We visited for a company dinner with ~10 people on a Tuesday night. I guess it's a kid-oriented place but they try to give it an adult slant with the alcohol service, "roman orgy" menu item, etc. That said, this adult would probably not come here again.
Problems my group experienced:
1) Chairs in waiting area are old, musty and smelly.
2) Restaurant was freezing cold. We had to ask multiple times for a manager to turn it down.
3) Tables are randomly terrible: original one was a broken old kitchen table with a sagging end.
4) No water brought until mid-way through the meal, and by request only.
5) Cheese sticks are out of a box.
6) Food in general was not great.
This was comically bad. Our server Captain Jack was the only redeeming quality of this place.
If you have young children, consider this as an experience for them and them alone. They will love it.
I'm not impressed by the food here. They have very interesting and busy decor. It almost feels muggy and musky every time I come here, which I'm not a fan of it. Some of the servers aren't friendly at all but maybe they're just trying to act like their characters. //shrug// I can see it may be fun for kids..but if you don't have kids in your party, maybe you want to consider other options...
Review Source:This spot is another tried and true birthday spot for me. And yes, I am 26 years old.
I just happen to like costumed characters, ok? Do with that information what you must.
So yeah, the characters are great. Lots of fun and usually on point.
The decor? Its just as fun but starting to get a little musty :/ I think they could use a major scrub down.
The food ................. is hit or miss.
Honestly, I've never been blown away by their food, but then again, its just typical American fare. I think their draw is the decor/characters.
I got a drink (magic stew, I think?) and it was ok. Very sugary, blah.
Best part? They have a totally rad cartoonist in the front :) He's awesome.
yep.
I read the reviews for the this place. Some good - some bad. It is certainly for kids - and particularly kids from 6-12. My 3 year olds were bored silly. The first time we went it was fun - but that was because our waiter was fantastic. The second time we were seated with a new cast member that was not exactly with it. Course, its hard to make Cinderella fun...
The food - I won't wipe my arse with the chopped steak. The Shrimp Poppers where frozen and fried. They looked, smelled, and tasted very nasty. I wouldn't recommend this place really to anyone except maybe parents who are so sick with disney characters that they want to see them chained to the restaurant wait staff and forced to do labor.
Seriously thought, don't go for the food. The bum on the street gets better food then what they served to us. If you go for the experience, just be for warned that it really depends on who you get and what you make of it.
Its for kids but I had to check it out anyway. I will go back but with the kids. I like all the quirkiness about it and the old stuff in there, They service was good and they all had a different spill to introduce the salad bar. Some say it looks old but I thin it is supposed to. I thought so because of the name.
Review Source:DO NOT EXPECT A MAGIC EXPERIENCE
We arrived at 12:30pm on Saturday.
WAIT AREA - DIRTY. Old chairs, bench and day bed. Filthy, old, dirty, smells. The restaurant still had many empty tables but we, 3 people, waited for 20 mins to be seated.
MORE WAIT - Seated and waited for another 5-10 mins before our server showed up. We were able to order appetizer, drinks and entrees all at once, then we waited for 30-40 minutes to finally have our appetizer....
ENVIRONMENT - Each table/group is well divided in different themed corners. It feels pretty tight but you don't need to be seated next to some strangers. Booth bench was old, decor was old and uncleaned. My son touched the top of the booth and had thick dust on his fingers. Restaurant was dark, well, light enough for you to see everything above the table but it's pitch dark under the table.
SERVER - They all dressed up in customes. Some are well notices and some aren't. Friendly, but it took forever to see a server.
FOOD - Not very good. Just eatable. Our appetizer potato skin was over cooked. They were hard to chew threw. Grilled chicken (Southwest chicken) was dry and hard inside out. Pork was the same and very chewy.
DISAPPOINTMENT - We understand that each restaurant is focus on different things. Some are good at food, some are good at its atmospher. This place has so much protential but it failed. It failed on the cleaness and food. The worst part is that we were there to try it for the first time to see if we could hold our kid's birthday party there. NO NO. There was totally NO CONNECTION between guests and servers. While waiting, no character came to greet us or take pictures with us. SERVERS DRESSED UP, SO WHAT? That's exactly what we thought. Thinking about all the Disney dinning experience, or theater dining experience, servers serve guests and there are others just to greet and make guests happy to come back to have fun again. We had no fun there. In fact, we were bored. My preschooler was so bored that he wanted to leave in the middle of the lunch.
MUSIC - A place like this.... and the background music was The Girl From Ipanema?? What is that about?!
We are not going back again.
I confess, the last time I ate here was in January of 2012. I feel the need to rate and review this restaurant because of all the negative reviews. Some of these reviewers (and I'll probably get hate replies, but I don't care. I can post pics to prove my point.) need to know the difference between "old restaurant" and "filthy restaurant."
This restaurant is actually an old school house that was converted into a restaurant in the 70s. You can tell it was once a school by the bricked-up windows, old elevator, the corridors, and the rooms still resemble old classrooms.
Yes, the salad bar is an old, hollowed out, 1920s car. The car has been cleaned out, remodeled and is perfectly safe and sanitary to use as a salad bar. To the gentleman who complained that it was against health code violations, it isn't. They have their health code certificates posted on the wall. Just ask a waiter to point them out if you cannot see them.
You can tell the restaurant is old because of the dim lighting, vintage walls and antiques. I apologize if half of you people who give this restaurant 1-star reviews cannot stand old buildings. This restaurant reminds me of an old Victorian home that was remodeled into a restaurant.
The waiters are nice and always into character. The last time I went I was given Peter Pan. The waiter was extremely happy, and toward the end of our meal he 'dropped character' and talked to us. He told us about his job because a friend of mine asked how to get a job here. He was nice and extremely helpful.
Upstairs has been converted into lounge and bar. There is also an arcade and pool hall. The lights are dim. There is a full bar, dancing (on some nights) and karaoke. As you walk down the stairs, there is a full length mirror on the ceiling and walls.
I can also see why some people think this restaurant is good for a first visit, and seems lo 'loose it's charm' as you come back. You know what to expect. You know what the characters are about to say. You know the menu. Of course the 'magic' is lost. But, I personally don't care. I love this place, I love the staff, and I love the freakin' salad cart car! And, I love the bubbly drinks!!! 10 Stars! Bring the kids, they will appreciate the characters.
We just ate at the Magic Time Machine yesterday for my son's 1st birthday. There were six of us. My husband (43), myself (32), my daughter (12), and my 3 sons (9, 6, 1). Â Before going I had read many reviews of the restaurant and wasn't quite sure if this was a place we wanted to go. It gets so many bad reviews, but the more bad reviews we read the more intrigued my husband and I were to go. Â
We arrived at approximately 5:00pm on a Sunday evening. The place wasn't very busy and we were immediately seated under the carousel. Superman was our server. His costume was very well done (not cheap like other reviews suggested) and he stayed in character the entire evening. The place is decorated with antiques and it is old. But it was very clean. We actually loved how this was a unique older place and not some new trendy cookie cutter restaurant. (THERE WAS NO FUNKY MUSTY SMELL in the restaurant. However the elevator did have that smell.)
Our kids each ordered one of the bubbling drinks in a different color. My husband had a beer and I had a soda. We skipped appetizers and ordered our food. My husband had chicken parm. I had Superman's Pasta (pasta alfredo with spinach and artichokes). My daughter had the young adults Buffalo Chicken Tenders, my son had the young adults Brisket. My six year old son had Chicken Tenders off the children's menu. Â (The baby just had off of our plates).
After ordering we had our trip to the side car. Superman told us even the baby got a trip there without us ordering him a full meal. The salad car was sufficient. All of your traditional salad bar items. Â The baby and I personally loved their house cheese croutons.
Our food arrived rather quickly and the portions were very decent for the price. My husband's chicken parm wasn't traditional chicken parm. It was not breaded, rather grilled chicken. But he said it was very good. Â My son tasted my Superman's Pasta and wanted to trade me his brisket. So at first we traded and then he tasted the brisket and wanted to trade back. He loved both dishes. I thought they both were good. Both chicken tender dishes were very good as well. My husband was the only one to finish his meal. My kids had at least 1/2 their food left. I didn't force them to finish because we all wanted to leave room for dessert. After all we were there to celebrate my babies birthday.
We ordered a brownie sunday (with 4 scoops of ice cream) and an apple dazzle with cinnamon ice cream. The kids devoured the brownie dessert and my husband and I really enjoyed the apple dazzle.
Superman actually encouraged my kids to get up and walk around between courses to get autographs of the other characters in their autograph book/menu. My kids got everyone's autograph. There was Cinderella, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Austin Powers, GI Joe, Peter Pan, and a few others I don't remember. Â After eating my husband and I walked around with the kids and checked out the entire place. It was very neat. I personally loved how it was decorated to be cool for the kids but they did it in a way that they could get around licensing. I think it's good to step outside of the box and not be overloaded with corporate America. This place did a nice job of keeping true to the characters but just enough twists that made it their own.
We went upstairs and checked out the bar area. It was empty on a Sunday evening but very cool antique furniture up there. I wouldn't mind hanging out there with my husband for some adult time.
Our bill came to around $90 and of course we left a decent tip that put us over the $100 I anticipated to spend here. Â I can't believe the reviews that say how pricey this place is. Yes, their steaks are $20-$30. I'm a steak snob and I didn't want to be disappointed so I went for a pasta dish. My dish was $14 I believe. The prices were very very comparable to Chili's or Applebee's. The quality of the food was not "Oh my God, the best I've ever eaten" but it was definitely on par with Applebee's if not just slightly better.
I give this place 5 stars because for the price you won't find a better meal WITH entertainment in DFW. All of my kids enjoyed it, from my 12 yr old to the baby. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Even though it is about a 100 mile drive for us I can definitely see us returning in the future.
Went to celebrate a friends surprise birthday last night!! When I arrived, there were many people just wandering around waiting to be seated. Â I saw a few girls from our party and I was informed that they were told to wait until all of our party was there before they would seat us!!! Â We reserved the private party room, so what was that about?? Â We were seated about 10 minutes before the birthday girl arrived. Â I was not very impressed with the decor-old, dark and dreary, it actually looked dirty too! For a group of 20 people, we had 1 server. Â Our party started at 7:30pm and we did not get our food until 8:30pm. Â Yes, we were able to get salad at the salad bar, but most of the items there, besides the lettuce, looked scary!!! Â Not a lot of variety in the salad bar, they did have 4 creamy dressings and vinegar and oil to choose from.
The consensus from most of our group about their meals wasn't very good!! I had blackened catfish, which was just OK, although there were alot of veggies under the fish, one girl actually refused to eat her meal and they did take it off the bill! When it came time to cut the cake (which we brought), we had no one to help cut and serve and had to wait on our 1 waiter (who was Superman and not a good one either-cracking kiddy jokes every 5 minutes), to bring forks and some were very dirty!!!! Â I was very disappointed, I was really looking forward to a good meal, but this place needs a complete overhaul!!! Sorry to say, I will not be back!!
This place is the best restaurant ever to take kids.  Don't get me wrong, adults have fun too.  But kids are obviously the center-point for this type of idea.  Whoever thought of this was the most intelligent person ever! lol  We've been several times and have a different experience each time.  The first time we went our server was Sheriff Woody from Toy Story.  He was absolutely fabulous.  We've participated in the balloon animals, funny pictures, and caricature paintings (on the spot) the restaurant offers all for an extra fee, of course!  It was money well spent in my opinion!  We love the characters, the different themes, the fun of it all.  We will be a repeat customer for life!
Review Source:Goodness, what a great place!  Each corner has some sort of theme (Christmas, Renaissance, 70s, etc etc).  Fresh salad comes with the meal  This is a restaurant you can go visit again and again and never get bored.
Downstairs: family oriented and each corner is individually themed. Â The food is excellent and reasonably priced. Â The wait staff are all very friendly and dressed/act to their character. Â
Upstairs: adult environment, live music, and bar.
Wow , first time trying this place out and it was really neat. Â There were a bunch of people dining when I was there yet their service was pretty awesome and the food was also tasty. Â I wish I could have come to this place when I was a child, though. Â It would have been really really really really awesome and fascinating. Â So you folks with children please come in and share the experience with your little one(s)!!
Review Source:Took my daughters here for my youngest daughter's 5th birthday. They absolutely loved it, we got the character Alice from Alice in wonderland. Â She was cute and very nice. I would hate to have a job like that, but anyways the kids will love it.
Food - was just so so, lacked flavor. I think I enjoyed the soup and salad bar more then my actual food which was the seafood linguini. My mom had the ribs, also blend, dry, and flavorless.
atmosphere- very nice, would just come here for that.
price-ridiculous, over priced, wouldn't mind paying that much for really good food. Â I think my total bill came out to around $70 for 2 adults and 2 kids.
This isn't your average restaurant. Zany? Yes. Delicious? Yes. Novelty? Oh you bet.
The Magic Time Machine is hard to miss, nestled right next to Hooters in what used to be the Addison school house about a hundred years ago. Upon entry, you are immediately greeted by a lobby that looks (and smells) like that once grand Victorian mansion that is now dark, musty, and decorated like an English gentleman's study sprinkled with his lady's favorite fainting couches.
But never fear! Just around the corner the fun begins. Beyond the check in desk there is a school bus protruding out of the wall, an artist offering outrageous caricatures, and a slew of tables that never look the same twice. You and your family will be delighted to dine in a tee-pee, or a crayon box, or even a library or a pumpkin. But the fun doesn't end there! Who will be your server this evening? If not Superman, then perhaps Jack Sparrow, Tinkerbell, or your favorite Hogwarts students. Fun times.
This restaurant is incredibly kid-friendly. From the balloon animals and caricatures to collecting all the server's character autographs, the little tikes will more than likely experience a sensory overload of awesome as if you took them to the carnival and Sea World all within the same day. Doubtful that they will be bored or restless at any point in their time at this restaurant, and for your sake, thankfully distracted.
And of course Magic Time Machine has some adult-friendly benefits as well. There is a full bar upstairs that the childless diners can elect to visit should they not be a fan of little ones running about, and the food menu is pretty enjoyable, albeit a bit pricey. Even though the menu isn't as expansive as your average Chili's-esque eatery, you're still likely to find something you like, whether that be Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Pork Tenderloin, or Salmon.
The best dish - in my opinion, and a signature of the Magic Time Machine Experience - is the Roman Orgy. This meal requires at least four people in your party to order it, and it is served family style. If you order this dish, then your entire table is engulfed in delectable fair, from brisket and turkey to rosemary potatoes, vegetables, honeydew and cantaloupe. And yes. The servers will feed you grapes as if you're a great Roman feasting your guts out. The variety of the selection is wonderful, and very, very tasty. And for less than $20 a head in this option, a fun experience for those looking for a good social time.
Diner beware, though, because a design such as The Magic Time Machine's is not without it's flaws: Your dining experience, as it heavily relies on the service you receive from the "characters" serving everyone, can potentially fall flat. If any of the servers - regardless of them waiting directly on you - don't treat their presence as a performance and, God forbid, act like normal waiters, the fourth wall is shattered, and you kind of feel jipped whether you're a kid or an adult. And even though I never had this problem as a child, I've noticed that some servers won't try as hard with the act if they are serving a group of adults on, say, a slow weeknight.
And the food isn't cheap. On average you're paying $20 per adult and $8-$15 per kid to eat. And that's not counting if you indulge in any of their bubbly novelty drinks. Be prepared to pay for all that atmosphere and pizzazz that this place is overflowing with.
Despite it's flaws, however, I love the Magic Time Machine. It's different and it's fun and can be a hoot for children and adults alike. Just make sure that you go on a prime night like Friday or Saturday to get a bang for your buck, because the more crowded this place is with enthusiastic diners and servers, the greater a time you're going to have.
I'm really torn. I want to give this place 3.5 stars because it's near and dear to my heart, but I don't think I can round up because this is a novelty place not designed for frequent visits that increase once's fondness. So a respectful and slightly guilty rounding down. Still worth a visit if you're looking for something different for your family or a group of youthful friends, though.
Its the same as i remember it as a kid. Â My 6 yr old loved it, and wants to go again tonite( to much for Dad)
Positives:
-The magic show is great for kids
-adult drinks are reasonably priced
-kids love the decor and characters. The MTM takes the cake on this one!
-caracature artist and face painter upstairs
Negatives:
-i wouldnt go again on a Friday or Sat night-to crowded
-some characters act put out when u request autographs. Â In fairness they were crowded
-smoking in the bar by all the kids activities
-food isnt anything special (think expensive Applebees)
Next time i will request a character even if we have to wait( my daughter is 6 and we had superman. Not impressive to her. She wanted a princess)
-
Reading all the past reviews regarding this place makes me sad, its a reminder of how cynical people are. Â This place is fine dining at its best, here is the kick, at its best for children. Â The Magic Time Machine puts a smile on every child's face that walks through its doors and the bottom lime that is all that matters.
Have you ever gone to a restaurant and seen a family with kids in tow and they all look miserable, kids bored and restless and parents trying to placate them and no one is enjoying dinner? Â Thats what happens when you take children to a stuffy restaurant, bring them here instead and let them enjoy themselves.
The food is good, its not 5 star quality but its good, the salad bar might be a bit untidy but again have you ever sat around a table with children? Â The drinks are fun, bubbly and smoking and strangely cold, any child would delight in that magic potion.
The character costumes delight the children and they enjoy going around with their autograph book collecting signatures from such whimsical characters as Snow White, Peter Pan, Superman and Wonderwoman...
When I was a kid, I was brought here by an Aunt to celebrate my sisters birthday, I was about 10 or 11 at the time and it was magical to me then and I have long had special memories of this place. Â Here we are so many years later and I brought my daughter for her birthday and we left with her face lit up with just the excitement I remember from so long ago. Â
This is the perfect special occasion restaurant, if your the type of who nitpicks and complains about the little things, you need to step back and remember what it was like to be a child and if you have children of your own, bring them with an open mind and let THEM be the judge of this place...
After reading all the reviews, I was VERY skeptical about going to the Magic Time Machine - but we gave it a shot anyway. Â Our group - six adults and five kids (ages 4-7) - had a really good time there. Â It is definitely about the atmosphere, and the absolute joy our kids had checking out the decor, getting "autographs", and calling out who they saw was contagious. Â That is what the place is about - kids or kids-at-heart just wanting to be a bit goofy.
The food was okay/good... not bad but not earth-shattering. Â Contrary to other posts our server - Shaggy - was exceptional. Â Very attentive and great with the kids. Â Our service was fairly quick considering it was a very busy Saturday night. Â
Because of the fun the kids had, we will probably go back for a special treat... it is a little more than we usually spend w/the kids ($85 for two adults/two kids including two bar drinks) but we understand there is some markup for entertainment value.
Before I start on my review, someone should send the manager of this place a letter with the Yelp address on it so he/she can read that everyone says their food sucks.....and then fix it. Â Now on to the review
We gathered for a birthday party for a good friend. Â I had a pretty good time. Â I like the fact they have pumpkins you can sit in, I like the fact that their salad bar is constructed inside an old car, their is a crayon table, etc. Â
I also like the fact that the servers play characters from the movies and cartoons. Â
Now to what I didn't like. Â I won't name our server or the character that was played because I don't want management to identify a single person and fire them....but our service wasn't good. Â Granted, we were a 12 person party, but there was only one other table (small group) that our server was helping. Â With only two tables, it's easy to take care of (trust me-I used to wait tables). Â
It took awhile for our server to acknowledge us and it took forever to get our drinks. Â We had been seated almost 30 minutes before the round of drinks came. Â Then, the tray the drinks were stacked on fell off the support....and all the drinks went to the floor....so another 10 minute wait for our drinks to be served. Â
Then we finally ordered. Â We went to the Salad Car. Â Nice concept, but food was all over the floor and what salad bar doesn't have shredded cheese for the salad? Â Um...this one right here. Â So my salad consisted of Walmart Lettuce from the bag and dressing as I'm not a vegetable fan.
Their chicken parmesan doesn't come breaded. Â That was weird to me. Â It was an OK dish....but the noodles underneath it tasted strange. Â Kind of a gummy texture. Â I would not order that again.
We did have a magician stop by while waiting and he was pretty cool. Â Good tricks and a good sense of humor.
So the food took awhile. Â We didn't get refills until after all our food had arrived so half the party had been sitting on empty glasses for about 30 minutes. Â
I will agree with previous posters, they do need to hire a company to come in one day and deep clean the restaurant...such as the walls, the carpets, etc. Â It is grimy.
Overall, I really like the concept. Â I really do. Â But to keep people coming back, clean the place and perhaps play with the menu and get some good food on there. Â None of the other 11 people really enjoyed their food either. Â Also, when you have a huge party like that, either the hostess, management, a busboy or another server that is slow....needs to help out with refills. Â Our server wasn't capable of handling a 12 top by themselves.
Good luck to MTM in the future...I hope you get your act together.
I had heard so many rave reviews from people.
I made the mistake of NOT checking Yelp when a friend said hey I Wanna have my birthday dinner here! Lesson learned.
After visiting, I started thinking back on all these alleged rave reviews. OH they were from people who grew up here and visited as kids. So that makes me think of the rose colored glasses we wear as kids when we don't think eating dirt, boogers, and worms is the most disgusting thing ever and we had fun playing with a box or a magnifying glass. Â And they probably haven't visited SINCE they were kids because this place was probably neat, ya know, 15 years ago when it was new and a novelty.
It has an awful turn-in right in front of the restaurant if you're traveling east on Beltline. You're better going up to the light and making a u-turn if you can cuz it's too hard to see over the traffic turning left in front of you.
The place weirded me out because it has a REALLY old and outdated feel. It wasn't the most pleasant smelling either. Outdated and well maintained is one thing..but it just felt DIRTY and I wouldn't bring my kids here, if I had them! The plastic wall covering over the peanuts gang looks like it hasn't been washed since Linus was born. And the creepy fake spider-webbing that's hanging has seen better days.
Superman (who was not our server) got a double take because he's wearing a rather large red fanny pack RIGHT there so of course you're going to glance and reglance.
The service was terrible, we waited forever for refills. I played it safe and had the herb roasted chicken that stated it came with fries, it did not. Â
The husband had chicken parmesan but it's grilled chicken with a white blob of...cheese maybe? We're still undecided. The noodles were reminiscent of noodle-roni something or other so he ate the chicken and we stopped for wings later.
Some friends had the Roman orgy-a meatriffic meal that they slap on the plates individually while flinging pieces of fruit. I didn't think any of it looked appetizing except for perhaps the lumpy oranges that a friend decided were worthy of juggling!
Our friend enjoyed her birthday and that was all that we wanted. But I wouldn't even want to bring my nephew here, even if I was assured Woody from Toy Story would wait on us. Â It's WAY over-priced but would be worth it if the food was good or at least the ambience wasn't cringeworthy. Â The magician guy was nice and I saw that had a guy drawing portraits at the front but we didn't partake.
I'm not entirely stingy with my stars if something makes me want to come back, whether it's atmosphere, food, service, etc. Nothing makes me want to ever see this place again. Â And I feel sorry for the guy wearing short pants, tights, and a tiny hat. Pinocchio would have even laughed at this poor chap!
OK.... let's start by stating the obvious... the place is called "MAGIC TIME MACHINE". This means that the place is meant to take you back in time and relive childhood memories. Many people have written about how the place is not "up to date" or the place was fun "as a child".... based on the name, setting, and theme, I am not understanding what more you're looking for.
I've always gone with family- including my niece and nephew. Of course, they are at an age of innocence where it creates a fun environment for the family. If you're the type of person who is open-minded to a new experience and are open to having a little fun, I highly recommend this place at least once in your life. If you have kids, the experience is a little better- if you allow it to be.
THE ENVIRONMENT: FIVE stars.... It takes you back in time with dated memorable items from your childhood. If you were born in the mid-80's, I'm sorry! I don't think you'd make as strong of a connection with the place. In terms of a FAMILY restaurant (or a place that takes you to your inner child) there's not too many other places you can go where there is a level of creativity and thought into the restaurant. The design and decorations were completely thought-out. Yes, some of these memorable items are cheesy, but I think it's meant to be that way. Again, you're almost forced to remember certain aspects of your childhood by focusing on specific items.
THE FOOD: It's OK. Two stars.... Nothing to write home about. The food is nothing you'll go home a fantasize about whenever the restaurant is mentioned in a conversation. Just being honest. The food is edible, has flavor and you'll get full. It's nothing that's nasty and you'll send back to the kitchen- unless you're a picky eater, need to know the cook's work history, or have food restrictions.
THE SALAD BAR: 1.5 stars...It's a basic salad bar at a FAMILY restaurant. If you understand that children will run around and have access to the bar, you kind of understand that the items and presentation will be limited.
Again, if you're expecting more, go to five star restaurant where the chef puts his final approval on every dish.
THE BOTTOM LINE is that the place is different from your typical restaurant. Yes, it's old- it's supposed to be. You're supposed to feel as if you're in an old house or a place that seems odd and out of place. It's like House of Blues, Spaghetti Warehouse, or Buca de Beppo-but with it's own flavor and style. Every table has it's own theme and there are plenty of things to talk about in terms of discussion- especially on those "getting to know you" dates where you have awkward moments of silence. Â The place is at least something you want to try once with family- including children. If you're getting to know someone (who knows how to have fun and is open to new experiences and is not judgmental), check it out at least once and see it for yourself.
I've been in Dallas for close to six years now. If this place has been open for a few decades, I'm sure there has been for a reason. If you look at the other restaurants in the area (that have come and gone), it says a lot when a restaurant remains a fixture in the community- for generations. In other words, the formula obviously works on some level. Would I go every day, every week or once a month? No! But its a nice place to go a few times out of the year if you're with people who have a good time.
THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Gets FOUR stars.... Don't go in with expectations or limitations on your experience and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
**This review is for the Blue Lounge ONLY*
I've been to this restaurant once before and enjoyed a drink called a potion. It's a cool, bubbly, smoky drink that could be made into an adult drink without any problem in the restaurant.
I was in Addison for the weekend and when it came to getting drinks I thought, Sure! Potions at the bar inside Magic Time Machine!
We went upstairs to this shotty-looking bar. It was dead. I went right up to the bar.
"Do you have those potion..."
"No"
"...Drinks..."
"No"
"Up here?"
"No"
"Oh. I thought you would"
"Those are only downstairs for the KIDS"
"Ok...I'm pretty sure it had alcohol in it."
"No."
Short story is, this bar sucks, the bartender was a complete tool and we'll never, ever be back.
I've been coming to the Magic Time Machine for over 20 years. When I was little, I always wanted to sit in the Crayola crayon box! All of the places to sit are fun; even if you're not in a themed booth or section, you have a really good view of the themes and all the characters tend to walk right by you. Had various characters as my server over the years, and have never had a bad experience.
I've been back several times as an adult, and it's still a solid place to go out to eat with a group.
This Friday, there were 8 of us. We were crammed in kind of a small booth, so scooting in and out was kind of a pain, but it was during the rush on a Friday night, so I get it. There's no reservations on Friday/Saturday (for groups UNDER 25 people), which I always found kind of strange. Also, they will NOT seat you if your whole party isn't present. So if you're going with a group on a weekend, be prepared for wait. But there's always the Bar upstairs to waste some time in.
Alaadin was our server and he was great. Very attentive without being overbearing. I never wanted for a refill, and he was good at a balance of being 'in character' and being an actual human being. Pocahontas was a server in a nearby section and she was really quite loud! We heard her describing the salad car to a couple of different groups. And ow. My ears.
Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter) was a new addition to the serving staff. And she was awesomely in character. Nice and spacey and funny.
The guy who plays Woody from Toy Story has been there for years and he's great. Really enthusiastic and funny.
Also, everyone was really nice when my friends (who had never been there before) wanted to take a tour of the restaurant and see all the neat booths and themes and whatnot. Joe Dirt even beckoned us into the classroom he was cleaning with another person (we were just going to look at it from outside so as not to disturb/annoy them), and told us that if we were touring the place, we had to see this room: it was the last remaining actual classroom. The building used to be a school before it was turned into a restaurant 37 years ago. He gave us a neat history of the room and building, which was appreciated by my first-timer friends!
Everyone's always dissing the food, but I've never had bad food here. Had some of their appetizers for the first time and they were good. The Spinach Artichoke dip had a good flavor, and the Mozzerella sticks were nice and crispy. Other folks at the table had some peel and eat shrimp, which they liked (except those who couldn't figure out how to peel them...).
I will say that the biggest bummer about their menu is the lack of vegetarian options. My boyfriend is trying to do the veggie thing again, and there was no Vegetable-heavy vegetarian dish on the menu. What he wound up doing was ordering side dishes of broccoli, asparagus, and a baked potato-- all $5 each. So it was $15 for 2 veggies and a loaded potato... but the vegetable portions were INSANELY huge. Like it looked like an entire broccoli farm had been emptied out for his portion.
So if you're a vegetarian and you go to MTM, there aren't a plethora of options for you. BUT if you like asparagus or broccoli, then get ONE of them and a baked potato. Yes, it's $10, but it's good quality veggies (didn't taste frozen). Also, there's pasta alfredo or marinara (look on the back of the menu; more kid-friendly options, but there are adult-sized servings as well; the chicken alfredo and seafood alfredo are on the 'regular' menu-- the plain is on the back menu). I think there's also a cheese pizza on the back menu.
I got the MTM filet, which is a beef filet (6 or 8 oz, I think) covered with a wine sauce and wrapped in bacon. The sauce tasted sweeter and thicker this time than it has in the past, but it was still good. Steak was cooked to my liking and the potato was delicious.
As always, the salad car was well stocked (including, oddly, some kind of crazy marinated brussels sprouts?) and fresh.
Also, the bread and honey butter were delicious, as always. We should've been ashamed by the amount of bread and butter we ate, but it was so good, I don't think we cared!
I got the Apple Pizzaz (cobbler) for dessert. Not bad, but not really my favorite. Bf got the bread pudding and basically licked the plate it was served on, so that's a pretty good endorsement.
There were 8 of us, so they did include gratuity, BUT our server was super fine with splitting the checks up by couple at the end, and did it when we were all done, rather than trying to keep it straight from the very beginning.
All in all, I would totally recommend. Great for kids and "kids-at-heart" adults.
My parents came into town for Thanksgiving and wanted to go somewhere the kids would enjoy for dinner Friday night. MTM sprang to mind immediately-especially since I had a $50 gift certificate courtesy of <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a>.
We went early(about 5:15) to avoid the crowds. Great plan because we got one of the best servers, one Capt. Jack Sparrow. He was truly entertaining and had the character down pat-even the walk was perfect. He was very attentive to our table and even brought other characters to the table to meet our kids(especially the Disney Princesses for our daughter). He was entertaining and on point all evening long and my kids and parents had a great evening.
I won't belabor a point that has been made here numerous times-there is better food at other places- but the food was not as bad as some people have experienced. My chicken alfredo was very tasty and my dads prime rib was delicious as well(although admittedly a little on the tough side). The kids were all happy with their offerings and loved the smoking potions they all ordered. I do feel obliged to mention that the servings are also extremely generous. All in all, not the best food you will ever have-but it is good nonetheless.
The characters were all on their A game that night and my kids could not have had a better time. This is a place that I can highly recommend to take the family and your kids will talk about it for days afterward. Also it helps if you take your parents and they pay- Thanks Dad!
I took my family here to celebrate my son's 13th birthday. Since there were 6 of us, we decided to look for a coupon on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> so that we could save some money and decided on Magic Time Machine. I had been here once before with my fiance about 8 months ago, but thought the food was just so-so but the entertainment was worth giving it a second try.
When we arrived, we were looking at a 45 minute wait (we requested Captain Jack Sparrow as our server and he's pretty popular). While we waited the kids got caricatures from a very talented artist in the lobby - totally helped the time go by faster. Once seated, we were met by our server Captain Jack Sparrow - the kids started out with Time Machine Potions (weird looking drinks that bubble and have smoke coming out of them - be sure to try the Ugly).
The food was much better than what I remembered. The portions were very large and the food was tasty. I ordered the Shrimp Scampi which was good - a little too salty for my pallet but very edible. The kids' mom had the only bad experience with the Pork Loin - it was too thick and tough, but they took it off the bill with no hesitation. We ended the night singing happy birthday to my son while we all gobbled up our wonderful dessert.
Thanks Magic Time Machine for giving my son a memorable 13th Birthday dinner! We all enjoyed it very much!
Anyone that knows me knows I love a theme. Â Well, MTM is ALL ABOUT THEMES. Â Fairytales and classic movies and stories.
Each table is a different theme and all seating is in little nooks and crannies. Â Several characters walked by our table all night, including: Joe Dirt, Waldo, Tinkerbell, WonderWoman, Cinderella and Woody from Toy Story.
Our group sat in the library, and our waitress was Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. Â The library was cute, but Alice stole the show. Â I hope she is a theater major somewhere in town, because her accent was on point and her improv skills were impeccable, even with all the bizarre things my best friends father said to her. Â She didn't miss a beat on our orders either, and there were 8 and 1/2 of us, with adult drink orders, appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
Now..food. Â Hm..let's just say it is boring, bland and limited and expensive, BUT you're not here for food..you're here for your own private stage show. Â A nice bonus to the entree price is a trip to the "salad car". Â The car is cute and each character has a different themed announcement for you when you get there. The salad was ok, choices were a bit limited...my chicken parm was edible, but nothing to write home about. Â My drink on the other hand was pretty cool- "Magic Potion". Â It had a neat bubbling effect and a nice dose of alcohol.
I think this would be a great place for kiddos, or a group night with some fun loving friends...just go for the show and don't have any expectations on the food.
Nobody I know ever thinks, Hey I'm hungry for some Magic Time Machine! Â That's because you never remember the food. You go there for the show, that being the crazy wait staff.
That's not to say they don't sling hash like the rest of them. Their food is perfectly fine, it's just that after a half dozen times of going there since the 80s, I can't recall any particular dish I ate.
I do remember the wacky ambiance, the nutty waiters, and laughing so much it brought me to tears. Â I can't guarantee you'll tear up like me from laughing, but if there's a place anywhere that conducive to having fun (for a family or a nutty night out with friends), this is that place.
If you have any compassion whatsoever, you may be inclined to tip your waiter more than your usual. They work harder here than most places at making you smile.
1. I do not have children.
2. I do not like salty, overcooked, buttery foods.
That is why I gave this place 2 stars. But I do like to experience something different once and awhile, and MTM delivers just that. MTM is more for laughs and reminiscing about childhood kinda place; not for food. The staff here is super friendly, laid back, and chill. I guess you can't take your job too seriously if you work as a Joe Dirt look-a-like.
Now for the food. We started off with our homemade salads from the vintage car/salad bar area. They also give you soup and we opted for the Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was a bit too salty for my liking. For our main courses we ordered Shrimp Scampi, Ribeye Steak, and Southwest Chicken. The Scampi was room temperature and bland. Not much you can say after that. The Ribeye Steak was horrible; tough, dry(and I ordered it medium), and chewy. The mashed potatoes were good but way too buttery so I only ate a few bites and was over it. The Southwest Chicken was the only decent entree but even it was room temperature and blah.
We went on a Sunday afternoon so there wasn't much action going on. I would definitely recommend this place for the kids and for the bigger kids that don't mind downing a few drinks, then getting their face painted.
Wow!
This..
Place.
Rox!!!
I love it. I've been twice, once as a child and once as an adult and I can only say I WISH THERE WERE MORE cool restaurants like this one!
The whole place is sectioned, each with a theme from a movie or fairytale book.
So you can basically sit in any setting you want with any character for service (for instance you can get Spider Man to be your waiter!). The servers are in character at all times as well.
Fantastic food, and so much fun!
(Pricey, but you have to factor in that you're paying for entertainment, too!)
I pretty much can't say enough good things about it. One of my all time favorite restaurants!
Man I remember getting so excited to go to the Magic Time Machine as a kid, but for some reason it was not as awsome as I had remembered. I understand that I am an adult now and probably too old for the place, but I did have a child with me and she was not even impressed.
Some of the servers are still great and some not so much. I think they are the only reason this place is still alive. The food is pretty good, but the menu options are very limited and pricey.
I can live with all that stuff, but what made me give the Magic Time Machine 1 star was the cleanliness and decor. It smelled like old cheese in there and I actually felt as if I needed a shower after eating there. The decor must be from when the restaurant opened probably before I was born. If they remodel and get to scrubbing, I might bump them up a couple stars.
My wife and I dined with another couple for lunch on a Saturday. I don't recall the character name of our server, but she was a VERY attractive young woman with a beautiful accent that, we're pretty sure, was real. Even better, her table service was excellent. The only misstep was when I ordered a bloody mary with no celery; it arrived sans stalk, but had celery salt mixed in. Our server suggested that it must be in the actual mix and thus couldn't be omitted. I doubt that, but I'll ask next time, and if it's true, I'll skip the bloody mary.
We selected the Roman Orgy for our meal. First, a trip to the "salad car", which, aside from the novelty of it being built into a '20s era "horseless carriage" replica, was unremarkable. It was a basic salad bar with few extras. I skipped the salad and went for the chicken tortilla soup instead, which was very good.
When the "orgy" arrived, it was delivered by our lovely server and an assistant in character as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Corn on the cob was cooked to my liking (i.e. not too much), but was otherwise unremarkable. We selected garlic mashed potatoes instead of new potatoes, and they were fairly good. Decent garlic flavor, but a little dry. Fresh bread was fantastic; very tasty with a nice crust. Steamed vegetables featured zucchini, squash, onions and red bell peppers; this dish was seasoned nicely and not overcooked.
Finally, on to the heart of the matter: The meat! Beef ribs had a good flavor which, for me, overcame the slight toughness of the meat (which was also a bit dry). My wife couldn't get past the toughness, so I finished her rib. Chicken was a quarter chicken, roasted, which probably would have been better had I not eaten at Cowboy Chicken the day before. :) The skin was only a light brown and not very crispy, but the meat was done well and tasted OK, if a little dry. Finally, the brisket. This was the highlight of the meal to me. The meat was well seasoned, just the right texture and quite flavorful. It was served in large, thick slices.
I debated on whether to give this restaurant 3 or 4 stars. I'm going with 4, but there's a qualification to that: The food alone, without the atmosphere, would rate 3 stars. Good food, yes, but not outstanding. However, the fun atmosphere and "show" are part of the experience and part of why you'd come here; those aspects were well done, so I'll add the extra star for that. Come for the food AND show, not just the food.
Food could be better, but most of the effort is put into the "show" aspect of the place.
Background-
This place always intrigued me every time I drove by it for the past 10 years or so, and I finally decided to try it last Saturday night. Â I was with a couple of friends and we got there at 10pm. Â They close at 10:30pm so we asked if they were shutting down the kitchen and the hostess assured us that they were still up and running.
Setting-
The decor was amusing. Â Very different, sloppy but in an organized way. Â Little kids running around. Â Even a waiter dressed as something out of a Harry Potter movie went running by our table lightning fast. Â Then Sinbad the Sailor introduced himself as our waiter. Â He did a pleasing job of portraying the character, but an excellent job as our waiter. Â
Food-
He offered us their special "potion" which was a mix of pineapple and orange juice and Sprite, and what made it interesting was you got to pick what color you wanted it to come in. Â I chose blue, my friend chose "ugly" a.k.a black. Â It was alright (I don't like pineapple juice).
It took us about 15-20min to figure out what we wanted, then we got the Grilled Chicken Parmesan, the New York Strip and a shrimp and catfish platter. Â We tried each others' dishes. Â The catfish was amazing! Â Probably the best fried catfish I've ever had. Â The New York strip wasn't anything special, kinda under spiced (A1 Bold & Spicy fixed that), and the chicken was bland (my dish). Â I didn't like it at all. Â The spaghetti it came with was tasteless and the chicken breast had a small blob of melted Parmesan cheese on top.
Conclusion-
If you're looking to try something different and mildly entertaining, and are willing to settle for edible but could-be-better food, go for it!
Magic Time Machine was the best place ever when I was a kid. In the few times I have gone as an adult, the food has been, well, lackluster.
We had a group of 10, and had to wait till e-v-e-r-yone was there to be seated. And our peeps don't run on time. After we all got there, we waited another 20 - 30 minutes for our table. While waiting for our table, I had a dirty martini at the bar - bleh. It had wayyyy too much olive juice. Fortunately it only takes one to not care.
Once we got seated, we were served by Captain Jack. He was crass, moody, hard to understand... in perfect character. The service was pretty good. We'd see him for a while, and then not see him for a while. The strangest thing is that it was evidently impossible to bring around a pitcher of water to fill all our water glasses - seemed silly to have him go back and forth for the random glass of water.
For dinner I ordered the salmon with fresh vegetables. It was really, really good! The salmon had a flavorful pico served on top, and it was a great compliment to the salmon. The salmon portion was plentiful, and I was served enough vegetables to keep me regular for quite some time. The salad bar was simple, but good.
For dessert, I ordered the apple pizzaz, and wow! What a misnomer!! It was booooo-ring. No pizzaz. Nothing to write home about. I had a taste of some friends' chocolate fudge cake, and it was disappointing, too.
My second dirty martini was better. Thankfully.
The downstairs ladies' room only has 2 stalls - there were eleventy seven screeching preteens in the vanity area waiting. And there was very little toilet paper in the stall - and the floor was nasty wet. I hate public bathrooms.
Overall, it was a fun night. You can't come to the Magic Time Machine and expect a somber, quiet evening. You need to bring your fun side, your fun peeps, and an empty tummy!
This is a good place if you have a kids birthday party to do, but you're concerned that the adults in the group are going to get bored. Â We had the Joker as our waiter and while some of his jokes were lost on the kids, it was quite funny to the adults.
Know this - the experience will be colored by the character you get as the waiter. Â I don't know if they take requests, but we saw the Joker, a hillbilly type, the Devil, Tinker Bell, and others.
I got my first restaurant-industry job at the ripe old age of 16 as an "Assistant Food Server" (aka busgirl) at the Magic Time Machine. Â That's right, folks, I bussed tables in a Jeannie costume. Â G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S. Â However, this was probably the most fun I ever had at a job. Â Transitioning from high school to college at a place of work where people get to dress up at work + a maze-like building full of nooks and crannies in which to make much mayhem = scandalous crazy times. Â I highly recommend working here as a young college kid.
The "Sister Act", "Weird Al", "Groundskeeper from Caddyshack," and all the other popular characters from the mid-90's have been updated to "Napoleon Dynamite" and such, but the classic characters, funky decor, and the funky smell still remain. Â (Don't fret, potential diners, the funky smell isn't anything too bad. Â Just the Essence of Time Machine.)
Have a magic potion (green or red), which is a bubbling concoction of alcohol, food coloring, and dry ice. Â Seriously, you can have bubbles in your drink without having to blow them! Â I don't do the fungus, but my friend (who used to be Wonder Woman) swears by the stuffed mushroom appetizer. Â The mushrooms are stuffed with sausage and smothered in alfredo. Â Food here is decent, although I wouldn't recommend coming here as a culinary destination.
Oh, and you can order a Roman Orgy here. Â It's not as fun as it sounds; it's a platter of meat, chicken, sides, and fruit. Â The staff carries out the platter singing one of a dozen cheezy "Roman Orgy" songs they teach. Â
The bar upstairs is pretty cool (I think Sharla covered that already). Â Part of me really wants to campaign to make this a cool hangout. Â I have been there one night where they had an acoustic duo playing some obsure indie songs, a magician for the kiddos, and a psychic. Â There is also a stage with a DJ booth and a disco ball, and an arcade room with Dance Dance Revolution. Â Did I mention this place is gloriously random?
Go check out the Time Machine with a group of friends, and bring the kiddos if you like. Â Keep an open mind, have a couple of potions, and you're sure to have a blast. Â I recommend weekends, as they usually have more characters working those nights. Â Oh, and check out the glass case in front for 17-year-old you-know-who Jeannie in the group pic.
I agree with Tom O, but I'm going to give it a little higher rating. Â The food is ok to good, but a bit over priced. Â You don't go here for the food though, it's really about the experience. Â All the employees cosplay (dress up as characters, from books, movies, comics). Â You'll find some acting students working here because of that. Â They take on their character's roles and it can be quite entertaining. Â We went here for a friend's birthday and our waitress as a princess and played the role perfectly. Â If you were there on a more serious occasion I can see where it might be a bit annoying. Â Magic Time Machine is more about the fun then the food and you're likely to be disappointed if you are expecting a normal restaurant.
The bottom floor is large, almost a maze. Â The entire place is a bunch of little rooms or booths, enclosed each with their own theme. Â I've heard you can request specific rooms if there is one in particular you like. Â After you are done dining I'd recommending making a small walking tour of the restaurant and seeing all the different booths.
The place was closing but we took a quick gander upstairs. Â They have a kind of neat looking bar area up there and some video games in the corner. Â We played a few games of DDR before leaving. Â I haven't been back to check it out since then, but if you are looking for someplace a little different to get a drink in Addison it might be worth checking out.
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