We went to this as part of a group of 16 that some friends organized. It was at Birra Poretti's downtown (which should have been a red flag), in the basement room and started at 8 p.m. and went until 10 p.m. There was very little that happened until 9:15, which was when we actually got our dinner. For a dinner event starting at 8 p.m., that was not what we expected, and we were fairly cranky and hungry. So fair warning to have a snack first. The restaurant was sweltering hot, but this is the fault of the venue, not Murder by Chocolate. There is actually no entertainment while waiting to get dinner, other than a guy has you pick a card with a number, that they then calls out numbers to determine that your table can then go to the buffet. It seemed that they could have sped that up.
The food at Birra Porettii's was, as expected, not good. Dry chicken in lasagna, fettuccine and bread - must love carbs). And there was a small, chocolate mousse that was so-so, but wouldn't you expect more at an event called Murder by Chocolate?
There is one actress that  runs the show. The actual murder/mystery show was kind of cute. The guests read parts and are the other actors, and the tables vote at the end to see if they can guess who did it. This was campy and fairly entertaining, but was only about 30 minutes of the evening.
I think the quality of the food, the warm temperatures, and the absurd wait for dinner played a huge part in the experience. The actress that led it was charming and funny, and did a good job with the show portion. The event is supposed to be $120 a couple, which I do not believe is worth the experience. We went for $60 on a Living Social deal, and that seems reasonable for what you get.
So manage your expectations based on the venue, that you will likely not eat until after 9, and expect a fairly cheesy, must-love-campy experience.
This was the first time we have ever done any type of dinner theater and we had a blast!
I can only review based on the entertainment provided seeing as the food and location were provided by a restaurant downtown.
It seemed that only two people from the actual venue were present and they really pulled it off. Â The main emcee of the evening (Dr. Dobad) checked everyone in and sat us and was very entertaining. Â As the evening went on he pulled different people out and they were characters in the show (our friend was chosen) and they all had their own parts. Â It was very entertaining and I would definitely go again!
The second person that was involved in the show was I guess you would say the DJ; played music while we ate, etc. off the computer and this might have been just as good if not better than the theater part of the evening. Â He played lots of 80s hits from Pat Benetar to Michael Jackson and Men at Work - if I had a few more drinks in me I probably would have gotten up and danced.
Give it a chance, especially if it's something you've never tried before, it's semi cheesy but extremely entertaining providing lots of laughs!
We liked this place because it was fun and different than the normal things we do.
We arrived about an hour and a half before they closed to play some Clue in the Clue- themed coffee shop/mystery dinner theater. When we climbed to the top of the stairs we walked in a door where there was a bookcase with a sign that said ring the bell for entry. When we rang the bell, the bookcase opened and there it was. The owner was the only one there working and gave us the grand tour. Each room was themed from the Clue board game and it gave it a fun touch. They had stacks of board games and even a little scavenger hunt you can do for a free cookie. We ordered some of their different coffee drinks that were also themed and delicious. It's a fun place to give a try, but since we live in Galveston it's a little bit of a long haul for us.
Nothing stellar, but entertaining enough. I ended up here cuz the gf had a groupon. The show was reasonably entertaining........typical campy dinner theater (I think they played it up for the awkward entertainment value of it)
Food was nothing spectacular. Typical generic Sysco chocolate cake and cheescake.
First I'd like to state that I have been to dinner theaters before, not by the same people, so based on my previous experiences I knew not to expect gourmet as these things are really for the experience. Â I'm sorry to say I was disappointed in my experience, particularly because my boyfriend and I had to travel about an hour to get to the venue.
I'll start with the bad then end with the good, hopefully you can tell them apart. If you can't then.... I think the stars say it all.
The show I attended was the "lite dinner" which was suppose to be from 9pm to 10pm. Â We were not seated until about 9:10 and didn't leave until 10:40pm. Â The show did not begin until after 9:30. Why did it take so long to start the show? For everyone to get their orders in perhaps? No. Â Most of the time was spent "preparing" for the show. That is, the host asking volunteers and picking random people to participate. Something along these lines was expected of course, as it is an interactive theater.
However, what I did NOT expect was that there would be only ONE actor, and that was the HOST!!!!  ( I do not count the girl in the beginning because she had only one line).  The significance of this? You are basically paying nearly $50, so that YOU or someone else who came in to WATCH the show can act.... shouldn't the tickets be cheaper if you are basically doing the work?  In my previous experiences there were paid actors that already knew the script and randomly throughout the show members of the audience were pulled on stage or  the audience was asked to participate as a mass while eating their meal.  This was not the case at Murder By Chocolate at all. At least 30 minutes were spent so that people could learn their lines and then wind up reading off of a script when they got to their part while the rest of us waited for our drinks, or meals.
 I can't say the script was great either, certain parts were funny, but there was not any flow or theme. It was just random bits strung together, like in the movie 'Scary Movie' or even worse 'Spice Girls The Movie'. At some point in these random bits one of the paid, oh no wait they are the ones paying to be there... one of the NON paid actors is murdered.
From the previous reviews, I thought the plot was going to be something like the board game clue. Â It was more like a high school drama class rehearsal.
As far as the meals, the lite dinner was reasonably priced considering what was being served. No complaints regarding the quality of the food, nothing spectacular. Â I do have a complaint about the drinks though, my boyfriend ordered a coke and it had absolutely no fiz what so ever, which leads me to believe it was old. Â I ordered iced tea, I'm not sure how you mess that up, but when I received it I wasn't even sure it was mine because it was the color of chamomile tea. Has anyone ever had iced tea like that before? Â
We ordered the something "dark chocolate" cake and the murder by chocolate ice cream, both were good- don't expect gourmet. Â Two of the people at my table had to wait at least half an hour to receive their drinks. Â And from what I overheard there was only one person in the kitchen, which may have been the waiters dualing as kitchen staff (there were only 2).
Unfortunately no liquor is served here as it is a coffee shop, which is too bad because I think it would liven the atmosphere for adults who have to wait 30 minutes for a show after being seated, this is not including the extra time spent waiting in the waiting area.
All of the staff looked like teenagers, and I am not complaining. I believe that they did the best that they could do regarding what was required of them. Our waitress was friendly and very apologetic about the slow service. Â My complaints are mostly regarding the lack of organization by the owner. Â I understand that this is suppose to be a fun experience, and for $50 bucks it BETTER be, but for anyone above the age of 17 it probably won't be.
I do believe that this place has potential if it becomes much more organized and if the owner hires more actors and finds ways to creatively incorporate his audience without wasting time.
I give this place 2 stars, one because I feel sorry for the teenage staff for trying so hard and the other because I was more entertained by the waiting area.
The waiting area is pretty cool, much better than the show actually, ha ha! There are tons of board games if you want to play, a Foosball table, ping bong table which can be converted to a pool table and a dart board.
The entrance to the facility is pretty dramatic and very original, but I won't tell you because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise in case you still chose to go after  reading this review.
The host said they change the skits every 3 months, just FYI.
I'll leave you to decide whether or not you want to go, as I support independent businesses, but I also believe that customers deserve to know when they are paying for something along the lines of amateur.
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