Dueling Pianos at Johnny Foleys

This place was freakin amazing! My parents, visiting from Anchorage, and I were just looking for some good food around our hotel and Jonny Foley’s popped up. We decided to have dinner at the bar (the ribs were MIND BLOWING) and the service was great!
We heard the dueling piano bar opened at 8:30 so we ran down and got the perfect table! Both pianists were kind of perfect. Entertaining, funny as hell, and SO talented! Loved it! Can’t wait to go back and watch them again!

Omg. SOOOOO MUCH FUN.
Went on a Friday night for a friends birthday.
Couple of tips…
— NEVER ASK FOR THE BIEBS.
— Bring some cash if you want some song requests
— you can start low early in the night, but as you go through the night and you want a song request be sure to become a baller.
— they WILL kick you out of you become too drunk and aggressive no MATTER how much you put down.
— Be prepared to laugh your ass off.
— they have a full bar.
Definitely a night to remember from oldies to today to some rap songs. Amazing.
We had a song request for our guy homies birthday, and he got called on stage with all the guys in our group. And ended up having to do some stuff on stage. (Let’s leave it at that ;))

Overpriced and semi talented. Find somewhere else. Singers don’t even play requests and drinks are overpriced.

I just profoundly hated this place, and I’m annoyed that it even exists. We read reviews before coming, but I feel totally swindled that we wasted time and money here — why people like this place is completely beyond me.
We waited 45 minutes on Saturday night, as they were one-​in, one-​out. When we got in, we paid cover, and then WAY too much for drinks (obscene), found a spot in the crowded back corner, and settled in to listen.
Awful. First — the guys were decidedly untalented, with poor singing voices. Obviously they’re talented at the piano but they were no fun to listen to. Second — and even more importantly, they were changing the words to songs constantly, making up alternate lyrics to make fun of audience members, make gross sex jokes, and generally ruin otherwise good songs. They only played songs partway through, stopping for no reason to segue into something else.
Look, I LOVE a good piano bar. I had one of the best nights of my life in a dueling pianos bar in Nashville with talented guys who did amazing renditions of songs and had the crowd singing along. The guys are Johnny Foleys were obnoxious, ruining beloved songs, basically making a bawdy comedy act out of the show. It was so unfunny, there was no way to appreciate it musically with all the changed lyrics and jokey atmosphere, and in short order we cut our losses and went upstairs, where we really enjoyed the normal-​priced drinks and very talented cover band playing the stuff we wanted to hear downstairs.
Don’t waste your money, it’s nothing like a proper dueling piano bar should be.

Meh, felt just like your typical money-​trap piano bar you find on the Vegas strip. Don’t get me wrong, still a lot of fun and it will scratch the itch, but nothing special here.

These guys are the worst. No talent hacks that resort to cheap jokes to get a laugh. Pathetic. Dueling pianos in Pittsburgh PA was awesome. You would think SF would have more to offer. The whole thing is stupid and cheesy. Bad setup, bands, lighting etc. We bounced not long after we got there to find some actual talent.

Paid $ 54 for 2 margaritas. Beware! They were not forthcoming on price of drinks!
Piano players were good, fun entertainment, though not great.

My friend absolutely loves this place, so we came here for her birthday to start off the night and it was a blast! The crowd definitely tends to be older with half the crowd being over 35 but if you are looking for a chill night this a great place to come with a group. The dueling pianos is incredibly entertaining and the two pianists are INCREDIBLY talented! We made multiple requests for songs and they played them effortlessly and mellifluously. Once they found out we were celebrating a birthday, they got the entire bar to join in singing for her which was fun! There is also a mini dance floor for everyone to join in the fun. Entrance fee is only $ 10 and you can change the song request at any time by paying more than the person who requested the song. This can get quite entertaining when two people try to battle it out for their song and go back and forth upping their tip. Be warned that it gets fairly crowded so I suggest coming early and getting a table to get a good view of the pianos! I’m a huge fan and will definitely be returning when I’m craving a fun night :)

Wir waren hier, weil wir hier bei Unilocal auf das Konzept der Dueling Pianos aufmerksam wurden und es dann auch mal live erleben wollten. Wir waren an einem Freitag Abend bei Einlass da (20 Uhr) und konnten uns so einen Tisch «ergattern», wobei das an diesem Abend um halb neun auch noch möglich gewesen wäre. Wie in jedem amerikanischen Pub/​Restaurant sollte man sich auf die extrem kalte Klimaanlage gewöhnen.
Um es kurz zu sagen: Der Abend war bombastisch! In dem Laden war eine geile Stimmung, aber es war trotzdem noch nicht zu voll. Die Klavierspieler haben eine super Stimmung reingebracht und spätestens wenn der ganze Saal Piano Man gemeinsam singt ist man mitgenommen!
Wenn man an der Bar bestellt und sich dann an einen Tisch setzt, wird die Bedienung etwas zickig (nicht bei uns, aber am Nachbartisch beobachtet), und die Cocktails sind mit 14 $ plus 20% Trinkgeld auch ganz schön gesalzen, aber für einen einmaligen Abend während des Urlaubs auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen!

This was my very first Dueling Pianos experience and it was a ton of fun! The pianists do a good job performing across a wide variety of musical styles including pop, rock, rap, and country. By the end of the night, the whole audience was up and dancing.
Arrive early to avoid a long wait out front and make sure you have cash for the $ 10 cover charge. You should also make sure you have a sense of humor. The performers are not above mocking people for their requests so if you drop $ 20 to hear T Swift, expect to hear about it.

We always have so much fun when we go there. It is not very spacious so going a bit early can ensure you get a spot close to the pianos and get in some songs you want at lower prices. As the night goes on the prices for the songs start going up.
The pianists are very talented. There is almost always either a birthday or a bachelorette party going on where the pianist will make up an inappropriate song that usually end up being hilarious:)
There is a $ 10 entrance fee, cash only!

I been to many dueling piano bars across the nation and I must admit this was a bit of a let down. Three problems in order of importance below. Before I get to those I will say they are very entertaining and it’s not a bad night of fun, but ranked against other piano bars in, San Diego, Denver, La, New York, and Nashville it’s doesn’t compare.
First, If a song is requested say for $ 20 and the entertainer doesn’t like it, they ask the crowd to give $ 21 to stop signing the song, that someone paid $ 20 to request. Feels greedy and I would want my money back if that happened.
Second, they have no female singer/​player. That is a major for me, I love diversity and there are songs that just sound better with a woman’s voice. And not to mention they bring another aspect of fun to the equation.
Third, They changed the words of the songs a little to much for me, I know it’s comedy as well and the entertainment was there for sure but sometimes you want to sing the original lyrics and they tend to change the words a lot.

Good time, worth checking out, good for entertaining out of town guests. Very talented guys on the pianos, quick on their feet with a vast knowledge of popular to relatively-​popular songs.
The bad, as others have mentioned. These guys know how to work the crowd to walk away with a heap of cash by the end of the night. Besides the $ 10 at the door, get ready to lay down $ 20 bills to get MAYBE half a song played.
Worst thing we saw was someone paid $ 20 to have a journey song played, and they gave the excuse that «the bartenders are sick of this song, and have told us we can only play this song for $ 50» and kept bringing it up. By the time we had left, (90 minutes later) they had made it to $ 30…
Still a good time, but be prepared to throw down some cash if you want your request played.
Pro Tip:
Don’t request anything slow or low-​energy. Only request well known hits. Otherwise pretty likely to be ignored.

Came here for a birthday party with 30 of our friends. The piano players could literally play any song requested and had great voices. If you requested a song, it would be played within the next 10 minutes, which I appreciated! There is space in front of the dueling pianos to dance. Everyone was getting down and having an awesome time. I’m not sure what it’s like if you only go with a few friends, but it is great time if you’re with lots of your closest friends!

Although touristy, I love this place. The gin and tonics are very good, the entertainment is extremely fun and hilarious. I would recommend for a special occasion. I went with some friends who were visiting from out of town and had a great time.

Oh my gosh oh my gosh. I go nuts over this place. My dream life would be to live in an apartment above this place so I could just walk down stairs and dance my little heart out anytime I want. These guys are SO good! Ok there are some better than others, but it’s such quality entertainment. I love it when they play top 40 music just because it’s so much funnier and better when performed on piano. Please check this place out!
It is small and crowded. If you want a table I suggest getting there early (before 10). It’s also a $ 10 cover at the door. You’ve been warned.

Open Wednesday to Saturday with a cover on Fridays and Saturdays. I’m guessing one’s experience here depends on the crowd and songs played, but I really enjoyed my first time here. I really liked most of the songs played (90s) because the crowd had good requests (you write down song requests on a piece of paper and place it on top of the piano with tip or even a shot/​draaaank). The pianists were talented and funny. It’s also pretty loud downstairs, so don’t come here if you’re trying to catch up with friends and have a good conversation. I can’t wait to come back here! I also liked that rihanna cocktail.

One of my friends had his birthday party at Johnny Foley’s recently. I had never been to a dueling piano show before, so I was really excited about it. While I thought it was overall a fun experience, I probably wouldn’t go back to this particular bar.
To start with, this place is definitely overpriced. A $ 10 cover seems unnecessary considering that you need to tip the pianists to hear a song. The drinks are way overpriced too. I got three Jameson’s and my bill was nearly $ 40. If I spend that much on Jameson at one bar, I expect to be «stomach pump at the hospital drunk» instead of merely tipsy. Maybe that’s just the standard price now in Union Square though.
The piano room was quite elegant which created a funny juxtaposition with the raunchy piano show and sloppy-​drunk people grinding on the dance floor. We arrived at about 8 pm, so we were able to get a table close to the pianos. The show started at 9 and most people who arrived around that time were not able to find seats, so if you go, make sure you show up early.
I thought that the pianists were really entertaining and witty. There was one aspect that I didn’t like about the show though: someone could pay money to make them stop playing a song. Early into the show, one middle aged woman paid the pianist $ 10 to hear «Walk the Line.» A twenty-​something bachelorette party celebrant didn’t want to hear that song, so she paid $ 20 for them to stop the song. The middle aged woman then paid $ 21 to have them continue the song. The bratty girl couldn’t have that on «her night,» so she paid $ 25 for them to stop the song and play Bohemian Rhapsody (how original!). I felt bad for the woman who paid $ 31 and didn’t even get to hear her song. It’s definitely a SF thing to pay money to deny other people with less money a few moments of happiness because your happiness is more important than theirs. That actually made me not want to request a song. The way I see it, if I request a song that I like that isn’t popular, someone will probably stop it. On the flip side, there is no point in requesting a popular song because someone else will probably already request it. In my opinion, they should only let someone block a song one time. Anyway, ranting aside, I enjoyed the show for the most part. I wouldn’t go back to Johnny Foley’s because of the cover and drink prices, but I think a dueling piano show might be fun at a more casual place.

What a great experience. I got in line at 8pm and was able to save about 3 front row tables. My group filled it up, and I was glad we got the seating we did, this place was packed.
Definitely a great place to celebrate a birthday, but I wouldn’t request any songs. The pianists make sure to emphasize that the higher the bill, the more likely they’ll play it. Other ones they just took the cash and didn’t play the song requested, despite the fact that it was my friend’s birthday and we were in the front row.
Drinks are speakeasy style.
$ 10 cover on Fridays and Saturdays
Definitely worth the experience though.

I love the concept of this place — two pianists «dueling» per the request of audience members and their «tips.»
My friends and I went here on a Saturday night to catch the experience. One of my friends and been here about a month before and said she and a large party of 20 had the time of their lives enjoying the personalities and songs the pianists played.
First off, I have to say that the musicians here have TALENT. They can not only play the majority of songs that you request, but they can sing all parts with pretty decent voices. On top of that, they are putting on a show for you with a ton of jokes and snide/​sarcastic comments — my type of humor.
Secondly, the drinks were pretty good and reasonably priced. Service was great and we were well taken care of.
With that being said, some tips I have to make it a great night is to:
1) Come EARLY (way before the 9pm start of the show). We got there at 8:40 and were unable to find seats for 4 of us. That kind of sucked because we were standing the whole time, which got old
2) Bring CASH — there is a $ 10 cover AND they will play your song for sure if you give more tip (ie: they were mainly playing song requests with a $ 20 tip attached to it)
3) Bring a LOT of friends. There were 4 of us there, which was fun because I was around everyone I loved, but it would have been crazier with about 20 people. That way, you could round up more money to put in requests and have the pianists include you in the show.
Would I come again? Yes — but only if I took my advice above.

Das Konzept kannte ich so noch nicht:
Eine Bühne, zwei Pianos, zwei Klavierspieler (eigentlich drei, sie wechseln sich ab, man kann ja nicht den ganzen Abend lang spielen und singen). Das Publikum kann sich per Zettel Songs wünschen, je mehr Dollar-​Scheinchen mit dem Zettel ankommen, desto höher die Chance, dass der Song auch gespielt wird. Es ist sehr selten, dass die Musiker die Lieder nicht spielen können. Nur die Texte werden manchmal per Tablet abgelesen.
Wenn jemand ein Lied nicht hören möchte, muss er einfach mehr Dollar-​Noten aufs Klavier legen als für den aktuellen Song geboten wurden und schwupps, ist dieser Geschichte. So entstehen beispielsweise Battles zwischen Country und Rock.
Zimperlich wird hier mit den Scheinchen definitiv nicht umgegangen, das letzte Gebot für den Austausch von «Alabama» in «Sweet Home Alabama» waren stolze 140 Dollar. Insgesamt wurden circa 300 Dollar (20, 40, 100, 140) für den Austausch der Orte investiert …
Mein Highlight: Songs können auch jemandem gewidmet werden. «This song is dedicated to the guy with the Dogers cap …» Bei dem Song handelte es sich um «We are the champions» und wissen sollte man, dass die San Francisco Giants nur wenige Tage zuvor die 2014 World Series gewonnen hatten. Grandios!
Aber Achtung, es kann auch peinlich werden. Manche Sprüche der Klavierspieler sind schon sehr flach (wobei das unterschiedlich sein soll, je nach Besetzung). Und wenn man Geburtstag hat, kann man sich schon auf der Bühne wieder finden. Das möchte nicht jeder. ;-)
Der Laden ist relativ klein, besser ihr seid früh da. Am Wochenende kostet es 10 USD Eintritt, in der Woche ist er frei.

This was my first experience at a Dueling Piano bar and I was not disappointed in the least! I was a little taken back at first because the place is pretty small and cramped. It was hard to find a seat and we had to wait for people to leave to grab some extra seats and bring them around a table. However, the small size gave it a sort of old school charm and made the night feel more intimate with the performers.
Aside from the atmosphere, the place is a blast. No cover (we were there on a Wednesday night) and the performers are awesome. Very funny and extremely talented. The one guy who was there did a crazy mash-​up for the most random songs. Very cool! A lot of audience interaction.
Two long islands were almost $ 30 so it’s definitely not cheap. However, considering we got a show as well I wasn’t that mad about it.
There is bar seating, tables and a dance floor in front of the piano stage.