Penny Blood's Black Book – My Independent Guide to London - Penny Blood's eclectic collection of favourite places in London to drink coffee, eat cake, have tea, eat out, buy clothes, watch movies, kill time, read Voltaire, quote Baudelaire and write this blog.

The Coronet must be the most spectacular of all the old independent cinemas. The interior of cinema one, which is the original theatre, is decorated in a Louis XVI style with the auditorium still possessing the two original elliptically curved balconies. The ghost of a female cashier reputedly haunts the cinema. Legend has it that when she was caught fiddling the box office receipts and confronted by the manager, she dashed out of his office, ran upstairs, then threw herself from the balcony. A tip, don’t watch anything on Screen 2, the seats are UNBEARABLE they all slope slightly forward. Screen 1; if you’re getting anxious because you’re stuck behind 50 people knowing it’s a free for all seating arrangement, have no fear, most people get all excited about sitting in the balcony and filter off leaving you free reign to take your pick of the spacious seating arrangement in the stalls. The old theatre balconies look gorgeous but you don’t want to sit there as unless you have legs two foot long as they are horrendously uncomfortable. The seats downstairs are wonderful with plenty of legroom. Also it’s only £3.50 a ticket on Tuesday’s, and the projectionist is adorable, say hi to him for me.

http://www.coronet.org/

Coronet Cinema, 103 Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 3LB
020 7727 6705
Monday – Sunday 1pm-6.30pm

Related posts:

1. Rio Cinema
2. The Electric Cinema
3. The Gate Cinema
4. The Phoenix Cinema
5. Aubin Cinema