Balcony Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Eureka Springs

Hi, I don’t do this often but my boyfriend and I had a bad enough experience and spent enough money that I want to try and warn other travelers before they go here. We came from Tulsa, OK and had an okay experience, at best. It was my first time ever visiting Eureka Springs and I was super excited to experience its rich history including going to the Basin Hotel. Needless to say I was even more stoked it had a dog friendly restaurant and we decided we had to go try this place out. The ambiance and atmosphere was warm and inviting and everything seemed promising. I ordered a burger with sweet potato waffle fries, which was amazing. However, we also ordered an 8oz steak, their most expensive item on the menu at $25, and wanted it medium-rare. We waited over thirty minutes only to be told the steak was burnt. And then after another 20-30 minutes, the second one came to the table well done. The THIRD steak came back cooked black-and-blue, still cold in the middle with streaks of un-rendered fat. We asked for it to be cooked through just a little bit more, but it still came back raw and was inedible— and my boyfriend is NOT afraid of a bloody steak. A medium rare 8oz flat iron steak is industry standard and any grill cook should able to do that. Our server was Jessica, who started off apologetic but then when we asked to take the steak off the ticket (after an hour and half of waiting and the fourth time sending the steak back) she didn’t offer a replacement nor any more apologies. Then she stopped waiting on us, didn’t ask us if we wanted more drinks or dessert, rushed us the final ticket, and we had to go find someone else to ask for to-go boxes for the rest of my burger. We asked for a manager and Sean/Shawn (rainbow hair and rainbow hat) came up to our table and was aggressive and combative from the beginning of the interaction. She informed us we couldn’t receive free drinks, which is fine, but we weren’t offered any other sort of compensation. She literally just shrugged her shoulders and bluntly said, “I comped your steak, so.” After spending almost a hundred dollars on our tab, we were very disappointed in how we were treated after waiting over a hour, receiving a burnt, and then uncooked, steak. My boyfriend paid the forced 18% gratuity plus another $10 tip to the server on top of it, and didn’t even get to eat. We spoke to locals and even they said to avoid this place if you want steak and good service. It’s a tourist trap, they say. And I’d agree. I’d say just walk around the hotel, appreciate the history and the atmosphere, and then take your money down to Harts and buy yourself a much cheaper steak, I promise you’ll cook it...

My husband and I stopped in for a midweek early lunch, before the crowds could hit. We sat out on the balcony, as the name would suggest, and enjoyed a late October sunny day. That said, the dining area was really old and worn out - making it seem like it wasn’t as clean as it could be. The food was okay, it’s bar food, exactly what you’d expect from bar food. When we got our bill, I noticed that they AUTOMATICALLY charged an 18% gratuity fee, so BUYER BEWARE! They don’t tell you up front so I imagine many people are tipping on top of the tip already charged to you. We will typically tip better than that for good service, but this was just irritating to see an auto charge. This should to be fully disclosed up front to the patron BEFORE HAND, that the establishment is adding additional fees to your bill on behalf of the service staff, and DON’T HAVE AN ADDITIONAL TIP LINE ON THE BILL - IT’S MISLEADING AND A BIT LIKE PRICE GOUGING! Take the add’l tip line away so folks aren’t mislead. Better yet, if this business feels their staff needs the gratuity $$ that bad, pay the staff a living wage, adjust your food/beverage prices accordingly and let the chips fall where they will. If you offer really good food and service, it will be worth it, and it would help if you updated the tired worn out dining experience as well. All in all I wouldn’t recommend this place.

—-response to the mgmt team comment —— Great you find it in your heart to pay $12/hr when you feel like times are tough, in response to the rest of it….there was no sign to be seen on door as it was open when we entered the “hotel” so yeah didn’t know we needed to be searching for signs disclosing all the contractual agreements we would be entering into by eating at your joint. Same with the elevator situ…we took the stairs - no signs there, again one would not normally expect to be searching high and low for contractual agreements mounted on the wall. As for the menu…my eye goes straight to the food options…I’m not in the habit of looking for a contractual agreement on a menu. Clearly you’ve missed the point in my comment. It’s not good business to auto charge a two party check the gratuity. That should be entirely up to me to decide if and how much I choose to tip. If your servers aren’t getting tips, maybe you have a problem with the servers and you shouldn’t punish the consumer for that. If I could leave...

Poor to fair experience at best. Be sure to check your order and pricing when ordering take-away. Humus platter (* $10). First I had to ask where it was because it certainly was not with my bagged up order sitting on the bar. Secondly I had to wait 20 minutes for pre sliced celery and carrots, weirdly pre packaged and shaped Ritz- cracker like pita bread, and old, dry packaged hummus to be prepared. There were no olives on this platter either as advertised. Secondly I had to ask for mustard packages that I was assured over the phone would be included with the meal. Oh and of course our drinks were no where to be seen. The next disturbing thing was a hidden 18% front- of- house surcharge to be spread among the wait staff. This charge could be removed if requested and of course if caught before leaving this fine, old grand hotel known as Basin street. So I had already tipped $7 and apparently unbeknownst to me an additional $8 hidden fee. Of course no itemized receipt was included- only one to sign with the total on it. We supposedly had their " beyond meat" burgers. ( $13.00) No they weren't "Beyond meat". They were some cheaper knock off version of beyond meat. As if a vegan of 2.5 years wouldn't know the difference. The hamburger buns were probably the driest and crumbliest that I've encountered and the patty flavor and texture were sub par. Also the over the phone promised pickle spear was left out. Very scattered and couldn't give a damn attitude thrown off by the oddly dyed haired bar tender. The hostess/ waitress at least gave off an air of giving one iota about her fellow human beings. This is a small town overwhelmingly populated by tourist and the service industry here often gives off an aloof attitude as is so often the case when it comes to fly- by- night , we'll never see these customers again mentality. The difference in our case is that we are contemplating buying a home here and this attitude might change if we showed...