Orinda Theatre Square

What is with the Parking Garage and no attendance to help the customers? A very bad idea! I liked it better when it was FREE after 6:00 p.m. and on weekends. I don’t care how many new restaurants are in the square I won’t go back there ALL BECAUSE OF THE RIDICULOUS PARKING SITUATION.

Orinda Theatre Square is right off Highway 24 not too far from the Caldecott Tunnel. A pretty nice small business district that is also historic in some ways. Plenty of shops and restaurants, so you can’t go wrong! Good place to stop and hang out or rest at.

Despite the squares close proximity to the busy freeway, it seems quiet and peaceful sitting at any of the outside restaurants.
I feel like I am on a mini vacation, when I can have a nice lunch and then see a movie at the beautiful Orinda Theater.

The opening of Table 24 and Barbados have really revitalized this old square. The historic Orinda Theatre is… well, historic, so don’t expect too much out of it, but the modern shops and restaurants add a little more zip to the plaza making it ideal for a dinner-​and-​a-​movie date or a nice night out on the «town» (I live in San Jose now. A real city haha).
This place never really changes but it’s never been ugly by any means. Swing by! Its a cute stop.

I love historic movie theaters. Because it’s in Orinda near the great shops and because the actual seating area of the theater is pretty cool I give it 3 starts. Beyond that I can’t give any outstanding or even mediocre review. The carpet is disgusting, the bathrooms are horribly maintained and need some serious TLC. I wouldn’t go out of my way to attend this theater. The Hoffbrau down the street is a must and so is the cupcake shop around the corner.

Really cute shopping area with theater and fountain and cafes, bakery. Spouse and I walked around here and did some window shopping. Check out the cool little Barbie display in front of the theater and see if you can guess all the Stars!

The word ‘Theater’ here makes all the difference — this is a great place to come to catch an independent movie, and have a yummy bite before or after. There is some shopping to be found in the square but it’s pretty minimal.
Having said that, I love this square! A large dedicated parking structure connects you via an easy stroll to the many restaurants, with every imaginable price point and cuisine to suit your need to feed! No matter what, a pop into Republic of Cake for a sweet treat is basically a requirement, and highly recommended.
A personal highlight for me is the Sweet Dreams toy store — my BF and I spent a good hour exploring that shop and walked out with a couple amazing puzzles to try, and also wind-​up toys of some beloved horror movie characters. Yes, at a toy store! Among many other treasures, they also have a fun collection of beautiful crafted and detailed animal puppets. Endless amusement while in the store, and I bet they make a great gift for an imaginative child that loves to show off and entertain.
The gem of the square is of course the Orinda Theater, which has its own separate page. A GORGEOUS art deco theater, with screen and sound quality updated to keep the theater current and relevant, but still glammed up with everything wonderful about the old-​time movies houses of the 50’s and 60’s. It truly is a trip to another time to see a film in that theater.
If you want to get away from the cookie-​cutter strip mall experience for a movie and dinner date night, I highly recommend visiting Orinda Theater Square!

Haven’t been to Orinda in years and a friend thought it would be nice to meet there. It’s cute but not much to do. Good thing we were only meeting for coffee and some chit chat. I’ll stick to downtown Walnut Creek.

For my son, this place is awesome. He just loves the chance to walk/​run/​dart back and forth through the corridors.
I guess I can’t complain because he’s completely contained. He also enjoys window gazing. There’s plenty of interesting shops he can run up to and look at all the stuff.
We come here on the occasional Sunday. We usually eat at Table 24 or Barbacoa. Both of which have out door seating for you to watch my son whip past you on his exploration.
There is one little thing that I need to complain about. I went alone for lunch the other day. I walked past the fountain and sitting there with his bare feet up on was a man in only a pair of khaki shorts. He also had two dogs, one of which wasn’t leashed and he kept having to jump up to make sure it stayed near him. I could have lived my entire life without seeing his gray haired tits in the light of day. What posses people to think that treating a public place like their private back yard is ok?
Public smoking doesn’t bother me but no shoes and shirt with shitty dogs just really makes me hate humans.
Other than that, enjoy!

Nice place in the summer. Unfortunately not much to do there. Other than coffee, a few restaurants, and a theatre. The only reason why I like it is because it’s in my town.

Once upon a time, the Orinda Theater Square was full of shops, restaurants and other stuff. Now, theres just the theater, a Sweet Dreams toy store (loved that place as a kid), a Starbucks, a Subway, offices, and other restaurants. There is really nothing here. It’s sad to see such a pretty little square so empty.

Great variety of events, restaurants, and shops. You cannot leave the plaza w/​o making a trip down to ‘Republic of Cakes’. Their cupcakes are to die for!!! And the Theater itself is beautiful! I would definately recommend Orinda Theater Square to residents, travelers, and tourists alike.
The 5 Stars speak for itself…

This is Orinda’s focal point. Sadly Orinda’s focal point is generally devoid of life.
I love Orinda. I lived there for 8 years and still go back all the time because that’s where my parents live. But no amount of love will keep me from saying the truth… Orinda kind of sucks and there is nothing to do there. Orinda Theatre Square is no exception.
There are a few restaurants here, non of them very good (for good restaurants go to the other side of Orinda by the Safeway). There is a Starbucks which as you might expect is the real winner of all of the foot traffic. There are random offices. And there is a theater. The theater is fun and old time-​y but only has three screens.
There is also a Sweet Dreams toy store. I moved to Orinda as a kid from the Oakland hills. So I would often go to Berkeley as a kid and would inevitably go to the Sweet Dreams there. I loved that store. I moved to Orinda when I was 10 and was delighted to learn that my own city had a Sweet Dreams. But oh was I disappointed when I walked in and the store was awful. I have not been inside in many years but have walked by, and from the windows I can tell that not much has changed.
The best part of the square is the fountain. But there is only so much joy that can be derived from a fountain.
So all in all you might be best if you avoided this place. I don’t really know any people who live in Orinda and actually go here. If you live somewhere else then you have absolutely no reason to go here.

The Hub of Orinda. Japanese food, Hawaiian BBQ, a toy store, Starbucks, Subway, Greek food, a movie theatre, hot dogs!, Real Estate offices, Law Offices, Art Galleries… underground parking (free if you leave after 8p and all day Sat + Sun!)
The guy who works the parking lot cashier station sings, loudly, 70’s hits. Always. It used to be annoying, but now, well, I’ve grown to find it endearing.
Teens skateboard in the parking garage after hours, so don’t rip around the corners too fast in your fancy euro-​mobile.