Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Littleton

Bars & Breweries

4.5(4257 reviews)

The take

The Aspen Grove location of the Austin-born movie chain that bans phone use during films and brings burgers to your seat. Worth the premium over a normal AMC if you actually want to watch the movie. Worth less if you don't care about no-talking enforcement.

Why it's here

Alamo Drafthouse opened the Littleton location in 2014 at 7301 S Santa Fe in Aspen Grove, a 12-minute drive from Highlands Ranch and 25 from Castle Rock. It's one of about 40 Alamo locations nationally and shares the same operating concept across all of them: nine reclining seats per row with little tables in front, a written-down food and drink menu, table service brought to your seat by ducking attendants during the film, and a strictly enforced no-talking, no-phone-use policy where the staff will actually warn you and then eject you for repeated violations.

The food does what it needs to: pizzas, salads, burgers, sandwiches, brunch items on weekend mornings, milkshakes (boozy and not), an extensive Colorado craft-beer list on draft. None of it is destination dining, but for a movie meal it lands well above what you'd get at AMC, and the beer list alone (rotating Colorado-only taps, several rare bottles in the cooler) puts this above any other movie theater in the metro. Pre-show entertainment is a real value-add: themed clip reels, music videos, and trailers that run 20-30 minutes before the actual ad block, often tied to whatever movie you're seeing.

The TripAdvisor and Yelp scores (3.7 / 4.5) hide a real bimodal split: people who came for the no-distractions movie experience love it, people who didn't expect to be told to put their phone away leave one-star reviews. Know which camp you're in before booking. If you have kids who can't sit still or a friend who texts through movies, this is not your venue.

Know before you go

Go for

•Original-format screenings (35mm, 70mm) when they pop up; check the calendar
•Movie Parties (singalongs, themed events with menu tie-ins)
•Boozy milkshakes during the second act
•Summer kid-movie matinees (lower volume, more lenient noise policy)

Timing

Doors open 30 minutes before showtime; arrive at door-open to order food before the movie starts (kitchen gets backed up if you order during the trailers). Friday evenings and opening weekends fill 70% of seats. Weekday afternoons are nearly empty.

Pro tip

Order food and at least one drink before the lights drop. The order card is on your table; raise it with the server-call light when you're ready. Trying to order during the movie means the kitchen sends out food after Act 2 instead of during Act 1, and you'll get caught half-eating during the climax.

Skip / heads up

If you're sensitive to ambient noise of plates and servers, sit in the back third of the theater (less foot traffic). Phone-out warnings are fast and not negotiable; the second offense is an ejection without refund. The brunch menu only runs on Saturday and Sunday morning showtimes.

By Nathan Boesen