BALAM Mexican Kitchen — Restaurant in Lynwood

I phoned in an order to be delivered to an office party we were having the following day. An hour later, we learned that two employees would not be attending - so I called again and reduced the size of the order. The amount went from $160 to $99.

The following day, the delivery time arrived. I waited 20 minutes past this time, and (worried that they had forgotten) called to inquire about where the food was. They said it was on its way, and 20 minutes later the food arrived.

When the delivery guys got here, they wanted $160. Based on the (small) amount of food being delivered - I took a look and, yes, the smaller sized ($99) order was here.

When I told the delivery guys that they were asking for the original $160, but the order had been changed to $99 - and the food present indicated this - they acted like we were trying to rip them off. They threatened to take the food back, and were giving us dirty looks.

I called the business and spoke to the manager. He, too, acted (at first) like we were trying to rip them off. I suggested that I tell him exactly what had been delivered - told him to add the price up - and (before he did this) told him that the total should equal $99 (indicating I am correct). We did this and, sure enough, the order totaled exactly $99. At this point, he believed me.

The delivery guys talked to the manager, and they left the food. The delivery guys were still giving us an "attitude" even though it was their business which had made this mistake - like it was our fault.

Anyway, the amount of food was small. For the money, there should have been about (at least) 50% more. It certainly didn't "look" like $99 worth of food.

Now, the food itself was very tasty. The meat was a little bit on the dry side, but the sauces and rice were excellent. The horchata was pretty good - although it seemed "watered down".

I was going to give a 2 star review based upon their mistake, combined with the "attitude" we received from the delivery guys. However, I had to drop it to a ONE STAR review.

Why the deduction from 2 stars to 1 star?

Well, by the end of the next day both my wife and I got very sick with stomach issues. When we returned to work the following Monday, we asked the other staff members if they had gotten sick over the weekend. Every one of them said, "Yes". This is too much of a coincidence for it not to be caused by the food.

Based on the order mixup, small portion for the money, very rude delivery experience, and what appears to be food poisoning - we will not be supporting this business again.

Eat here at your own risk, but don't blame me if you get...

I've been coming here for some time and have been lagging it on a review. Well, this spot is definitely a gem serving great authentic Mexican food. I went for a quick bite, grabbed a horchata, 2 Korean asada tacos, 1 al pastor, 1 chicken tinga, and 1 Barbacoa taco. Horchata is on the sweet side, but it is damn good. From least to best, barbacoa was my least favorite, but it's because I hardly ever have it. Slow braised beef, pickled onion, and cilantro. Regardless, it was juicy, cilantro, and pickled onions, give it a great flavor al throughout, I added some lime and fuego. Al pastor taco consists of marinated pork loin, white onions, pastor sauce, and cilantro. Everything in this taco was on point. Meat was juicy, onions, and cilantro give that vibrant taste. Pastor sauce gives extra pastor flavor. Pineapple would be the best, but still great taco. Chicken Tinga Taco has pulled chicken breast, chipotle sauce, cilantro, and pickled onions. I love me some tinga, and this taco doesn't disappoint flavorful chicken in Chipotle sauce, gives you kicks of spiciness to your mouth, cilantro and pickled onions battle it out for control of flavor but everything goes so well and balanced together, love it. My favorite is Korean Asada Taco, marinated sliced beef, slaw, and chipotle sauce. This taco is so fire 🔥 it is a Mexican Asian fusion that will blow your mind. The marinated beef has a slight sweet ginger flavor that gives those Asian vibes and goes well with the slaw, then you get the chipotle to kick it up some spice, pairing heat with sweet you won't want it to end. Great menu, clean restaurant, and fast service. Definitely recommend it. I will keep coming back. 5 stars,...

Balam Mexican restaurant

My dad, brother, and I caught the 105 on way to chino from LAX. Luckily, our flight landed right on time for evening rush hour. Hungry, we started looking for places to eat right off the freeway — somewhere to pass the time while rush hour passed. We took a chance on Balam.

The vibe was cool. Not too familiar with Lynwood, but the area looked rough. The patio was surrounded by trees and leaves and isolated us from the corner it was on. The restaurant felt very homey and the bathrooms were clean.

Service was excellent. The sweet lady behind the counter was actually the owner of the place. She brought us nachos covered in her own chipotle sauce while we waited for our burritos to come out.

I got the barbacoa burrito — tender braised beef, with rice, beans, sauces all wrapped in a freshly toasted tortilla. Would recommend.

My brother got the tropical T. The kid doesn’t even like most foods… in his own words, “this is probably the best burrito I’ve ever had”.

My dad got the masala chicken burrito. He’s Indian and concurred the flavor was exactly what to expect.

All in all, Balam was a very pleasant surprise. Not quite sure when I’ll go again as it happened to be a random stop, but I would 100% recommend to anyone in the area looking for a nice warm meal. Just simple, great food. A hidden...