I loved Bea’s of Bloomsbury before I’d even been there. A café that shows films is my idea of a perfect venue so to learn that Bea’s were putting on a Halloween night, I couldn’t wait to see what it was like! Craig and I had already been to a big Halloween event the previous Saturday at Scala which was incredible. There were 4 floors of different entertainment from bands, hair and make up, contortionists as well as a very impressive actress dressed up as Miss Haversham. A corner of a room was decorated to perfection as Miss Haversham’s work desk and she would creepily hover around girls and tell them to break their boyfriends hearts. She was also however giving out some rather delicious home made fruit bread/cake which compensated for her creepiness.

Scala was great for a night out to celebrate Halloween but as Halloween itself fell on a Thursday this year we wanted to do something fun but chilled and therefore watching a horror film at Bea’s sounded like the perfect recipe. I’d heard about Bea’s of Bloomsbury through a friend and have been meaning to go to one of their events for ages. If you look at their website you can read about all their up and coming exciting events from a thanksgiving feast to a screening of the amazing ‘Stand By Me’ http://www.beasofbloomsbury.com/events/ There are four Bea’s cafes located around London in St. Paul’s, Farringdon, Maltby Street and Bloomsbury. The film screenings are held at Matlby Street and this is where we watched Nightmare on Elm Street. We arrived at 7p.m and the cafe was almost packed to full capacity already but luckily we found two seats near the front. The cafe consists primarily of a big screen, some fold away chairs and behind the screen is a mini canteen where they serve chilli dogs, mac and cheese, deep fried brownies and duffins!

We opted for the chili dog and a beer and if I wasn’t so full I would’ve tried the brownie but I will just have to come back and try that at another screening. The chili dog was huge and the cheese on top tasted like sweet mash potato, it was delicious. The staff were all so warm and friendly and it really was such a fun evening watching Nightmare on Elm Street with 40 other people and realising just how much horror films have changed! I remember trying to watch Nightmare On Elm Street when I was about 15 and turning it off because I didn’t want to be freaked out however watching it ten years later, I couldn’t stop laughing. From the mother’s acting to the special effects and seeing Freddie Kreuger running with his huge gangley arms it was just priceless and it made it even better watching it with others who were laughing along too.

At one rare tense point in the film, the chairs that had been stacked on the side suddenly fell, crashing to the ground, causing quite a lot of people to literally jump out of their seats, but again it just added to the comic factor of the night.

I would definitely recommend Bea’s to others highly. With the film beginning at 7p.m it gives you enough time to get over there after work, grab a delicious bite to eat, watch a film and still have a good couple of hours to enjoy the rest of your evening. We had a lovely stroll along the river after, passing an Itsu where we managed to grab a bargain of a half price salad (this never happens as it closes at ten) and a few people dressed up for Halloween too.

Looking on their website I will definitely be coming back to try the American breakfast and will make another visit fir the afternoon tea. It’s only fair to try out all four locations, wouldn’t you agree?