Balans East — Restaurant in London

I’ve visited Balans Soho Stratford numerous times and have usually had good to great service. Unfortunately, today was a completely different experience — ranging from poor to downright terrible.

We arrived and were not greeted upon entry. Despite noting dietary requirements in our reservation, it was clear these had not been checked or acknowledged.

Once seated, we waited about 10 minutes before needing to flag someone down just to get menus. From there, it was a constant effort: flagging someone again for water, again for glasses, and then again to place our order. When I gave some initial feedback to our server, there was no apology or acknowledgment — he simply brought the glasses without a word.

The food, sadly, didn’t make up for the poor service. • My steak was ordered medium but arrived medium rare, and lacked any seasoning. • My wife’s lobster Benedict had decent flavour, but the crumpets underneath were rock solid. • Still hungry, we ordered the chicken katsu donut burger, which was bland and flavourless — we had to douse it in Cholula just to get any taste out of it.

Our first visit to this location was the complete opposite. A kind gentleman went out of his way to accommodate my pregnant wife by moving the table to make her more comfortable — that was truly a 10/10 experience. This visit, though, would be a 3/10 at best.

To be clear, no one was outright rude — but the warmth and attentiveness that once made this place a favourite were completely absent. When we ordered, the restaurant was barely a third full, so there was no excuse for the lack of attention. Strangely, the same server seemed much more engaged with other tables, which left us wondering if something about us put him off.

At the end of the meal, I asked to have the service charge removed. The manager was sympathetic and did remove it without hesitation — which I appreciated — but I have to say, I don’t like being asked why I’m choosing to remove it. Service charges should not be automatically added to the bill. Businesses should pay their staff a fair wage or factor service costs into menu prices instead of putting the burden on customers to top up wages through discretionary fees.

Regrettably, I don’t think we’ll be returning. It’s a real shame, as this used to be one of our go-to...

I had an hour free today so i decide to invest this time having a brunch in Balans. The waiter (let's call him Al) was working outside and as soon he see me he give me the menu and told me to choose a free table. On my opinion wasn't 'professional' but he follow me very well during the service, so I cannot complaint. It was a little bit busy so I understand the decision. I order a Green Tea and a smoked salmon brunch option. Tap water arrive exactly 20 second after they took my order, and tea about a minute after. Really efficient and really good team working. Congrats. Dish arrive to me after 4 minutes. Again really efficient the service. About the food : a half avocado (not sliced) served with some sliced smoked salmon, a big portion of scramble egg, a lemon and a slice of bread toasted with a cube of butter on top. I don't like the aspect and the position of the single ingredients on the plate. Thinking about you're eating in Westfield, I don't know why but I expect something that seemed more appetising; wasn't like that. Probably the price I paid for make me think this as well. About the taste, everything was great. I really enjoyed the food, I found hard to spread the butter on the toast cause with the hottest of bread the butter melted but nothing too exaggerate. I give 4 stars for 2 reasons : the price (on my opinion the price is little too high for what you eat but again : WESTFIELD) and the aspect of dish. Thinking about timing, in an hour : I order, eat and have 35 minutes for enjoying my tea.

Funny note : Wasn't a very cold day, but just after I finish to eat, the other waiter turn on the heater on my side. Again nothing to complain about , but I enjoyed my time more with the heather on. Another Funny Note : Salt it is in a little glass bottle and I found this a little bit weird. It's look like an...

Came here for brunch with a friend on Sunday morning. We had made a reservation prior as we always do and were surprised to see that the booking system wasn't in use despite receiving multiple emails reminding me of my booking until the day before. My friend arrived first and was told that she could go for any free 2-people table she could see and she was confused since we had made a booking. When I arrived I confronted the waiter who was taken back by my question and suggested we be seated at a table inside.

We went with the eggs Florentine with spinach and the American pancakes with crushed berries and maple syrup butter. To be very honest the food was absolutely average. Photos looked a lot better than how they actually tasted. The pancakes were supposed to be their signature dish and to be fair they were fluffy but nothing outstanding. The amount of crushed berries given was also kind of little considering the size of the pancakes so it was a little dry to eat through them even with the maple syrup butter on the side. Eggs Florentine was very mediocre also, the muffins were quite dry although the hollandaise had a surprisingly nice garlic taste to it which upped the flavour profile a little. Americano was alright, did like that it came at a large size.

Despite the initial encounter with the booking our waiter tried very hard to make our experience at the restaurant as best as he could so kudos to him - hence a 4-star instead of 3. But still, it's definitely not a place I would come back ever again. There are so many much better brunch places in East London for a...