Do a little dance, suck a little blood? Get down tonight? Draculas Cabaret Restaurant Review

By Bobbi-Jo // 14 April 2010 // Comments: 0 // Related Categories: Best Backpacker Job, Nightlife, Surfers Paradise, Things to do

I hold a special place in my heart for things that are moderately to very cheesy.

Those little heart candies you get on Valentine’s Day.

“SPRING BREAK 2009” T-shirts from Key West.

Justin Beiber.

Wait. What?

Anyway.

Among the things that I find particular cheesy but that I LOVE: Dinner theater.

Medieval Times in Orlando, Florida? EPIC.

So I really do like my waiters dressing up like borderline crazy people, watching a show, and making a night of it.

Draculas Cabaret Restaurant, the Gold Coast’s main if not only dinner theater attraction, follows the same concept as other theatrical dining experiences: a little camp, lots of food, overpriced drinks (in their defense, if I had people trapped for 5 hours in a dark theater and everyone was dressed like vampires, I’d charge whatever I could get away with for drinks as well), and tons of audience interaction.

I wasn’t in love with the Draculas show, I didn’t hate it at all, but I think I was in the unique position of being both too old and too young to fall into the target demographic (even though if you get much younger than me I'm not sure you're even allowed in the building). In addition to that? There were a few jokes thrown in that I’m not sure under would be funny under any circumstances.

There was a really weird joke about Uganda. And the joke about the assassination of John F. Kennedy? Too soon.

The staff was great in that they didn’t break character, even once, even while one was asking me for my number, but they were a little too aggressive in asking me if they could clear my plate when there was obviously like, half a steak left on it (what? I chew slowly. And it was good!).

But on to the good stuff, because overall the show was exactly what it should be - entertaining. They even managed to make a rendition of “I Got a Feeling” bearable, and if you’ve been around me when that song comes on in a bar or club, you’ve seen the look of sheer mortification for the human race on my face. And it was truly silly at its best when the cast did their take on “Crazy in Love.”

By the time they got to the Iron Chef skit, the show felt as though it was grasping a little bit. Maybe you have to like Iron Chef (or, you know, have ever seen an episode) to get it. But it was made up for by the Super Mario skit, which was best done by these guys, but Draculas did it well. The food was also great, each course came out looking like it was oozing of deliciousness and the flavor didn't disappoint. There are also vegetarian options for you non-blood or meat lovers out there.

If I had to grade the night, I’d give it a B-. From what I understand it was the first run of the Black Blood show, so I suspect the kinks will be ironed out and that grade will go up over time.

If you really like dinner theater or camp or, vampires? Give it a whirl. The Ghost Train that leads you in to the auditorium will at least give you a chuckle when they put the picture of you screaming your face off up on the projector during an intermission, and the drinks, even if overpriced, are huge and yummy and will most definitely take the edge off getting your head licked by a member of the cast (I kind of wish I was making that last bit up).

What's the damage? The show (for a ride on the Ghost Train, a 3-course dinner, and the live comedy show) will run you $88 per person Monday-Thursday and $93 on the weekends. Drinks and novelty photos not included.

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Many special thanks to VIP Backpackers for being our gracious hosts throughout this trip!