Pete's Dueling Piano Bar — Restaurant in Fort Worth

I'll admit we had fun, but there appears to be some rather unethical practices at this establishment that concern me.  First of all, I requested a reservation for 5 people and received an email the day before our visit saying my reservation couldn't be accommodated.  They encouraged us to arrive early to hopefully grab some of the 50 or so open seats, and to also request being added to the wait list for canceled reservations.  We were in line when they opened at 7, and after we got inside, I did approach the gentleman "with the clipboard" and asked to be added to the wait list.  I asked him how much it would cost to be put at the top of the waitlist, and his response was "how much money are we talking about", and when I said $20, he agreed, but then said "double that will get you a table right now".  I gave him $40 and he seated us immediately, which tells me they do this purposely with some seats to take in extra money/tips.  In addition, their club policy states that you must arrive by 8PM for your reservation to be honored, but there were 2 tables right across from us until nearly 9PM with the reserved sign still on the tables, and it was packed with tons of people standing because there were "no available tables".  At 8:46 I even snapped a picture because I realized that most likely the "man in charge with the clipboard" was waiting for someone else to offer him money for those tables, which in fact did happen!  So, I know for a fact AT LEAST three tables for twelve people were falsely labeled as reserved when in fact they were available if someone was willing to pay additional for them to a certain person.  I highly suspect these aren't the only three tables being held back and SOLD by an unscrupulous employee.

Another disappointing observation was the drinks were obviously watered down so much it was ridiculous, and a glass was packed with ice.  Two or three sips was about all you got from a cocktail. I fully realize they want to maximize profits, but is this a smart way to do it?  Not if you want repeat customers!  The general consensus among our group was we certainly had a good time, but there's nothing worth going back for.

This is obviously a popular venue for celebrating various events and the building was packed.  I suspect it was way over capacity because if there had been an emergency, there's no way they could have evacuated that many people quickly and efficiently.  I think if they were visited by a fire inspector they would be shut down for exceeding capacity.

Bottom line, if you go, you WILL have fun, but if you want to drink, stick to beer.  Don't bother trying to reserve a table because it's a scam, just arrive early and try to get a stool at one of the bars.  Most importantly, figure out an escape plan, because if a fire breaks out, there's no way the hundreds of people they have packed in there will escape with their life down that narrow stairway since this place is located on the...

Decent entertainment, terrible service. Our waitress Betheny was an absolute nightmare. Not only did it take one hour to bring the first drink order she forgot to bring all of the drinks, even after being reminded three times. She literally brought one drink to a table of people and thought yeah seems right to me and walked off. I gave up after an hour and asked for our tab with her, so we could close out and just walk to the bar which had much faster service. She forgot the tab for about another hour, again being reminded multiple times. When the tab finally came I didn’t include a tip, I don’t tip bad service. I did write on our bill you forgot our drinks and the one you brought took an hour. Betheny came back very soon after picking up our bill, and yelled at my wife (we were there for my wife’s birthday) about how she didn’t forget our drinks and we hadn’t been there for an hour. My wife tried to reason with her proving we paid for entrance actually more than an hour before our first drink but after Betheny continued screaming at my wife for a tip on one eight dollar drink my wife just ignored her till she left. The piano players weren’t bad, I’ve been to a few of these places and have heard plenty better performers that don’t dwell on the country music and college theme songs as much but that’s Fort Worth I guess. By the end of the night we got to witness Betheny yelling at another patron near the restrooms, probably for another dollar tip her life depended on. I won’t be back this service was a joke and betheny was really just worst part we experienced. And thanks for almost ruining my wife’s...

I recently visited this location for the first time, as a first time visitor of Downtown Fort Worth. I intentionally chose to go to this piano bar, rather than the one next door( my initial bar choice). The atmosphere appeared to be welcoming, and the live piano music was great…..until. The audience and one of the pianist, made very distasteful joke implying gangster rap wanted to be played( as I understand the bar I was in, and it’s regular patrons). The audience and pianist begin to linger on with the distasteful jokes. As a first time visitor at this location, I asked one of the waiters if this is a normal joke that’s played in this location. ( of course this is not). I would like to say this to the manager and pianist at the piano bar. The only reason I did not leave immediately upon the distasteful jokes and remarks at this location, is because I served this country, and I will not be uncomfortable in any establishment I choose to go into and enjoy their service and entertainment. However, I would like this to be documented, and put on notice the, environment in this location is not welcoming, patriotic, nor do they seem to enjoy the company of others. I went into this bar with the hopes of enjoying live piano music for my first time, not expecting to be...