Great spot in London for food! We stopped for brunch and coffee and it was excellent. Very cute inside as well! read more

Balans Soho Society - Cheddar omelette, beans - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

At first walking in the place is a bit understated. Once they walk you to the back you suddenly feel the unique vibe of the place. The 6 different appetizers we ordered. All unique and surprising but very good. Everything. Fantastic with wine. The service is overwhelming, extremely attentive. read more

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Lively spot serving quality brunch items in Soho. I ordered the High Society Eggs Benedict (21.50 GBP), which was like a classic eggs benedict with lobster on the side. I would say the benedict was normal quality and the lobster was fine. I also got the American Pancakes (13.50 GBP) with fresh berries. As an American myself, I can say that the pancakes were good but not great, as they were a bit dry even with all the syrup on them. The restaurant has a lively atmosphere and was fully packed on a weekend early afternoon. The staff are fairly friendly and the service speed is decent. Overall, the brunch at Balans is good but not particularly exceptional. That being said, if you are looking for brunch in the Soho area, it could still be a decent choice given the variety of menu options and lively environment. read more

Balans Soho Society - American Pancakes and High Society Eggs Benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Went for dinner and this place was delicious! I got some wine and the shepherds pie. And I know I know it's typical, but it was so delicious and their vegetables were great! My friend had the red Thai curry and she said it was amazing as well! I would definitely go back here. Ambience is OK but the service was really good! Good value for the price as well. read more

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Food was great, service was amazing, and the overall feel of the place was really nice and cozy.

Absolute yum! One of the best parts of our brunch was that they made an outstanding virgin Bloody Mary - so good. Our server was helpful and friendly and took time to stop and chat even though it was a busy morning. We had the burrito and eggs in hell. Both were delicious and with just the right amount of kick. One of the little special touches that I just loved is that they served a little pot of steamed milk along with black coffee (rather than cold) so it didn't cool the coffee when added. Love it! The place was busy but not overcrowded with the table spacing, so we were quite happy with the visit overall! read more

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A lovely restaurant for breakfast. The service was excellent - very friendly and provided good recommendations. We ordered the high society eggs Benedict and the balans Benedict which was quite filling, although one of the eggs was overcooked. It filled up fairly quickly and hour after opening on a Tuesday. read more

Balans Soho Society - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

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The best brunch, truly a great place. The food is amazing, the drinks are good, great coffee. Freshly squeezed orange juice. Perfect eggs Benedict with the perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. High society eggs benedict has half a lobster and is quite a treat. The steak is scrumptious and cooked to perfect temperature. It's cozy, buzzing with energy, lifts the mood, always sunny inside regardless of the weather outdoors. Impeccable service, the people here are so nice and look like they're having fun on the job, smiling and singing. Learned how to say thank you in Albanian = faleminderit. So thank you :) can't wait to come back. read more

There's something about this place that keeps on giving. I've been visiting Balans, in all its iterations, since 1995 and every single time I have been charmed by the atmosphere, impressed by the quality of the food and tickled by the drink choices. I visited last night and although it was only lightly populated (bank holiday) everyone working have 100%. Our waitress Tori was delightful and attentive and between the Cod my friends had (yum) and the Lamb rump that I had, that would've been enough to give it high marks but the Foamy Boy (rum) and the Watermelon Water cocktails were big hits. What brought it all home though was the Pudding Platter: an assortment of crème brûlée, Key lime, a warm filled donut and a custard filled cookie. WHAAAAT??? A fantastic meal and a staff that was beautifully attentive in a rather quiet environment. I hope Balans remains for another 30 years. Everyone deserves to have a night like I just had. read more

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Everything beginning to end. Kyle was a fantastic server! Artichokes were best we've had! Scallops and gnocchi great. And then dessert, hubby had crème brûlée and I had Calvados (served over warm water, trick I never knew about but will use going forward! read more

Balans was one of the top things to try on my list when visiting London (thanks to Heartstopper's Joe Locke recommending the french toast during an interview you can find on Youtube). Right when I arrived to London, Balans was the first stop, however they were completely booked for lunch (this was around 12PM). I came back with a reservation two days later for 10:30AM just so I can try the french toast. AND LET ME TELL YOU. Definitely recommend it. I've been there twice to get it already and planning on coming once more before I leave. The french toast is covered in this thick syrup with banana and pecans. It is simply delicious and totally recommend it to anyone who is craving something sweet for breakfast. read more

Balans Soho Society - French Toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Been here many times and the food and service are always top notch. You dine in a lively and eccentric atmosphere with great music in the background. I highly recommend the curry, however, I've never had a bad meal here. Reservations are recommended as it does get quite busy. read more

There is a place in SoHo that's serving not just drinks but food and is open until 5am even on a Thursday?! Wow!!! I was blown away. Came here after playing some blackjack at the nearby Hippodrome casino; was a friend's suggestion to stop by here. There were quite a few people even around 3am on a Thursday, and a really nice fun ambience! This place has character and great vibes. I got a dish with smoked salmon and fries for the side; the food was delicious as well. Really great time! read more

The best food in the world when it's 2 am and you're starving. Any other time? It's pretty good. Service could be improved. I wanted to drink more - both my fancy drink and water. The server was hard to find and then he would come by, fill the water, and leave before I could request another drink. read more

Balans Soho Society - Gluten free burger and fries. Also ordered potatoes and the hubs for shrimp curry. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

It's open Late. We were hungry late. A bit over priced for the quality. Food was just okay. I didn't like the fish and chips. The drinks are really good though. All in all It's just okay. Great spot to people watch law at night. read more

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First restaurant we've been to while touristing London and it was SO good! The full english breakfast had so much flavor and the staff were so kind we even came back the following morning! Eggs Benedict was definitely the right choice & I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed here read more

Balans Soho Society - Eggs Benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

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......It is a definitively, recommended spot in UK AND USA. I went to the one in Miami,years ago (Biscayne blvd)), and the service was very good, then i have the opportunity to visit the one in UK and the service, the people and the food make my London visit, better!!!! read more

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Nice plating, horrible food. I ordered the lobster eggs Benedict. The Hollandaise was super super heavy on the lemon and the lobster tasted like rubber. Ambiance was nice, service was very slow, even for European standards. read more

We made reservations for Christmas dinner. We came all the way from California only to find our reservation had been canceled. I don't know what we will be doing for Christmas dinner. read more

Last day in London and we could not leave without ordering another traditional English breakfast. Their Soho Full English breakfast consisted of eggs, maple bacon, Cumberland sausage, field mushroom, tomatoes, Balans potatoes, and toast. We ordered a side of beans on the side of the traditional English breakfast. We also ordered a side of the Manchego & Serrano Ham Croquettes (with Spanish paprika aioli). I really enjoyed the English breakfast as everything was absolutely delicious. Eggs were perfectly cooked. Potatoes were perfectly seasoned. Bacon and sausage were cooked right. The beans were also super tasty. The croquettes were really good too - perfectly friend and not oily at all. I would recommend Balans for breakfast/brunch while in London. read more

Food was great! So were the drinks! Server was super sweet and kept checking on us, first in London since we've been here. The menu changes! We had scallops, croquettes (soooo good), chicken tacos, pasta. Such a cute ambiance. Everything is so lively in London Soho even during the week. Just be patient, the food definitely comes out slooow. Enjoy! read more

Arrived at London super hungry after a long flight, so my friend and I decided to grab a bite at Balans since it was two doors away from our flat. Used to New York "bar food" we were not expecting anything extraordinary but I must admit we were wrong! Their fish tacos are amazing(please make sure to order them) and also their scallops (not chewy at all) Overall a pleasant experience including both of our waiters whore were super nice, professional and helpful! read more

Balans Soho Society - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Such a wonderful surprise and experience. Honestly the best place I think I have ever had breakfast. From the warm service with attention to detail, to the incredibly yummy 'proper' porridge with honey delectably served in a huge bowl, to the perfectly cooked eggs benedict and the comfortable, relaxed ambiance enjoyed by locals and tourists alike, I couldn't have been more delighted. A must visit when in London read more

So, I queued for 2 hours between 10:00 PM to 12:00 midnight on June 1-2, 2022 to get into the restaurant. However, the area is quite trendy so there is a lot to see with all the characters passing by. I ordered the classic fish and chips meal and a lemonade. It too another 30 minutes to get my food. I must say the fish was the best I've had here in London of the 5 restaurants I've order this dish. The wait staff was friendly but the service needs to be improved. I deducted a star from my review because of the quality of service. Would I return? Yes. Hopefully, the QOS will improve. read more

Okay so my friends lied to me and said all food in London was terrible and be prepared !!! This place was great! The flavor and taste of my breakfast burrito was so good. It rivals the states! Granted this was a back up from the restaurant we wanted to go to called The Breakfast Club it was a great choice. The atmosphere is cool too! Service was good but a little bit on the slower chill side. I would come back if I am ever in London again. read more

Balans Soho Society - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Summary: + A casual all-day restaurant + OK food and good location Overall: Balans is a casual all-day diner at the heart of Soho. It is stylish and casual. I tried mixed berry pancakes for a late breakfast on a weekday. Staff was friendly and helpful. The restaurant was not very busy and the service was pretty quick. I went for mixed berry pancakes. The pancakes were good. They were fluffy like they should be. But they were a little too sweet as they were soaked with syrup. I much prefer to have syrup (and butter) separately so I can control how much stuff I add as I make my way through the stack of pancakes. I always enjoy eating the plain pancakes first before adding syrup. I have never been here in the evening but apparently they open till late. read more

Balans Soho Society - Balans - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

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So my other 4 friends and I booked a table to have a relaxed meal, what we booked was what we got, I had three cocktail, and a starter we all had the burger from a menu that was not too complex. The staff was attentive, friendly and was relaxed in their style and attitude towards serving us. So knowingly that we were in the heart of the gay 'village' and we were all gay diners the staff was not overly pushing their flamboyance on us but we made sure that we did. The decor of the place was nicely done with a modern look. Food pricing was a moderate read more

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The service was good and the place was just ok. I enjoyed their special that day which was ham-wrapped chicken encrusted with ground pistachios. It was delicious. I haven't tasted anything else so I'll keep them at three stars for now. On busy nights, service can be a little slow, understandably. Though really, you come here for the late-night grub and not really for fine dining. read more

I thought the food here was pretty good - I just had a couple of cocktails as well as a plate of Mediterranean appetizers. Atmosphere is fun and lively and really helps with getting the evening started. read more

To be honest, I think Balan's deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. Balan's has standard brunch fare (3 stars) with trendy ambiance (+0.5). I ordered the lobster eggs benedict, which was pretty tasty to be honest. The lobster was sweet and tender, the egg poached to perfection. My only complaint was that the hollandaise was slightly too acidic. In my opinion, if the hollandaise isn't perfect then it throws the entire dish off. My friend had the steak and eggs, which were reportedly 'OK.' The servers were attentive and we weren't rushed out of the restaurant even though a queue was forming at the door. We booked our table, although it seemed like quite a few people were coming in without reservations. I would personally suggest taking advantaging of a restaurant with reservations in Soho, they're not easy to come by! Overall, brunch at Balan's was good but not great. I'll probably return at some point! read more

Balans Soho Society - Eggs Benedict with lobster and bacon! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

One of the most popular dining places in Soho, Balans is primarily endears itself to the gay market though, obviously, it is open to all. I think this is one of the better places to have brunch with friends and its evening menu is superb with lots of options. It's is quite pricey so maybe not a place to drop into for a snack but if you're up for a small treat or meeting old friends then It's certainly worth visiting. Great cocktails and desserts also help persuade the unsure, though the staff can be hit or miss in their service, sometimes they are great, attentive and engage with the customer though once or twice Iâve been made to feel like I'm impinging on them by asking them to do their job. Long opening hours also makes this a place to end a good night out, soaking up the alcohol and sating your appetites. read more

Balans Soho Society - Balans - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Warning: there are TWO Balans on Old Compton Street. We waited for one another for 20 mins and then I realised there must be two. You have been warned. Secondly, Old Compton street is the most gay street in Soho. It is v gay friendly. You open a gay friendly place on this street and you will make money, irrespective of quality. That does not create a keen competitive environment to keep standards high. You have been warned. Balans gave me a very friendly welcome (I supposed I do look a bit gay with my shaven head). They gave a nice table in a shabby looking room. The menu looked great. The eggs benedict were the worst I ever had: Burned bacon, eggs full of water & over-cooked, Hollandaise with a crusty skin. The smoothie was moderate but over-priced. Not a great place, but then in retrospect, its not really there to serve good food. read more

Balans Soho Society - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Ok Balans, you've failed one too many times. I'll be back for lunch, snacks maybe, but your food is so poor these days I won't do dinner here again. What a shame, as your staff are great, location excellent, ambience wonderful, even the food presentation is good. Taste though tells a different tale, and its one of bought-in defrosted, sub-par food. Please fix your kitchen problems, because I really want to patronize your restaurant! He'll I'm in there 5 times a week sometimes! read more

Balans is nothing but consistent. We have been coming for years and you always know that you will get great food in a friendly casual atmosphere. Great as a couple or as a group. If it's busy and you have to wait for a table it's no problem as you can grab a cocktail ( or two or three) at the bar. Always good value read more

Balans Soho Society - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

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I've come to Balans on several occasions and it does what it does well and 24hours a day! I wouldn't say the food is outstanding - but it's pretty decent and I seem to find myself coming back time and time again (especially after those nights out and everything other than McDonalds is closed) I came here for brunch this morning and whilst service was pretty quick and the food was tasty as always, there was a lot of things wrong with our order due to miscommunication. Nothing drastic to worry about though, it was all sorted out pretty quickly & we enjoyed yet another meal at Balans. It's just one of those easy to go to casual places to come to in soho. read more

Balans Soho Society - Pancake! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Racially Profiled My First Night in London, how exciting! Goes without saying I was excited for my first evening in London when we found this bar/restaurant. The place was full for the most part, with a few unbussed tables in front and some empty tables I could see in the back. There was however no hostess to indicate if it was seat yourself service or wait to be seated. After a awkwardly waiting by the entrance with no sign of an employee working the door, I decided to walk over to a server terminal where I saw someone putting in an order, to request a table. I asked if we could be seated, and the man (later told me his name was Victor) asked how many. I told him 2 and gestured towards my sister still standing by the door. He looked over, then replied there would be about a 30 minute wait, to which I said OK that's fine, could you add us to the list please. He said well, we stop serving alcohol at quarter past 12, so you wouldn't be able to get anything to drink after then. I was surprised by how early bars closed here, and asked if he had the current time, to see if we would still be able to have at least 1 cocktail after the wait. He said it was 11:45, meaning we would be seated after drink service. Convenient. I pointed out that there were a few empty tables, and would it be possible to just sit for a drink before last call to which he again insisted there was a wait list and suggested we leave and try somewhere else. I looked around and realized there was no one else standing or waiting around the door or restaurant waiting for a seat. So I asked him, where are the other patrons on your wait list, certainly you could start seating some now. He said they were no longer at the restaurant but he was sticking to the wait list and wouldn't be able to seat us. At this point, I started realizing what was going on. And started asking if he had a contact number for his phantom wait list party, were they aware tables were open, was it possible they may have gone somewhere else, was he truly going to deny service to us to which he replied "I am". Besides the fact that we were denied seating in a bar with several open seats, the nonchalant manner with which I was dismissed (responding to my questions in brief, curt phrases, not even looking at me when we spoke), it was so rude. I asked if there was a manager, which he said he was. 2 black females walk into a bar. The End. Because racism. Disgusting! read more

We were on day four in London and were searching for an excellent breakfast. It seems most places in London tend to overlook eggs and we wanted to find a location that did not do that and offered Gluten Free Bread. This restaurant was recommended to us by our Concierge. What a great place. The service was very nice and the food was outstanding. The eggs were cooked perfect and the bacon was fantastic. The location was just perfect as we wanted to travel on the Covenant Square after. For sure this was our best breakfast out in our UK travels. I highly recommend it. read more

really nice to eat out a full meal of just some small tapas, and we were there at happy hour so got two drinks. Food is nice and atmosphere, too read more

The food isn't anything to write home about but it's decent. Came here for a bit of brunch so I ordered the eggs benedict with salmon (eggs royale) but the hollandaise sauce was quite bland and a bit too acidic. And it seemed quite hard to get service at times if you're inthe corner, it would always be the same guy running around trying to do everything. The table next to me just wanted drinks but they couldn't get anyone's attention until the last minute when they wanted to leave. read more

Balans Soho Society - Eggs Benedict with Salmon - The eggs were cooked to perfection for me but the hollandaise sauce was too acidic and bland. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

Dirty sticky tables outside. I needed to use the table with paper and tablet and I couldn't. I never had such a disgusting and uncomfortable experience, I couldn't resist anymore so I paid and escaped to another cleaner non sticky venue from which I'm writing this review. It took minutes to get the notoriously very slow service to come to my table to tell me they can't help it because it's the varnish that's sticky. This means they know very well about the issue and they didn't fixed it because simply they don't care, oh Soho! See in the pictures how the table glued itself to the napkin and see all the sticky residues left on the bottom of my paper bag that originally was pristine, don't sit there with your expensive clothes or gadgets or work papers, they'll ruin them. £4.50 for an ice latte that I didn't enjoy, that I hated. They won't see me there anymore also because the previous time I spent a fortune with their overpriced dishes and drinks, they didn't ask me (intentionally?) if I had or wanted to collect points on the card and they refused to give me the points after I paid the bill. AVOID THIS PLACE!! read more

Balans Soho Society - Dirty sticky residues glued to the bottom of a pristine bag that I put on the table for a little while. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - London, XGL

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