Piano Room

2.8 Not Recommended

Drinks  2      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  5     

Going on several reviews before this, Piano Room certainly lacks what most establishments provide as a bare minimum. Service is a major issue here. Uninterested and clueless staff and management make for a compelling experience. Bar staff actually sighed when I made an order. Will not recommend anyone to Piano Room unless they're keen on wasting their evening.

Feb 21, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Drinks  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

If you go to this venue make sure you take a coat and wear warm clothes. The airconditioning is out of control. It is like this all the time obviously because the sound guy was wearing a beanie, scarf and thick jacket and this was in summer! Turn up the heat. We won't be going back unless they do.

Jan 16, 2012 

2.3 Not Recommended

Drinks  2      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  3     

This has to be one of the most gaudy, tacky places I have ever been to.

Our drinks were served in plastic, our meals were served without cutlery in which twice asking proved pointless I had to get up myself and get it, there was gum on the carpet and the ATM was locked up behind a cage.

I ordered the 'ravioli', but got served risotto instead. The waitresses clearly did not know the difference.

The food was actually okay, just. The portions were stingy, but at least it was tasty. That said, I would only go here for a bit of a mocking giggle.

Dec 16, 2011 

10 Highly Recommended

Drinks  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

I went to the Piano room last week and ending up hiring a room at the Holiday Inn just to go there again and again. I was super impressed and am definitely going again.

Love Vicki xoxo

Nov 08, 2011 

3 Below Average

Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  1      Food  5     

I suggested going to The Piano Room to celebrate a relative turning 18, what a Big mistake. We paid $15 each to get in on Saturday night, only to find out that the majority of the place had been 'reserved' so there wasn't anywhere to sit or stand and drink. We got our first round of cocktails which were nice, however, when we went to order the same cocktails again, the bartender was unfamiliar with the cocktail list and the drinks came out very different to what we had originally ordered!

After midnight we saw that the majority of the 'reserved' areas had been vacated so we asked a staff member if we could sit there and he said no problem. We enjoyed our seats for about half an hour before a really rude staff member told us we had to move out of the 'reserved' area. I tried explaining that we had asked staff before we sat down and she just got verbally abusive, swore at me etc..

People like this should not be working in the hospitality industry. I have never come across such rudeness at a bar in Sydney Ever. I will never be going back here and will certainly advise everyone else to do the same.

Nov 29, 2010 

1.5 Not Recommended

Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1      Food  1     

Not a fan of the Kings cross, I was very hesitant attending my friends birthday at this well known venue. A mistake I will never make again. Me and a mate attended the party on a sat night which was hosted at the back bar of the so called "vip" section of piano room.

As it turned out, me and my friend where one of the very few males in this section which was dominated by attractive females. As we were one of the only guys still in their mid 20s in this area, we received a large amount of attention from the b'day girl's friends.

But within an hour of sitting down with the girls, we were approached by a security guard asking if we could leave the area as he had something to tell us. Instantly I knew we were being kicked out for an unknown reason. To the girls shock we quickly said our byes to the b'day girl and friends as we were escorted to the exit.

The security guard then said, trying to keep a serious face "the reason you are being asked to leave is that the senior staff doesn't want you with those girls!" In shock I replied, you do realise I'm here for a b'day, he then replied "yes but he doesn't want you talking to them".

Funny enough I was ready to leave anyway as the bar staff were horrible. We waited for over 30 minutes to get one drink as we watched them prance around laughing and hi fiving each other, which was very embarrassing to watch.

Lastly on the way out I happened to hear the young senior staff (who I recognised was standing behind the bar all night preying on the girls who came to order a drink) ask the security guard "had you kicked out those 2 wogs yet" not realizing I was behind them.

Never before have been asked to leave a club, and never would I expect such a creative excuse. I guess they couldn't use the intoxicated excuse as I only had 1 drink prior due to the incompetent bar staff. Lesson learnt, never again.

Sep 20, 2010 

2 Not Recommended

Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  1      Food  1     

I've never felt so compelled to leave a review for a nightclub before I went to the Piano Room. I was extremely excited to celebrate a best mates 25th birthday at this venue. After being ushered up the stairs by a very sweet door girl I was extremely impressed by the decore and layout of the club. The live music/band were incredible (Probably the best part of the club).

However, my excitement soon turned to disappointment. While waiting in what seemed like a short line for drinks, I witnessed what was without a doubt the worst bartending I've ever seen in my Entire life. Two absolute morons (fashion victims like you've never seen before) pranced around the bar with a sense of accomplishment I have never seen from bartenders in my life.

Standing at the Front of the line, watching these two person dance around each other, giving each other high fives and laughing at the idiotic jokes they shared made us want to leave immediately.

The poor door girl/hostess who ushered me up the stairs stood at the side of the bar and begged and pleaded with these senseless person to serve her so she could serve her parties. After asking one "bartender" to please hurry and help her, the other replied "hey hey, chill, let him do what he's gotta do" while laughing, patting the bar tender on the back as he danced and served no one.

"Are you yelling at Steve?! Are you yelling at Steve?!" he joked. The hostess had clearly given up at this point. They had no desire to serve customers or do anything helpful for anyone.

Finally these bartenders (and I use the term lightly) got around to us and after asking for 6 vodka lime sodas, it still took them more than 5 minutes to get them made for us. The poor door girl was still waiting. What a joke. To say that these drinks were watered down is the understatement of the century. They tasted like lime cordial. I didn't see them make them and I wouldn't be surprised if they forgot to add vodka.

I decided not to waste anymore of my time with these bartenders and tried to get some drinks at the main bar. To my delight, the line looked even shorter. I walked to the bar and was almost immediately at the front. Waiting, watching patiently, myself and the person next to me quickly realized that the bar tenders weren't serving anyone. They too were dancing around, talking to each other.

Finally a bartender was fixing some drinks in front of me and a mate, so my buddy politely asked "mate when you're done with that could you please get a couple drinks for me?" "Can't you see I'm serving someone right now?" he snapped.

I've been a bar tender for over 10 years and the way in which we asked to be served was not rude or demanding. We had been waiting for close to 10 minutes at the front of the line while this dude walked around creeping on girls, attempting to flirt (and failing horribly), almost to the point where it was embarrassing to watch. After being ignored for another 5 minutes we moved to another section of the bar where we were served within 1 minute, politely and efficiently. So there are good bartenders hidden among the senseless person.

Basically, if you like to be treated like that by creeper bar staff, pay ridiculous prices for watered down drinks, talked down to by bartenders with attitude problems, you will Love the Piano Room. If I never go back to that bar it will be too soon.

Aug 22, 2010 

7 Recommended

Drinks  7      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

My expectations of the Piano Room were pretty low due to the fact that they have a dismal 4.1 score (16 reviews) on Eatability which didn't inspire much confidence in the establishment. Most of the negative comments are about the service or lack there of. It was actually quite funny reading through the comments because it sounded like my worst nightmare but I had some $50 vouchers from the Angela Wilson Media Launch goodie bag to use by August so I had nothing to lose except my pride if the bouncers didn't let me in.

I tried twice to email the venue to be added to their 'guest list' and ask if I needed to book a table to eat but had no response. On the same night I was intending to visit with 3 other friends I received an email from Caroline from CNR Communications that a 5 week Burlesque competition was starting and we could be added to the guest list so that was great timing.

Upon arriving around 7.30 pm there was no bouncers to be seen except a service staff cleaning empty Red Bull cans and rubbish from the entrance way. We walked straight in to a fairly empty bar and grabbed a nice cosy seat near the window with views down William Street.

With no wine list or drinks menu available at the bar and hence no prices listed, I was a bit worried about ordering drinks but our energetic and fast talking bar man rattled off the prices of a couple of their Sauvignon Blanc bottles which we ended up ordering.

Unfortunately, all drinks are served in plastic glassware which is in stark contrast to what the decor and ambience of the place is trying to promote. And because of this rule any bottles purchased need to be kept behind the bar which made it inconvenient to get your top up when required, although thankfully our bar man was able to pop around from time to time before it got too busy.

Licensing laws they say but I've never experienced this before unless it gets to witching hour late at night in bars and pubs when they swap glass for plastic or if you visit the IVY pool below the IVY Penthouse. An excellent live music band played familiar songs although at times were a tad too loud and made conversations a bit hard to hear.

The bar food menu seemed reasonably priced and we ordered a selection to graze on. The Cheese Plate ($18) with your classic selection of 3 types of cheeses was well presented and decently portioned for the price, much better value than Berta that's for sure. Satay chicken ($13) came with a spicy peanut sauce and cucumber relish and was tasty and tender.

I was very impressed with the Roasted pumpkin arancini, bocconcini stuffed risotto ball ($9) which I'd happily order again. The tasty Chicken and prawn spring rolls ($13) were large in size and freshly cooked to a crispy outer shell. The impressive sized Prawns wrapped in jamon ($17) were a table favourite although weren't deveined so, unfortunately, I found this tainted the taste of the prawn a bit. I think a more interesting side instead of mixed lettuce leaves would make it even better, perhaps, some tzatziki dip as well.

I enjoyed the wafer thin slices of cured meats and tasty olives in the Antipasto ($18) although I couldn't work out where the white anchovies were, which was listed on the menu. The house made dips weren't the tastiest I've come across like at Sultan's Table but they went nicely with the grilled ciabatta. So in the end I was quite impressed with bar food on offer which was tasty, good quality and fairly reasonably priced for such a swanky style bar.

As a special treat of the night three burlesque performance came on around 10 pm. I didn't quite catch the names of the performers but I think the first act was 'Schimmy' and the third act was 'Coco' but my favourite of the night was the second double act which reminded me a bit of the cheeky and sexy Oui Oui Paris performers I saw at Alliance Francaise De Sydney Bastille Day Party, I wonder if they'd be interested in performing at my birthday.

Simon Food Favourites Blog Review
/> http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2010/08/piano-room-swanky-bar-with-view-potts.html

Aug 14, 2010 

2.3 Not Recommended

Drinks  5      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Entertainment not quite as good as your local RSL and the most hopeless bar staff in Sydney (Gin and Lemonade rather than Tonic requested, just one example).

Apr 25, 2010 

10 Highly Recommended

Drinks  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

I was on the guest list for Piano Room last Saturday night. Once I informed the door host she immediately walked me past the door and seated my guests in our area. A host came to us immediately and continued to give us incredible service all evening. Not once did I have to line up at the bar. The tapas were absolutely incredible and the live music was a breathe of fresh air.

We then continued our night onto Trademark (which the host immediately let us through) and didn't leave until the early hours of the morning. Thank you Piano Room staff for ensuring we have such a lovely evening!

Apr 08, 2010