Bruno's Bistro

We did this game on a whim, and I knew nothing about it — Currently on a trip from Los Angeles to come play a bunch of escape rooms with my best friend and we loved it. My friend speaks Italian and wouldn’t stop living his full Italian fantasy in this bistro. The ambiance, the detail, the puzzles, and all the fun moments set this apart from so many other games. I’ve never seen a game like this and we loved every second. Bruno’s Bistro and Checkmate Escape Rooms is a major hidden gems that needs to be given their flowers.

Very engaging and immersive from the start, with some pacing and puzzle logic issues toward the end. Bruno’s Bistro has a pretty cool introduction to begin the room, and, once inside, you’re immersed in a surprisingly atmospheric space. Probably Checkmate’s best set design and definitely up there when compared to most others we’ve played. It’s also a deceptively large space. The puzzles and flow started out well, and mostly fun and pretty clever little thematic twists on other puzzles we’ve seen, with a few original puzzles we’ve yet to see too. As it progressed however, we found the leaps in logic became greater and way too obtuse. About halfway through the game, the way certain things in puzzles were supposed to end up connecting with other aspects didn’t really make any logical sense, especially within the context of the story. Overall, it’s worth checking out. It’s definitely got some very good and fun surprises, awesome set design, but the later puzzles will make even seasoned vets want to take advantage of the clue system with this one. Trust me, you’re not getting out of this one quickly without help 🍕

This is a gem! I’m not sure how we haven’t stumbled upon Checkmate sooner but I am so excited we have. We’ve done all of game overs rooms in our area and a hand full more but this room is top tier in all ways. Zack was an amazing game master and made the experience that much more amazing. Highly recommend

Overall this was a really fun room that kept surprising us. I love it when we walk into a room and just stop to take it in. You walk in and feel immersed in the story and just can’t wait to explore. The puzzles all made sense and there weren’t any giant leaps you had to take to get a puzzle figured out. lots to do for multiple people at the same time which is great for getting more people involved. Would not recommend for small children given suggestions of gun violence. There were a few puzzles we hadn’t seen before which was fun too- you have to get a little creative. Can’t wait for their new rooms to open.

Loved the location. Great date night with friends. Italian restaurant and brewery next door. Beautiful fun lobby even has a party room. Bruno’s gave us something to talk about. Played over 600 rooms and this is in our top 15% . Not the big million dollar budget room but looks and feels upper end, well done, fast paced logic. Nice to play a room that doesn’t require leaps and literally can play without having to have hints although we did forget about a couple of unopened locks that we hadn’t solved that we’re holding us back. Love the rooms that make us laugh at ourselves. We play for the love of the game. Definitely family friendly. We could have solved it much faster if we had asked for help quicker but we love to slow roll through a room, savoring every moment.

we always beat the escape rooms last night u're buh is fun and we like to take out time and enjoy them the game out master (Elijah) were funny and great 10/10

They’ve done it again! Checkmate is one of my all time favorite companies, and I and I am so happy that they’ve finally opened their 2nd location! We were lucky enough to beta test this one and we LOVED it! It was so immersive and fun. Great puzzles, kept us on our toes. This is one you definitely want to check out!

This room will pleasantly surprise you! From the second you start until the very end your are completely immersed. The puzzles are done extremely well. I’ve done almost 200 escape rooms and this is one of the better rooms I’ve ever done!