Orchestria Palm Court

My husband and I have been trying to dine in this restaurant ever since we moved downtown, and we finally made it in last night. And it was everything I hoped it would be. Walking in is like walking back in time. The decors is made up of gorgeous mechanical musical instruments (player pianos, record players, & player «bands»). As well as framed sheet music, other antiques, and tapestries. If you’re looking for a nice meal where you can spend time with friends in a great atmosphere this is it. The specialty sodas are great, and food is really good. I had the black forest phosphate, eggplant parmesan, and profiteroles. Others at the table had the Austrian Goulash, Salmon, shrimp pasta, & profiteroles. As some people have mentioned the menu isn’t huge, but everything we got was great, and all the other options looked really good too. Definitely allow time to sit and enjoy this place leisurely. This isn’t a place to go when you’re hurried. I think it’s open seating, at least it was only about ¹⁄₃ full when we went right at opening so we had options as to where to sit. You order, and pay at the bar in the back of the restaurant. Take your time and enjoy it.

Plan ahead and allow time to enjoy this little gem that takes you back to the early 1900’s with it’s many player pianos and phonagraghs. Food will take some time but was well worth the wait tonight. Even the ice tea was made individually. Our party of four all had something different. The Eggplant Parmesan looked great and tasted as good with a very mild spice over bowtie pasta. The wife had a salmon dish and said she really liked it with the red quinoa and brussel sprouts. Finished with crème puff desert which included two puffs so you may want to share.

They have limited hours (they set them for people headed to the theater) but it was a great dining experience. The food, service and atmosphere was great! I was a bit hesitant to go there at first because it seemed like a kitschy, old person place –it was anything but. It’s a great family restaurant. They have real acoustical music playing from the many player pianos but it wasn’t too loud (we brought out infant son who was not bothered) and you can carry a conversation. I had the ribeye steak which was cooked to a perfect medium, my wife had the pasta which she really liked. They have several wines available by the bottle or glass that are all reasonably priced. They also have specials that aren’t listed on the online menu, so it’s not as limited as you might think.

My wife and I eat here about five times per year. It’s conveniently located right next door to San Jose Stage Company. The restaurant has a limited menu, but you can always find one excellent steak or fish or chicken dinner. The décor is quirky, but very nice. The owner collects vintage player pianos, and they’re all on display around the perimeter of the dining area.
Reservations are almost always required on a Saturday night.

Great atmosphere, great service, great food, great experience.
Brought my mom here for her birthday on a quiet Sunday a few weeks ago and she fell in love with the place immediately. The owner (I think) was a kind and humble man who immediately rushed to fulfill any request we made and was more than happy to talk about the various pianos, music machines and even popcorn maker that were all over the restaurant. The old timey music never became annoying, as you could instantly tell everything was very well kept and obviously treated with care. My mother ordered the chicken saltimbocca and my girlfriend and I had the Austrian goulash; both dishes were very well made and absolutely delicious. The soda fountain drinks were just as good and easily reason enough to come visit. Will definitely be back soon!

Tried this place for the first time and it’s definitely a unique find in the downtown SJ dining scene. Here’s my review:
Pros:
(1) The ambiance is really fun. You do feel transported back in time.
(2) Food was delicious and good sized portions. High quality ingredients.
(3) Employees were friendly.
(4) Soda fountain is really neat and my «Poppy Dew» drink was yummy.
(5) No one was rushing us at all. You pay your bill at your leisure.
Cons:
(1) Parking is difficult so allow 10 – 15 minutes to find a garage and walk a few blocks.
(2) When we walked in, we were unsure what to do next. You order at the counter and then they bring the food out. Wish there was a sign or something to get people situated since they do not have a host.
(3) We made a reservation and when we walked in, there was only one clean table. The other tables were not cleared the whole time we were there. Not a huge deal but when you look around to dirty tables, it’s not the nicest dining experience.
(4) Service was slower than usual… only two people working (not sure if that is the norm). Everything was good and served fresh but we waited almost 30 minutes for bread/​starters and our soda foundation drinks came when we got our entrees (thought they’d come at beginning of meal).

Tremendously fun and yummy food. We had a great time. The music players were mind-​boggling and the 1920s atmosphere was so enjoyable. We had a phosphate for dessert. Reservations needed.

This Food was THE BEST I’ve had in years! I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go out of your way to try this place. The chef is fabulous! The atmosphere is Fabulous! I would make reservations just in case only open Friday, Sat and Sunday and parking is limited

Loved the chicken! Best I have eaten out in forever. Don’t forget to order at the bar!

First, the food. Great food, limited menu, and flexible to accommodate kids. Not cheap: dinner for a family of four comes to about $ 140.
Now, the ambiance. Unforgettable! The restaurant is surrounded by antique player pianos and other turn-​of-​the-​century mechanized musical «bands in a box». All restored and maintained by the owner. The kids were mesmerized, and the staff were eager to open the boxes and pianos to show the kids how it all worked.

I was sold on this place from the beginning because of the player piano setting and Art Nouveau tapestries. The food was Fine but it was slow and the overall experience could’ve been better. I would go back again.

We were in San Jose scoping out the town and its many social spots two weeks ago. I can’t remember how I discovered this place, but I’m extremely happy I did. We had a wonderful meal which consisted of the shrimp puttanesca with potatoes and the goulash with spaetzle. The meals are a good size and very filling. We had a wonderful bottle of red wine from Pablo Robles which was recommended to us. I like the layout of the restaurant, the friendly staff, and the pianos. We will definitely go back again and try out the other wonderful dishes on the menu and make room for the desserts. Thank you to Mark, the Chef and the Waiter *sorry I forgot his name* for a great time.

Delightful.
Almost a museum to player pianos and turn of the century music players, this new restaurant also has fine food and excellent fountain beverages.
Finally, a place to take both your grandparents and your hipster friends.

We love this this restaurant and its food. Tonight I had the Ancho Chile Chicken breast with cheese grits and greens. My partner had the Pork Chop. My chicken breast was the moistest I’ve had in a long time and the grits were tastier than many other restaurants in the downtown area.
It’s locally owned and operated and they serve many local wines and much local produce.
We love their friendly service and the historic ochrestria instruments.

Positives: We tried this restaurant for the first time while taking a trip in Northern CA. We were 20 mins late because we got a little lost but they still took our reservation. We tried their rib eye steak and pistachio crusted pork; both were good. The peach melba was okay; the dish could have used more raspberry sauce. I tried the Broadside Cabernet Sauvignon and it was really good. The décor is set in the early 1900’s and even the bartender has a uniform to match. There is also an old fashioned soda fountain were you can order drinks.
Negatives: The prices listed on their website are outdated. The actual charges are about 10 to 15 percent more than what is listed on the website.

Ever since I caught a glimpse of the photos of this place on Unilocal we have been meaning to give it a try. Now that we have, all I can say is wow!
There is this one part of Disneyland called New Orleans Square (where the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is located) and for me it is the deepest part of the park’s fantasy because there are no seams in the illusion; it is all there: the river boat, two story buildings with upstairs patios, lush vegetation and lots of people it just all seems to fit together perfectly. This restaurant is like that.
They have gone above and beyond to transport you to another time. The sights, sounds, smells, textures, service, every detail imaginable has been taken into consideration to ensure a seamless experience. You come here to leave the city behind without going anywhere. But you probably now want to know where you are going to be transported to and how.
Well, luckily this time machine takes you to a very interesting time indeed, the roaring 20’s! The décor is accurate, the silverware and dishes antique, and the waiter dressed according to the period and with a demeanor as effervescent as the soda pop he mixes into their special non-​alcoholic concoctions. The food is delicious and carries over the attention to detail found everywhere else, simple, clean, authentic and unadulterated with excess spices and flavors so common in the fusion cuisine we have all become accustomed to.
Lastly there are the amazing music machines, or automatons to be completely accurate. If you have seen the movie Hugo and were thinking, «all those mechanical things are just a bunch of nonsense» prepare to be proven wrong. There are no less than 10 different music playing machines surrounding the dining room, each «programmed» to play one after the other different music from showtunes staples to jazz rarities. The sound is familiar yet completely unique. If you are into robots or technology then prepare to spend a significant portion of your time just watching the intricate movements of these robotic musicians (let go of any pride and get out of your chair to look around, it is like a candy store for the engineering mind).
I could keep on writing about this place but the truth is that you should stop wasting your time reading my review and just go there. It isn’t like anywhere you have ever been or will be unless you invent a time machine… but why go through the trouble when these gents already made one and opened it in your neighborhood?

If you have the time, the food might be good. Just be aware, that on a ‘rush’ night (ie. one empty table on a Saturday night with no one waiting for a table) you should plan on budgeting over an hour for food to arrive after you place your order.
Additionally, they ran out of *bread* by 7pm, and they had ran out of two out of six red wines on the menu. The owner’s only advice after we tried to order something simpler than an entrée was that «everything would take the same amount of time.»
In short, prepare for horrifying service and food that might be good. Although I question the quality of a steak that takes over an hour to cook.

It’s like a museum, with docent tours happening all the time. They have about 6 different antique mechanical music players; all of them are fully functional, and they are all timed to go off, one after another. You can walk around, check them out, and the waiters provide info if you ask. One of the mechanical pieces is a mechanical violin: It’s a Violano-​Virtuoso Player Violin, ca 1925. As it plays, you can see little wheels rubbing against the strings:
I only stopped by for the old-​timey fountain drinks:
⁴⁄₅: The chocolate phosphate is quite good:
It has a nice sparkly phosphate backing, the chocolate sauce is high quality, and it’s not too sweet. If they used a higher quality dark chocolate it would be 4.5÷5. I recommend asking them for the cream to be floated on top, so you can mix it in to taste. This one is more of a light dessert; it would not be suitable for accompanying a meal.
⁴⁄₅: The California cream was like an orange julius, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream:
³⁄₅: The Ambrosia Lactart:
It’s «ambrosia flavored» (coconut/​pineapple/​orange), with a subtle tartness from the lactart milk acid. It’s very refreshing; just enough flavor to nicely accompany a meal, without overpowering it.
³⁄₅: The Poppy Dew:
It’s like a mojito, with orange sherbert. Again, refreshing, light, and would nicely accompany a meal.
²⁄₅: The cherry sour phosphate was a total let-​down:
It’s not more interesting than an Italian soda. It doesn’t have the acidic, sparkly phosphate edge that I was expecting.
It’s tempting to compare these drinks to the ones served at the «other» old-​timey soda fountain, which is The Ice Cream Bar in San Francisco. But these drinks are intended to be more subtle/​understated, to go with dinner, whereas the very sweet drinks at The Ice Cream Bar are meant to be the main attraction.
You select a table, grab a number from the table, then go to the bar in the back, order there, and tell them what number you have. They bring your food, and you pay for it at the end. They automatically add 20% tip.
They have very limited hours: Fri/​Sat/​Sun nights only. Street parking in this area during those times is impossible: You’ll need to park in one of the paid lots.
Service is terrible, because apparently, they are not restaurant people; they are antique-​music-​player-​restoration people, and the restaurant only serves as a storage facility /​museum; the restaurant part is entirely incidental. I witnessed service slip-​ups of comedic magnitude.

A few of the reviews below shared the same sentiment I had.
First and foremost, the ambiance, atmosphere, and service were spectacular. It’s a unique take on dining that cannot be matched anywhere else in San Jose.
When we entered the restaurant, it is like entering a different era. There were amazing old pianos and recorders that were programmed to play music; it was very interesting to hear them play. Also, the room had amazing acoustics, so you are able to hear the music (which was at a decent volume) and talk to your partner.
The service was up to par and they have an interesting service type. You place all your orders on the counter and all the meals had tax and gratuity added onto it.
So, what was unfortunate was the food. First, it took forever to get out. We waited about 30 minutes to receive our mains. I ordered a shrimp dish and my boyfriend ordered the pork. The shrimp was undercooked, while his pork was over cooked. The sauce on my dish was delicious, but everything else fell flat. Our appetizer needed salt and so did my boyfriend’s pork.
However, their drinks and selection rescued the meal. They had a beer from Eureka, which excited my boyfriend because he’s from there. Also, my poppy dew soda was delicious and so refreshing!
Then the dessert came; we had the Blueberry and Apple Crumble with ice cream. It was forgettable.
Overall, the ambiance and drinks were amazing, but the meal itself was mediocre at best.

Progressive dinner #2 tried out Orchestria Palm Court on East William St, between First & 2^nd St, Downtown San Jose.
It’s a good-​size place with lots of mechanical player pianos around the dining area. Prices on the menu include service & tax, don’t need to tip!
FREE bread & butter brought to the table — nice, I liked it fine.
Order your food & drinks at the back counter, pay or have a running tab. They bring the food to your table when it’s ready.
J. got Poppy Dew fountain drink $ 5 — comes with fresh lime, orange sherbet, mint. It was tasty. I want to get my own next time.
J. got the Spanish-​style Paprika-​Rubbed Pork Chop $ 26 — it’s a huge pork chop, good grits & good corn. Pork chop was a bit dry, hard to make right.
I picked Summer Strawberry Salad $ 9 — comes with sliced strawberries & peaches, toasted almonds, chia seeds, bed of baby greens, w/​a mint-​yogurt dressing. It was fine, wish there were more strawberry & peaches! Fruit taste better when someone else does all the cutting, etc.
I loved watching & listening to the mechanical player pianos & mechanical record players. It was fun!
Hope to visit again soon!