Balans East - Stratford

Came here as I was craving a full English breakfast and theirs looked good. And indeed it was very tasty, albeit pretty pricey. But the quality was good. The vibe is nice, very European style. There is a nice area to sit outside when it’s warm. Unfortunately when I was there it was cold and every time the door opened I was given a cold blast of air, and then for some reason they decided to keep the door open. So I left early rather than freeze. This was odd

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 brunch spots.

A fairly lively place with a pleasant atmosphere for Sunday breakfast and friendly welcoming staff. The food (at least in my breakfast) was of very average quality: the scrambled eggs were very watery, almost liquid; the bread that was used as a base was probably either from yesterday (I don't want to claim that the restaurant bakes it themselves or not), but it was bland, not airy, and strange in consistency - one half barely dissolved, even the crumb, while the other half was quite soft - the bread resembled what is sold in the cheap segment at grocery stores; the salmon was very good and flavorful. The smoothie (lime, avocado, and greens) was decent. Overall, I had mixed feelings about the food.