Balans Soho, No.34 in City of London, Westminster - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The place is beautiful, but I didn't like the food. More than two of the dishes I asked about were not available. The French toast dish is large and enough for two people, and the vegetarian breakfast dish is also large. In general, the restaurant is good.

Really poor cocktails - never again

We came hungry and leave hungry. The portions are so small for this money.

Amazing service provided by Mister Ovideo best waiter in the city.

Alina is the best here love the way she treats her customers, Highly recommend ❤️

Fantastic experience and lively warm place in the center of Soho, lovely seating options and super friendly Staff, Especially Alina ! She is incredibly sweet and service oriented, just ask for her when you go and she will go above and beyond to ensure a happy and lovely experience , Thank you ALINA !!! You rock !!

Fantastic quick brunch here. Sat outside it was lovely weather and it’s on such a picturesque street with lots of people milling about. Good location. Great food. The pancakes were no joke swimming in syrup and I implore you to try them. I’m not a pancake person but these were delectable. The salmon, eggs and avocado were also great, super fresh and good portion sizes. Really couldn’t fault it. Nice staff too. Will definitely be back when I’m next in London!

I was in a very good mood, and the reviews were good, so I thought this place was a perfect place to eat dinner, but it wasn't! I wanted to order meat, chicken, and I received a piece of leftovers that were lightly sprinkled with spices, the meat felt like it wasn't fresh and dry and I couldn't bite it. I got the meat on the plate of my brother who ordered something completely different. The meat visible in the photo was taken after we received our dishes. The next day I had diarrhea, and I must add that it was really expensive for what I got.

Alina lady is gorgeous. She is the best waitress. We are so glad.

Your food’s good, your staff are great, but your policy of adding service to the bill, TWICE, stinks. Frankly, if you, Balanas, are not giving your staff enough, increase their salaries. Pay them properly. But allowing your staff to present the card machine with an invitation to add service, for a second time, is tantamount to gaining monies by deception. The server will tell you it’s a little extra for him (or her) but that’s plain not fair on the kitchen staff or anyone else who’s working just as hard behind the scenes. Beware, fellow diners. Settle the bill at your peril. Service has already been added.

I really thought it was a joke.

Lovely food and great service by Oyi, highly recommended

Ovi 1 Kanobe x aka short king with a taste for the wild side. Love u boy xx

as always, i loved visiting my mostest favourite Soho social den. Alina served me a stupendous curry with chicken and rice as fluffy as Artic Circle snow....thanks so much for the kind service and food for what must have been my hundred times over at Little Balans.

Incredible place to spend lunch, service was amazing and the pancakes 🤩

Not especially great Flat white, reminds me of foamy,white milky coffee growing up in the late 80s. Bit expensive and they automatically add a service charge . Suggest you go to Nero's opposite for the same view and a better coffee, even from a chain!

The best pancakes ever - with kimchi and fried chicken. Food heaven! 😋

The waiter was friendly and very accommodating. Thanks

The best atmosphere, the staff was very friendly, they made me feel home. The food was amazing and very quick. The manager itself made sure that my time here it’s the best one in Soho. I would come back very soon. Take care my friends and ppl from Soho! With love, Raluca

Ovi was the best server I’ve ever had!!

Had a great breakfast, the food was amazing, good cappuccino and Ovi the waiter was very friendly. Definitely recommend when starting your day in Soho

Steak and eggs are gone from the menu, and Bloody Mary's are now with orange and basil? I'm so confused. Bring back the classics please!

It was a pleasure from start to finish. Our server "Ovi" was delightful. The food and service was superb. Goats cheese salad was delicious. Thank you.

Came across this place for something quick to eat as I was in a rush. The service was great, really quick even though it was busy, the waiter ovi was lovely. Food & coffee was great, highly recommend the halloumi small plate.

Great experience and the food was excellent. Ovi was attentive and made the experience great!

We had breakfast here while visiting London. It's a nice place with some traditional English breakfast options. I had avocado toast, and it was okay, but my family had some other dishes, and they were delicious! I would highly recommend the eggs benedict. Thanks for the breakfast Ovi! ✨

Breakfast burritos are tasteless, no seasoning. Staff just shaked their heads when informed. Poor

I’ve been eating here for years and primarily grabbing brunch but today I had a lie in and came for the lunch menu! The steak, fries and onion rings were delicious and I love the atmosphere. Even today on a rainy day the music was great and it’s a perfect people watching spot when you grab a window seat. The staff are always excellent and today I was looked after by Ovi who was fab, friendly, helpful and efficient! Thank you for having me team, I’ll be back soon!

The pankcake was awfull !!! You can totally taste the flour and it was sticky in mouth Not fluffy at alll

Ovi was a very kind waiter and even offered to add extra pepper to our eggs, which we were very happy to accept! The Food was also incredible!

Had an amazing time and ovi was our waiter and was amazing

Thanks to Ovi for this great time, a very warm and welcoming waiter.. We ate very well, we will return with pleasure!

Great coffee and breakfast. Ovi looked after us. Will defo be back.

Brilliant breakfast spot. Served by Ovi this morning who was top quality, myself and both mates were very pleased with the experience. 10/10

I STILL love absolutely everything about this place, great food,really nice staff, who deserve to be getting paid much more than £9.50 an hour!!!... Robert,Andrew, the beautiful Meryan, Ovi, Daniel,Nicole,and the other staff are a joy!! Say Graham sent you. 100%☆☆☆☆☆❤️‍🔥

Delicious food and excellent service by Ovi

Environment: (8/10) The environment is quite small, cozy, and tight, prepare yourself if you're gonna get close to other tables nearby. The energy is vibrant, it gets real busy. Food/Drinks: (6/10) We ordered: 1) flat white (nice with latte art) (8/10) 2) iced coffee + caramel (nice but small) (7/10) 3) full English breakfast (amazing, the potatoes and bread are to die for, for me at least! All other items, poached eggs, bacon, beans were cooked wonderfully - delicious) (10/10). 4) crispy duck okonomiyaki (DO NOT ORDER - they tried to make a pancake with duck pieces, kale onion, topped with sunny side egg with sauces. Issue 1. Portion is dramatically small, it's like eating a crepe with eggs, that's it. 2. The kale greens thingy was sliced n fried, tasted like eating fried grass, hard to chew 3. The sauce was too light and had no flavor, overall it tasted bland, grassy, runny, not a plate to start your day, not nice... See the image if you like.) (2/10) 5) sourdough bread slices (toasted just right, with butter, this was to salvage the damage from my inedible crispy duck okonomiyaki plate. They don't have a price on the menu, but it's 3.5 pounds with butter and additional 1.5 with jam.) (9/10) Service: (3/10) They were friendly and pleasant and took care of us all the way. However, when the food they recommended is inedible, they won't do anything except "that's too bad, I liked it, would you like to order something else instead?" Ok, I understood the duck was horrible, they won't fix it or take it back so I ordered bread in addition instead. When it comes to paying, the waitress didn't show the receipt as we were paying with card, I made the payment then found out the bill is automatically charging 12.5 percent gratuity, and the bottom of the bill says gratuity is optional. When you charge the card, they also ask you to add additional gratuity AGAIN. Please note, this place misleads gratuity TWICE. Be warned, very sketchy practice.

Thank you Ovi!! You were amazing ❤️😊😊

Great place to hang out, eat, chat, drink coffee. Staff are fantastic, today Ovi really looked after my friend and myself. Will be going back soon

Amazing service from Ovi on Monday this week. He is wonderful at his job. Thank you so much, Ovi! Patrick & Paddy.

Very pleased with the service. Nicole was very welcoming

The girl named nicole in the shop assistant has a very good service attitude!!!

Lovely service and good atmosphere (R&B radio was a hit), food was excellent

Nicole the server was very attentive. We really enjoyed the music and vibe.

Music was 10/10 waitress(Nicole) was very welcoming

Great food and staff. Our server Nicole went above and beyond for me and my friends. Very warm atmosphere 😁😁😁😁

Nicole was great accommodating to all our needs . Food was 10/10 . Music was also a great touch . Enjoyed the experience

Nicole was very attentive and friendly.

Lovely help from Nicole and the food was really delicious!

Ovi helped make the brekkie a wonderful experience. Very attentive and charming. And he was great about checking in to see if I needed anything. The tables around me all seemed happy as well. Perfect balance of charm with efficiency. Thanks, Ovi!! PS Location couldn’t be better.

Ovi was a lovely server- would definitely come back as food and staff were amazing

Good food with good prices and good service. Open till late 👌🏻

The experience was amazing and especially credit to the waitress 'Andrada' who gave us exceptional service and always checking on us with a happy smile. Fantastic because of this we would recommended Balans to a friend!

Good coffee (decaf cappuccino) and yummy breakfast of poached eggs and bacon on toast. The quality of the food was excellent and for a Sunday it wasn't too busy. Recommend for a decent breakfast. Lots of choices too including veggie full breakfast options.

Absolutely cracking place, friendly atmosphere for soho xx

Best service from Alina and Adina. Thank you ladies

Came here for breakfast fairly early on a Sunday. I ordered the pea hummus with courgettes, feta etc. It was really delightful. The flavours worked so well together and all the ingredients seemed very good quality. Very chic, served on a slice of charcoal sourdough (no, it’s not burnt, it’s beautiful). And my decaff coffee was good too. Excellent stuff.

Alina did a superb job of serving us for lunch on Sunday 16 June 2024 😊👏.

The maple syrup had no flavour at all, possibly because they heated it too much? The bruschetta was not very interesting either and was missing onions. I would've notified a server about that but it was very hard to flag anyone down.

The food was amazing! Crispy duck okonomiyaki was probably the best thing I’ve had in London. The coffee is delicious, and the service is top quality. You wouldn’t regret having breakfast here!

Stopped in on a whim. Great spot with a great playlist. Don’t miss the Fried chicken and kimchi pancakes!

Lovely place , very polite stuff all off them starting with the manager Maria si Adina and the waitress Andrada and Ovidiu good recommendations on food and drink. Definitely will be back again

Great choice of food and drink, tables are slightly too small but a minor inconvenience. Would recommend

Used to always come here for food and drinks with friends and enjoyed it, however on a recent visit I was sitting in the outdoor seating. When I leaned back on my chair, the back of it folded (see pics) and I fell back on to the ground and hit my head. My trousers (my favourite pair) were torn all down the back and a lot of people saw me fall which was quite embarrassing. A waitress came out and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and she asked if there was anything she could do and I told her that maybe a free glass of wine to soak my sorrows in. She hesitated and told me she would speak to her manager. I sat outside for 25-30 mins and nobody came to see me. I tried waving people down for so long and eventually 35 minutes after I fell a manager came out and refused the free glass of wine. At this point I didn’t care about the glass, but the way they had just ignored me especially after one of their faulty chairs had me injured, embarrassed and with my jeans torn all down the back side. They couldn’t even give me a lousy glass of wine and make me wait 35 minutes to tell me no and ignored me for so long I had to get up and ask again 3 times to speak to someone. I’m not an unreasonable person at all, but after so many years of coming here I told myself I would never again go. I told the waitress as I was leaving that I was really disappointed on how the situation was handled (in a polite way) and she then eventually she poured me half a glass of wine in a to-go cup. It was like she gave it cause she felt like I was begging for it. At that point I didn’t even want it anymore. The staff didn’t care at all and I left the place feeling angered, embarrassed and like someone who had to beg for attention.

We ordered two coctails (Mojito and Watermelon Sugar) and they were the worst drinks we ever had, hands down. Tasted like ****, we couldn't force ourselves to drink them so we left. £28 (with the tips) down the drain, literally.

Shaun and Ovi always makes me feel at home. The food is amazing and the atmosphere is electric.

Had a wonderful experience dining here. Service, ambiance, and food was amazing. Adina and Richard were super kind and accommodating when my dad felt cold sitting outside and wanted to move indoors mid meal. Service was attentive and fast. Ambiance is lively and great window views for people watching- lots going on outside as there’s bars across the street. For food, the truffle chicken is to die for. So good. Shrimp pasta and steak and eggs were also delicious. Highly recommend!

This is the place you’re looking for 👌🏼

How lucky we were to stumble upon this place looking for lunch in Soho. Balans had the perfect menu, with a large selection of food and drink, and the waiter Ovi made my day. Next time I'm in London, I'll make sure my travel companion comes along.

Best place for brunch… good food, epic playlists and great servers… especially oni!

The best place to eat in Soho! I’ve been coming here for years and always enjoy wonderful food and an incredible warm friendly welcome from Ovi, who has become a familiar friendly face when I visit Soho! It’s so refreshing and wonderful to see someone so dedicated and passionate for providing excellent attentive service…it really does make the delicious food all that more special and wonderful! Of course I will be back…my favourite Soho spot to wine and dine 🙏🏼💙

My favourite place to eat in London. Great food. Incredible food variety. From Thai to burgers, Mexican, English and vegan options. Professional and Personal service. I’ve been coming for 9 years and I’m very happy with the quality of food, service and atmosphere. Ideal for couples, dates, LGBT+ community, older, younger, families, tourists. Thanks to Alina and Nicole.

Meryam is ultra friendly and attentive, would go agai.

Went there this evening with a friend and it was amazing. The staff are wonderful and they always make me feel welcome. I tend to always go for the full English all day breakfast as it’s amazing and great value. Always stop in whenever I’m in Soho. Ovi is absolutely fantastic and amazing.

Food is bad. This place used to be good, not any more! I had dinner 3 times, 2 were terrible! Can’t risk taking anyone there any more 😅

Great food and service by Ovi who made an effort to make brunch fun and enjoyable! Loved the open window seating!!

Alina was divine .. she took good care of us ..

Meehan great service food and ambience

The most Soho place to have breakfast. Many thanks to Ovi and Shoni for always making us feel welcome. Also, love the food.

Probably the worst flat white I've ever had. Was more like a pint of milk with a tinge of coffee flavour. Guys best try a flat white in another place to see what it's like or train the staff better

Love the place. Love the staff. Love the food. Perfect. ***UPDATE*** Since certain staff who knew how to run the place have left, its a disgrace. First week in, "sorry sir, we've no tonic", FOUR days later "sorry sir we've got no Vodka". What?? Do you not place orders? Hello!! you have a restaurant open down the road, is it too much of a problem to walk down and ask for some? What sort of place are the newbies running? If they're not careful this iconic place will be run into the ground by inexperienced youngsters

Combine people watching with blue skies, delightful staff, Alina and her manager, and Tattinger by the glass, a nice California Chardonnay which as expat Californians my husband has missed and a couple of delicious hors de ouvres and you have a really terrific cocktail hour. Can’t miss spot in the heart of SoHo.

Great Service and Alina was super friendly and helpful!

Adina, Dani and Meryan were the best, good service, good food and a very welcoming warm atmosphere. Also a warm goodbye.

Adina from Romania is the best host ever !so friendly and welcoming thoughtful

The food at Balans is consistently excellent, making it a reliable choice when you're in London. Whether you're in the mood for light bites, small plates, or substantial meals, this is the place to go. They offer a variety of drinks, including cocktails, bottled beers, and virgin cocktails that are sure to satisfy. The staff are friendly and welcoming; I was served by the lovely Alina. It's a great spot to visit on a sunny day, with outdoor seating, open bar seats, and indoor seating for those who prefer shade or need shelter from the rain. After all, it is Britain.

The people were very nice, but my food wasn’t very good and it was very expensive for what it was. It said there was hallumi but there was none ! And it was soggy

Very, very beautiful! A thousand thanks

We had very good experiences in there maria taking care of use and she was amazing lovely and very professional

I had the best experience in balans 34. Maria is the best manager 🙌🏼

I’ve never left a review before today , but this place was so god awful I felt obliged to. The food was bland, literally no taste, does the chef use salt? I’d guess not. How do you make eggs and potato taste bad. We ordered a full English and a breakfast burrito, burrito was wet cold and tasteless, much the same as the full English. Not even copious amounts of salt and ketchup could save the food. The toast was just about the best part, even that was average though. We complained with a half eaten burrito to which we were told, ‘you’ve eaten too much for a refund, would you like something else?’. Obviously I said I’d rather not. Poor customer care, won’t be going here again and I will be steering everyone clear. I want my money back. £37 for that was nigh on daylight robbery. I’d rather a Greggs.

Interesting pancakes - would ask for the honey/maple syrup on side next time as they bathe the pancakes in it

Cozy spot. I’ve been there Thursday for lunch and the linguine with prawn was delicious. Service was great and for sure I will return.

Food was lovely and very filling! The latte was absolutely delicious, and our server was super friendly too

Been a member here since 2004.always great food and friendly service. Mery was brilliant today.

The red thai curry is just the best!

I highly recommend this restaurant, especially if you are in the SOHO aeea. My friend and I were visiting from the US and we were craving a nice quiet breakfast with good coffee and relaxed atmosphere. We found all of that here ! The food cane out fast and was hearty and delish, the coffee was perfect and our server Sean was impeccable. Ask for him if go! He was so professional, very attentive and made sure there was something on the menu to suit our needs. Additionally, the manager was equally amazing. She stopped by to make sure our experience was going well. We plan on going back tomorrow since it's close to our hotel. You have to go or else you will miss out!

Great staff, Mery was very attentive

Great atmosphere and good food. Thank you for your service.

Great service and good food. Loved the eggs in hell. Bacon wasn’t crispy but was still nice.