will go to Cinema Arts where we feel like we are supporting a passion for cinema and a commitment to customer service.

Philip Cressey

Bar was closed and I only saw 3 employees although, to their credit, it was a slow night and it's not their fault they are so understaffed

Ryan Nivens

I loved choosing the seat I paid for. Screen was big, sound was excellent quality. Facility was clean and staff seemed competent. I would definitely return to this theater in the future.

M E

Bow Tie Cinemas simply needs an upgrade. They need to get on AMC's level and get better seating in their theaters. If given the choice between Bow Ties, AMC or Regals, at $14 a movie, I'd pick AMC for their seating. The staff at Bow Tie in Reston are nice, but not 100% skilled in customer service. Overall experience is just okay. ---Update, yes one of the theatres has reclining seats, not sure if this is the only theatre room or if all rooms have been upgraded. Went from 3 stars to 4 for that .

Andy Hughhs

It's not horrible, but there are so many better theaters in the area I normally don't go here.

Beatriz Collazo

Great theater space, and layouts. Wish there were more low-carb options at the concessions stand.

Rod Rodriguez

A hidden gem of a theater! Clean, modern, and wonderful staff. The Exit signs are a bit bright in the theater but I forgot they were there after awhile. Delicious popcorn!

Dawn Lamond

The place has gone a little downhill lately. Still a good movie experience

Angela Riggs

Loved the evening at Bow Tie Reston. L and I kicked off the Holidays officially! Daddy’s Home 2 AND Ice Skating on Opening night! And Kelly works the concessions like it’s his HIS place. 5 stars are for him! Say “hi” to our new friend.

Alejandro Ramirez

Dated chairs, concession is not good either. I was excited to go there for the first time, ended up disappointed

Kristen Bishel Browne

We attended a showing of Deadpool 2 in the afternoon at The Bow Tie Cinemas at Reston Town Center. My husband and I loved that we were able to pick assigned seats when we use the Atom app to pay in advance. The movie was incredibly funny and entertaining, the movie theater was very clean, and every seat in that theater had a great view of the screen.

Stephanie Manero

It's a really good place to go. I loved to go once a week every Tuesday with friends. The seats are great, the projection awesome, even the popcorn taste really good, and the people who works there are really nice and friendly. Don't listen to the other reviews, this place is amazing.

Karl Didier REMARAIS

A decent place

Brad Thurau

Popcorn is horrible. Way too salty and no ability to throughly mix in the artificially flavored oil in the popcorn. We no longer buy popcorn here. Also this reserved seating thing is bad. Much too difficult to find your assigned seats after the movie starts because the line for crappy popcorn was over 20 minutes long.

Alejandra Villanueva

Cute cinema, they felt under staffed. There is a concession desk upstairs as well go there to avoid the lines

Robert

Great theater with convenient parking in a nearby parking garage. If you are seeing a movie in the evenings, you do not have to pay for parking. The theater was not crowded and the seating was comfortable.

Michael Baxter

Great staff and service. Clean theaters and an overall pleasant experience.

Emma Alsafi

Very bad experience! First I pay for expensive food for very little quantity while you could get the same food at regal or amc theatre by the same price with more food. Second the guy who works their was rude as hell, I ask him for things like questions about the place and he talks back to me, VERY LOW SERVICE!!!!!!!! The chairs don’t even have arm rest I had to put my drink in the floor every time I wanted to eat!! I asked the staff for mayonnaise and they don’t have any, I ask for a to go box they also don’t have any, I ask for plastic and no plastic bag or anything to put my left over food

Jim Tulio

We like going to this theatre in Reston Town Center. Clean, good snack options, reasonably comfortable reserved seats. Of course, like every other theatre, tickets and snacks are overpriced.

Anthony Barletta

Purchased tickets to see “The Joker” online and paid the convenience fee. Went to the theater and got my tickets only to go into the theater where the projector wasn’t working... no one said anything when they gave me my tickets. Couldn’t see the movie and didn’t even get all my money back. There are so many better theaters to go to, I’d suggest going anywhere else.

Curtis B

Great theater location. Wish the had recliner seats though.

Judy Smith

Nice theater

Jerry Nguyen

Movie was off positioned and cut off the entire time because the title was slightly cut off and a scene that occured off screen.

Karina Murillo

Good place for watching a movie and family, excellent customer service and friendly team members. I strongly recommend.

Sheretta Bailey-nobblen

Great work atmosphere

Apurv Goswami

Its an awesome place. They have all the formats available. Unlike, AMC and Regal, BowTie's dolby screening is cheaper and better.

Jean W

Good location, they validate parking, never too crowded.

Chuning X

No reclining seats here

Frank Francois

Very nice, very comfortable. Enjoyed a beer with my movie.

Jennifer Hanna

Comfortable seating, convenient concessions

S Y

Terrible experience with picking up prepurchased tickets: the machines are not intuitive and the printers are janked up such that there's a good chance that you won't get your tickets. I recommend going directly to the help desk. Poor selection of snacks... and every time I've gone the popcorn is cold. There is something seriously rotten in the men's bathroom upstairs. Highly recommend bringing a gas mask. Decent theaters with stadium seating in traditional seats - older design from the 90s but refurbished within the last 5 years.

Joni Morgan

We walked right around the corner to here from having a nice dinner at Uncle Julio's. The staff was friendly & polite. Our seats were reserved so we had no problem finding them. The seats reclined which made watching Mission Impossible: Fallout more comfortable.

Tim F

Little bit dated theatre with the seats and finishes. But good quality picture and the sound was well balanced, I.e. not so loud my ears hurt like at some other local theatres. I would definitely go back if I'm Reston and wanted to see a film

Nicky Valenzuela

Decided to come here for a change. The tickets to this movie theater are about the same as any of the others in the area (Regal, AMC, etc) but this theater doesn't have reclining seats like those ones do. The seats do rock, though, so that's a plus. The concessions seem to be a little bit cheaper than other theaters, though.

Keith Kidd

Clean, but some disrepair.

Bruce Cruz

It's ok. Finding parking spaces.

Flirtful x

best cinemas ever because i didn’t pay lol! i just entered went upstairs and watched a free movie love it

Melanie Clement

We liked the idea of old time cinema but the staff are not happy and the kids literally nothing to do if you go early and nowhere to sit and wait. Super boring really. Picking your own seat for any cinema was the best part. They don't embrace the one time feel nor the new.

Ram Krishna

Horrible service both at the ticket counter and also in the refreshments area. I WILL NEVER VISIT THIS THEATER AGAIN. @OWNERS: Go to cinemark or any other theater and see what good customer service is and how you should be talking to customers. I deeply regret my visit. Oh, by the way, the seats in the theater were horrible and in a dilapidated condition.

Marwah Zagzoug

Went to watch a movie with a friend. Good location, comfy seats, roomy theater. Clean restrooms. Nice place to catch a movie.

Tim Vickery

Pretty fancy!

William Roddy

Good theaters.

Ed Bruning

Paid the extra $3 to watch a movie in BFX, couldn't tell the difference. Theater was clean and seats were comfortable. I really like the pre-order seat selection.

Briana Tate

Unfortunately they won't be getting my money anytime soon. Went there and not only did i have to wait a good 5 minutes for the young girl to get her manager, she also gave me some extreme attitude while I was purchasing my tickets. I was charged an unnecessary $20 on my debit, and once the Manager came out to resolve the problem, she had TERRIBLE SERVICE! I mean Awful. Mind you, it was about 30 degrees out, pouring rain, and now i was late for my movie. I was conversing with my spouse, and I expressed how frustrated I was about how long and tedious this was. The manager tried to accuse me of having insufficient funds, which wasn't the case. After all was said and done, she told me to lose the attitude because she can do "whatever she wants" and that it's "not her problem that my card won't go through." WHAT?! I asked for a refund and went to Angelika films in Mosaic district. What kind of manager says that?? Definitely not a good one. I'd give them -5 stars if I could.

Jackie C

If you are going in to catch a quick movie this place will do the job. The real appeal to the theatre is the location. You got ice cream and restaurants galore. Super Fun if you want to spend a day walking the town center and catching a flick. If you are looking for more comfortable seats I recommend the AMC Worldgate down in Herndon but the quality and quantity of the food goes down so Bow Tie is my go to. Parking is definitely better in Reston as well. Definitely preorder your tickets so you can pick your seats. Overall I have fun at Bow Tie, so I recommend.

Doug Senger

Friendly staff, clean theater market pricing. Overall pleasant experience.

Taz Halabi

Expensive matinee. Overpriced food. Coffee cup lids not fitting. Escalator not working, cashier slow as hell

Nic Flint

I like to go see moved there

Jinny Clancy

Very positive I had a issue with my criterion card and the Manager Eric was able to fix it and took the time to confirm that my card was working correctly. I have been very pleased with staff. Always going the extra effort to please the customer.

Leo Ahnn

$7 Tuesdays! Good location with plenty of parking around (only blue and green garages can be validated by the theater, but there's free parking after certain times & on weekends). Snacks are overpriced, but that's expected. Sometimes can be understaffed relative to how many customers are present

Jacob Teets

Honestly just average best thing is that there's never any people nothing really special other than the great crew not gonna lie

Dorothy Thompson

Wonderful staff

Michael Tolbert

For such a prime location this theater needs to get its act together. On the Friday after The Last Jedi opened we came to find minimal staff along with trash and dirty tables in the public areas. We prepaid for our concessions but when I …

Julie Whitman

Worst movie theater ever, and management that doesn't care about customer service or customer experience. It must have been 80+ degrees in theater #2, and twice the manager said that "someone was coming to fix it". After 75 minutes NO ONE EVER FIXED the temperature in the theater, and they didn't offer to refund your money or offer free tickets to return. I would't recommend this theater to anyone, and won't be returning. Zero stars for the Bow Tie Cinemas in Reston Town Center :-( sadly you have to give at least 1 star or you can't post your review.

Anibal Santos

Not a bad theater. Good number of screens but seats don’t recline compared to other cinemas.

VICTOR Å

It was pricey and their food service was slow, just one person running the entire concessions.

Sean M

it was good and staff was good

Ed Robichaud

Enjoying Washington West filmfest

Burhan Zahid

Great theatre

A ML

Always such a quiet theater with fantastic service.

Mary Morrison

Nice theater in very nice downtown area.

Nathan Hunt

Very clean and great movie selection. They do serve wine and beer in the theater. It's great since its inside Town Center near all the bars and restaurants.

Mark Templer

Consistently helpful and friendly staff, lots of parking nearby. On the rare occasions when something has gone wrong (i.e., film projector does not work), they've always made extra efforts to fix things for us and compensate us.

Dana Moser

Cozy & clean atmosphere.Thoroughly enjoyed this place!!

Quentin Collier

Terrible service from the staff, bunch of kids waiting to go home and play ps4. My gf went up to concession stand and waited behind 4 employees just chatting until two minutes later they turned around and told her to go upstaIrs that they are closed. Tickets are almost $40 for the Imax, nothing special... Seating wasn't very comfortable, cup holders jammed. All around a disappoint. Go to Centerville or Ashburn starplex instead.

Uri Sperling

While watching Toy Story 4 the movie got stuck and then skipped a huge section in the middle, the crew didn't bother to rewind despite repeating requests by the audience and so we suddenly watched the end without the middle. What a spoiler that was. The crew member disappeared so there was no one to talk to. Now we have to watch it again knowing the beginning and the end. We were looking forward to watching this movie and the theater failed on every possible level.

Bruce Stark

Beautiful theater nice staff. I went with my company for veterans day for a private showing. Great theater very comfortable

Christopher Warren

Nothing special, but they do have beer.

Lori Abercrombie

Good theatre that it was the first time we've gone to. Parking wasn't specified on the website so I downloaded an app to park on the street. Here we came to find out they validate parking for the garage around the corner. Everything else was ok. Food and drink were expensive but no more than the other theatres. I didn't use the restroom to know how they were. The ticket machines kept breaking.

Jon F

I love this theater's concept of showing old movies as well the latest blockbusters. It's great seeing my favorites again on the big screen. My only issue with this place is that the interior looks dated and run down. The carpets are threadbare in places and the general feel is one of a building that is past its prime. The staff were very helpful when I had to get a refund for a movie, but they had to fight with old computer software that made the refund a hassle. An infrastructure update would do wonders for the theater and would earn a 5th star from me.

Keila Daniels

Amazing experience

Karla Lawson

Worst movie theater ever, and management that doesn't care about customer service or customer experience. It must have been 80+ degrees in theater #7, and twice I was told "someone was coming to fix it". I was told to solve it myself by propping the door open, which they said was not allowed. I decided to stop by the front desk after the movie was over in hopes of expanding the knowledge of the issues in the theater. After a dismissive front desk agent informed me that 'sometimes it gets hot in the theaters, I don't know what to tell you'. Followed by my requesting to speak with the theater manager, that the front desk agent chit chatted with for an extended period of time followed by a laugh. I was informed that at 10pm on a Sunday night the manager (identified as Brenda) was too busy to speak with us. Similar to a previous review there was no offer offer to refund our money or offer free tickets to return. I would't recommend this theater to anyone, and won't be returning. They get 1 star cause we were able to watch the movie although there were delays in the actual run of the movie. I would give Zero stars for the Bow Tie Cinemas in Reston Town Center for customer service but :-( sadly you have to give at least 1 star or you can't post your review. The sad part was that I was able to use the foundation of a previous review (3 weeks ago) to write mine, which makes this an emerging pattern that needs to be addressed immediately. It is sad to see core Reston establishments decline.

Michelle Corona-Allen

The food was extremely unpleasant. Staff was friendly but inexperienced. The seats weren’t as comfortable as expected. The best part was being in a large theatre with only 3 others.

Jerry Achtermann

Only place that had open seats for the new Star Wars film, which made it look shady. Happy to report that there is nothing illegal or disturbing going on.

glenn ga

nice theater, very clean, friendly staff.

Declan Rosdahl

Air conditioning not working on a Friday night of a premiere weekend for a big movie. Offered to refund if we got up before it started, or to give us some left over seats for a later show. Appreciated, but when you say it will be fixed in 30m and I’m still sweating sitting in my seat over an hour into it and can’t get a refund anymore, that’s not cool.

Ike Budo

Seating is comfy and theater is ok. The previews start late and then the preview is interrupted so the movie staff can hit everyone up for a charity donation. They ask for charity donations when you buy a ticket, ask when you get a snack and than again during the previews? I was surprised they didn’t have their buckets out when I used the bathroom. It’s a distraction. Won’t be going back.