Red Balloon Saloon — Restaurant in Southfield

Balloon Saloon Bar & Grill has definitely achieved a we don’t need your business, we have enough, so take what we give or nothing at all approach to service. Been a patron for over 10years, never had such treatment, don’t even recall when I’ve had to send a drink back as I’m not expecting a craft cocktail, just a decent drink which resembles what was ordered. I attempted to send a lemon drop back as it had not a hint of lemon and tasted more like a margarita but was refused additional service. I thought maybe the bartender confused the drink as I order with tequila instead of vodka AND the waitress served it garnished with a lime. So after a few sips and of course a long wait as they were packed & Moriah (one of our fav servers) was moving as fast as she could, I sent it back and asked for it to be remade as something wasn’t right. Moriah returns with nothing as the manager, Amber, refuses to remake it. I go the the bar, to talk with her and get a better understanding. Amber informs me that if I come there a lot she’s there all the time so she probably made my drink before, she made it right the first time so she wasn’t remaking it, they don’t do that there, she garnished it with a lime so the server would know it had tequila (but she didn’t add any garnish to the other so a lemon would have been appropriate and I could’ve attempted to squeeze some in my drink which lacked any sign of it). I didn’t even trip on the drink being lukewarm, no sugar around the rim & served in a mini lowball tumbler as they were out of martini glasses but not having a hint of lemon drop taste I just thought I’d try again. Instead, Amber refused to try, or get someone else to make it & would rather lose business altogether because she’s just decided to slang sloppy drinks and make us take it or leave it. Side note, not all staff have this motto as another bartender who I know makes a good one was going to make it for me but I didn’t want to order without my guest as she was sitting at the table & had cancelled her dinner order after the refusal. I really should have had the young lady make it to show Amber how a lemon drop should be made but we simply left disappointed &...

★★★☆☆ Decent food, but forced gratuity and noise levels were a turnoff

We recently moved our office to 12 Mile and Northwestern, and while moving wasn’t ideal, the upside is I’ve got plenty of new food spots to explore. I found Red Balloon Saloon on Google Maps—it looked promising, so I met up with a buddy there after work.

First impressions were solid: the place looks good inside, with plenty of TVs and even a pool table. We grabbed seats at the bar and started to settle in—until I saw the sign saying they add a mandatory 20% gratuity to all tabs. That’s a big issue for me. If tips are guaranteed, where’s the motivation for good service?

Unfortunately, that concern proved true. It took a while to get our drinks, and we had to flag the bartender down to order appetizers. I got the cheese sticks and my buddy got the catfish. Both were tasty—no complaints on the food.

The biggest downside? It was insanely loud. So loud that my Apple Watch actually alerted me about excessive noise levels. It made it really tough to have a conversation, and we ended up leaving early. Even cashing out took longer than it should have.

While it’s conveniently close to my new office, I don’t see myself coming back. The forced gratuity policy and overwhelming noise make it a...

20% Gratuity is automatically added onto the bill. I get why they do this, especially in this environment of employee shortage, but if I didn't look closely, I wouldn't have noticed.

I still left an extra 22% on top of the built in 20%, because we had a good experience. However, my friend feels differently. He believes that if the tip is built in, that's what the tip is, and that's it. He's always been a heafty tipper (excessive, really), and he says "well, that's the gamble they take". I think he's offended by built in gratuities, but I get it...

Our server, Monique treated us very well. She was pleasant, attentive, AND our drinks were made perfectly. The food looked good but we didn't eat on this visit, we just a quick stop for an after work cocktail.

It's a spacious environment with perfect lighting which makes it a comfortable place to grab a cocktail...