Balearic Eye in South Derbyshire

Was a shame the restaurant had to close, but thankfully the takeaway is still up and running. Not only that they do the most amazing punk pizzas as well. Loaded fries are a favourite, burgers are great and pizza you can build yourself is amazing. Fresh dough makes all the difference. Yes it’s only takeaway and they are only on just eat… but definitely worth trying especially on a Tuesday as you get discounts.

Really quirky place with nice food, me and my friend loved our burgers. Massive began and veggie menu which was really nice to see. A guy served us and he was super friendly and checked if we needed anything several times. I presume there's a few lazy members of staff that perhaps the owner can pinpoint through contacting reviewers or maybe leaving leaving feedback email address on the tables? As our guy was great! We would definitely go again. Everything was spotlessly clean and food was generous potions and cooked tk perfection.

Decided to give it a try for an afternoon as campfire was closed. The starter - mine was OK. Garlic bread. Can't get that wrong really. My partner had mozzarella sticks. Sticks OK, the salad was looking sorry for itself. Brown and wilted. No sauce. Main - mine burger was dryish. Chunky chips weren't chunky. Frozen specials. Plenty of them and edible. Wife had chicken wrap. Salad was green this time though. Lots of chips again. Pudding - was good. Can't mess sorbet up though. Staff were friendly. Save yourself the money and go Morrisons restaurant for food. It will be better. I would not bother with this.

We were very excited to get a decent restaurant in Swadlincote, as the place misses that extra vibe which can make the town "up and coming". We had a couple of disappointing takeaways form these guys in 2020, but put it down to the pandemic and decided to go and dine in as soon as we could... The building they have purchased and set up the restaurant in is the old Art Deco cinema and we really wanted to see what they have done with the place. Well... as we walked in, it felt like we had entered a really tired arcade in Skegness! The slot machines, the wobbly metal tables, etc were not the vibe we were hoping for. We were shown to our (wobbly) table by a sullen member of staff and we had to use a napkin to make a wedge to stop the table from moving.... Then, I had to walk over to the bar to get a drinks menu, whilst two members of staff were chatting in a corner of the room. Some 10 min later, the drinks arrive - a £9 cocktail which was watery and a £5 pint of Coors... The food was OK, but I am not sure it's really worth the money they charge for it. A £18 burger should be fantastic. Theirs is just ...good. Desert was a limited selection of ice cream and came half melted. Nothing more to say on that. No one asked if we wanted more drinks, no one made an effort to even look remotely interested, so we decided to ask for the bill and go. However, that was a challenge in itself, as there was no one around to ask or pick up the desert plates, so we got up and paid at the bar, on our way out. later on, my partner mentioned about the state of the toilets : toilet paper everywhere, dirty floors, loose taps, a distinct urine smell... I mean, come on... These guys talk big on social media and the owner often goes on rants about Swadlincote not "getting" what Balearic Eye is about (their theme, apparently is Acid House, which is quite niche for an old mining town,...). He is rude to customers when they suggest improvements and behaves in a way that makes people want to avoid the place. We will not go back until they fix the basics: front of house, hygiene, customer service. I don't mind paying good money for good food and service, but this place has a long way to go to achieve the special status they already believe they have. (Our visit was a week ago)

We like to support local businesses and believe that any business willing to invest in the nighttime economy of the town, deserves the support of the community. Unfortunately our first experience was not a good one and we won’t be rushing back. We pre booked a table for Saturday night, when we arrived we stood around waiting to be noticed. Several members of staff just walked by us and ignored us. When we had been seated a waitress took our drinks order promptly but we had to wait a long time for the drinks to arrive at the table and other tables near by were complaining about how slow the service was. We also waited a long time for the food to arrive. In total we were in the restaurant 2hrs for 2 bottles of cider and 2 beef burgers. When the food arrived it was hot and tasty. We had no complaints about the food. When we had finished eating, our empty plates just sat on the table while 4 members of staff stood chatting behind the bar. After about 30mins we paid at the bar and left. Our table was never cleared. There were plenty of staff on site for the amount of customers, they were just not managed properly. Such a shame as this place has potential. Good food but poorly managed. I hope these issues are addressed and the business does well.

Went with my daughter for the launch of the Bottomless Brunch and from start to finish I couldn’t find a fault. As we were seated our glasses were filled to the brim with prosecco, the food arrived shortly after, fresh, plentiful and delicious. Attentive staff who checked in on us frequently and fabulous cocktails, what more could we want. Will definitely be returning. Nice to see this business in Swadlincote- it’s what is needed, keep up the excellent work x

2 visits now and I’m sad to see that management do not appear to address suggested improvements. This place has so much potential but is being badly let down by the service. Firstly, on the 2 occasions we have visited, we can’t fault the food. It really is pretty good if a little on the pricey side but it’s something different in Swad so no complaints here. Secondly, the decor and layout is good and the vibe of the place themed to acid house dance music is right up my street so again, thumbs up. Unfortunately the service is terrible. Seated and ordered pretty quickly, food took a while to come but we weren’t in a rush. Finished drinks but no one was about to ask for more even though there were only a couple of other tables occupied so had to catch the waitress when the food arrived. Once the food is on the table, forget it. Nobody bothered to ask if everything was ok, plates were not cleared until I had to go and ask for the bill at least 30 mins after we had finished and even then they didn’t seem interested whether we had enjoyed it or not as we weren’t asked. Noticed someone in an earlier review mention about how they big up on social media, believe in the balearic eye, we’re passionate about burgers blah blah blah. Well sorry guys but if you don’t up your game on the service then believe me, you ain’t gonna be here for long which is a real shame. It’s not hard to get it right, you just need staff that are interested that your guests are looked after and you live up to your own hype, after all, that’s what you’re paying them for. I will visit once more as I really want you to succeed but if it’s the same, I won’t be coming again. Sorry.

Turned up and seated okay. Table was next to the big front doors which were open the entire time which meant that it was very cold. I asked for a blanket but they didn’t have any and they said that they couldn’t shut the doors. This also meant that we were battling a series of flies and mosquitoes and midges that were coming in through the doors and circling the food. We had an apology from them because the restaurant was empty apart from one other table and it took them an hour to get us our burgers. They said it was because they had a large order for a takeaway. The burgers arrived and were lukewarm and just greasy and not very nice. Nobody checked on us to see if they’re okay, and I had to go and get staff afterwards to go and clear the tables. Staff were all standing around behind the bar chatting. We then had to get up again to go and find staff to get a pudding menu which just basically consisted of cheesecake or churros. We chose the churros but this was a mistake as they were also cold. Nobody came to take the plates and offer us any coffee so we gave up and went to try and find somebody to pay. It needs to be so much better than this if they’re going to offer tableservice. They had enough staff but they just didn’t seem to be interested in waiting on the tables. The only other table next to us sent half of their meals back. Not great hope it improves.

Only been for take away so far but every meal i have had has been really good. Great burger, awesome loaded fries which stayed crispy and were even good the second day & the portions were top notch. I think the first review posted on here must have caught an early days bad night. Yeah sometimes deliveries are late but so are most places, the staff have always been polite and my food is always tasty and warm! Can’t complain at all, its something different and I hope to sit in soon! Viva La Eye!

I’m not a fan of leaving negative reviews but these guys need to up their game. They talk a big talk on social media so we went for what we were hoping to be a nice meal and some cocktails to celebrate the first meal out since August last year and left feeling like we had been cat-fished. We arrived and the table next to us looked really annoyed so I can only assume they had a similar experience to us, we nearly left there and then as that’s always a telltale sign. We were ready for a session and to part with some money but unfortunately it took 30mins after being seated to get the first drink (in 90mins we only managed 2 drinks due to how slow it was). Only half the food came out for 3 out of 4 of our meals. Whilst the food was good, I can’t rate it high because only half of it was there! There seemed to be plenty of staff and it wasn’t exactly packed, the staff are all really nice and they all seem to be trying to do a good job but it’s really poorly managed. The door staff were wearing big coats with reflective strips and kept walking around the tables, which again, it’s not their fault, they were trying to help with table service but it affected the vibe and we couldn’t help but think if they were wearing a suit or similar instead of big coats, it wouldn’t be so out of place. Again, this is a management issue. Also, there was only one unisex toilet available, where there was toilet paper and the inner rolls all over the floor and the bins were piled high, the cleaning check sheet on the door showed it hadn’t been checked all day. The kind of thing you’d expect at 3am in a club, not in a restaurant at 8pm during a Covid pandemic! The music was great and provided the kind of ambience we were hoping for but kept stopping for a few minutes at a time which made a really weird vibe. They knocked money off the bill which was appreciated but like I said at the start we were turning up ready to have a nice night, we would have much rather had what we went for rather than a reduced bill. We won’t be going back again and I just feel bad for people who go there for a nice meal, I mean it’s not exactly cheap, so anyone who sees the arrogance on social media and the prices and assumes this is going to be a nice place to go like we did will surely end up disappointed. All in all, the place has potential I just wish they would ease off the arrogance and get it right or they aren’t going to build repeat customers. Serious work needed on the management of the place, it can’t be nice for the staff who are trying their best but getting constant negative feedback either.