Metro Cinema Brings Private Movie Nights and Chef-Led Menus to Chelsea

Source: Metro Cinema

Reported By: Matthew Kennedy

This summer, Metro Cinema is set to quietly revolutionize how New Yorkers experience film. Located at 131 8th Avenue in Chelsea, the new concept blends private screening rooms with chef-driven, multi-course meals for a fully immersive night out. It’s the latest venture from Tim League, the founder of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, who now brings his singular mix of cinema and storytelling to a more intimate, design-forward setting.

At Metro Cinema, you don’t just buy a ticket—you book the entire room. Each suite, accommodating 4 to 20 guests, offers the opportunity to screen any current film playing in Manhattan or a carefully curated cult classic. What unfolds next is part home theater fantasy, part fine dining experience.

Inside each suite, guests find plush loveseats, motorized recliners, and projection systems built for cinematic immersion. But the experience begins long before the lights dim. Upon arrival, guests are greeted by candlelit place settings and a pre-screening dinner that feels more like a private supper club than a movie theater meal.

The private room model eliminates every distraction—from trailers and long concession lines to loud strangers in neighboring seats. Instead, every element is tailored to the group’s preferences, giving the experience a distinct sense of ownership and ease.

Metro Cinema’s seasonal, garlic-forward tasting menu is a highlight unto itself. Each evening begins with an inventive lineup of shared starters: cheese and charcuterie with pickled scapes, a whole roasted head of garlic with grilled toast, chilled sopa de ajo with smoked almond and grape, and garlic whipped feta crostini with tomato jam and basil.

Main dishes include summer succotash with cowpeas in garlic broth, roasted rabbit with garlic scape chimichurri, seared scallops with black garlic purée and garlic scape pesto, and vegan-friendly options like chickpea-battered Romanesco with fermented romesco and kohlrabi with fennel and capers. For dessert: a black garlic torte with strawberry compote—surprising, savory, and utterly cinematic.

Menus are served family-style and often draw inspiration from the evening’s film selection, but the culinary identity remains rooted in seasonal storytelling and elevated comfort food. It’s not movie theater dining—it’s a multi-sensory dinner party that ends with a feature presentation.

Metro Cinema is not positioning itself as another dine-in theater. It’s a standalone destination for private entertainment—where food, film, and hospitality intersect. Whether booking a suite for a birthday celebration, a group screening, or a quiet night with friends, the experience delivers something rare in New York: intimacy without compromise.

The sleek design, high-tech comfort, and film-first approach make Metro Cinema feel like a natural evolution in luxury entertainment. And with no membership required, access to this premium experience is refreshingly democratic.

Metro Cinema opens in late summer 2025, with early reservations available by request. As private entertainment and chef-led experiences continue to shape the future of leisure in NYC, this Chelsea concept offers something fresh—where the movie may be the main event, but everything leading up to it feels like its own show.