Howl At The Moon Dueling Piano Bar

Put two seperate requests in for Creed and NOTHIN. $ 7 Ill never get back. Your loss. I left. #CavsIn7

$ 10 cover charge. Mediocre musicians and lame comedy. Overpriced watered down drinks. No food or appetizers menu, so no munchies as we were having cocktails. Definitely a tourist trap. Had to leave after the first drink. However the waitress was very nice.

My company rented out Howl At The Moon for a conference party.
The venue was actually pretty cool! The bartenders were all super nice, music was great, and the space was perfect for our event.
Definitely wish we had one of these in Washington so I could try one of those buckets!

Great bar atmosphere. Waitress was friendly and attentive. Performing staff was great. Impressive to see the piano player jump to the drums to the bass to the guitar and then back to the second piano. Typical karaōke type music but if if you like live music this type of place is for you. Just watch out for the drunk guy jumping on stage every other minute! Once his buddies lugged him out that allowed a women’s volleyball team to dance uninterrupted. Serve, set, score!

Here for a private event. The place was pretty packed. The singing was fairly sub par compared to other piano bars I’ve been to. Fun concept. I’d recommend other Howl establishments in other cities before I’d recommend this one.

Being invited to this place for a Party it was a good deal with admission drink tickets and the buffet. I was thinking it was a comedy club but soon discovered it was not. The entertainers were very talented but the volume was too LOUD. For such a small building it was deafening. The songs played were overall good and getting people up to dance was fun. Whoever was in charge of the buffet line failed as it wasn’t kept up and food was not available several times. Overall a good time but I probably will not return as it was TOO LOUD! You couldn’t even talk to the person seated next to you. That was a turn off and we left early because of that.

I’d won at auction for a charitable organization a party for 100! So I started inviting — folks at work, on Unilocal… (but not church :-)) I won’t waste any ink on how many (or, as the case might be, how FEW) of my (so-​called?) friends showed up; let’s just say that I was almost inspired to act out Matthew 22 (short of any bloodshed or burning of cities). Instead, I’ll focus on this establishment and one AMAZING thing.
My 100 guests would have each received admission at 6 – 9 p.m., 2 drink tix (limited selection), access to the hors d’oeuvres bar, and ½ price till 9 p.m. Don’t be looking for gourmet as far as food is concerned, but I did appreciate there being something to much on by way of some pasta, bread sticks, and especially the crudités. I found out afterwards that what I’d won at auction is something they call a happy hour party, which they basically give away. Not sure how that business model works, but…
Tip when it comes to drinks: the beer selection for the party offer is very limited. You may consider something like a Jack neat/​on the rocks, (and mix on the side if you wish) — that way, no one would be tempted to cheat on the alcohol :-) It was also a minor irritation that the wording of the rules were confusing — our Jack ended up being NOT 50% off.
Now the music. This is my 3^rd experience at a dueling piano bar, and this one is comparable. The place was pretty dead initially, but the 2 pianists soldiered on. Sure, some of the offerings were more on the cheesy side of things, but, hey — this is a dueling piano bar! They didn’t even take a break, other than some songs where only one was playing. Just for kicks and to be a good citizen, I sent in a request for something by The Pumpkins, and just to be funny (I thought), I added «or if you prefer, play „Naima“, or anything by ‘Trane!» and stuck a fiver to it.
Well guess who has the last laugh. When Dude (the more skilled one in my estimation) got to my request, he launched headfirst into a beautiful, spirited rendition of «Giant Steps» without missing a beat. A MUCH better choice, I’d have to say, than «Naima» for a piano bar. It TOTALLY blew me away.
Not that I’ve ever laughed at their ability or anything. The breadth of their repertoire, when you stop to think about it, is pretty amazing — all the songs, spanning decades, the chords, the lyrics. After THAT humbling lesson, I have even MORE respect for these guys trying to make a living plying a rare talent. If I hadn’t learned my lesson, my mischievous side would persuade me to go back and request Liszt’s Sonata in B-​minor.
Things were livening up too when the crowd starts drifting in; a drummer had joined (he was playing along on «Giant Steps»!), but it’d been a long week that led up to that Friday, and we soon left — still with a grin on my face.

Atmosphere is fine, beer was fine, but song selection weak. The songs played didn’t connect at all with the crowd when we were there. Average age was for the most part between 35 – 55. Their «classics» included Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana era), the song Africa (which I love, but would never choose for a dueling piano bar), backstreet boys (whom I also love, but not here), some I’d never heard, and a few other less than stellar choices. Not all choices were bad, but there were too many that were.

No dueling banter. Entertainers were weak at best. Much better in the past. Won’t be back.

Well I have not heard good things about this place and now I can confirm it. As many places on International drive, it is a tourist trap. I normally avoid most of the establishments on this road (a few are great though…) and I can add this to the mix.
I was asked by a friend to stop by for a ‘free’ party he was throwing. He sent me an invitation so I decided to stop by to say hello and see what it was all about. When I arrived, I was asked about the group I was supposed to be with. Luckily I got it right but they were just waiting for me to say the wrong thing so they could charge me a cover. This party included free admission, two free drinks and an appetizer bar. Once inside, i found my friends and we chatted for a bit. The waitress (who was very nice) asked if I wanted a drink. Of course, and gave up one drink ticket. I have learned my lesson about mixed drinks… don’t order them when they are free so I got Jack Daniels on the rocks. (Beer is also good to order since they can’t water it down… or can they?) Anyway, she returned with a rocks glass full of ice and a hint of Jack in the glass. I am not sure it was even a full shot. When I mentioned that it looked like a ‘taster’ size… she agreed. My two free drinks just about equaled a regular drink in a normal establishment.
The food bar was the next thing to check out. It consisted of a vegetable tray with ranch dressing, a hot dish of ziti pasta with tomato sauce, a hot dish of meatballs, and a hot dish of bread sticks. There was also a full hot tray of… wait for it… alfredo sauce… with nothing else in it. No pasta. What was it for? The ziti already has tomato sauce. Mmmmm… It all tasted okay but was nothing special.
Finally trying to talk to my friends this entire time was a chore. They could not hear me… and I could not hear them. The two men playing piano non stop the entire time i was there was so loud I could not have a conversation with anyone.
My friend did buy me a drink and I in return bough him one. My bill was $ 12 for my drink. I wanted to give my server a tip to cover my three drinks I got so I tipped her well. Then on the bottom of the bill was a space were you can tip the loud piano players. So my free party ended up costing me about $ 30. Sigh… beware tourists.
Atmosphere = 5
Service = 8
Food/​drink = 5
Value for the money = 2
I know I won’t be returning since I can spend $ 30 someplace else were I can have decent pours in my drinks and hold a conversation with my friend without yelling. Good luck.

A fun concept that isn’t really as fun as you’d think.
I’ve been to several dueling piano bars throughout the south in the past. The piano aspect is usually a secondary portion of a bar in a college town or bar district.
Howl at the Moon isn’t like any of those other dueling piano bars. Located on I-​Drive, Howl at the Moon is a bar that is primarily focused on the dueling pianos. The parking at this location, as with many locations near it, is absolutely horrendous. We paid $ 10 and then were directed all the way back to the parking at a nearby hotel. After hiking a quarter of a mile to the venue, we reached the front and discovered two lines. There isn’t really much written explanation for the lines, so we had to ask about it. It turns out that one line is for people coming who are not associated with an event who have to pay a cover. The other line, which luckily we were part of, are for people associated with an event. Most people were in the event line since Howl at the Moon «raffles» away events (aka you put your name on a piece of paper, put it in a bowl, and you pretty much are ensured to get an event). You get 2 free drinks (either a well drink or cheap beer) as part of the event, which is nice, but they compensate for this by charging more for the rest of their drinks (my wife’s margarita was small and costs more than $ 10).
Once you get inside, you immediately see a small outside sitting area. That area has been completely packed the few times we have went, so you instead go inside. The bar is a peninsula style bar with about 2 – 3 bartenders. Unless you are waiving money around, it will usually take you a while to get anyone’s attention. After getting your drink, you proceed to the main area to see the two dueling pianos. There is a lower level near the pianos and a large upper level that is slightly above the pianos. Unfortunately, the combination of too many tables and tons of people makes it very difficult to move around. The pianos and the people make the place very loud, which combined with the difficulty in getting drinks, makes the experience not very fun after about an hour.
Overall, Howl at the Moon’s touristy focus on this classic concept is an idea that seems fun at first, but eventually turns out to just be loud and tiring. It is worth giving it a look if you are on I-​Drive and into dueling pianos, but it is easily skippable and definitely not worth making the centerpiece of your night.

This place is terrible. The service is so bad and it’s a sad excuse for a Howl. So many of these piano bars are great and I was hoping to have a great experience. Unfortunately the drinks are over priced and the service is bad.

I came here on a Tuesday night around 8. I was told it was ladies night (no cover, discount vodka and rum drinks) and it was pretty empty. It filled up by around 10, but the crowd was strange. Some young, some old. Actually, a lot of older people. I’m in my late 20s and I felt distinctly young in the bar. Maybe it’s a popular place among people at conventions? If so, it sort of helps explain why no one was dancing.
The piano players were good, but there wasn’t much humor and the crowd wasn’t super involved. One of the young women has a spectacular voice! But overall, I just wasn’t feeling it.
Three stars because there was no cover, drinks were fine (and happy hour prices), and they let me get delivery to the bar since they don’t have a kitchen. It just didn’t have the emotional energy that I was hoping for.

I went to Howl at the Moon on Saturday, January 9, 2016. A friend of mine had won a free happy hour, and so off we went to International Drive.
PARKING (¹⁄₅): How awful. We got there right when the place opened (around 7 PM), and there were a few parking spots open. But all of the open spots were so crammed because people can’t park in one spot. They do offer other parking options between $ 5 — $ 10, depending on how far away you are. I think those paid spots may have been bigger. If you don’t get there early, you probably won’t find a parking spot.
ATMOSPHERE (⁴⁄₅): Yes, it’s loud. It’s a dueling piano bar with a lot of people. It gets louder as the night carries on, so get there early if you want to be able to hear without leaning in to hear the conversation.
It’s a laid back bar. You can request songs. Be sure to attach some cash for the pianists! Get there early to make sure your song is played.
You can also write messages on the mirrors behind the pianists. If you want your message up there, you’ve got to pay more than the person before you. Easy way for them to make money.
FOOD & DRINK (⁵⁄₅): They don’t serve food unless you get there for the happy hour. They had the food, which consisted of a vegetable tray (carrots, celery, and broccoli with ranch dressing), pita bread with hummus, and tortilla chips with salsa and nacho cheese, until about 8 PM. I did spot a vending machine near the entrance with snacks.
I didn’t mind the drinks. With our happy hour, we got two free drinks. After that, drinks were cheaper until 9 PM. Make sure you keep track of your drinks. They do add up, especially if you have a tab. I noticed that some of my friends drinks ended up on my tab.
SERVICE (⁴⁄₅): I think it depends on your server. Our server was fine, but on a few occasions, she seemed really frustrated. The drinks came. She was pretty busy with the section though.
I had an expired Groupon and was able to redeem the value. Thank you to the manager who helped me out with this. I didn’t get his name, but this is completely contrary to the other Unilocalers who said customer service was completely lacking. I guess it depends on who you speak to and the attitude you approach the situation with.
I’ll definitely be back! Thanks for a fun night out.

I’ve been to my share of dueling piano places, but this place was probably the least entertaining, and it wasn’t for a lack of effort. The way that the chairs and tables were placed, everyone had their own conversations going on, and the singing was mostly background noise.
If you come early enough, they have a ‘buffet’ with some carrots/​celery, meatballs, and pasta. Their fishbowl type drinks have 8 ounces of ‘liquor’ but it was mostly just really sweet and we had to order four (yes, four) additional shots to pour in for it to be even remotely worth drinking that much liquid.
They don’t serve food here. The bartenders aren’t really friendly. The people who seemed to be having the most fun were those who came with the ‘happy hour package’ crowd with a wristband.

I went for the very first time last night (Friday) to hang with a friend that was in town. The cover was $ 10 which I had no idea, paying that much definitely helped me stay for my money’s worth.
It is also a little jarring how the bouncer approaches you «Are you with a party?» I let him know I was meeting friends and then he td me about the cover.
I did not order a cocktail because there were no listed prices and knew it was more than I could probably guess. Got a bottle of Angry Orchard which was about 6 buy my friends husband offered to pay for my first round. The waitress was around every 5 minutes or less asking if we were okay. I did notice her pick up my bottle once. If you have to drive home and one drink is you limit that can feel a little annoying.
So there were 5 rotating musicians and they all took turns on almost every instrument. They took requests for songs and people put money with their requests, I guess as a tip and to get their songs played faster. Just one of the musicians was a girl so when she took a break one of the guys pointed out how they «loved all the Beyonce and Rihanna requests» (no Beyonce wS sung while I was there and just one Rihanna before I left). The guys did try to get some audience interactions during songs (Sir Mix Alot had some audience members holding on to the pianos and bouncing their butts).
All over the musicians were the best part. If I was really partying this is not the place. If I come again to will be to hang with people from out of town or may be convinced to show up during a day when there are drink specials and a cheaper cover. For drinking I would rather be downtown with cheaper cover and I believe cheaper drinks.

Very touristy and unnecessarily overpriced, but usually still a decent time. Considering there aren’t very many late night bars on I-​Drive this was usually worth swinging by to see how the crowds were.
Pianists are usually pretty talented and you’ll find yourself singing along with the talent or laughing at them.

The Howl at the Moon is always a fun time no matter whether I am in Denver or in Orlando. I am always surprised by the talent of these young musicians and how they know so many songs. We were tired and didn’t stay long but we enjoyed the music. There was a $ 5 cover but you got a ticket for a free drink. One of the girls had just learned a Reba McEntire song that someone requested and she did a great job. She should sing more Reba songs because her voice works really well with Reba’s music. Fun!

Fun times to be had!
I have been to this location several times and I always have some fun there. The nights that I have visited they had a small food spread from a local restaurant.
They also usually have a theme drink per event that is going on, and the bartender usually suggest drinks that I end up loving!
And the entertainment? IS AWESOME! So much fun! There is one guy that sings and plays the piano every time I have visited and he is awesome! They are very funny, which gets everyone laughing and having a great time!

So this is a place for adults and only adults. It is located on Interantional Drive in Orlando, Florida and is a dueling piano bar. They sing and sometimes bring people on stage. As the night goes on, people get more and more drunk and will start dancing on the stage. It is very loud and really hard to carry on a conversation, maybe not the best for a date.
We come here often, as we really love this place. However, I learned last time, we really need to watch what we get to drink because your bill adds up super quick!
One thing I didn’t like was we saw this mixed drink, it was a beer and a shot, on the menu and we asked how much it was, she said 6.75. When the bill came it was 6.75 for both items, so over 12. I was really annoyed because she mislead us. We also ordered a shot, which never came and she claimed it did. I didn’t really want to argue so I just paid. They don’t really have drink specials and like I said, it can be really expensive.
The servers are usually really nice, however like I said, I was disappointed last time. They started adding an optional tip line for the piano players on your bill, which I don’t like because they are asking for money to play your song and then asking for more money on your bill.
There is also a bathroom attendant that really makes you feel guilty for not leaving money.
Something new the started is the parties that you can win, however, they rope off so many tables that there are only a few to choose from and more than half the parties do not show up so the empty tables sit there till the take the rope down.
All in all it is a fun place to go as a group for a night out, just watch what you spend!