Restaurant Balila — Restaurant in Geneva

This place is an example of it doesn’t matter how good the food is, or how beautiful the place is when the manager ruins your entire mood.

I walk in at 18.45 and meet with the most rude way you can say “Oh youuuu don’t have a reservation”. The place is completely empty! He says people are coming at 20.00, I say I can finish by then. But still, I am placed not even in the restaurant! And I’m visiting Geneva only, so it was my “one shot” of sitting in the beautiful place.

I ask to be seated in the restaurant in one of the sofas. There are many. He says no.

Not a great start. But it get worse. Then he is on a bunch of phone calls. And doesn’t even consider that MAYBE to give me the menu to look at. You know, since they are sooo busy and I have to finish by 20.00. Once I have the menu, good luck on getting any help to choose what to get. Several waiters just disappear while I try to ask how things work. As the price of the starters, are like price for a main almost, and then there is also a tasting menu, it’s confusing if not used to it.

I basically choose the tasting menu as I give up on getting help to choose what’s poplar etc. It takes me like 20 minutes to order, even with five people being there - standing and doing nothing as place is still empty. The whole thing was absurd.

The food was great. But to sit by the bar, knowing the entire room next to me is empty, and still was for the entire time I was there! Sure some people where there when I left, but there 100% would have been space for me in the sofa.

The waiters greet people at the door based on how they are dressed. I don’t expect great service. But to be here alone, and get treated so badly, I was generally sad the entire meal. It’s obvious that the waiter has no consideration that some people actually travel alone and are alone in Geneva. And it’s totally unnecessary to greet people so rudely. And put them in the dog house so to speak when there was plenty of room and time for me to sit in the actual restaurant.

The only reason I am giving two stars and not one, is that one of the five waiters was nice. (Yes one out of five!), and the food. Would never go here again. If they where wise they would invite back, and actually put the person - in the restaurant.

I identify with all the comments saying staff is...

Our journey to Geneva began with an exhausting yet exciting 14-hour flight via Paris. It had been over a decade since our last visit to this beautiful city. As it was our designated vegetarian day, we sought the advice of the concierge at the Intercontinental, our hotel, for a dining recommendation that catered to our dietary preferences. One of the options they provided, Balila, a Lebanese restaurant, immediately caught our attention.

Balila proved to be an excellent choice for our first day in Geneva. Our charming server, Sonia, provided exceptional service, patiently guiding us through their signature vegetarian dishes. Every dish we ordered was simply outstanding, leading us to believe that Balila might be the best Lebanese restaurant we have ever experienced. We found ourselves ordering more and more, thoroughly enjoying the flavors.

My personal favorites were the signature tabbouleh and the quinoa tabbouleh. The asparagus hummus, a special menu item, was a unique and delightful discovery. While the lentil soup was a bit too rich and creamy for our liking, akin to baby food, it was the only dish that didn't quite meet our high expectations.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed with our dining experience at Balila. In fact, we even considered returning during our stay, despite it being a non-vegetarian day. We were further amazed to learn that the master chef behind this exceptional Lebanese cuisine was not from Lebanon, but rather a talented French chef.

Our visit to Balila was undoubtedly the highlight of our first day in Geneva, and we would highly recommend it to anyone seeking an authentic and delectable Lebanese dining experience, with or without dietary...

The staff is lovely and the decor is pretty, however if I was only reviewing the food, It is only 2 stars. Maybe if someone never had Lebanese food before they would find it ok, but the common between all the dishes we tried was dryness, and if it weren’t for Switzerland’s premium ingredients, some dishes would have been tasteless: Fattoush: lacked dressing and olive oil, and had way too much summak. Balila: a new take on a traditional dish, but was not appealing to me (without lemon) but I guess some might like it, Burghol: A bulky version of armenian Itch but drier, Kebbeh: as a kebbe sagyeh fan this was disappointing Falafel: crispy and fresh, also it was very close to the authentic taste, Batata harra: other that it’s crispiness, it was havealy seasoned and a bit bitter, Kafta: the bread was good and the meat could have used more authentic spices and less summac, Shawarma: I generally love the meat quality in Geneva and I think that should take credit for the dish.

All in all, I don’t think it is worth coming back, which is too bad as I am still looking for my go to Lebanese...