Great bar, don't eat here. The Quarter Note Bar & Grill is a legendary Silicon Valley nightlife fixture located at 1214 Apollo Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, sitting right on the Sunnyvale-Santa Clara border. Tucked inside a shopping center with plenty of convenient parking, this unpretentious, vintage 120-capacity neighborhood dive bar has been proudly veteran-and-wife owned since 1996. It serves as a bustling hub for corporate crowds from nearby giants like Apple and HP, alongside a deeply loyal following of South Bay musicians. What Makes It Worth a Visit * The Cool Stage Setup: Unlike typical dive bars where you sing in a corner, the Quarter Note features a large, dedicated performance stage rigged with professional lighting, five active microphones, and a smoke machine controlled by the Karaoke Jockey (KJ). * The Non-Stop Entertainment Schedule: They keep the energy high seven nights a week from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM. Catch their incredibly popular, high-energy karaoke nights from Monday through Wednesday, open-mic jam sessions on Thursdays and Sundays, and full live bands on Friday and Saturday nights. * Classic Bar Amenities: When you aren't at the microphone, the lounge offers a well-maintained pool table, pinball, lotto games, and 12 different ice-cold beers on tap. Thanks read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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Yo! This place is pretty fun! Been here a couple of times with my buddies after work for some shenanigans. Now, I'm not like, craaaaaaaAaAaAaazy about Dive Bards, but every once in awhile one will sing to me and can just strike a chord on my heart strings. Oh? Bar? Not Bard? Mah bad! Yes! I LOVE bars! But usually, yes, I prefer a more lively, younger crowd, but yeah, when you roll with the homies, basically everything becomes more funner to some degree. But this little ditty also has Karaoke, the fun kind! Not that go-hide-in-a-small-room-that-stinks with your 30 friends, but the kind where you're on a full stage in front of EVERYONE. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E!!! They also have a pretty sweet selection of IPAs. Don't know about anything else because I do not CARE about anything else!! YAY!! KTHXBAI! LUVYOU!! read more

Came back here again and found out that the mean bartender who charges for TAP waters FROM THE GUN (and who, today, told me she would only sell me the $4 bottled water) is actually one of the owners. I think they treat their customers like crap, and I think they treat their staff even worse. I only come here for KJ Laura because she's fantastic, but frankly, I'm going to find her at another show because I like her a lot more than I like the bar. read more

Service, food, not good. Ambience was good because of the love band playing. I came in on Sunday night. First off there is a pretty big brown dog (40lbs medium to large) wandering the bar back and forth wearing a glowing green collar which I'm guessing is for visibility. The dog was friendly but it was wandering throughout the place including the bar and behind the bar as well as what I am guessing to be the kitchen. I love dogs, but a dog wandering everywhere does not look good for a restaurant. I go take a seat at the bar too and it took quite a bit to get the bartenders attention. When I ordered my drink she showed me a food menu and I decided to give the food a try. The BLT was not on slice bread, and if it was it must have been the heels (ends) of the bread loaf because that's what it looked like, so that alone made the BLT bad. I had heard some bad things about this place, but I decided to give it a try nonetheless and now I can see why people say what they do. Last I had heard at another local bar two women were complaining to the bartender there how they had been drugged here and possibly SA'd. Now I can see how they might have something like that happen with how inattentive the bartender is. I sat there for 5-8 minutes after ordering my food without her ever checking on me to see if I needed anything else, considering my beer glass empty the entire time. It wasn't busy so I don't understand. When the bartender finally came up to me I'm I told her I was ready to pay she was like "what for?" And I said "for the food I ordered...." She goes "oh yeah...." She takes my payment and rings me up. Things that definitely will make me not come back Michelob Ultra was apparently $9 on draft! Ridiculous! And $17 for a crappy BLT with a side fries?! Who pays these prices!? I will skip this place in the future. The dog, service animal or not, wandering all areas including the kitchen was not a good look, the speed of service, the bartenders attentiveness and how dark this bar was just an overall bad vibe. read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Glass of beer has been sitting empty for 10 minutes. Food was sub par. - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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Love this spot! Owners and staff are awesome. Such a friendly atmosphere. Food is great. read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Texting Queen. - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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Disappointing experience at Quarter Note Bar. My friends and I were playing pool when a woman wearing glasses made unnecessary, derogatory comments questioning someone's manhood based on how they played. The pool rules were also constantly inconsistent, making the game frustrating. On top of that, she stood unnecessarily close and had noticeably unpleasant breath, making the interaction even more uncomfortable. We came to have fun, not deal with disrespect and awkward behavior. Definitely not the experience we expected. read more

Quarter Note is my favorite place for karaoke! Come for karaoke Monday-Wednesday at 9pm, with sign-ups usually opening earlier. There's a stage with five microphones, lights, and most importantly, a smoke machine controlled by the KJ. People of all ages and lots of different preferred genres of music sing here. The vibes are just the best for karaoke I've experienced in the area without long wait times. This is a dive bar with some bar food options which I tend to enjoy, like fries and burgers. It's in a shopping center with plenty of parking spots for you and your friends. I've hosted my birthday party here and it was such a fun time. Highly recommend you visit for karaoke! read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - View of the stage from a booth - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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This is such a chill place, love it here! Food is ! Great place to unwind after a busy day or crazy day. read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Great times here! - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Boyd and I have had so much fun here! Singing Karaoke and meeting people in the area. Robert the owner and his wife are just amazing people! The late night food is great and I recommend the giant hotdog! Thanks Quarter Note for the good times! Meg and Boyd Abbott read more

Came here for the first time today on a Friday night and had a lovely time . The drink I had ( jam session ) was really strong and I loved it . 2 live bands played and it was fun jamming to the music and dancing . The crowd was vibing well and everyone was having a good time . The owner was very friendly and I absolutely loved the dog Lulu . This place is so worth the visit . read more

A place that was probably once great now run by the wrong people who love the wrong things. The music was bad it was dead on a Friday night which tells you a lot and the staff was just old insufferable problems read more

We need more venues like this. It's a small dive bar in a nondescript strip mall that has live music 5 days a week. We were here for a jazz performance by a local band which was wonderful. Drinks were relatively cheap and they have some food options as well. Decent pizza and sandwiches. Friendly staff. I will be back for sure. read more

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The Thursday open jams are super fun with good music, a working billiards table, and a friendly dog that comes in later. If you are in the mood for some classic rock, 90s, and blues this is the place to be. read more

Great little neighborhood bar with live music. Food is your typical bar food. Service is good and the patrons all seemed friendly.

This is not a safe space for women. Atmosphere great and so are 99% of the people and all the events. But... pay attention ladies watch out read more

Worst bartender experience of my life. The rudest most self important woman was the sole bartender and I have never had an interaction quite like this. For context I am in my late 20s and was living abroad for nearly two years. I had just moved back to the US the day before. I was there, despite my jet lag, to catch up with old friends and see some karaoke. I went up to the bar and nicely ordered a vodka cran and was asked to show ID. I opened up my wallet and of course, I'd forgotten to bring my California drivers license, but I did have my foreign ID card. I once again NICELY apologized and went to show her where she could find my birthday on the foreign ID as it was not in English. She wasn't going to have it and rudely asked for my passport which of course I didn't have. I was in shock and her rudeness and abruptness. A simple "I'm sorry but I can't serve you" was all she needed to say to me, but she continued to berate my BEHIND MY BACK to my friend who was in line after me. Saying "ugh does she even know how bars work." Yes. I do know how bars work and have used foreign ID in US bars in the past. There were also people in our party, also in their late 20s who reported back that they did not get carded by her. This felt very targeted towards me, or women in particular as she was rude to my female friend as well, but not our male friends. She went a step further to tell the owners who then questioned me when I went to order a non alcoholic Diet Coke later in the night. The owner was pleasant but immediately asked to see my foreign ID before I could order my non alcoholic drink. It felt almost like the bartender was attempting to kick me out because, as it is a bar, anyone under 21 is not allowed on the premises. The owner examined my ID and decided it was alright and gave me the Diet Coke. All in all, I did have a fun night and the owners seem like decent people. That bartender however is one of the vilest women I have ever experienced. Beware because you will not receive good service from her (she was extremely slow too and took forever to make and serve drinks). read more

Great place for local live music and drinks with friends! They support the local music scene!

Came here on a Sunday evening to check out the live music jam sessions, and it was pretty cool listening to the house band on stage, as well as other musicians throughout the night. It's mainly an older crowd here, and it seemed like everyone knew each other, probably all of the guests here were regulars, except for us. That's not a bad thing, I think it's nice to see places like this, where everyone treats each other like family. In fact, I'd say all of the attendees were there to perform. Pretty much everyone there had an instrument (mostly guitars) and some had multiple instruments on hand which they would play even when not on stage, ie. tambourines, cowbells, and congas. Some of the entertainment throughout the night included songs like "Play that Funky Music" and "Love Train". Most of the musicians were very experienced and obviously talented. I think there was only one set of musicians that came on stage and seemed lost or unprepared, they were younger, the singer was not really singing into the mic, the musicians did not seem to be on the same page, their body language didn't really display confidence. But at least they tried and were welcome on stage for this "jam session" regardless, and can perhaps identify ways to improve. The environment at Quarter Note was not the most inviting, not dingy, but a bit outdated, even for a dive bar. There were some nice touches, like guitars hanging from the ceiling and keyboard wall art at the bar with some decorative lighting, and some halloween ornaments as well due to the upcoming holiday. But also lots of exposed/jumbled wiring and disorganization to be seen. The wait for drinks was also inexplicably long, especially with the place not being really crowded or busy. But workers were friendly and apologetic about the wait. One of the guys also offered us a free basket of fries, which were quite delicious, hot and crispy and lightly seasoned. If the rest of their food is as good as their fries, I just may have to to come back to try something else on the menu. Overall, we had a good time. It wouldn't be our number one choice for an outing, but for live music, it's a chill spot with friendly people all around, and that's good enough for me. read more

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Cool hidden away local (dive?) bar! Wouldn't have even known it existed excepts friends band issues there. Looks like regulars must frequent the place. Decent set of beers on tap. Pool table. Some scattered seating. Great music atmosphere. I think the mic audio could be slightly improved cuz it was a little distorted but it's all good. Clearly a little older crowd. read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - TapSlap guitarist - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

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I've seen some great bands here , I've seen the eyesores here a few times . Those guys are awesome. The drinks here are pretty good, great prices too. There's plenty of parking in the bars parking lot also. read more

It's a dive bar near St. John's Grill with karaoke on Tuesdays at 9 pm. Jennie the bartender is so nice, super fast, and makes a strong dirty martini. The wine is not great but this isn't a place where you order wine. A friend's car was broken into in the parking lot so please do not leave anything visible in your car. read more

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The reviews here seem a bit mixed, but my experience was SPECTACULAR and the bartender was SO sweet. Make sure to try his Space Odyssey, it was delicious. I came here on the Karoke nights Tues & Thurs after 9pm. They have a sign up sheet that fills up quickly. The bartender (guy that works Thurs?) made the experience AMAZING for my small group. Anyways I definitely recommend y'all check them out and hope the guy bartender is working that night! read more

It's my first time coming here , The bartender was attentitive and fast , made sure to always make sure I had a drink on me I def would come back again.! read more

Love the music, the variety, the drinks, and the food! Although it's a bit of a drive from Morgan Hill, I've been going to the Q Note pretty regularly for the past year. They have live jam sessions three nights a week, and are very welcoming to people of all skill levels to come up and play with the house band (they can play pretty much any song you want). They also have karaoke twice a week. But the best part is the live bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Great variety, from 60s rock to heavy metal to alternative. I've heard many bands here say they were very happy with the support systems including sound, lighting, and service staff. The place has good energy, friendly bartenders, and great food, including a variety of pizzas with homemade dough (get it well done for a crispy crust). Drinks are always cold with generous serving sizes. I saw another post talking about the owner's dog. From everything I've seen, the patrons LOVE her. She's very well behaved and just wanders around being social. She doesn't jump on people or try to eat their food or anything, nor beg or whine. From multiple visits to Europe, I'm used to the way it is there, where people often bring their trained, well behaved dogs into restaurants - it's commonplace. I'm not even a dog person, but Lulu is a very sweet dog and a great mascot for this wonderful music venue. Check it out! read more

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Delicious fresh food. Lots of fun things to do every night. Great staff. Coordinate really goes out of their way to entertain there patrons. There's usually some thing going on each night. Either live bands, open, mic, karaoke, etc.. The fries are absolutely delicious. Staff is super friendly and very easy to get along with. They have a really fun stage with lights. It's a fun spot. Highly recommend. read more

(Daniel Craig voiceover) M, this is Bond. Successful infil. Quarter Note is THE place for live music according to intel. The vibe is underground spot for karaoke on a Tuesday night in Sunnyvale! Dan, a wonderful lad, warmly greeted me! 22:00. My caffeine level was perhaps a tad low. Ingested a can of Red Bull. Intracellular cAMP levels optimized. On task to rendezvous with friends. Quarter Note is an establishment for those who love music, but the food is good too! Ordered the Quarter Note Pizza. Personal-sized. Delectable! Chicken strips. Crunchy! Most satisfying. Strawberry smoothie. Real fruit. Perfect level of tart. I do so love the taste of strawberries on a summer evening. So wonderful and warm. And dare I say Stylish. Debated whether or not to avoid the stage. Found that Red Bull really does give you wings. Especially, given the encouragement of the seasoned agent backing me up on site. Happy to report to HQ that there were NO karaoke casualties with my debut. David and Rodello were superhelpful. Just write your name and song on the log and they announce. They're both super friendly! Yes, my maiden voyage was raucous and powered by AC/DC. She Shook Me All Night Long. And of course, the natural suave follow up was Charlie Puth's Attention: Her dress was Karma, Perfume regret. Got me thinkin' 'Bout when you were mine Unlike the song, she's coming home with me tonight. Indeed I'm dangerous, but ladies feel safe with double O. Nonsequitur. All plans fail on contact with reality and must adapt to field conditions. Know yourself. Know your opponent. Win a thousand battles. But enough Sun Tzu, we are here at Quarter Note to appreciate karaoke Tuesday! The objective tonight was to hear the especially delightful singing of a talented friend. Gentlemen, you have not lived until you've heard a siren sing. Enchanting. Well, I've lived. Lived alot! Many lifetimes. And tonight was the definition of an epic evening complete with the perfect exfil. Succeeded in my task to keep the package safe and secure, though Q may incessantly argue that danger is my middle name. (He knows I'm a cad.) Who knew Sunnyvale could be so exhilarating! Looking forward to another karaoke foray! Maybe When In Rome. Promise. Quarter Note rocks! Would order everything again. Woohoo! Bond out. read more

Great sound system for karaoke and an inviting atmosphere for the jam sessions. Bacon cheese burgers and pizza are both great and at a really good price. read more

Great live music venue! Check their calendar for your favorite local bands. Busy bar and bar eats are ok. read more

Cool place with a decent sized stage for band performances. Bartenders are friendly and I enjoyed my drink.

Went to see a band called the VRBS at the Quarter Note. Nice place pretty clean. The staff was nice. The food was good and I had an IPA. read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Great local band I hope they make it big. - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

We stumbled upon this place, so my friend and I decided to check it out. Pretty cool place. There was a live band. They were so loud, that I couldn't even hear the lyrics. Someone was holding a black flag. Not sure if it was a fashion statement or a game of Capture the Flag (CTF). Random! read more

Quarter Note Bar and Grill - Lucky Fortune - Bars Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

We will probably never support this establishment again after the owner started yelling at my wife. Clearly, my wife had had enough alcohol so I asked the owner not to bring her drinks anymore. Yet she kept bringing drinks until my wife fell asleep with her feet on the chair. That's when she woke my wife up and started yelling at her, saying her husband was going to be angry too, saying something about him being in the military, as a threat, if my wife didn't put her feet down. We paid our tab and left as the music wasn't all that good anyway. read more

Melissa made me the best drink I've ever had in my life. She made me a Pop Radio Orange Drop, her own creation. It was amazing. She also made me an amazing Jazz Mule (Moscow Mule). Best drinks, better customer service. My new favorite bar! read more

An awesome musical/pub experience! If you love live music while having some drinks, this is the BEST!

Found this place in the metro paper for pizza week glad i did good ol american bar beautiful bartender great food and i was feeling the vibe will definitely be back read more

I used to love to stop by this place... it used to be busy and have excellent service... now the sound guy lets the bartender retaliate against guest that complain about service issues... one client that has been inconvenienced and says something means that their are thirty that just left and said nothing!!! Too bad... it was an amazing venue! I wish you the best... but your bartender needs to know where her paychecks really come from... the customers that return! Not the customers she has left hanging! And certainly not from her relationships with those she is able to manipulate. read more

The service was wonderful and the drinks were solid. They didn't have a martini glass when I ordered one because they said they had broke them and didn't record any new ones. The ambiance is definitely lacking, it feels like you're in a dingy dive bar so I wouldn't be sure on ordering the food. Could use a cleaning but it was still a unique experience and the musicians were very good! Overall a great place to go for a quick drink. read more

Great friendly place with live music. Bartenders Sunny and Mellisa always make you feel welcome. Nice local bar vibes

Surprisingly a great hole in the wall dive bar for sure. We came here on a random whim we were just passing through after going to K1 racing. We knew there was a place near by with a pool table so thanks to yelp we came here. They were barely opening up when we arrived around 4:00 or 4:30pm. It was me, my husband, my brother in law and sister in law. When we arrived they were setting up the stage and cleaning behind the bar. Right away this older women took our drink order. My husband usually drinks modelo beers but they didn't have any so he got a Corona. I had a rum and coke and the rest of our party had bud light I think. The pool table was ok. It's on a step up platform kind of area with a super small table with two bar chairs that is squeezed in on the corner by the benched seats. The sticks could be better but we didn't complain. The bench seats were nice, kinda spacious. The dj's soundboard is also located on the platform so be careful for that. Although it wasn't really a problem. The jukebox was my favorite part of our drinking stay. I have to say I've never seen one soo user friendly and modern. This on the wall jukebox even had several Playlists you can purchase and play from. I am soo happy I got to use it. I played 20 songs for $10. So the Playlist I basically liked was a hip hop one. So when I was going through and picking them one by one off the list it would always suggest another song in between my selection. Which was awsome because it would choose most popular songs relatable to your category of music your choosing! Amazing experience with this thing I can't tell you how happy I was spending those $10. I would come back seriously just for this thing. Lol! Btw if it isn't turned on you can just ask the bartender. The customer service was good. Only two people in the bar when we arrived. Also before we left my husband had left his wallet here by accident and we didn't notice until hours later. Luckily we called and the staff answers letting us know (with proper discription of the wallet) that we left it behind. Good thing it was picked up for safe keeping. Although we must admit we were sooo grateful, it did appear that the wallet was rummaged through. Perhaps to find a phone number to return the wallet? Not sure but the hundreds were squished back in the wallet sloppily. Just saying. All in all we did enjoy this place enough. If we are in this neck of the woods again we will definitely be back. Also when we came later ( for the wallet) there was a door fee to get in. Interesting. It sounded like there was a few rock bands so that's pretty cool. read more

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I specifically came here for Tuesday with my friends as we heard through the grapevine this was the place to be for karaoke in the Sunnyvale area!Let me tell you we had a blast! It's is a dive bar but energy from the atmosphere here said otherwise! Everyone was singing, even a little like dancing took place!! There's a main stage for karaoke for you to sing alone or with friends, which we did! The local patrons were so friendly as well we made new friends that night too I simply cannot stop raving about the fantastic bartender who made the evening all the more enjoyable. Our drinks were served fast given how busy it was! Overall, our time here was great! I think we're going to make this our normal Tuesday watering hole! Def worth checking out to sing your heart out!! read more