Dickens Opera House - Longmont, Colorado

Jill Groubert

Don’t even bother. We thought it would be fun to try a new live music venue and this place is a complete disappointment. I hate leaving one star reviews and this may be the first one I’ve ever left.

We arrived a few minutes before the show was to start and no one was seated. The decor is mismatched and shabby. We ordered food from our table. It was very overpriced with tiny portions. My husband got the Philly cheese steak which was pretty good. The fries were cold. I ordered the Korean barbecue chicken sandwich which was terrible and rubbery. I would have sent it back but the poor waitress was so overwhelmed, I just couldn’t add to her burdens. They forgot my salad because “the tickets weren’t printing downstairs.” It arrived without silverware, which she eventually got to me. Technically we weren’t here for the food but to see a Fleetwood Mac / Meatloaf cover band I really wanted to see. The band started over a hour late, which was particularly frustrating because my husband and I left work early so we wouldn’t miss the beginning. The band was great but I felt bad for them because the acoustics were so terrible and there was no one mixing the sound or doing lights. The echo was awful. The sound of the audience and the bar was louder than the band.

The tickets were more expensive than the other venues we frequent for live music. We were hoping to add this place to our rotation of live music options we generally frequent. The evening cost us $150 between tickets and food and drinks. What a waste.

And it was absolutely FREEZING inside. My feet felt like little icebergs even wearing my winter coat. I’m disgusted and don’t plan on giving it a second chance.

Michelle Z

Went to a holiday party at the Dickens Opera House, had a great time, enjoyed the food and the staff was awesome! The bar was super crowded, I had to take the bartender’s name just so I could say that she was kind and professional and very quick on her feet! She made awesome margaritas, her name was Alyssa and I just want to say great job to her and the rest of the staff! Thanks again.

Cori Marin

Upstairs on second floor. Comedy night in April (2024), had pretty decent entertainment. Comedians were funny. However, highly recommend drinks and eating dinner elsewhere, otherwise, you'll experience high prices and low quality food. Upstairs isn't set up like a traditional restaurant & bar. Food doesn't seem fresh. You pick it up at the back corner of the room within minutes of placing order, and have to keep an eye out for your order, no buzzers, no wait staff. (Eye roll). Really? Whenever the bartender makes a drink in a shaker, it's a distraction from the entertainment on stage. Very distracting. Its that close. Over and over the ice in the shaker is louder than the stage person. OMG. Unreal. Not sure what's happening; owner needs to consider remodeling this place so its purposefully functional. Looks like one stepped into the 90s when walking in. Old tables and chairs...ugly. Decor is VERY, VERY outdated. Place needs remodeling. Owners, if reading this, please, update the entire space. No bar next to the stage, food cooked from a REAL kitchen when ordered, no wobbly tables, bar relocated, and consider wait staff. Thank you.

Dave Santucci

We hosted a morning event at the Dickens Opera House and it was ideal. The setup for about 40 people was great, but they could have hosted at least double that in the space. The food was excellent with a vegan option that was one of the best vegan sandwiches I've ever had. Really enjoyed hosting the event in a historic space!

Isaac Kaaren

I was asked to share my experience, so here you go.

We booked this venue for our performance. On the day of the event, we were given no sound or light support, to which the owner blamed us continuously and have continued to do so in response to other patrons' reviews. This caused us to try and get the sound working ourselves on a sound system that is completely broken. They have also continued to insist that the system is not broken, though a different performance earlier that week was delayed by 2 hours due to the state of the system, and they had their own professional roadies to handle the sound. They reported a system that is unfit for professional use in its current state.

What followed was the most humiliating performance as the owner walked out as soon as the show began, leaving us playing sound though one speaker in pitch dark aside for the spotlight. We weren't even shown how to bring up the house lights for intermission. We were delayed by half an hour, during which time some attendees left. During this delay, damage to the sound system was coming though at hearing damaging volume while we were running sound tests.

We ran the same show at a different venue a few weeks prior and had no such issues. It is clear this is a fault of the venue and it's management. They fact they did not deliver on providing us with a functional venue and have continued to be rude and accusatory shows a frankly impressive level of unprofessionalism.

Additionally, I spoke to attendees and they relayed that the waitstaff had no idea what kind of refreshments were being provided. That same waitstaff talked so loudly over the show, I could hear them from beside the stage on the other side of the room. The performers could hear them on stage while speaking.

About half of the attendees left before the show ended. It was one of the most stressful and humiliating experiences I have had with any business. It is clear that the owners would like to blame us rather than take any responsibility for their failings. They have a non-funtional venue, extremely overpriced food, and undertrained and underpaid staff.

There is a very good reason this venue has as many negative reviews as it does. I urge you to not attend or book this venue to save yourself a world of trouble.

Corrie Lamkin

I would NOT recommend either booking your event with Dickens Opera House or attending one put on by them. I booked them for an event and it started off well, until I signed the contract. Once the contract was signed I was ignored, gaslighted, and blamed for their issues. They blatantly ignore their contracts (we are working through this with other channels) and ignore their customers. I was an incredibly chill party person as I only wanted dancing, drinking, and food. They turned what was supposed to be a chill but fun evening into chaos and stress through miscommunication, not reading the contract they wrote up and signed, and lying to the customers and guests (they literally cleaned up around the guests 2 hours before the event was supposed to end, basically forcing people out and charged for alcohol even though our contract had an open bar and I had copies of the entire alcohol list that was supposed to be served). I will never go back, either to the venue or the restaurant, and I would suggest no one else does either. There are more details included in the attached pictures due to character limits on the review.

Christopher Irish

Went to see a Prince tribute band and it was a great time. Nice space for medium size events and the staff is very friendly. I recommend seeing any event here if you can.

Andrew

The venue was booked, and the day of the show the owner called and said there would be no sound or lighting guy for the show. The owner completely abandoned the show after it started, leaving us to our own devices basically sabotaging the show and making it an absolute nightmare for the performers preforming and the audience experiencing the show. It’s a shame because the venue is historic and beautiful and has so much potential to
be the most popular concert venue in Longmont.