Reviews

Based on 12 reviews

howlinginseattle

This place is great!!!!!

This is a great place to go with a group of friends. I have been to quite a few Howl at the Moons across the country and this is right up there with the best of them. I was just there saturday night and had a great time. The food has gotten better since the last time I was there and I would recomend having dinner there now. I had the Meat Loaf and it is out of this world! The people that were with me had a variety of things on the menu and everything was great. They have a good wait staff that is very helpful. We had a reservation fo 12 and showed up with a few more and the host was very accomadating to find room for us even though they had a almost full house. Some of the piano players have changed and it is very refreshing to here the show they have now! I cannot wait to go back!!!!!!!

posted at 03/07/07

seattlefunseeker

88 Keys is an absolute blast!!!!

I went to 88 Keys for the first time last night and had the greatest time!!!! From the minute you walk in the door the atmosphere screams-FUN FUN FUN! People were on their feet dancing, singing along to the song being played and having a great time. We grabbed a drink from the friendly bartenders (who make great drinks by the way) and sat down to enjoy the show. Not knowing what exactly to expect I was completely blown away. The piano players (4 of them on rotation) entertained the crowd with their colorful rendition of our favorite songs. They bounced around all music genres- from Radiohead to John Mayer to Garth Brooks to Elton John and many other great tunes that we all know and love, pausing their vocals at certain moments to let us sing the next few lines. Then out of nowhere one of them jumped on a set of drums, another grabbed a bass guitar and they tore a killer version of "City of Compton" by Dr. Dre. It was awesome!! I noticed they were allot of single people mingling and having a great time , and I couldn't help but think of how the fun atmosphere is a real ice breaker when you want to have fun with someone you just met. You can be goofy and its totally acceptable! There was a big bachelorette party there and they made the bride to be feel real special.

Overall my experience was as good as it gets. There wasnt the typical Pioneer Square roudies that tend to ruin the fun. The drinks and service was great. The bathroom were the cleanest I've seen in Pioneer Square and the entertainment was top notch.

I recommend going there very soon. We will definitely be back very soon for more fun.

Enjoy

posted at 03/10/07

initforfun

Let's get something straight here.............

This is only my first posting, but after seeing these others about this joint, I just had to chime in.

While I understand the frustrations of slow service and mediocre food......others who have posted about 88 keys obviously don't understand what it's really all about. I've been there 3 times......I've never eaten there and at some point each visit I've had to leave my table to get a drink from the bar because my waitress was MIA. But the serivce is not the reason to go there, people!! You go there, like I did last night, to have a kick-ass time with friends in an environment that makes it IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT HAVE FUN!!!

The place is packed by about 9:30.....I don't envy those waitresses trying to get to everybody! But the music is loud, and I mean that as a plus, not a minus. I practically lost my voice singing along to songs that I have missed terribly over the years. Be prepared for Birthday parties (of which I was a part last night), Bachelorette parties (there were 3), small groups and couples. Don't be shy about singing, dancing, and just plain having a great time. But again, IF THE POINT OF YOUR EVENING OUT IS TO HAVE A JOHNNY-ON-THE-SPOT WAIT STAFF AND GOURMET FOOD.......YOU SHOULDN'T BE AT ANY BAR........!!!

But if you just want to let your hair down and have fun with a ton of other people looking to do the same, by all means......88 keys is the place for you!

posted at 08/05/07

angieisout

Great Food, Friendly Staff, Excellent Service!!

I recently discovered 88 Keys and the warm, friendly, and inter-personal atmosphere has brought me back the last three weekends in a row! The pianists put on a fun and interactive show, and I loved the way they encouraged everyone in the audience to participate, and even be silly! It definitely broke down that strange social barrier you sometimes find in bars, and this is a great place for going out solo. The food was the best bar food I've ever eaten, and priced very reasonably. To top it all off, this place has an all-around wonderful staff! I'm always greeted at the door with a smile, the bartenders make to die for drinks, and the waitresses are sweet, friendly, and attentive. This is the only bar that I've frequented where the staff actually remembers my name week after week!! I recommend this bar for everyone, young and old, single or not, even a place to take dad; a fabulous time for all!

posted at 10/25/07

astroaphi

Best piano bar I've been to in Seattle

I've been here twice and enjoyed both times. I've been to the Howl at the Moon in Orlando several times, and while I don't think this one is as high energy, the piano players will at least play your song without making you put down a 20. It's much cleaner than several other bars I've been to, and you can generally find a seat as long as you don't have a huge party. Saturday nights are pretty insane, but I thought it was a good crowd and everyone was friendly and in a good mood. The bartenders will make just about anything, and the piano players are pretty talented. They played some pretty random songs that I had never heard of, which is a testament to their talent, but sometimes they are slaves to a lame crowd and have to play the crowd's lame requests (which I really can't fault them for).

posted at 01/09/08

elizabet1231

Fun show, terrible, terrible food and service

The show alone deserved 5 stars but since we did more then just the show have to rate it at all. Went Friday night and paid $10 cover for the comedy and piano show, pretty good deal. Got there at 7:30 and they didn't have our reservation. No big deal as only a few other tables were occupied. Got a seat then waited 15 minutes for waitstaff to stop by. It was our waitresses first day so cut her some slack, at first, but she sucked. Had no idea what was on tap, brought a drink we didn't order, didn't place all the food order, couldn't get the bill right. The drinks were tasty though. Food is bar food but AWFUL, disgusting. It arrived stone cold and sitting in piles of grease. Plus they brought the potato skin appetizer with the meal and it was terrible. Basically took 6 french fries, scattered a couple bacon bits and a huge scoop of sour cream, that was $8.... While you don't except dynamite food at a bar, with maybe 20 people in attendance the cooks weren't busy. Plus it was $10 - $15 per plate so not cheapie fast food. Around the table ordered: cod and chips, burgers, ribs and chicken fingers, caesar salad. On the bill they charged us for the drink we didn't order and sent back, wrong price on fish & chips (special was $8 and they charged each at $14). Different waitstaff had to keep checking on us b/c the waitress just disappeared then had to clock out for the night. She said gratuity (18%) was included since we were a party of 6 or more so we didn't add more, heck if possible would've given her 10%, then the bar manager comes over and says we have to add tip! Then they came back and said they couldn't find the credit card charge and had to fun it thru again. We saved all the receipts 'cause not sure this will end up good. Drinks were yummy but expensive, $11 for house liquor mixed. Draft beers were $5 each. The did run a couple drink specials during songs which was cool. The show was a blast, Casey, one of the players is extremely talented.

posted at 12/06/08

roboboogie

Terrible place

lame atmosphere, show was OK, but the bouncers and wait staff are the worst!! incredibly rude so-much-so i'm writing my first ever review to encourage you NOT to go there. Try Chopsticks in Queen Anne, much more fun.

posted at 12/15/08

camper2507

A W*nk Night Out, Guaranteed

Quite simply one of the worst bars I've been to in many years. The food is dreafully bland, lacking any character - if that's Mexican food, I'm a Chihuahua. The service was equally poor - the lass was clueless, timid and ought to go back to Burger King pronto. Then the comedians - ah, those wannbe funny guys. WelI, I spent the first act (I use the term "act" very losely) peeling a paper coaster apart in my angst as the pigmy-brained moron with the mike spent 15 minutes offering nothing except verbal d*arrhea. Ok, it will get better, right? No, no and thrice no. We then had the main man - some bofoon from Portland (who claims to have entertained US troops in Iraq), predictably with cap on backwards, slugging Bud, took it on himself to spend at least 30 minutes boring the t*ts off virtually everyone in the room, and even refused to step down several times at the request of the host. I once thought Portland to be a right-on town - jeez, they must have some pretty shoite trailer parks down there. If you like regurgitated bile, he's your man - and he even couldn't resist offering that classic "when in jail, watch your a**e" chestnut. Frankly, I only stayed just to see how BAD it could get - and I've seen worse natural disasters in sub-Saharan Africa, my friends. Oh, he even tried to plug his dull CD - you couldn't pay me to give it a glance, let alone abuse my CD player with its presence. Could this guy be the cause of our troops' post-deployment mental problems???? I think I may have the answer, Vets Admin.

So, I actually feel most sorry for the piano guys. They are actually very talented, and managed to blend the fun of the music well with a few "games" on stage. They ought to kick the woman out of bounds, though - she's not up to scratch. So, don't come hungry and don't come for the "comedy" hour - it will ruin your weekend. I'm still recovering, but writing this has eased the pain.

posted at 01/26/09

Zenabio

Good piano bar, Terrible sports bar

If you're going to call yourself a sports bar, at least have some sports to watch in it. I asked the bartender if they could put on the NHL game, and, after ten minutes of searching through the channels, couldn't find it. She then came up to me and said "I'm just a girl, I don't know what I'm looking for." She asked ME to help her find the channel. After going through the channel guide with her, I found it, but they didn't subscribe to it. I went back to my beer and then someone else wanted them to put on the NBA game. They didn't get that either. Apparently, they only have games shown on local channels and ESPN, which still took forever for the girl to find.
The piano player was good, and the beer was alright, but if you want to watch a game, go somewhere else.

posted at 04/19/09

Leather

Best Piano show and comedy act

I went here saturday night and the piano show was a riot! I had a great time the servers even danced on stage and the bartender blewn fire. It was a great time. The food was pretty good too! I had a cheesesteak and fries and the fries were homemade and delicious.

I would definately reccomend this to a friend it was good times!

posted at 06/01/10

hyzenthlay

Fake positive reviews

88 Keys is OK.

It's a fun night out; you get to enjoy some reasonable comedy and some solid piano playing. The drinks are nothing to write home about, and a tad overpriced for a place that has a cover - but, hey, the entertainment is amusing. The food is one notch above terrible. There is some good bar food in Seattle, and this place hasn't got it. But, still, it's a mediocre price for mediocre food and drink with a little entertainment to boot. I have no problems with 88 Keys; it's not good, but it's OK.

What I do have problems with is their phony "reviews" in CitySearch. Go to the last page of reviews on this venue; they're from 2006. Each of the first ten or so entries is so obviously fake it's insulting. Sentence structure, grammar choice, and overuse of !!!!!!! make these blatantly obvious to spot.

Come on, 88 Keys. Have a little decency. If you're so terrible that you need to write phony reviews, you should probably reevaluate what you're doing.

posted at 09/03/10

Jewlie

NOT worth the $

Started off with the bouncer loosing our reservations and being very rude. The waitress was awful! She had NO idea what wine or beer they served. Said they didnt have African Amber, but that they had Mac n Jacks (they are the SAME), then proceeded to serve us an African Amder! Really?!! Had to ask multiple times to get a drink and still didnt receive (couldnt even get water).

The entertainment got better throughout the night, but still was nothing like the awesome show at Chopstix. All in all we would not recommend this venue.

posted at 10/10/10

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