The first time I've ever been to the Palace Chauvel Cinema in the old Town Hall building Oxford street Paddington. I went at an invitation to meet Sydney Film Festival new Archivist Jess Furlong and hear director/producer of Television Events Jeff Daniels talk about the most watched, most contraversial television movie "The Day After" The audience then watched interviews from people involved in the movies production, news segments about it and comments from a member of the cast about how watching the completed movie affected her, another commented on the Ash scene as it being "Just like that" referring to Hiroshima. Movie "The Day After" is very thought provoking, a look into the reality of what could happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped. It's horrific. It was interesting to know that when the movie was released, apparently over 200,000 Russian people watched it.

The cinema is located in the classic Paddington town hall. We watched a move in cinema 1, the seats and floors are probably due for an update. Unfortunately there is no table or cup holder between seats, my friend and I had popcorn, wine and water so it became complicated to hold drinks off the floor and share the snacks. Speaking of snacks - like most cinemas today the bar prices were extreme we paid $48 for 2 glasses of wine, Medium popcorn and a bottle of water. Best to eat before and save money. The staff were friendly and helpful but if you are looking for more bang for your buck, there is a palace theatre down the road (Palace Verona) with has much more comfortable seats - with little tables and the bar is the same cost. Hope this helps!

Friendly staff for one & foremost...nice little cozy cinema, with dining seating, join movie club, bar & very accessible to main shopping of all kinds at street Oxford & post office nearby & Paddington Town Hall, Library, Newsagency, bus stop, restaurants, coffee shops, garden park, church, hotels, club... We held the Queer Screen Movies to watch here yesterday 1st screening yesterday dated Saturday, 19th September 2020 as a Volunteer to usher the patron which cinema to go to, answer their inquiries & of course remind them of COVIDSafe - wear mask sanitize hands & social distancing

There's also nice things about this place - it's old fashioned and very retro, gives you the feel of going back in time and how the experience used to be in old days. I like that. But! The place is just not up to date. The seats are very uncomfortable the building is old and really needs a good layer of fresh paint. It is obvious the place had gone under reno with new carpets but it just looks like it's starting to fall apart again. Anyway the Paddington RSL is just across for a greasy meal and a beer!!

Usually hold film festivals from many countries. Great nibbles, but a few diehards still want to eat crispy chippies right behind you...invariably cough a spay of chippy debris over you too. In COVID times it's not a great experience. German,French, Italian, Spanish, festivals are truly a cultural experience as is sometimes the fight over whom has the full elbow rights between 2 seated persons. As is phone beep beep.

Pros: Good location in Paddington, can take alcohol into the cinema, staff were friendly. Cons: The Chauvel cinema is really quite rundown, with visible holes forming in the carpet and the chair cushions feeling like they collapse underneath you. It wasn’t very comfortable! I also found the bar to be really overpriced... I would recommend you go to Palace Verona down the street instead!

Great selection of independent and art house international films. You're usually surrounded with diverse crowds from different parts of the world. A nice bar with some good wine served by friendly staff. Clean seats and cinema with a large screen. Wish the sound system could be improved to Dolby Atmos. Parking can also be a problem.

Vast cushy seats casual and enjoyable (once you get used to the worn out flop house feel of the place , and it's general scungy public spaces and neglected dusty messiness) which frankly shocked me on my first visit. The snack bar and wines are barely functional yet sufficient. Great film selection and a place to support.

Love the history of this place. It’s a little rundown but it’s part of the charm, it has character and definitely not cookie cutter. Great place for private screenings and film festivals. Parking can be tricky in the area but there are lots of options for drinks and food nearby being in Oxford Street.

Heritage building shared with the Town Hall is a big plus. Right in the heart of Paddington. Part of the French Film festival and the Palace chain of cinema halls. However the place needs a bit of sprucing up. The messy entrance and the balcony with pigeon droppings aren't acceptable at all.

Went to a film premiere here. Great little cinema - nice staff and good wine. Would definitely recommend if you have a indi film you need to show. Have only seen one film here and haven't eaten but would go back. I also like supporting smaller enterprise so there's that too.

A great little Cinema with a good selection of Indie and World Cinema films. Great food and drinks. The cinema still looks relatively unchanged from its days as a theatre, but the main auditorium does look a little unloved of late. Still a great Cinema all the same.

Very unprofessional and customer unfriendly cinema. They don’t respond to the phone, don’t accept state vouchers that are supposed to be accepted in any cinema or museum across the state and don’t make any effort to accommodate customers.

Just watched a Persian film 'A Hero' visiting for the first time. Staff was super friendly and kind. Seats and the venue needs slight restoration work. Bathrooms are neat and clean. Lots of foreign films are showcased here.

WENT YESTERDAY, THE GUY SENT ME TO THE WRONG SCREEN AND SOLD ME THE WRONG TICKET EVEN TOUGH A REPEATED MYSELF 3 TIMES ABOUT THE MOVIE I WANTED TO WATCH. I MISSED THE FIRST 30 MIN OF THE MOVIE, YOU HAD ONE JOB MATE.... UGH

Funky old style cinema. You climb up lots of stairs to find a ticket office and excellent cinema bar. 2 cinemas, one a giant old barn and the other is more intimate, up more stairs. Excellent place for art films.

Saw a German film there. The cinema was good, sound good and it was very well visited for a Wednesday evening. I was even very surprised that a medium pop corn was only $9. I believe that is cheaper than Hoyts.

Delightfully old fashioned but sit in the front! Q was too far from the screen! The French film with Patrick the donkey was brilliant! No drink holders and the seats don't recline! Not really "surround sound"

Lovely independent cinema with lovely staff and a great screen and sound system. The theatre itself is aging and the chairs are small and worn. But it's a lovely place to see a movie. Reasonably priced.

One of the top cinemas to go to for classic screenings. Where else are you going to see a double feature with Videodrome and The Thing? Nowhere. Even the Orpheum wouldn't do that. Cheap tickets, too.

Old school cinema often the last place showing a particular film so you can see it on a big screen before it goes to DVD. Parking around here is total balls. Almost guaranteed to get a ticket.

It was a great location for the small community film festival we attended. Although it's looking a bit aged and the paint was peeling the Chauvel was an amazing venue with a great atmosphere!

Great venue and movies but if all you want is tickets, you are in the same line as the person who wants a double-shot extra hot skim soy chai latte with 3 sugars and my partner will have....

My second home, so it's hard to be objective! But I love everything except the queue system, which sucks. They really should separate food & drinks from to jets, to reduce frustration!

Pricey but a breath of fresh air compared to the big chains. Expect no crowds, a very limited number of screens and food and drinks options not typically available in a cinema.

Really good place. The only thing was that the seats were quite dirty. I found a stash of rubbish on mine. I would rate this place 5 stars if that problem was fixed though :)

Great art deco architecture, though feels a bit run down with limited staff. The male usher with an aviator spec frame during my visit seemed professional and dedicated.

Saw a great film last night “Hive” ! As for the venue , such a shame that’s it’s not been maintained , quite sad to see such a historic building with such lack lustre .

Feel glad to saw shuji Terayama’s film at here, it’s so amazing!!! But the seat of cinema one seems need fixed up, too old and some of them was broken up already

The place is a disgrace, dirty, clearly falling apart and in desperate need of saving. The council who own the site should hang their heads in collective shame.

Lovely old cinema with fabulous movies and friendly staff. It is a shame the City of Sydney does not provide more funding for this beautiful heritage building

Largely independent program throughout the year plus some great world cinema festivals. Venue itself could get a quick refurb, it's showing its age.

Awesome cinema! Went here for a student film festival and had a great time! The staff were extremely accommodating to my needs as a wheelchair user.

Nice olde world cinema. Think ahead & get there early as parking is problematic. Always worth a visit when there's a Foreign Film Festival.

worn and tired seating but full of character and surprisingly large inside and nostalgic. you can buy and take alcohol in. rarely crowded.

French Film Festival 2018 was very poorly organised. Too many people and very inefficient ticketing system. The movie was great though.

Future Art @brazenlot was amazing!!! Looking forward to their new venture. Wheelchair access through the exhibition was available.

Another outstanding festival experience. Terrific welcome and service from super-busy staff. Great atmosphere for cinema-going.

This place is a health hazard. Some of the seats were wet from the recent downpour with mould present in the main cinema.

The Chauvel is a fine example of a small local cinema, independent of the huge chains. Comfortable at affordable prices.

Great little cinema. Saw Spanish film festival movies their. Not far with quick bus trip. Staff are lovely and helpful.

Nice space but not enough staff. One person to sell tickets. drinks and prepare coffee. I gave up.. no drinks thanks

Lovely old cinema in a very old building dating back to 1890 There today to listen to my favourite author talk

Nice little cinema I had no idea existed. Went there for the French Film Festival. Seats aren't great.

Great art deco cinema, but needs some renovation work to bring it up to a better standard of comfort.

Well laid out cinema, lots of room amd comfortable seats. Good quirky / arthouse movies often shown

Air conditioning way too cold, uncomfortable seats plus smelly . Other than that ,terrific …

Friendly, charming, atmosphere. Seats need a refurbishment tho. Good to see an art house film.

This cinema tends to show art, intellectual and foreign movies which I find quite refreshing.

Very shabby and neglected. Could do with a good clean and makeover. Definitely not 4 stars.

Great time watching the biggest Little farm hosted by Harvest Farms. Great old theatre.

Nice old school cinema with amazing popcorn and wine.. seats comfy but need some love.

Cheap Monday $10. Good. A bit shabby in appearance but good leg room in the theater.

Great cinema. Server named Joe was excellent. He was very helpful

I never miss the International Film Festivals at Palace Cinemas!

Old charm, great for private screening and film festival

A great experience with an open mind movies... must try

It was great love the atmosphere

It’s a good cinema indeed.

Always a great experience