Balthazar in City of London, Westminster - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Very below par experience. French onion soup was just OK. Sole goujons were very fishy and inedible (sent them back) and cheese burger was undercooked (should have sent this back too.) Chips were OK. Will not return. Ever.

My wife and I had a meal here yesterday. Great atmosphere and welcoming staff. Starters were average I had snails wife had the prawns. Oysters were nice. Wife had mussels for main they were gritty and not nice at all with little sauce. Sent them back and to there credit they were taken off the bill. My lamb again was just ok. We were told on booking that there would be a live jazz band but we were informed by staff this hasn’t happened for the last few weeks. We probably wouldn’t have dined here had we known that as we were looking forward to that which again was disappointing. Overall nice place to sit but food average was expecting more and we isn’t get it.

Went for pre-theatre dinner and ordered from the set menu. We both ordered mussels, which unfortunately were extremely gritty and had to be sent back. Although handled at the time, it was done without any grace or acknowledgment of the problem. Also a definite cooling in the service after the problem was reported. On the positive side, amazing space and nice atmosphere.

Seems too many tables per each waiting staff as took a part of six for brunch. Within seconds of sitting was asked whether we had decided or needed 5 minutes. This 5 minutes took 15 in the end. The coffee came out tepid. Asked for it to be remade. The food was yummy and specially the pastries. We finished the food whilst still waiting for our coffees. When reminded they eventually came but guess what - tepid again. The staff discounted this from the final bill. Clearly the issue was not enough staff per table. In honesty I would try this place again as the food was great as was the atmosphere.

Consistently decent, I’d expect slightly more for the price and brand.

Really amazing service and food

Staff at door was a bit distracted. Waiter was great. Food mostly delicious, including veggie options. Creme brulee could have had a crispier top. Ambience and decor great: very authentic traditional grand French.

Had dinner last night. Both ordered sole goujons as mains. Mine were extremely fishery which warned me the fish wasn’t fresh so instantly stopped eating. Both os us have been up alll night with diarrhoea. My friend who ate more than I did was much worse; sickness, cold sweats and passed out in the bathroom. Will be reporting to the Food Standards Agency

First place I go when I visit London

Good lunch options and reasonably priced

Didn't live up to expectations Poor service, underwealming food

A message to the brasserie manager: I ordered green tea sencha. They brought me a prosecco. I complained. They brought me earl grey tea. I complained. They finally brought me sencha. It’s ok, mistakes are ok, I don’t expect to be served by robots. But the dear manager should teach his staff , when same mistake is repeated, to offer something on the house or at least give a discount. All the best.

Good breakfast. Really fun, bustling, loud atmosphere.

Very noisy and difficult to even communicate with servers

Good place for a Monday night. Nothing special, but the tartare was tasty. Buzzy and with a good selection of French wines

Our service was horrendous. Our waiter took our order than disappeared. Brought wrong dessert after 30 min wait and disappeared

Second time trying Balthazar and it more than held up to our memories, honestly some of the best-tasting food I’ve had in a while. We were all super impressed with our meals, the service was warm, and the beautiful interior contributes to the atmosphere :) would recommend for a special occasion

It was a great experience and the service was good as the food and drink big shout out for andriy for looking after us

I have always loved the NYC location so coming here was a treat! The service was great and the food was delicious!

Food was ok. Service was not very good.

Consistently wonderful every time whether in London on New York. Never miss it if visiting either city!

Great restaurant with a fantastic vibe. The food was delicious. Shout out to beef tartare, onion soup, vol au vent, and the risotto. Not inexpensive but worth it.

I recently visited Balthazar for an afternoon brunch while staying at a nearby hotel, and it was an absolutely delightful experience. The ambiance was cozy and welcoming, making it the perfect place to relax. I enjoyed the fresh fruit salad, oak-smoked salmon, and a Bellini—all of which were exceptional. The fruit salad was vibrant and refreshing, the salmon was perfectly smoked, and the Bellini added a touch of elegance to the meal. Although I didn’t catch the name of my server, the service was attentive and friendly. I'm so glad I chose Balthazar—it truly made my afternoon special. Thank you for a memorable brunch!

I was worried on arrival that the place seemed a trifle pompous but in fact the staff were relaxed and helpful and the food we ordered was all unfussed, nicely presented and above all fresh and full of flavour. For example the chicken breast, so commonly served dry and overcooked, was just right. Would definitely eat here again.

Angie was excellent! Dedication. Passion. Her attention to detail with all the guests can not be compared. The charisma, beauty and charm can not be compared. That’s what Balthazar is about! Angie you made my Balthazar dream true!

We booked the Birthday celebration offer for our table of five but when we were seated we were told there is no Birthday menu. We ordered off the regular menu and had a splendid meal. They brought a lovely complimentary birthday scoop of ice cream inside a profiterole with a candle on it which was a nice touch but there was certainly no complimentary meal for the birthday guest. Their "Exclusive Birthday Celebration Offer" is really a marketing ploy. We had a nice meal so did not want to make a scene on my partner's birthday.

As a barista I really loved their services as and even wished to be one o their workers in their shop

Felt a little bit forgotten where we were sat. Dining before theatre and took so long to get attention and then desert menus that we didn’t have time to order and eat so had to skip.

We chose Balthazar for our Golden Wedding Anniversary lunch, knowing nothing about it but from reading reviews. We hired Le Petit Salon for 21 people and from the first contact we knew we had made the right choice. Marine on the customer service team was excellent in answering my many questions and the room had a wonderful atmosphere. Alberto, our waiter, couldn’t have been more attentive and was determined that the powerpoint presentation which I had prepared was going to work despite not wanting to. As for the meal, friends are still raving several days later, about the delicious food, especially those who chose the fillet of beef, which was so tender. Thank you for making our celebration so successful.

Great atmosphere and good choice of menu. Would definitely come again.

Lovely ambience and atmosphere and good value menu. Food good and well presented. A few service hiccups - took a while to place order, things forgotten and error on bill, but polite and issues resolved promptly.

Wow what a hidden gem. The food was amazing and so was the service everyone but particularly from Maria and Eni 100% recommended

After studying the generous menu, I settled on two starters, onion soup and a duck terrine. My partner had teased me throughout the morning with the suggestion of ordering something other than moules frites. When my partner's moules arrived, they glistened proudly and looked very appetising. I caught the sight of one of them, plump, orange and juicy. I quietly slurped my delicious soup. Gooey cheese bathed in the liquid and every mouthful was heavenly. My terrine was surprisingly rich and paired well with the bread it came with. I felt the dish would have been more balanced with something sharp, like a gherkin, to cut through. That said, it was still very good. Highly recommended.

The waiter was very polite and attentive. This is one of our favourite restaurants and we all had a great time

Have been here quite a few times! My starter wasn’t great, but my husband’s starter was lovely! I had steak frites for main with a side of macaroni cheese and it was superb! The steak was cooked to perfection and the fries along with the macaroni cheese were delicious!

Balthazar London equal to NY. The decor was the same! The service and the food was fabulous as well, although did not recognize a few items on the sea food platter.

My first time at Balthazar and my last! Heard good things about this place and recommended that we go there rather than Tuttons. The food was fine but the service appalling. Visited on a Friday lunchtime. It wasn't terribly busy though I felt we'd been short-changed on the location of our table for 4.....felt like they were saving better tables for someone more important than us....it was very loud and everything we ordered had to be requested at least twice more before we got it. We had to ask 4 times for a gin and tonic. We had to ask 3 times for more wine etc. etc. We ordered al la carte but kept being given the menus for prix fixe....maybe this explains the horrible table location??? I was annoyed at being charged 13.5% for 'service' but paid it as I didn't want to further spoil a lunch with friends.

Very accommodating when we wanted to change our time. Great experience x

The hostess was very gracious and allowed us in earlier. Very friendly, and welcoming! Food was delicious and service was excellent!

Lovely food, service and experience

Good food. Very poor service. Staff were inattentive, confused and lacked professionalism. Wouldn’t return.

Excellent food. Terrible service. Even though waiters were told it’s a birthday nothing acknowledged. Had to ask to order. No finger bowls provided. Wine never arrived until asked and turned out it was waiting for a waiter. Very rushed with oysters arriving with starters. No check on if food was OK. Wine rushed. Kitchen clearly can churn out the food fast at high quality but the waiters either can’t keep up or are hell bent on churning the tables over. Meaning you get good food but actually you don’t really enjoy it because you feel rushed and just basic things go wrong.

Lovely restaurant in the middle of Covent Garden with a great menu and drinks list. I was there with my partner yesterday and we had a very good late lunch. We would certainly recommend Balthazar to anyone who likes good French food. With thanks.

Food was decidedly mediocre and clearly had been on the pass some time.

Food quality lower than the service decor and ambience of the building. ... :-/

We love Balthazar and usually choose this restaurant when we are in the Covent Garden area. We booked for 6.15pm but arrived about 20 mins earlier than expected. The receptionist was lovely and told us it wasn't a problem as our table was ready for us. Our waiter was wonderful. When looking at menus online we noticed they had a children eat free offer currently on for the summer hols which we thought great! We had just spent a fortune at the theatre and every little helps so we enquired about it as we weren't given the menu. The waiter didn't seem to know anything about it but asked a male senior staff (grey uniform) who confirmed that they had the offer on. 2 free children meals for 2 paying adult meals. We ordered a whole lobster, a steak and frites and a mussels and frites to share with a side tomato salad and a side macaroni cheese. Our children had 2 x spaghetti and a burger (we had to pay for one of the children's meal). Husband had a caraf of wine and we had a number of soft drinks. When it came to desserts, we asked a senior female staff (in grey uniform) if the children have desserts included in the menu. She gave us a miserable look and said no, you have to order from the proper dessert menu. ... I was sure i had seen some desserts on the online children eat free menu (which hadn't been given to us) ..so i decided to check it again on my phone, as I thought I was seeing things!! Sure enough it was there online as part of the offer. My husband enquired again but this time with our lovely waiter and he said he wasn't sure but would find out. He went to ask a male senior staff and I saw them checking and our waiter came back to apologise for the misunderstanding and the dessert was indeed included with the free children's meal. We ordered 2 ice creams and a coffee. If it wasn't for our lovely waiter, I honestly wouldn't want to go back to Balthazar no matter how good the food was. The female senior staff was just so miserable. Not a single smile when dealing with us. Didn't ask us how our meal was when she was taking away our plates just asked if we had finished. She really looked like we were an inconvenience to her and she looked like she did not want to be there. I don't know if she had personal problems but if you are working, you should be professional at all times. if you can't do your job well, then have the day off!! As a family we work hard to have a nice meal out together. A nice meal with good service especially at those prices is not too much to ask for is it? I wish I took down our waiter's name. If it wasn't for him, the star rating would be lower. He made our evening. He is a real credit to your restaurant. Treat him well as he is a real treasure. That female senior member of staff could learn a thing or 2 from our waiter in red. All other staff was good also..all very polite but our waiter just went above and beyond. Great service by him.

Great lunch and amazing service by marco

Marco was attentive and his recommendations weee exquisite! Great food and ambiance.the drinks were on point and the overall service is superb .

Excellent brunch and coffee. I went there for my first date with a lovely girl and they did not disappointed us :)

Beautiful, spacious and pleasant environment. Good food.

It is a cosy and elegant atmosphere with good quality food. We were served by Marco throughout our dinner. He was very attentive and made sure everything was okay. Onion soup is a MUST!

Marco was the absolute best part of dining at Balthazar in London. The food was amazing and the atmosphere is top notch!

Had a lovely time ! The food was great and the service was incredible, thank you to marco for everything ;)

Food was very lovely. Ambiance nice. Marco was very attentive.

Service was amazing from Jonny and food was great too!

We went for here for dinner last night before we went to the West End and we had a really positive experience. The food was lovely and our waiter Marco was very attentive, especially towards my dietary requirements (gluten free). Thank you so much!

We loved the oysters, really fresh😁😁

Marco was amazing and really took his time to go through the menu with us

Everything was perfect, Marco was very friendly, great service great atmosphere. Will definitely come back

Table Service was slow and indifferent. Expect more at this pricepoint.

We went for my Husband birthday and all the staff treated us like Kings. Food was good and ambiance was busy and loud but ok for a Saturday. We will go back

Balthazar is a fun place with great food and service. Marco took great care of us.

Lovely restaurant. Great food, and fantastic service!

Great food and wine, great service, all round excellent experience for a last minute booking. Marco our waiter was amazing; very welcoming and a perfect addition to our experience. We shall be back

The oysters 🦪 and Côte DE BOEUF are amazing,the music and service are also great. Highly recommend 👍

Beautiful restaurant, staff really helpful and friendly. Food delicious, service prompt and efficient. Highly recommend.

Marco was a wonderful waiter, a great character who made my 40th very special. Steak was great and crème brûlée delicious!

Very lovely restaurant and excellent service from Marco and his team!

Great dinner with already traditional souffle dessert. Fantastic and attentive service by Marco going the extra mile to manage my food allergies - thank you for the care and attention!

Delicious food, great wine and cocktail menu, Marco the friendly waiter made the evening extra fun. Slightly loud to have a conversation, but overall great place to visit.

We were greeted by the host who wasn’t happy we came 15minutes early to our booking and saying ‘well your tables not ready because you’re early’. She proceeded to run around the find a waiter when finding one, we saw him look us up and down and say he wasn’t going to seat us in his section. After being left waiting we offered to sit at the bar as a solution. Bar tender is good as usual. However there was confusion with the whisky, even after us pointing out the correct whisky, we were charged wrong (and more expensive) one. Off to our table, where there was a consistent lack of communication skills, items added to our bill (that were bought) but not ordered and things we ordered that didn’t come. We wanted to order starters first as we were conscious that it was 10pm and the kitchen closed at 10:45pm. When we asked to do this, the waiter attempted to push a cheaper express menu onto us as (ignoring the fact we were ordering starters and mains). No check backs as this would have solved the missing items. My partner then had to attempt to get a waiter from outside the section to request if we could get a final drink in the bar, the suited supervisor said that was fine for us to move to the bar. When my partner informed the first waiter what was happening he said ‘no you have to pay here first’, this left us feeling uncomfortable and untrusted as if we’d done something wrong. In the end we didn’t go to the bar, we swiftly left feeling abit deflated. We both work in London hospitality scene, the waiter was confident enough to put his name on our card asking for a 5star review at the end of the meal. We are always happy to pay service we understand the importance of it and would never ask for it to be removed off our bill. But honestly don’t feel that it was worth it for a £200 meal. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was intense, the waiter seemed very tired and host was visibly stressed. It was just a very basic, uninterested level of service. We’re comparing to places like Hawksmoor, Blacklock or The Ivy. And this just fell short sadly.

Always great before theatre. Good was excellent and our waiter Marco was super nice and professional. Till next time Balthazar!

Live band was very good but the place is a tad too noisy with so many table (guests).

Friendly & kind service from our server named Adam :-)

Nisarg was a fantastic server, and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Looking forward to coming back again soon!

We arrived a little early and nestled into the beautiful bar. Margareta made us absolute stunning cocktails, just perfect before dinner!

Great pre theatre dinner at Balthazar, brilliant service from Nisarg and tasty food at such a good price for so central a location!

I go to Balthazar for the food, experience and atmosphere. I have been numerous times sand started with Balthazar New York every time I visit NYC, so going to Balthazar London recreates the New York experience, with a London touch. Unfortunately on this occasion the London touch was poor service, starting with an indifferent welcome from the reception (who then left the third member of the part stranded for some time;) delays in taking the orders, leaning over the table to serve the food, failure to clear the table and lack of attention generally. Food is great as ever so they can be consistent on that score. But if the service is not good then they make the experience memorable for the wrong reason. As a customer I am not looking for a free glass of Prosecco or items taken of the bill. I certainly do not expect to pay a service charge after complaining to the manager about the poor service. Rather I expect perfection from Balthazar as it has been over the years I have visited. And I am not alone as the table next to us left before being served as they waited so long for service after being seated. Time for the front of house to reflect on my post and to return to the service of the Balthazar of old.

Marco our waiter was extremely charming and a pleasure to have been served by him.

Wonderful experience, great food and service. Thank you Nisarg and Soraya! See you again!!

Marco is very efficient and attentive and friendly and funny as well - he does an excellent job! Thank you, Miriam & Esther from Switzerland

Fantastic service - Soraya and Nisarg were excellent. Food was superb and ambiance was wonderful. Will definitely be back

The escargots are very delicious, other than that the meat did not seem spectacular to us like the rest of the dishes.

Great service but at 13% charge it needed to be. The 3 course fixed menu is good value but the pasta dish was disappointing and small

Highly recommended for brunch or lunch. We celebrated a relative’s graduation and Marco was hospitable, kind and made it a memory to remember. Thank you Marco!

Marco was the best! Great service and lovely atmosphere. Good communication and brilliant staff. Eliza, age 10

My guy Nisarg was super polite and the food was a great way to accompany a celebration.

We had a booking and upon entry, were told that we had to vacate our table within 2 hours (no issue). Service was good to start with, we received a jug of water - had to ask for ice 3 times which never came. When ordering, we asked to swap the dauph to carrots on one of the dishes but apparently this was not possible (not sure why as a portion of carrots are cheaper than dauphinoise and they had plenty or carrots as we had to order them as a side). Food was good and starters were quick to arrive. The lamb rump main was overcooked but steak was cooked as requested. Service from this point onwards was embarrassingly slow despite the army of staff on shift, 8+ minutes to clear mains, and then 10+ mins just to order another round of drinks, asking for the bill at the same time didn't seem to help as that took a further 10 mins to arrive after getting the drinks. After all these countless delays, there is no way we was able to vacate the table by the requested time which leaves you thinking, why did they even mention it. Overall it was fine / average BUT there's a 13.5% service charge on the bill - meaning that everyone should be spot on as a minimum!

Good food. Terrible service. Waiter disappeared after taking our order. Never checked in and it was nearly impossible to order additional waters and coffee from other servers. Even getting the check took forever even though the restaurant was not at all busy.

Always a fabulous experience. Great food and reasonably priced wine and great ambiance. The staff are usually very friendly and welcoming but not last night. We booked at 10.30 as it was a post theatre meal, and was greeted by a very rude gentleman who also ordered us out of the restaurant as we tried to take a photo. I would continue to visit as we love it but not post theatre.

One of my favourite brunch spots for decades. Experience wasn’t as enjoyable as normal. No live music on Saturday which changed the atmosphere and I didn’t enjoy my food on this occasion unfortunately although service was excellent. I asked for my eggs to be ‘not ‘too’ runny’ and sent them back as they were ridiculously soft and then they came back horribly over cooked and dry. The hazelnut praline desert was disappointing but my mum loved the raspberry soufflé.

Loved it. Beautiful place, great food and cocktails.

Service terrible Waited 40 mins before they took order

Great and very attentive service from Nisarg.

Great staff, especially our waiter Nisarg. I must say the reception staff was great, the bar staff that did our first round of cocktails while we we waiting for our table were great. Also the Jazz trio were fantastic. We look forward to our next evening!

It was very enjoyable to have dinner accompanied by jazz. You can check the program, there is live music some evenings. The employees are very polite. The food was very delicious.

We went two nights in a row as my kids loved it the first night. The first night was great and food delicious. Second night was not as good. Service was slow and when my son’s dinner arrived, there was a huge spider in the salad. The server quickly took it away and brought back another plate. Same steak and not sure if they just removed the spider or changed the salad. Either way, nobody ever came to acknowledge it. No manager or anyone. Terribly disappointed. We waited forever for the check and to pay the bill to leave.

We have been to Balthazar on three straight London trips and we always ask for Marco! He remembers us and is always a fantastically funny waiter. An absolute pro and a joy to be around. We’ll keep coming back for the food and for Marco!

Great food, service ok, very noisy restaurant though. The tables felt very close together too.

Not my first time there. Great place great atmosphere. We had a drink at the bar whilst waiting for our table to be prepared and the bar staff was amazing. Andrei was our waiter afterwards and took care of us in a very professional way and made us feel unique. Thank you all very much.