Orchestria Palm Court Restaurant

My friend and I enjoyed the music from the antique music boxes and player pianos in the background of our dinner, It was fun to see all the old sheet music and posters on the walls. Her sea bass was fabulous. The meat in my beef bourguignon was a bit tough so I wasn't as happy with my main dish. Everything was reasonably priced. The table next to us had profiteroles - which looked good but we needed to get to our play next door. It's a great place to go before attending something at The Stage theater.

We enjoyed our dinner at the Orchestria! The old player pianos were great! I ordered the Bicerin (a northern Italian specialty) for dessert - espresso, hot chocolate, whipped cream and it was great!! There was some beautiful antique art deco scene with Rippling Water that I found very charming.

This is a unique, incredibly quirky restaurant. The food is good. The service is good. (You order at the bar and they bring it out in a timely fashion.) But the real key is the player pianos and other mechanical, self-playing instruments. The place is kind of a museum of 1920s punched-paper technology. Every once in a while, the instrument beside you will start to play, and you won't be able to talk for a while. If this sounds fun for you (it was for us!) then this is your place. As for the food, I had the sea bass, which was amazing. My wife had the beef bourguignon, which she really liked. There are vegetarian options, but they're in a cream sauce so not vegan. We split an order of profiteroles, which were also very good. The wine list was fine. Corkage is $20, from what I read. Basically, I've never been to a restaurant like this, and I'm not sure there ARE other restaurants like this. If this sounds remotely interesting, try it out!

Simply love this place. It's fanciful, vintage 1920s decor, and wonderful ambience. Only open on the weekend evenings and I always take my in town guests to eat here!

When it comes to reviewing Orchestria Palm Court, I think it's important to first decide what kind of experience you're after. This is more of a unique dining experience than a typical restaurant, so you may be very unpleasantly surprised if a typical experience was your goal. However, as long as you know what to expect, Orchestria Palm Court is wonderful. As others have mentioned, you order and pay at a counter in the back here, but your food and drinks are delivered to your table. Our party of 3 were seated at what seemed to be the worst table in the house right up against that order counter with everyone lining up beside our table -- but we still had a good time and were not really bothered by it. Something I'm keeping in mind though for next time is that only items ordered together will come out together. My husband and I were meeting a friend to have dinner before a play and we ordered before our friend arrived. This turned out to be a mistake as our food arrived far in advance. But, that food was excellent! I had the Sea Bass which I would highly recommend. In fact, I can't stop thinking about it, and would be giving this restaurant a 5 if not for the little oddities which I find charming but not always desirable. Truth be told, I'd prefer traditional table service, but what they're doing keeps costs down and provides such a unique experience. Tips are included in the bill so there are no surprises. And the player pianos and turn-of-the-century decor are such fun! One of these days, we'll need to return and check out their incredible soda fountain.

A unique San Jose gem. It's located in what was previously a car repair shop. Inside you'll find an eclectic collection of player pianos and jukeboxes which randomly play. You order at the counter. Menu is Italian and European influenced. We sampled gnocchi and scampi, both prepared with a light hand, cooked perfectly. The gnocchi was delicious. Tried the shrimp puttanesca that had a fresh tomato sauce with shrimp, olives, potatoes and artichokes. Their house petit sirah accompanied nicely. The atmosphere here is casual and fun. They have a soda fountain with milkshakes and other fountain favorites. They're only open on Friday and Saturday. So make your reservations for some tasty food in a fun ambiance.

Orchestria Palm Court is a hidden gem in San Jose. The food and service are outstanding. It's a treat to hear the beautiful melodies from antique music boxes and self-playing pianos.

Interesting ambience but the fact that Inhave to stand in line to order my food for such a privy restaurant was ridiculous. The food was so so

I always love visiting Orchestria Palm Court! The music machines are truly amazing and are in such great condition for 100-year-old devices. The food is very good, and the staff is always warm and friendly.

Fun and eclectic venue, great food and service. Liked the old time vibe and music from 100 years ago. A unique and special place.

Old world charm, with vintage pianos, juke boxes and popcorn machines spread all over the restaurant. Great food and drinks and a lovely mellifluous atmosphere for a good occasion or just an enjoyable night out with friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak

Atmosphere was fun, very different from any place around. You have to order at the counter then the servers bring your drinks and food. The guy at the counter was friendly and efficient but the wait staff wasn't. Food was mediocre, it's a novelty destination at best.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

What a unique experience!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pesto Gnocchi, Soup of the Day

I love this place. The service is impeccable, the food is always delicious, and all the antique pianos and music boxes create a wonderful ambiance. This last visit was for our 30th wedding anniversary, and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it anywhere else.

A really interesting place, with some great ideas, but overall not great. It was neat to see all the music machines, and the phosphates were excellent and unique. Everything else was underwhelming and the food highly overpriced.