Big Picture Theater & Cafe

This is by far our favorite place to eat in the Mad River Valley!! Great food, vibe, people, and prices. Just a fun place to have a wonderful meal. Love it!!!

Love this theater, such a great experience! Great food, drinks, service and the atmosphere is wonderful!

The most unexpected little gem in the area. We went for a movie and dinner. We tried several nice restaurants around, and this little theatre restaurant exceeded them. The sesame crusted salmon was amazing. I asked to replace the rice with asparagus. Everything was cooked to perfection. Warm atmosphere and friendly staff. The movie theatre itself was a nice surprise too with comfortable couches or regular theatre seats depending on what you prefer. All in all a delightful experience.

Delicious food (the haddock had a bit too much garlic but the maple chicken was amazing), friendly staff. If you're eating dinner, I suggest getting there at 5 latest if you want a table. Also, get a seat in the theatre ahead of time (15 minutes?) if it's a popular movie. You can bring food into the theatre, and the lights are on a bit so that you can see, but it's distracting to eat while trying to follow the movie.

Big Picture takeout is the best! Love the Tofu Satay. Wonderful flavors of peanut and ginger. Kale Caesar is also great.

Have always had positive experiences at Big Picture. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, movies- place is great. Welcoming, hardworking, very accommodating staff. Highly recommend!

Charming little restaurant and movie theater in town. Came here for dinner and a movie after a day of skiing and couldn't have been happier with our experience here. You can take your beers/food into the theater which makes it that much better! Will be back.

Came to the big picture on Monday night for dinner and the place was packed ! They had a great live band and we grabbed a drink at the bar while we waited for a table. Very friendly and quick service even though they were crazy busy! The food was a surprising delight, we had the bruschetta, kale Caesar & pear arugula salad with salmon- which was cooked to perfection! Love the atmosphere, we will be back !

In house made maple glazed doughnuts! Excellent!!! Coupled with good coffee. Quiet cafe off of 101. Primary focus is dinner so next time we will shoot for that next time. When we dropped in Oppenheimer and Blue Beetle was on the bill board.

This place offers varieities of simple food such as salad, sandwiches, nachos and pasta. We tried a few dishes. All of them were with decent quality but now wowing. The nacho and crab cake were my favourite among all, despite there was only one crab cake per order. The chicken sandwich was actually chicken burger. Chicken was a bit dry. Nothing too special about it. House salad wasn't very tasty. Pasta was okay. Overall the food was good but not great. Server was very nice.

Great place with excellent service and food. Pretty tasty cocktails as well. Sometimes it's busy but always worth the wait.

Good variety of menu options, beer and desserts. Kind staff and quick service. OK to bring food into theater!

Cute movie theatre with option to eat food while you watch. The food was ok, but the experience was even better

Love this place, especially for breakfast or dinner & a movie. My only complaint: make more cider donuts so I can still get one if I sleep in!

Enjoyed an evening out with hubby. We had great food and delicious specialty drinks. Very comfortable atmosphere and attentive staff.

food was good but service was slow and workers were very mean. theater is nice furniture was very comfy. all in all ok but not great

Great home cooked local food and great wait staff!! Best burger in town (add the egg do it!) and usually the best of everything else they offer! The beet salad and heirloom tomato appetizer are delicious as well. Taking dessert home. I love coming here for a meal when I come to town.

We've been coming here for years, and somehow have never written a review. This is a solid and reliable cafe/restaurant. We've definitely been here for all different meals, and it's always good. Great pre-movie dinner, or drinks. Service is great and super friendly. Definitely kid friendly too! Also, when it's warm, there is seating outside, so your dog can hangout with you.

We were traveling in Vermont and found this place - dinner and a movie! The movie portion is a rather simple two screen theater. It does not have all the fancy things of a modern theater, but no problem for me. The restaurant seating area is rather compact. There are two seating areas (I believe) near the door = no thank you especially on a cold evening. The service was adequate, more forgettable. They waitress did her thing and made sure that the food was placed, came out as ordered, and was correct as ordered. The menu is decent and you probably will find something for yourself. The food choices are not overwhelming, but it was tough to pinpoint what I wanted. Overall, I would say this place was forgettable. It was not a bad nor exceptional spot. What they have going for them are two things: the are not too many places around town and it is a movie theater. Four stars by a thin margin.

Love the concept of connecting the theater to a restaurant and having good food options for a movie visit including Vermont beers. Service is friendly and fast. The breakfast was just ok. Had steak and eggs and the ubiquitous so-so Vermont coffee company coffee. My wife had a crab cake sandwich - solid but not spectacular. Sadly no donuts available today - they are known for them. Perhaps I'll try one another time.

Fun, fun, fun. A great place for food, beverages and a movie. Oh, and did I mention delicious Donuts!!

This is the place to go to eat and drink while your kids go to the movies. Love the burger, with beef sourced from a local farm. And the desserts are to die for!

Food and service are always great. I had the wontons and a burger and beer, which were all delish!

Very good burgers and desserts! Friendly service and if you want to see a movie, it is attached to a movie theater.

We had a pleasant experience at Big Picture! The food was very good, the coffee was great, and all the people working at the restaurant were friendly. We did have a significant wait (30 minutes) given the size of the restaurant, but there is room in the restaurant to wait and drink coffee. Given its location close to sugarbush, I will be back! I'm glad to have found another solid place in town.

Gone downhill and doesnt look like its pulling out of it. With its stupid boring movies series that run at times during the year to the terribly uncomfortable seating and terrible sound system

The brunch menu and food is great but the staff is harried. 5 adults and 1 toddler came for brunch last Sunday, all in all I'd come back but only if I had a ton of time to spare. It was a gorgeous day and when we arrived a couple people were sitting outside. I think they were short staffed. There were empty tables and a ton of people behind us waiting to be seated--we had to flag someone down to welcome us to the restaurant and get seated. We ordered a couple cocktails and coffees. One of the cocktails came back totally wrong and then it turned out they were out of the ingredients to make it. The bloody Mary's were super spicy so let them know if you're more of a mild person! I had a maple latte and I really really liked it. Sweet and different in a Vermonty kind of way! We asked for doughnuts but they don't have them on Sunday's, too bad! For brunch we got: An egg sandwich-deemed good by the girl who had it 1 huevos ranchero--looked good to me 2 Migas--mine was awesome, my friends didn't have tortillas scrambled in but she didn't want to wait so just left it as it was. Didn't come with salsa so we both got a side of it. I can't remember the name of the last omlet but it had spinach, tomatoes, and feta. My grind seemed to like it. The ingredients were really fresh and great, just wished they hit the nail on the head for everything. Service was incredibly slow. Like, 20 mins to sit down (to open tables), 25 mins to order, 15 to get drinks and my drink was gone by the time the food came around. We had to flag someone down for the check and ended up sending the toddler to the playground bc she was so ready to leave by the time we finally signed the check and got out of there. One of the waitresses was super nice and friendly (if slow). She was young and blonde but I don't remember her name. The other one was just obviously over burdened. I felt bad for her she looked so unhappy and wasn't welcoming because you could tell her mind was on how overwhelmed she was. Too bad! If they hired more staff I'm sure they could cycle people in and out more quickly and make more $$!

Quaint little restaurant hidden behind a construction site. First the plusses...the blueberry pancakes were big and tasty...the toast was delicious. Now the rest...at no time were there ever more than 18 people in the restaurant...some ordering, some eating, some paying the check...and although the waitress took our order promptly the kitchen took forever for our food to get out. The cheese omelet was tasteless, and they charged $3 for the tiniest 2 sausages ever. The reason they had that many people must have been because there is nothing else around!

Staff is great. Food remains fantastic. Ditto the drinks. No pizza- disregard that from prior review. My one complaint remains that the outdoor space is pretty unappealing In some spots. One or two small areas need some sort of greenery / screen / landscaping. It would be pretty cheap to do and make ALL the difference in ambiance. No one wants to see dumpsters and a dusty parking lot while eating a meal.

Great coffee, great music, fresh food. What else can you ask for. Homemade dounuts and french toast was excellent. What a concept of using the space of a movie theater for a restaurant. Love it.

All I can say is, eat here. So good. My wife said her lox sandwich was the best breakfast sandwich she's ever had. The donuts are wonderful. I also had a cheese omelet which admittedly, was sort of of tasteless, but a cheese omelet by its own nature tastes like eggs and cheese, never bursting with flavor. But it was a great cheese omelet if that's what you're into, which I am. The atmosphere and service would bring me back if even if the food wasn't good, but the food is really good! So I guess eat here isn't all I could say, but seriously, eat here.

Everything we had here was amazing and our server was so friendly/helpful and great at her job! Will definitely be coming back next time we're in town. TRY THE DONUTS OMG.

Wonderful breakfast (Huevos Rancheros - spicy) and the server (Heidi) was amazingly friendly and helpful. Great coffee too. Can't say enough positive about our experience here!

Coming directly from the Waterbury train station, a friend and I were able to catch the second half of local legends Bruce Sklar and Jeremy Hill's jazz duo over dinner. Because we arrived after 8, we were limited to ordering from the bistro menu, but there were nonetheless several tasty options from which to choose. Selecting the Vermont black bean burger with a side salad, it was perhaps the best black bean burger I've had. Handmade and flavorful, it was a complete 180 from your run-of-the-mill variety. I paired it with a perfectly crafted blend of bourbon, fresh lemon, and maple syrup, which hit the spot after a day on the train. The service was friendly, but don't expect it to be seamless, especially if they are busy. Since we were among the last to leave, we were offered free maple doughnuts to go, which we had for breakfast the following morning. They were delicious! Tripling as a cafe, bar, and theatre, Big Picture is a truly unique space, full of good eats and entertainment. I'm glad I got the chance to go!

I can't believe I am only just reviewing now, we eat here at least twice a week now for breakfast since moving to the area. The maple doughnuts are out of this world, I'm drooling just thinking about them. The waitresses are beyond sweet and kind, I don't think there are nicer people in all of the Valley. I've eaten probably half of what's on the menu and I've liked everything. They cook eggs PERFECTLY. They do jazz brunches which are cool, and they have a nice cute outdoor eating area, and a little playground on the side, so you really can't go wrong for a good family breakfast. This is definitely my #1 choice for breakfast with Toast & Eggs a close second especially when Big Picture is busy.

I've been coming here for almost ten years and love this place so much. The food is always amazing and menu changes too. I can't leave out the donuts, they are one of a kind and 1 is never enough:) Oh yeah, did I mention drinking a Lawson's while watching independent films?!!! Yup, that too.

One of the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. So fresh. Light. Delicious. Also had mind-blowingly delicious chocolate chip pancakes. **don't be fooled by the fact that this place is next to a theatre OR by the strange looking building - it's fantastic **

Two notes. 1. Do not try to get take out coffee or take out anything here on the weekends, they don't really have anyone manning the cash register and we really felt like an inconvenience just trying to get coffee. 2. No donuts on Sundays.

I've been here a few times, but only on weekends for breakfast or brunch. We've sat outside in nice weather and inside during the winter. Service has been fine. The menu is very good, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the offerings. The cafe is kind of eclectic with old pictures, movie theme items, old time soda fountain memorabilia. I've heard the donuts are very good, but I've never had one. They have jazz on some weekends, I think it's the first weekend of the month. Will continue coming here.

I'm visiting and this place was absolutely amazing from the scenery to the amazing food to out standing service I definitely will come back as well as recommend this place

So glad they reopened and made it through the depths of the pandemic. What's not to like about The Big Picture. Great staff, excellent food, fantastic service, great bar and mixed drink selections. They serve local meat and vegetarian options. The desserts are also excellent. Try the apple cider donut bread pudding if they have it. The entire staff are attentive and friendly. They even brought out water for the doggos. Did I also mention it's a movie theater?

Came here for breakfast with a couple of family members. The breakfast menu seemed a little repetitive with each dish including eggs, cheese and one interchangeable ingredient. I think more variety is needed. I had a latte macchiato which had way too much foam in it for the price but was still good nonetheless. I ordered the egg slider with ham and home fries. The egg slider was delicious, I added salt, pepper and sriracha though. The home fries were dry and kind of flavorless. The main reason for the 2 star review is the horrendous thing that I heard come out of the owner/managers mouth. When closing another table she exclaims loudly, "these people didn't sign their receipts.....put 20% on because their idiots" I couldn't believe it???? Is that even legal to do and is that really how you talk about your customers? My entire table heard her say it and couldn't get over it while we finished our breakfast. We made sure we signed our receipts and got out of there.

Ho. Jeez. Big Picture Cafe may have dethroned Canter's as the best breakfast I've ever had. Srsly. Ambiance: Americana diner with the smattering of an artistic/indie/foodie vibe. Comfortable, like your grandpa's farmhouse kitchen or the lodge's common room. Haven't been inside the theater, but can imagine it's very intimate and nostalgic. Staff: our waitress was pleasant and prompt. There were several other employees working the cafe and the counter was never unmanned. Food: I ordered the Classic (two eggs, homefries, toast and I added bacon) for $9.50. My boyfriend ordered the Breakfast Burrito for $7.50. I'd ordered poached eggs but they came out overeasy, fine by me; they were the most creamy and rich eggs I've EVER had. I don't know whether they're farm-raised, free-range, organic eggs from Mars, but they were amazing. The potatoes stole the show, perfectly seasoned with a nice toothsome texture. The toast I opted for was their Honey Oat (drool)... I could eat a whole loaf of that. The bacon was definitely smoked before it was fried, and was not quite "bacon" as traditionally expected, more like thin sliced smoked ham. Needless to say, my boyfriend was jealous of my plate, which I practically licked clean. Price: I would gladly pay $9.50 for my meal again and again. And I WILL be back for lunch, dinner, tapas, drinks, a movie... Family and friends, please plan on coming to Big Picture Cafe for any future celebratory events: weddings, baby showers, birthdays, Christmas... and if I die, please hold my wake at Big Picture Theater and Cafe. It's not creepy, I swear!

We spend about a month in Warren, VT each year and several times each week we eat at the Big Picture. Excellent food and service. They have gluten free rolls for the hamburgers if requested. Really good quality beef. They are famous for their little homemade donuts which I can't eat because of the gluten. I am told they are excellent. Fresh farm to table food. The service has always been spot on. It must be a good place to work also. The staff has been consistent over the years. Our "go to" spot in this area.

I travel all over the U.S. for work and I am kind of a foodie. This place was great! Fresh local ingredients, good coffee and nice staff. I am from Portland Oregon and the food tasted like it was from the northwest, sure enough the chef owned a restaurant in Portland for sometime. This place it a must go for breakfast!

It's minus 15 outside and it's warm in here and the coffee is good and the donuts (5 this time) are worth coming in for. And then there's the wait staff. Haven't gotten her name but she is way more pleasant than anyone should be at this time of day with it being that cold. I'm sitting in one of the cantilevered chairs in the corner with hours till my wife is out of her meeting. She brought over a glass of water AND refilled my coffee AND asked if I would like her to bring over cream and sugar. Mind you, the coffee is self serve and where I'm sitting is not in the restaurant proper. And it is certainly not slow in here. I can't speak for the world, not even this little bit of it, here in Vermont, but my life could greatly benefit from there being more places like this.

Very cute place. Nice selection of freshly made foods. I had a yummy turkey melt sandwich with garlic oil dressing. Very delicious and big! Salad was very good too. For dessert a nice slice of carrot cake. Very flavorful and not too sweet, just nice with a cup of coffee!

Great selection and quality. Employees are super duper!

My wife and I have frequented the Big Pic for several years, and always appreciated the mission behind the food, and the fresh ingredients, even if the service has typically been spotty. Had dinner with friends tonight and was surprised to find a new, and much more narrow menu that lacks the attention to fresh, local ingredients that has defined the establishment for the past several years. My wife had the "vegetable medley" which was basically an overlooked bowl of boiled vegetables with a poached egg on top. For $17 it was a big disappointment. I had the ceasar salad with grilled chicken. The chicken was good, but the ceasar dressing was very bland and they seemed to try to make up for it by dumping a ton of Parmesan cheese on top. Very disappointed to see a community gathering place take such a wrong turn into culinary mediocrity and hope they can reverse course.

The tofu satay was hands down the best food I have ever eaten.. Breaded tofu, fried rice cake and sautéed spiral kale in garlic and olive oil, all sitting on a spicy sweet peanut sauce DELICIOUS. We did not see a movie, but definitely will be back to eat more food and watch a movie :) the owner also was very knowledgeable on beer and very kind, friendly, and aware of everything.

My wife and I came here for breakfast today. I had one of the best veggie omelettes. My wife had scrambled eggs with spinach and feta. Excellent! We both enjoyed our breakfast. The waitress was excellent. Thank you to her for coming out to my car with my cell phone which I left on the table. I would definitely come back and I highly recommend this place

Very cute cafe with good coffee and great pastries. The maple glazed donuts are delicious. The guys had beers on the lawn, sitting in Adirondack chairs while we shopped for jewelry at a tent sale in the parking lot. It was just the ticket for our Sunday afternoon.

This place gets a most improved award. Last year I came here quite a few times, very excited after management changed and htey added the restaurant - really cool layout and vibe. But the servers were constantly flustered, rude, and so un-Vermont. Flash forward 12 months and I have been to this place about 5 times this ski season, and it is night and day. They seem to have gotten rid of the unfriendly, frazzled waitstaff and replaced them with the lovely people of Waitsfield I've come to know and love. So laid-back and chill. I adore this place. Also, everything on the menu is really good (that hasn't changed, it was good before). The breakfast burrito, dumplings, salads, burger, fish wrap - I have not been disappointed here. Not to mention the cutest movie theater of time. Loveseats, sofas, and never full of course. Not to mention that there's Vermont butter on the popcorn and you can bring your alcoholic beverage (or meal for that matter) into the theater. I do not like donuts, but they also make them here. I love VT!

Garbage. Girlfriend had the breakfast burrito, already overpriced, and chose to add sausage - another three bucks. The waitress herself suggested this. No sausage in burrito. Not a sliver. I had eggs, home fries and toast. Home fries undercooked, everything cold. Bread was quite good, however. Asked for refill of coffee and it took a good fifteen minutes. And this illustrates the general quality of service - lazy, in a word. The girls are all young and hip, obviously a mix of first waiting gig and side-job. For what they're charging, they ought to have a little more hustle, at least. Not only can't recommend this place, I actively dissuade you from wasting your money. Try the Rochester Cafe instead.

Frickin ridiculously good. I love the way this place is decorated too...They seem to do a good job with every meal.... I don't even like donuts, but you MUST try the donuts here. So good. And the brunch- so fresh... and the grilled cheese ....I've yet to have something there that I didn't love. Plus, you can chill with a bevie too. We actually had our rehearsal dinner here too, and they did an AMAZING job with everything- I think it was the best veggie lasagna I've ever had in my life. While the planning process was a little bit tough as far as nailing things down, they made the event awesome. We rented out the big theatre and had about 80 or so people. It was so fun to have a kind of movie theme, use the big screen for a slideshow, and have a bonfire too. GREAT place to host an event, with GREAT food.

We were so happy to have found this spot for lunch on our way to hike the Long Trail. Two of us had crab cake sandwhiches which were very good, my husband loved his BLT and my mother-in-law described her beet salad as 'excellent'. We finished the meal with maple donuts, a whoopie pie and chocolate chip cookie. Everything was great but the donuts were outstanding!! Will definitely come back if we are ever in the Mad River Valley again!

This place is so awesome. My husband and I ate here for dinner last October and had one of the best meals we have ever eaten. Not only is a movie theater/restaurant/bakery an AWESOME concept, but the menu is even more impressive AND afforable! Lots of local, organic, vegeterian and vegan options as well as non-veg options for meat eaters. I had a delicious dish that had grilled shrimp kebabs, rice, pineapple salsa, salad and guacamole. It was so delicious I wanted to ask for the recipe, but I know part of it was that the food was SO fresh- they had a garden right on the property where they grew the veggies! My husband had a burger that he said was one of the best burgers he has had. The wine I had was also delicious, chosen off an extensive wine list. The service was friendly. The desserts all looked so amazing it was hard to choose, but we had a caramel apple cake/ pie (not sure which, this was several months ago, but I do remember it being delicious!). We took the dessert and wine into the theater with us. We saw the movie "The Help" which was a really great film. We had such a great experience at The Big Picture Theater and Cafe that we are planning another trip to Waitsfield soon just so we can go back! The breakfast menu looks great with lots of vegeterian and vegan options, we hope to get there for breakfast next time.