88 Keys Piano Bar and Cafe

This is the second time I’ve visited this restaurant for dinner. The first time was when they had just opened, i hadn’t made a reservation and the owner was just plain rude so we left at went next door to Vietasia.
So we thought we’d try again as it’s a great neighbor hood location. I made a reservation for 7.30 Saturday night. Didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
We arrived prompt at 7.25,and we’re greeted by the bar staff who got us menus and told us to sit anywhere we liked. There was a small party in the back and 2 other tables seated. We picked a table and sat down.
There were 2 wait staff, so we looked at the menu and decided what we’d like to eat. Then we waited and waited and waited. One of the waitresses walked passed us 3 times and made no acknowledgment to the fact we were sat there. Finally after 15mins of waiting, no water, no drinks, no bread, no food order, we left.
We will not be visiting again.

I wish I could give zero stars! Food quality is of a Denny’s. They have nerve to charge $ 30.00 for a New York steak which was the quality of Denny’s. I couldn’t believe how thin the steak was and this probably explained why it came out way past well done! Too bad for me I ordered medium. They can’t even cook Pasta, over cooked noodles which means noodles were mushy! The ribs were tough and over cooked. They had flavor but not good flavor! The garlic mash potatoes were good! The service was horrible!!! Our server cheerful, however clueless about how disappointed the guest were, we weren’t the only table! We sent back food and didn’t eat what was fixed, the second time around the food was bland. The server should of guess that the plates were full we didn’t eat the second attempt we won’t be needing a box. Put it this way I rather go to in and out!!! At least in and Out has good standards

I will never go there again in my life! The dough was raw! The hamburger was raw! One side of the hamburger was burnt and the other side was totally raw! The butternut squash was so sweet! It was like it was dumped in a bucket of sugar! And the pasta had no seasoning!
The floor was kind of sticky. At least the piano player was good!

I am so surprised at how bad it is. The fried pickles were 90% dough and 10% pickle. The pasta desperately needed salt. The fish and chips were mainly dough. I asked for a medium rare hamburger and it was well done. We sent it back. Then it came back rare. The butternut squash was WAY to sweet. It seemed to be in a simple syrup sauce. We kept sending things back and finally gave up and just wanted to leave. Wow. I’ve never had such a disaster of a meal.

Five stars because our waitress Jenny was fabulous and even though the kitchen was obviously backed up she made sure that we had a salad or soup with a plate of bread. She made sure to explain what was going on and if there was anything we needed. I noticed that her entire section was loaded with people who were also waiting but they weren’t angry. She was talking to everyone so politely, making them laugh and making sure that everyone had something to snack on while waiting. The music was great, when we received our food it was nice and hot and well plated. Though we did notice another blonde waitress rushing around carelessly (kept walking angrily past our table) — she looked upset and as if she wanted to leave. Other than that and the wait time me and my friends will definitely be back on a day that Jenny works, and on top of her being incredibly sweet and good at her job she’s a nursing student. How cool! Fantastic place.

Went back this weekend (same food I ordered before) but the food was completely different, very bad. Waitress told me that they’re short staffed in the kitchen and their previous chef left. Plus the food was served on plates that were chipped. Bummed because this place could’ve been a great neighborhood venue.

Our first time here was awesome. Our second time was not so great. Our server was nice but absent minded. She forgot so many things but at least she was super nice and patient. (Forgot waters, never brought my kids drink at all, forgot the spoon, forgot sugar, forgot tea, etc) We were informed the kitchen was running behind which was not a problem. But then we got all the food including salads at once. Our server seemed like she had never been a server before because she was bringing things out piecemeal and had no idea how to be efficient. She seemed to not be in tune with her tables and more trying to figure out her job. the food last time was great. This time it was mediocre and not hot. I don’t know what happened.

We just had the worst meal in memory at 88 Keys. The food was horrible and the service wasn’t much better (wrong items delivered multiple times). I read the owner’s plea on Unilocal to try their restaurant as they’ve just upgraded their chef. I was told they are in the process of doing this again and I believe it as I’ve had better quality food at fast food establishments. Do not waste your time or money at this restaurant. I am extremely embarrassed that I brought my family and friends to try this.

This is first time I’ve ever written a review on here…
I made reservations for dinner Friday night at 7 pm for a nice evening for my husband and I. I thought that the live piano music would be a nice addition to a well prepared meal.
We were seated quickly when we arrived as there were many open tables when we got there. The piano music wasn’t too loud where we were sitting which was nice.
It took the waitress about 10 mins or so to come by and take our drink order. She actually left and brought us waters then took our drink orders when she came back. My husband ordered beer and I asked for a pear martini. It took literally 30 min to bring out a pear martini after which my husband had finished over half his beer. It had a good pear taste but it was very sweet, but still drinkable.
We didn’t place our food order until about 45 min after we got there. I got the garlic scampi and my husband ordered the house burger. Something happened with the «computer» system per our waitress that caused the kitchen to never get our order. After about an hour and a half of waiting, she finally came back over to tell us about the error. She brought us some stale bread with no butter while we waited about 30 mins for our food. My shrimp dish was very watery with no flavor, and my husbands burger had the the end piece of a tomato and old looking lettuce on it with no mayo. The fries were also cool and very greasy.
They did comp the bread pudding dessert we ordered, which was good. They put an extra scoop of ice cream and the cook tried writing «Sorry» on our plate with chocolate sauce but couldn’t so then he just poured a big heap on chocolate sauce on one side of the plate.
All in all, the place has a lot of potential but we were extremely disappointed with the service and the food. We will NOT be returning any time soon.

This is a wonderful local place that is very welcoming and great. Their happy hours are terrific with great wines and appetizers. I would highly recommend this place to anyone!

I need to say that I think 88 Keys has great food (probably the best in Morgan Hill.) I have been a loyal customer and supporter since their opening. I hope they will be able to find someone to support them and spread the word. I spoke with another couple that used to frequent this establishment that will not return nor will they recommend this restaurant to others.

I love the concept of this place. Live music, table service and full menu. This place has nowhere else to go but up and they will get there! The fall/​winter menu is coming out next week and I’m very excited about this neighborhood restaurant going to the next level. Step by step.

Hi Unilocalers!
My name is Mark and I am the owner of 88 Keys Café.
If you noticed that we have been getting several 1 star Unilocal from mid August till the beginning of October. We had a very bad chef. Slow to get the food cooked, cold food, missing items on the plates, etc. We replaced him with a fantastic chef that previously headed up a very up-​scale Los Gatos restaurant.
Please give us another try. We value your comments.
thank you,
Mark

First time there at 88.
I ordered the bar burger because I was indecisive: p I honestly wanted the cheese plate lol, but knew that prob wouldn’t be a good representation of the place, right?
My bf ordered the bigger burger; the 88 burger with cheese and bacon. We both had the Avalon Cab (which I really like).
Both burgers were juicy, cooked great (medium) and the aioli was very nice with a pesto like flavor.
We originally went because he wanted ribs with mashed potatoes but they were out, so the burger it was.
We enjoyed the food, the ambiance was fine as we missed the music but I liked the quietness. We spoke to the owner on our way out and she was attentive and friendly. I want to come back and try salads and other items for sure.

First of all my I want to clarify that I have been to this establishment three times and this review is based upon the combined experiences between all of those visits.
The first thing that I want to call out is that I can’t believe the existing star rating for this establishment. Coming in at 3.5 stars, there really has to be something wrong with the system.
Either people in Morgan Hill have lost their passion for food and are OK with mediocre, below average food or first the first time Unilocal is just not accurate somehow.
I write the following review in hopes people will «wake up» and demand better quality and food. You deserver better and your hard earned dollars should get you a memorable experience.
BAR
The cocktails are horrible. If you want to test this theory out, order yourself an Old Fashioned.
I have been drinking Old Fashioned’s for years and I have ordered this classic cocktail twice at this place and on both visits it was absolutely disgusting. The Old Fashioned here is about 75% soda water. I am not even sure they put in bitters. Cocktail was tasted by three people and returned as it was so so sad. Suggestion to 88 Keys, please go out to Ladera Grill or Odeum or GoodFork and order yourself an Old Fashioned and then compare it to what your establishment serves and you will know why I am being so hard on this.
Back to the BAR, this is a more of Beer, Wine, Soda type of place. Better yet, its worth bringing your own wine and paying corkage if you want a really good bottle of wine.
Food
The food is about 60% warm up or slice up stuff from Costco and serve, and about 40% actual cooking and preparing of fresh ingredients is my best guess.
Last night we payed $ 24.00 for a dish that was called Stuffed Shrimp.
The dish came with 6 overcooked shrimp and crab or lobster stuffing which was basically 90% bread with a little of seafood mixed in and then baked over the shrimp. This was served with stale rice (very stale and offensive rice) and vegetables.
To break this plate down, this cost the restaurant no more than 5 dollars in materials and thats being generous. The math just doesn’t work. This was a complete rip-​off.
Again to the restaurant please go to Odeum and see what $ 24.00 can buy you and how fresh it is compared to what you are serving. I hope you can find inspiration.
We also ordered their specialty hamburger and it was fine. The bread it was served with was sad. Fries were fine. Price value was good.
Service
The server brought out a few pieces of bread and some dip before the meal started. We asked the server what the dip was made of and she had no idea. Our server also spilled about 10 percent of one of our cocktails on to her serving tray as well as our table and did not offer to replace the cocktail which is what a classier place would do.
Arriving at 7pm, the food took an hour and a half to come out. The restaurant only had about 10 – 12 tables of guests. The service was very slow and more like Denny’s type service.
To Wrap it up
The owner told us how lucky she is to have such a great kitchen staff and bartender who is so skilled. This is just not true. While I was there, I kept on thinking about the shows on Food Network where they come in makeover and ultimately try to save a failing restaurant. They usually have to confront the restaurant owner over and over to make them understand how bad their food and experience is before it really sets in. I am afraid that 88 Keys is in the exact same scenario and at this pace they will no be around much longer.
The one saving grace that has kept 88 Keys in business is that they are Downtown Morgan Hill’s spillover restaurant. Cant get a reservation at any of the downtown spots because you didn’t plan early enough, well come on down to 88 Keys where the food and cocktails are mediocre but you can always find an open table.
O yeah, by the way there is a guy in the corner playing the piano sometimes.

88 keys is my favorite restaurant. I drive from San Jose to Morgan Hill if I want an exceptionally good evening of food and nice music.
I like flavor combinations that are unusual and food that is well prepared and beautiful. I find the atmosphere delightful and welcoming.

Sitting here digesting a tack of pork with my friends who ordered other various items on their menu. I hear no complaints and my meal was huge and great. The ambiance, the service, the music, the vibe, I will be back!

The fam and I were looking for something good within walking distance… we really wanted to like the place but all I can say is nope.
One word people, «SALT» heed the advice of nearly half the people giving you your 1’s, 2’s and 3 star reviews for your lack of seasoning… or keep catering to the geriatric crowd!!!

I liked the food… I really did. But when I’m at a restaurant, I’m looking at the overall experience. I enjoyed the piano playing, but when a lady started singing I felt like I was at a Karaōke bar… especially when she started welcoming guests by their first name.
Service was a little slow. The bus boy needs a belt, too. There’s nothing more annoying in any place of business than seeing an employee walking around with their pants falling down. I was watching him hold his pants up with one hand while wiping tables with the other. I don’t want to see some guy’s ass while I eat.
Like I said, I liked the food. Unfortunately, I probably won’t be back until it resembles a professional dining establishment.

1.5 STARS SUPER SLOW SERVICE
Ayayay…what can I say… I really wanted to like this place. I always appreciate when a new restaurant takes a chance in Morgan Hill. We’ve been lucky lately with places like Odeum, Ladera and The Good Fork.
But I can’t say the same for 88 Keys. I think it’s evident that the owners probably don’t know a thing about running a restaurant.
Besides the pedestrian décor (which I’ll never hold against a place if the food makes up for it), the service is just so… sad. We walked in and were met with a lukewarm welcome. Once we were seated, we waited about 15 minutes for anyone to even look at us (I timed it on my cell phone clock). I finally flagged down a waitress to request a menu. 10 minutes later, she came back to take our order. By this time, I was starving so I ordered a cup of soup recommended by the waitress. It took about 15 minutes for that to arrive, along with some stale-​ish bread. The soup was just OK but I was hungry so I ate it all. It was another 20 minutes or more before the entrees arrived. No refills on bread to keeps us busy or to ward off the ever increasing hunger.
The entrees arrived at last and everyone was pretty satisfied, though not thrilled, by their food. Probably because by that time, everyone was starving. One of the dishes said it came with risotto but it looked like Rice-​a-​Roni instead. My husband’s food said it came with baked potato but it came with mashed potato. The waitress still gave us the butter and sour cream to go with. I don’t know if she realized that the potatoes were mashed not baked. The veggies were nice — not overcooked. We didn’t even consider dessert since we didn’t want to be there til midnight.
Our server was sweet and she did her best. I don’t know what’s up with the service here. Maybe hire more servers? The food was not worth the wait. It’s too bad because this could be a great neighborhood restaurant that could be on our regular rotation but there isn’t anything compelling here to bring me back.