Balans Reviews 19

Really over priced bland food ....

Had dinner with a friend last night at Balans No 60 Soho. Food was really very poor. Service was good. But won't be going back again. Plenty of alternatives. Kitchen needs to look at what they are making and serving. Menu looks inviting, but the dinner plate tells a different story. £95 for 2 mains, 2 sides and 2 drinks is outrageous for what was served up. I can see this place failing if nothing changes. Very disappointing.

Was left shocked to find out I paid £15.30 for an average glass of wine, this place is way over priced!!!

Food Safety Complaint – Balans Restaurant
I am writing to report a serious food safety concern regarding a meal I had at Balans Restaurant, Soho on Saturday 6 September
I ordered a Malaysian curry. When the dish arrived, it had a very strong odour similar to vomit, which raised immediate concern. I attempted to eat a spoonful, but shortly after I began experiencing:
Stomach ache
Throat discomfort/ache
These symptoms started within minutes of eating and persisted into the following day, causing ongoing discomfort.
I believe this food may have been spoiled or contaminated, and I am concerned about the potential health risks to other customers if this is not investigated.

We've been coming to Balans Stratford for 10 years, it's one of our favourite places to come. I was quite disappointed by the smoothies on our last visit though - they cost £6.50 each and were just a small bottle, smaller than an innocent smoothie and they weren't very nice. We will come again but won't order them!

Have been at this restaurants many times, but not for a year or so. Ordered eggs "over easy"; 25 minutes later they arrived old and dried and awful-looking as though the dish had sat waiting to be delivered for a while. Without apology they ordered a new dish; this time too it arrived overcooked. My coffee was long finished by then, and nothing offered. My wife's breakfast was about done before I got my inadequate replacement. No apology again. No adjustment to the bill. Nothing.

Sorry to see how this place has changed.

Dear Balans Management Team

I hope you are well. I am writing to formally express my disappointment with the service, food quality, and hygiene standards during my recent visit to your Stratford Westfield branch.

My partner and I visited your restaurant expecting an enjoyable dining experience, but unfortunately, we encountered several issues that left us frustrated and dissatisfied.

Firstly, I ordered a Full English Breakfast, only to find that parts of my meal, particularly the potatoes, were cold and not crispy. I sent the dish back, and despite the restaurant being mostly empty, it took approximately 10 minutes for my meal to be returned. By the time I received it, my partner had already half finished her meal, which made the experience far less enjoyable as we had planned to eat together.

While I appreciated that the replacement dish was at least served hot, the potatoes were still soggy and not how they should have been. At that point, I didn’t feel it was worth raising another issue, but it was nonetheless disappointing.

Beyond the food issues, I was particularly concerned about a serious hygiene matter. I observed a bartender repeatedly emptying the bin with his bare hands, reaching inside multiple times while changing the bin liner. After handling the bin, he proceeded to touch glasses and parts of the bar without washing his hands first. Given the importance of hygiene in food service, this was extremely concerning and, quite frankly, unacceptable.

Additionally, my partner ordered the Benedict Royal, which includes lobster. When she asked for a lobster cracker, the waiter informed us that none were available, meaning she had to struggle with a knife & fork resulting in parts of the lobster being untouched, despite it containing meat.

However, we have ordered this same dish at Balans before and were previously provided with a lobster cracker without asking.

It was frustrating to experience such inconsistency, especially for a dish that requires the correct utensils to be properly enjoyed.

She also ordered a Porn Star Martini, which came with a glass of Prosecco. However, the Prosecco was completely flat. We had to bring this to the waiter’s attention, and while it was eventually replaced with a properly fizzy one, this should not have been an issue in the first place.

To add to our disappointment, the cutlery provided especially the knives were extremely blunt, making something as simple as cutting bacon unnecessarily difficult. While this may seem like a minor issue, it only added to an already underwhelming experience.

We have dined at this Balans before and generally had acceptable experiences, so much so my partner is a loyalty card member, but this visit fell well below the standard we expected. I hope you take these concerns seriously and address the inconsistencies in service, food quality, and, most importantly, hygiene, as these are fundamental to any reputable restaurant.

I would appreciate a response regarding how these issues will be addressed to ensure that future diners do not encounter similar problems.

Regards

Dave Delsol

Best breakfast in Kensington!

We had a great experience at Balans on Saturday, not our first one, and definitely not our last one. Food is always amazing and the service was again very friendly and attentive.

I've been going here since it started and I'm a founder loyalty card member. I had the most disappointing experience when I checked a bill and noticed double charging for drinks. The waiter resisted taking it off and it took an embarrassing 3 members of staff to get it resolved. No apology. On top of that, and a 12.5% service charge, the waiter then asked for an additional
service charge "for him". Come on Balans you can ( and used to) do much better!

Staff looked after our table of 9 including some picky children very well. Dealt with dietary requirements nicely and were pleasant throughout, what was, a very busy day in Soho

Stratford Westfield - Randomly found this restaurant online, as I didn’t want to travel far for brunch and the reviews were 4.2, so thought I’d give it a go. We ordered the egg Benedict with 2 Cumberland sausages and Thai red curry with Jasmine rice. Both dishes were delicious and we topped it off with Mojitos and Watermelon Sugar cocktails, this particular drink is lush and the dark chocolate sandwich desert, The service was on point. Our waiter was called Alexis (sorry if I’ve got this wrong ) and he was perfect. Great food with great service. You can’t go wrong. Go here, you won’t regret it. The atmosphere is pleasant. I’ll be back.

The waiter that worked on tuesday in the soho 60 branch (blonde, with white trainers, long skirt, pony tail) asked us for desserts and upon saying not right now politely, brought us the bill and slammed it on the table. we asked why we got given the bill without asking and they said we didn’t want desserts so what was the problem. I was still drinking my wine, not even half way through!!!! very disappointed with their service, quite angry.

The guy that took payment was much nicer and everyone else seemed lovely!

Mihai gave us great service! Very welcoming, quick and friendly

I had weird experience with this place as thought it had nicely coloured appearance and good service, although felt that they were trying just a bit too hard. However things went a bit wrong when I got home as I started speed vomiting the contents of the meal in the sink. Was just so ill! Asked for my money back but they didn't offer refund!

Stood at the waiting booth virtually no greeting.
Ordered steak and eggs steak medium poached eggs x2

When the meal eventually did turn up the potatoes were cold as was the eggs, might as well have been hard boiled.The steak the little bit there was was also cold, but to add to my frustration it was raw,and didn't smell the best either.

Had enough, asked for the bill which came to over £60.00 there was two of us neither of us touched the steak or most of the remainder of the meals and 2 drinks.

When the waiter came back with the machine he asked if i would like as receipt, my reply to him was would you want a receipt for this. Not once were we asked if there was a problem with the meal.

They couldn't wait to get us out the door,and the next victim in, very disappointing, will certainly not recommend this chain to any of my friends in the future!

How on Earth you could get a starter served cold (which was sent back and not again requested ) and a basic main with a 40 min wait to follow ... I’m so glad i paid in full and walked out . As I was leaving my main arrived but due to my taxi arrival I made the staff box my meal up for a passing homeless person outside . I’ve dined here for over 20 years and will never be going back .

Always great service ! Amazing friendly stuff! What are we going to do without these foreigners!

Stayed in London with family and had a lovely breakfast at Balans Soho Society. Waiter kindly guided us though menu and even proposed to not over order as our children could easily share the pancakes. This, in our mind, is great service. Great coffe as well and everything else was freshly made and served with a smile :-)

Just left the Balans Soho Society on Kensington High Street after having a couble of cocktails with my wife. First we ordered a couble of strawberry daiquiri and it became quite clear that the rome was a cheap dublicate. (The price was more than 10 pounds each) It didnt serve the drink at all. Well, since the S.D was not on the card, we decided to try something from the list and the disappointment was complete. We paid 19 pounds for 2 drinks and after finished the drink, our glasses was allmost full of ice. The content of the ice was unfair high. The assistent manager was informed and she kindly offered a couble of free shot as an compensation. I declined and told her that it wouldnt change my disappointment. I have had cocktails all over the word but never paid that kind of money for ice.............