Balm — Restaurant in Nice

A review by myself and my colleagues.

Their menu seriously needs to be reinvented or actually cooked by a well prepared chef.

The pasta with lemon has too much lemon (sauce) it’s way too sour and acidic, for a pasta. It was nevertheless Al dente!

The chickpea salad has an excessive amount of chickpeas - after eating it for a while, the palate becomes too dry…

The guacamole with coriander has just TOO MUCH coriander on it (possibly powder or blended with the avocado) it tastes like soap (there’s no acidic, spicy… taste) - no lime, no onion…

The wines by glass are not worth the price demanded… they’re either spoiled or poor/cheap quality - especially the Provence selection.

My conclusion is that there’s no mid term on the meals in the menu, they’re as literal as it gets, and as tasteless or badly/not seasoned at all, as possible.

I suggest that the restaurant and hotel staff should actually try these meals to make their own observations and improve their (hotel) guests experience.

As the hotel itself is quite a pleasant place, the restaurant could complement it greatly, however it does the opposite. After trying the restaurant for 2 nights on a row, on the 3rd night, we decided to eat in the Sheraton hotel, a few meters away. Which was a wiser decision… not only for the food quality, but for a the customer...

I rarely write reviews, but seeing the 1-star ratings this restaurant has received on Google, I felt compelled to make an exception. Balm is a genuinely good restaurant—not just “good for a hotel restaurant,” but good, full stop.

Every dish I tried was delicious, well-prepared, and beautifully presented. The bar was excellent as well. I consider myself something of a whiskey sour aficionado—a simple drink that many bars fail to get right. Here, they absolutely nailed it.

The service was classy, composed, and attentive. Some reviews mention cold or unsmiling staff, but I see it differently. True old-school service isn’t about constant grins or over-explaining the menu. It’s about seamless attentiveness that allows guests to focus on each other rather than the mechanics of being served. That’s exactly the kind of service Balm delivers.

I nearly passed on this restaurant due to the low ratings, and I’m very glad I didn’t. It only feels right to give it the recognition it...

The place looks nice and this gives good expectations. Service was good. I ordered tournedos and looking at the price in combination with the look and feel of the restaurant had good expectations. After ordering my drink i had a look at the menu and ordered the food. Then they brought some bread in a bag with oils, pepper,salt and complimentary water. I would have loved a plate to put the bread on and prepare it with the oil and salt. After a while i got my tournedos. There was also some lettuce on the plate and a small bowl of sauce. This looked really cheap and i doubted what to do. I decided to just eat it and have to say the taste was ok. I stayed at the holiday inn and the recommended the place and told i get a 15% discount as a holiday inn guest. At the register they told me i should have gotten a coupon. But granted me the discount for this time, which was very nice. I would say give some more value for money and mske the garnish look better snd you have a place people...