What the hell has everyone else tried?!? I've been in Balans during over the last weekend and I found it amazing! The service was great and so friendly, and the Balans food was so good. And i fell in love with the blonde waitress.

I'll definitely come back there!!
Hey, and if u're listen here: blonde girl, please contact me!!!!!

Best,

Paolo

Despite all the terrible reviews about Balans I read before going I would have to strongly disagree with them. The food was great, the service was friendly and the music and cocktails were fantastic. Rock on Balans.

Balans in Soho is terrible! I went there for lunch today and waited 45 minutes for my food. We then asked where our food was, and the Balan's waitress said 5 minutes. At this point the chef obviously panicked. Our food came out.


My colleague and I bit into our pies, and found the meat around the outside to be cold. I tried to open the pie to find that the whole thing frozen. A solid frozen pie! The staff were useless and offered a salad as a subsitute. Balans is a real disapointment.

Balans is terrible, overpriced with lousy food. I've eaten there three times and the only thing they can make is omlette. Last time I was there I had fish and chips, and the chips were so thick they were way too crispy on the outside and undercooked on the inside. The fish was overcooked inside, batter undercooked on the outside. These aren't difficult things.


Also, staff tend to be very rude - particularly the managers, not so the waiting staff. Stay well clear of Balans.

Go somewhere else other than Balans if you are hungry. Not only was my £10.00 main course Thai chicken curry the size of a starter, but it contained only four very small pieces of chicken. I had to pick up a sandwich on the way back from Balans to the office.

Save your money. Go elsewhere until the owners sort this place out. The management at Balans are utterly rude and unprofessional.


An additional unexpected guest in our party was humiliated and refused entry even though the restaurant was half empty and the waiting staff could see no issue. When politely asking the reason, the manager became aggressive and threatened to bar us from the place!

We left our meals unfinished and left Balans without paying the service charge which he said he didn't care about because service was optional anyway. How about non-existent?

We experienced ridiculously patronising and unacceptable behaviour. The food is so-so, people go for the buzzy atmosphere, late opening hours and nice waiting staff. Give it a miss - there are so many better places these days.

Unsurprisingly for a bar on Old Compton Street, Balans has a big gay crowd. Still, there are plenty of straights too, and the atmosphere is relaxed and laidback. Balans do top food too - yummy Mexican and lots of sticky deserts. Yum.

Balans is The Best!