The Dinner Detective

We had a great time, laughed and laughed. Food was fine and drink prices were reasonable. Service was great. Actors were funny and what you should expect for the venue. Give it a try with an open mind and you will enjoy yourself. Thank you for a good time. Part of the cast was at our table and they were great to visit with as we thought they were one of us.

I think this is another one of those failing businesses that is using Livingsocial to try to stay afloat. It’s probably why you can’t get a livingsocial refund, even immediately after purchase. I made the mistake of paying $ 95 for a voucher to this event. There are shows for $ 40 of much better quality than this one– actors, food, the whole package. I was looking for cheesy fun, but then again, the murderer was the most obvious member of the cast. I didn’t expect the food to be fabulous but water-​made instant potatoes and a glob of kale no one would eat along with mystery fish was no good.
My main complaint about them is I tried emailing them and talking to them about the 2 sleuth cards I received that are said to be good for «one free admission» that they refuse to honor. I thought it was a scratch off card, but apparently it is not. The two actors at my table told me the sleuth cards were good for the next visit but apparently they were not.
The people who you email with are very manipulative. Why return if I am giving a 1 star review? I figured if it was free, I’d bring a friend who I thought would enjoy it.
I’d also recommend watching out for the bartender. He took an extra $ 20 tip.
Update: Given that the owner is allowed to comment but we are not,
Hi. This is a very accurate review and I’m not blackmailing you on Unilocal.I’m not interested in returning at this point. I was mildly interested in bringing a friend using the cards. I would say I am a pretty good sleuth, given that I found 2 free admission cards. It’s not like I stole them from the host’s table or someone’s purse. We were told to look around the room for clues and the show would come to a «grinding halt» if participants did not find the clues. As I said in my emails, I don’t appreciate you trying to invalidate my experience of your business. Unilocal was made for people to share their honest opinions and businesses can’t bully, manipulate or buy better reviews. That being said, I don’t seem to be the only negative review on here. Disagreeing with customers on your Unilocal is just making you look worse, in my opinion.

I went to see the show with my parents, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I ended up enjoying it very much!
When we got to the Waterfront Hotel, we checked in to get our assigned seating. Unfortunately, they had made a mistake since they had us down as only two people instead of three. We showed them our email receipt and they asked us to wait a while so that they could seat us appropriately. The staff were polite about the situation, so we didn’t mind too much.
While we waited for our table, we were able to take funny pictures using a few of the props they had available, which was fun. They also had a bar and some hors d’oeuvres available to snack on while we waited for the other dinner guests to arrive. We were promptly assigned our seats, despite the mix up, and the show began.
The actors were friendly and funny. They liked to tease the audience a bit, but it was always in good taste. My only gripe about the acting would be that there was a little too much sibling banter between the two detectives; it dragged on a bit. Other than that, I enjoyed the goofiness of the show. Despite its lighthearted nature, it was still serious enough for me to find myself attentive and trying to figure out who the murderer might have been. A prize is given to the person who can most accurately solve the case, so pay attention!
The show was fun, the food was tasty, and the people were friendly! And at the end of the day, I found that I had a good time with my family, which is all that really mattered.

Very disappointed in this show, I really wanted it to be good. It has a lot of potential, sadly which is lacking thereof. My husband and I went to see the show in Oakland (although it is listed as being in San Francisco). We paged full price for both tickets, around $ 190.
We were expecting the décor to be in an old fashioned theme, but there was no decorations or props, it felt like we were in a conference room or plain wedding reception. The two cop actors did a good job but could have done a better job with the acting, at points they were laughing when they were supposed to be serious and it made the scenario unrealistic. Also the person who gets killed did a terrible job at it, screaming and running around the place, then coming back to life again.
We were upset that the «clues» had nothing to do with the revealed killer. And sadly the killer was the obvious actor. We didn’t vote on that person because we felt they had to be the red herring because it would be too obvious of a choice, plus none of the clues pertained to that character. Unfortunately we were wrong. I felt thst the actors were trying to kill time because a lot of the audience interaction had nothing to do with solving the case.
The food was atrocious. The salad was bitter and unbearable. My husband and I were unable to eat it. We both got the chicken, the portions were too small and the food was bland, cold and over cooked. The spinach tasted like it came out of a can, the mashed potatoes from a box and the chicken had no flavor. The only good food was the appetizer and tiramisu dessert.
They had good drinks at the bar, but it wasn’t open the whole event, the bar tender ended up serving food in between the show breaks. Good waitressing service though. Cash bar only.
We left the show feeling extremely cheated. For the price of almost $ 200 (not even including the bar drinks or gas it took to get there. Since it was over an hour and half drive) we expected a LOT more… At least better food and a good show!!! The plot was too dissheveled and disorganized. I don’t think I will recommend this show to anyone. It was 3 hours of time unfortunately wasted :(

Location: Waterfront Hotel, Jack London Square, Oakland. 10÷11÷14.
I wanted to balance out all the bad reviews with my review. I had a good time, and I would recommend the Jack London Square show to friends and family. I’m not sure how the dinner service and actors were at the other locations, but my evening went well.
The actors were ok, the young male lead detective could have «looked» the part a little more, but that’s forgivable.
One thing that the other reviews don’t say, is that your seating may be random. Sitting with strangers can net you an interesting crowd when trying to solve something. Good thing I loved my table! «A» and «Z», «Gandalf» and The Teacher, «Mr and Mrs Clean». My table entertained me almost as much as the actors.

We had a decent time. The food was very plain, but you are there for the show. As for the show it was ok compared to some other shows we have been to.

I really wanted this to be good! I took my 15 year old son, and this was our first time doing a murder mystery dinner theater. I was really expecting some type of ambiance that goes along with the traditional thought of an old time murder mystery. The website has a dark, foreboding look with old-​time characters that you would normally associate with this type of entertainment, so that’s what we were expecting. We bought our tickets online, and one part of the website said the minimum age was 13, and after I bought the tickets, the check out screen said the minimum age was 15. (This needs to be fixed so it is consistent.) It also said to print out the receipt and bring it with us to check in. We got dressed up, and went in eagerly anticipating a night of dark fun and laughter, etc.
When we got there, we were surprised that it was in a conference room that was stark white with bright white fluorescent lights. The people who checked us in didn’t even ask for the receipt we printed out, which was slightly annoying. They were very nice, however, and were joking and very welcoming. They told us to pick made up names of whoever we wanted. I chose Roxy, and my son chose Professor Plum. That part was fun. We got our picture taken with murder props in a funny pose. We were seated at a banquet style table with two other couples. There were two platters of cold cuts that we helped ourselves to. The cold cuts were pretty good.
I knew ahead of time that the bar was cash only because I am a stickler for details, so I had read the extremely small fine print on the receipt before coming. There were several other people who didn’t know it was a cash bar, and were very disappointed. I overheard several people saying they would make a LOT more money if they took credit cards. I agree.
We sat there while people were checked in, and on our table was a sheet of paper that introduced us to the game. This was promising, and it was fun. Then when everyone was seated, the hostess came out and read us the rules. I think this could have been better choreographed with maybe someone in costume who acted out the rules. We kept expecting the bright fluorescent lights to dim, but it never happened.
The evening went on, and we were served our spinach salad and bread, which were both good. I visited the bar three times during the evening, and the bartender poured very good drinks. However, there was not a bartender there the whole time, and several people went up to the bar and waited, and sat back down when it was obvious there was not going to be anyone there for a while.
The game went on, and we were served our dinner. We both had the fish. The salmon and the potatoes were very good. The salmon was cooked well and had a good flavour. However, there seemed to be something really wrong with the greens. They were long, thin broccoli type things, and they were extremely bitter and somewhat spicy. The entire table remarked that they were inedible. Maybe we just got a bad batch, who knows. The other couples said their chicken was «ok», but no one ate the greens. There were also several comments about the portion sizes being way too small. I agree. We actually ended up leaving somewhat hungry.
The service was excellent, the waiters were extremely polite and very attentive with re-​pouring water and clearing the dishes. The tiramisu was very good, and I could have eaten three of them. However, one man at the table had a large piece of plastic in his tiramisu, and had to send it back.
As the show went on, the actors were mostly good. The two main cops were trying really hard to put on a good show, and they were pretty funny, although somewhat «cheesy». They were good at improving, which I know is hard to do. However, one of the actors was going around and acting suspicious and it was rather entertaining for a while. She was hiding behind chairs, taking things off tables, and dropping candy, knives and paper, and writing on peoples hands. We thought it was part of the mystery, but it turns out it was not. We were left a little confused, and realized that it had nothing to do with the show.
I enjoyed the audience participation, and the actors did a good job including people in the mystery.
Overall, it really has the potential to be a great murder mystery dinner theater. However, the lack of ambiance and décor and lighting seriously detracts from the experience. I overheard several people saying the same thing I was saying about the lack of atmosphere.
We ate brunch the next morning at The Fat Lady. The moment I walked into that restaurant, I immediately thought: THIS is where they should hold the mystery dinner theater. The décor, the dark lighting, the heavy red drapes, the odd art, the candles, etc are PERFECT for a murder mystery. I seriously hope the owner of the show considers this, because I think it’s what most people came expecting, and it didn’t deliver.

My wife surprised me with a night out filled with no mystery (we both figured out who before dinner) and wishing to be murdered.
Basically the setup is in a hotel banquet room with no decorations or theme, cheese, olives, rolled up ham and crackers while you wait for guests to sign in, an expensive cash bar, and minimal dinner. Not even worth purchasing through groupon or any other discounter. (We paid full price).
WARNING — You will leave feeling ripped off, hungry, and wishing you had the 2.5 hours back.

I have been dying to do this since we moved to Cali and we attended on Saturday for my Birthday. It was worth the time or money. It was held in a crummy hotel conference room with awful food and expensive drinks. The acting was atrocious and it was not entertaining… sorry but there have to be better ones out there because the idea is great but this was incredibly poorly executed. I expected a lot more from a national company of ‘award winning’ caliber.

This show was so bad! We paid about $ 150 for two tickets. It was in a small conference room in a hotel in Jack London Square. The actors were horrible!
The show was two hours long. In the beginning someone was murdered, then they told bad jokes for like an hour and 50 minutes. And the last 10 minutes, 3 other people stood up saying they were murdered and ran out the door, and we were left to guess what happened. It was sooooo strange…
Can I please have my money back? Or at least an apology for wasting 2 hours of my life that I’ll never get back!

Wow! Real bad. Save your cash and gut. I’ve seen more drama at the Burger King in Oakland than this.

This was a big mistake. My friend recently put together a mystery dinner and I had so much fun that I decided to attend a «real» one. The set up was horrible. It was just half a conference room with no decoration. The food was okay but the mystery didn’t make sense. The few actors were amusing but they were loud and the jokes were cheap. No consumes unless you count a toy gun and a fake badge. Wine is extra and cash only so after spending over $ 200 for 2 people. We walked about very dissatisfied with the experience. Instructions were unclear at the beginning. Don’t waste your money.

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!
A BIG waste of time and money. Very amateurish! So stupid and completely incomprehensible we left after the Main Course.
We couldn’t follow the story. The two people running it just did a lot of screaming.
The acting was not even close to high school level.
The most unenjoyable evening we’ve spent in a long time!

BAD BAD BAD … Bad food, bad location, and bad acting. I really don’t know how to explain this experience other than by the fact that we walked out in the middle of dinner.
Not very cheap either, my wife and I paid over $ 160 for my «steak» plate (which was no more than roast beef on a platter) and my wife’s veggie plate. Waaaay overpriced.
The actors were terrible, using nothing more than dirty jokes in hopes to get the crowd juiced but to no avail. Will not be back, and I’ll prob. not recommend it to anyone I know. :-(

At first I was a bit concerned about going because of some of the reviews. But I had a great time there! I went with some coworkers and my cousin and we all had a wonderful time. The appetizers were really good and the chicken entrée that I got was tasty. I didn’t get to try the beef but my cousin said it was ok. The actors among us were very discreet and I had a hard time figuring out who the murderer was. The detective actors were a bit over the top but I enjoyed that because it made it funny. Overall everyone in the room mingled, I met some great people and everyone seemed to have a great time.

The show is located in a Embassy Suites conference room by the airport and no longer at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf like it says on Facebook. The actors were okay and funny. I received my dinner after everyone at the table at ate because they RAN OUT OF FOOD and had to wait for new food to be made and brought out. We spoke to the owner and she said these things happen at large events and will get me a free cocktail if it makes me feel better. She apologized but rolled her eyes and made a face to another employee as she walked around the table to leave. The rude apology ruined the show and we left before the show was over.

I’ve never paid so much for so little.
The mystery: The host gave away the murderer right before she asked us to fill out the answer sheets. She said his name instead of his email-​address alias. That was absolutely just ruined the whole thing for me.
Winner gets a shirt, mug, and collection of Alfred Hitchcock DVDs, so if you’re into that, be sure to write as detailed explanation tying all the clues together.
The mystery wasn’t convoluted, its straightforward. Clues are easy to tie together.
Actors: They tried … I’m not sure what demographic the jokes were geared towards. Kinda raunchy at times, going for the cheap laughter. I give them credit for getting interactivity from people, that was fun. I wish they let you mingle again after dinner before you solve the mystery.
Food: Terrible. The passed appetizers were basically frozen goods from Costco, warmed slightly. The salad was nothing special, greens, shredded carrots, drizzled with something that tasted like Girard’s White Balsamic dressing. Main entrée, the beef was like a pot roast, SUPER dry (needed waaaay more sauce), plus 5 green beans (unseasoned), scoop of mashed potatoes (bland), and three sour grape tomatoes. Coffee was bad, dessert was barely palpable (it looked pretty). We bought two domestic beers (Anchor Steam Beer) and the bartender charged us for the imported price.
Service: Wow those servers were all jerks. Slamming plates on the table over our investigation sheets. Taking away our plates before we were done eating. Just super rude in general (except for the one server named Archie, he was nice). We had a table of 10 (two separate parties), and everyone kept complaining about the servers.
Location: Dingy looking conference room (wall paper was trippy). Really bad at setting the mood… in fact there was no mood except for a masking-​tape outline of a body in the middle of the room. They really should invest in some posters on the wall and better «mood music» (which was too loud and didn’t fit the mood at all)
Seating: We probably would have had a better time if we were paired with better dining guests at our table. The people we were with were loud, rude, didn’t respect the dress code (torn jeans). The few rules that they did establish, they did not enforce. So just another thing to ruin the mood (because it was pretty clear those diners were NOT the murderer.) Three of the people at the table didn’t really speak English, so they didn’t even engage in conversation. Two of them kept going to the hotel bar to get more drinks because they thought the whole thing was super lame. The others didn’t even care about the mystery, instead they were LOUDLY gossiping about boy troubles and family drama.
There are so many other cool things to do in San Francisco, save your money from this event and spend it somewhere else … ANYWHERE!

Dinner Detective– You’ve got to try it at least once!
Since I’m a known «party planner/​coordinator», I was in charge of arranging a group of people to attend a Murder Mystery Dinner for my friend’s birthday. Since most of my group lived in the Bay Area, it was very nice to know that there was a murder mystery dinner held in downtown SF.
I managed to round up 20 folks for this event. The tickets aren’t cheap but it includes appetizers, salad, entrée, dessert, and coffee. The show was very entertaining. Although some of the actors need acting classes, it was still enjoyable.
When I arrived at the dinner in the Hyatt Hotel, the receptionist knew who I was since I’ve been in contact with them via telephone about reserving two tables (for my group of 20). They let me me in before the dinner began so I could arrange the place cards on the reserved tables. The hosts were very friendly and polite.
When my group started to arrive, they were all excited for the evening fun. The murder theme was good but they can definitely produce a better murder story and plot than what they had.
The reasons why Dinner Detective fails to receive 5 stars is because:
1) The waiter/​waitress staff need to be more customer friendly. None of them had smiles on their faces. It also appeared that some of them didn’t really know how to speak in English (I encountered this twice that night when I asked which appetizers were seafood)
2) You had to pay for your drinks at the bar. That’s fine with me but since the guests already paid so much for each ticket, why not offer a «1 free drink» coupon. I bet that would entice guests to get a 2^nd drink which they’d have to pay for.
3) Table/​Room appearance. The dinner takes place in a hotel conference room. If you’re going to do it there, at least decorate it some more. I’ve attended actual conferences with better set-​up. For the price you pay, you want the «Wow» factor.
4) The staff forgot about serving dessert after dinner! We received our dessert after the show pretty much ended (the murderer was revealed). We should have received it during «investigation» time.
5) When you’re in a large crowd with stubborn, half-​drunk adults, you know they are not going to be quiet unless you paid them big money. The main host and speakers should use microphones. When guests were being interviewed, you could hardly hear what was actually conversed when sitting on the other side of the room. Not good for solving a mystery!
6) Bathrooms– When you have 20+ women wearing heels wanting to go to the bathroom at the same time and your restroom is located clear across the other side of the hotel. let’s just say, you won’t have happy female guests.
I know the rating I provided may seem a little generous now but hey, we all had a good, memorable time.

This was a first for me and i was very impressed. The actors were awesome and really get everyone involved. It’s more fun if you go with a group of friends who are open, fun and willing to participate. Pay attention to the clues and pay attention to names. I had a lot of fun and would love to go again.
The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that the food could be better. But then i went more for the entertainment than the food.

We expected a bit more from the storyline and ending. The plot and killer at the end made no sense and it would have been more fun if it had. At the reveal totally random things we couldn’t have known about are added and it seemed obvious that the only people who got it right were the actors. In fact they gave the prize to an obvious actor if not someone who paid more to «solve the crime». It was fun and silly and I don’t regret it but they need to improve the process. I wonder if they have to come up with new storylines/​killers/​plot for each performance so some A-​hole doesn’t reveal it on Unilocal,maybe that explains it.
The actors did a great job and it made for some fantastic people watching & observing. I did interact and ask questions. I cracked up at the wet sandbags who just sat there and looked like they were being inconvenienced and were totally too cool… I mean did they not understand where they were???
The food was ok. My shortribs were pretty good but my husbands chicken was rubbery and overcooked. I also didn’t appreciate being told by the waiter that we needed to wait until dessert to have coffee while the jack f**k sitting next to us got totally sloshed on 2 bottles of wine. It’s a pretty blatant FU to non-​drinkers. We paid the same right?