206 Kings Road,
Chelsea,
London,
SW3 5XP
0872 148 1132
The ViewLondon Review
Four out of
fiveStandard ticket price and discounts: First showing £5 every day, all seats (£3 concessions), all other showings £7, Pullman seats £8
Capacity: Screen One (713)
Facilities: concession stand, bar, selection of arthouse videos to buy
Type of film shown: Arthouse
Special Features: Pullman seats
The Chelsea Cinema is one of the nicest arthouse cinemas in London.
However, it’s also perhaps the worst placed in terms of tube access, as it’s a good ten minute walk from either Sloane Square or South Kensington. In other words, it’s not a place to decide to go to at the last minute, although it’s well worth having made the trip once you’re there.
The Chelsea scores highly in two main areas. Firstly, the size of the screen – after the relatively small screens of the Renoir, the Metro and the Curzon Soho, not to mention the positively tiny screens of the Odeon Wardour Street, it’s an absolute delight to see an arthouse film on a screen this size and the sound system is excellent, too.
Secondly, the seats are extremely comfortable. Arrive early and bag yourself a special Pullman seat (rows F and G) for double the leg-room – it’s like sitting in a large armchair. Sight-lines are also good, owing to the height of the screen and the slope of the seating.
Despite only having the one screen, the Chelsea puts it to good use – they show predominantly arthouse fare and you can usually rely on the week’s big arthouse release opening there. Like the Renoir, they also have the pleasing habit of posting a number of newspaper reviews up outside the cinema for you to argue over afterwards.
The bar facilities are merely adequate and the bar area consists of a single elongated sofa against the wall – however, there’s a decent pub right next door to the cinema, something other cinema-owners would do well to bear in mind…