Balans Soho, No.34 in City of London, Westminster

By far our fave place to go. Even if just for drinks. Robert and the team are exemplary. The lobster rolls and eggs Benedict are an absolute treat. This place is a must for anyone

Always enjoy brunch at Balans - they seem to serve brunch almost all day, and lovely service by Ovi

We stopped by for breakfast last Friday. We were greeted by a very welcoming manager (Eddie) our breakfast was delicious pancakes with maple syrup and banana , perfect poached eggs and avocado on gf bread and great coffee. Shaun’s service was discreetly wonderful. Thanks. We will be back ❤️

Ovi is the best! The best Food 👍🏽

Ovi was amazing, beautiful food and vibes

A charming medium size cafe to its gliztier counterpart restaurant that's just up the street. The food and the service are delightful.

Great venue - and Ovi was the perfect host. Funny, attentive - and great food and coffee. We will be back!

Waited 20 minutes to place an order, gave up. On leaving, explained to the female staff how long we waited… she completely dismissive. Never again.

Went on a Sunday evening and tried the Chicken and kimchi pancake. Special mention to Ovi who welcomed and served with exceptional hospitality.

Super nice experience, I was searching for a cozy place to have my English Breakfast and I definitely picked the best one! The food was amazing and the service exceptional, very friendly and nice people. Strongly recommend!

Andrei was the perfect host Thank you for your hospitality

They seated us immediately on a busy Thursday night. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. Good menu. Ask for Andres.

A lovely time on Saturday.. greeted warmly and looked after!! Even a dog bowl for my friends dog. Our waiter Ori was, as always great.

Nice quite warm little spot, ovi was very welcoming and help us with any request

Food was gorgeous! Ovi our server was great and full of the patter! Will be back xxxx

Lovely cosy atmosphere. It has a really intimate vibe. Never disappoints. Andrada, our server, went out of her way to make us feel at home. Highly recommended.

Dining at Balance 34 was an absolute pleasure! The food and drinks were outstanding, full of flavor and beautifully crafted. Our experience was elevated by the exceptional service—manager Maria was professional and attentive, ensuring everything went smoothly. Our waitress, Andrei, was also fantastic, friendly, and knowledgeable, making sure we had everything we needed. I can’t wait to visit again!

Balance 34 exceeded my expectations with its incredible food, amazing drinks, and exceptional service. Manager Maria’s professionalism and attention to detail made the experience unforgettable. Can’t wait to return

I had an amazing experience at Balance 34! The food was delicious, and the drinks were top-notch. Manager Maria was incredibly professional, making sure everything was perfect, and our waitress Andrei was friendly, attentive, and added a wonderful personal touch to our evening. This level of service, combined with the fantastic food and ambiance, made for a memorable night. Highly recommend!

Today, Ovi was our server. He was pleasant , efficient and created a very nice atmosphere as he spoke to us when we were ordering.

I went to have a quick English breakfast. Made to wait over 1 hour after ordering

Ovi was a fantastic server! The food was good and the atmosphere was incredible!

Not bad but slow service often hard to get the waiters attention Also they had run out of beer for the whole time we r there Use initiative and send someone out to buy some for goodness sake

Very nice friendly staff. Very welcoming, good service and good food for reasonable price. I will definitely return

A fab discovery for a great Sunday breakfast. The lattes were lovely too. Great, friendly service. We will be back! 👍🏼

I STILL love absolutely everything about this place, AND we have a new boy ANDREI, am absolutely brilliant member of the team, ALWAYS SMILING and friendly!, Great food,really nice staff, who deserve to be getting paid much more than £9.50 an hour!!!... Robert,Andrew, the beautiful Meryan, Ovi, Daniel,Nicole,and the other staff are a joy!! Say Graham sent you. 100%☆☆☆☆☆❤️‍🔥

Served by Ovi he was extremely nice and friendly

The food was delicious and the service by Ovi was outstanding! We can’t wait to come back!

Fantastic typical English breakfast, the waiter Ovi was very courteous, professional and friendly! Recommended!

Excellent food, even better service from Ori

Typical English breakfast. Nice place and excellent service, in particular the waiter Ovi is very nice and knows how to work well

My favourite local brunch place! Great food and service from Ovi was great! If you are in Soho I would definitely recommend!

Your food’s good, your staff are great, but your policy of adding service to the bill, TWICE, stinks. Frankly, if you, Balans, are not giving your staff enough, increase their salaries. Pay them properly. But allowing your staff to present the card machine with an invitation to add service, for a second time, is tantamount to gaining monies by deception. The server will tell you it’s a little extra for him (or her) but that’s plain not fair on the kitchen staff or anyone else who’s working just as hard behind the scenes. Beware, fellow diners. Settle the bill at your peril. Service has already been added. ** Several months later, I am still waiting for Balans to respond to this review. It deserves it.

Ovi was a great and attentive server! Very helpful, friendly and polite.

A huge shout out to Ovi what a great asset he is to your business. It was a table of 6 last Saturday and this included a high maintenance guest and Ovi handled it like a true professional, nothing was an issue, sorted the table in a busy trading time, separated the bill and just made my day entirely and his service was not unnoticed by the other guests! Food wise tasty but I can say hand on heart the schnitzel was tasty , though relatively small but the ceaser salad accompaniments was an absolute joke, the two anchovies would be better spend on more leaves .. but Ovi was right he true deal …. Patrice and promotion I say - thank you - ovi

Great experience at Balans Soho, No. 34. Ovi provided great service and made us feel right at home!

Thanks to Ovi for his service and company. it was a very pleasant moment

Ovi was wonderful! Gave great advice on food and was so fun to chat with! Would absolutely go again!

Ovi was fantastic! The food was so great. The Benedict’s were very good. I’ll be back.

The food was great! Wonderful eggs Benedict. Ovi was a great server. Highly recommended.

Ovi was the best server- prompt, helpful, funny. Food was spectacular- I got the banana pancakes and they were heavenly! Must visit place!

The meat was too tough. A little salty for Koreans' taste. The composition is enough for one meal. When calculating, do it in full. If you pay for each person, the tip will be charged separately. I recommend Dutch Pay....

From the beginning the gentleman who was at the front, was not happy at all. Not welcoming! I asked him is this place dog friendly and he said yes but you have to sit at the front. You can’t mix with other tables !! So what kind of dog friendly place is this? we asked for well done burgers and it was all raw and red inside, no taste at all. The bun was stuck into the dish. By the time food arrived my latte was cold. I asked for some water for my dog and their dog water bowl was all dirty and full of hair. Will definitely not visit again ! Not worth it at all ! Slow service !

The worst and the most expensive aperol spritz ever

I went there for a coffee before my usual haircut in soho. I had to pay for a service charge. While I understand paying it for food. A coffee should not be charged as I did not pay at the table.

Really poor cocktails - never again

The place is beautiful, but I didn't like the food. More than two of the dishes I asked about were not available. The French toast dish is large and enough for two people, and the vegetarian breakfast dish is also large. In general, the restaurant is good.

Amazing service provided by Mister Ovideo best waiter in the city.

We came hungry and leave hungry. The portions are so small for this money.

Fantastic experience and lively warm place in the center of Soho, lovely seating options and super friendly Staff, Especially Alina ! She is incredibly sweet and service oriented, just ask for her when you go and she will go above and beyond to ensure a happy and lovely experience , Thank you ALINA !!! You rock !!

Alina is the best here love the way she treats her customers, Highly recommend ❤️

Fantastic quick brunch here. Sat outside it was lovely weather and it’s on such a picturesque street with lots of people milling about. Good location. Great food. The pancakes were no joke swimming in syrup and I implore you to try them. I’m not a pancake person but these were delectable. The salmon, eggs and avocado were also great, super fresh and good portion sizes. Really couldn’t fault it. Nice staff too. Will definitely be back when I’m next in London!

Alina lady is gorgeous. She is the best waitress. We are so glad.

I was in a very good mood, and the reviews were good, so I thought this place was a perfect place to eat dinner, but it wasn't! I wanted to order meat, chicken, and I received a piece of leftovers that were lightly sprinkled with spices, the meat felt like it wasn't fresh and dry and I couldn't bite it. I got the meat on the plate of my brother who ordered something completely different. The meat visible in the photo was taken after we received our dishes. The next day I had diarrhea, and I must add that it was really expensive for what I got.

I really thought it was a joke.

Lovely food and great service by Oyi, highly recommended

Incredible place to spend lunch, service was amazing and the pancakes 🤩

Ovi 1 Kanobe x aka short king with a taste for the wild side. Love u boy xx

as always, i loved visiting my mostest favourite Soho social den. Alina served me a stupendous curry with chicken and rice as fluffy as Artic Circle snow....thanks so much for the kind service and food for what must have been my hundred times over at Little Balans.

Not especially great Flat white, reminds me of foamy,white milky coffee growing up in the late 80s. Bit expensive and they automatically add a service charge . Suggest you go to Nero's opposite for the same view and a better coffee, even from a chain!

The best atmosphere, the staff was very friendly, they made me feel home. The food was amazing and very quick. The manager itself made sure that my time here it’s the best one in Soho. I would come back very soon. Take care my friends and ppl from Soho! With love, Raluca

The best pancakes ever - with kimchi and fried chicken. Food heaven! 😋

The waiter was friendly and very accommodating. Thanks

Ovi was the best server I’ve ever had!!

Had a great breakfast, the food was amazing, good cappuccino and Ovi the waiter was very friendly. Definitely recommend when starting your day in Soho

Steak and eggs are gone from the menu, and Bloody Mary's are now with orange and basil? I'm so confused. Bring back the classics please!

It was a pleasure from start to finish. Our server "Ovi" was delightful. The food and service was superb. Goats cheese salad was delicious. Thank you.

We had breakfast here while visiting London. It's a nice place with some traditional English breakfast options. I had avocado toast, and it was okay, but my family had some other dishes, and they were delicious! I would highly recommend the eggs benedict. Thanks for the breakfast Ovi! ✨

Great experience and the food was excellent. Ovi was attentive and made the experience great!

Came across this place for something quick to eat as I was in a rush. The service was great, really quick even though it was busy, the waiter ovi was lovely. Food & coffee was great, highly recommend the halloumi small plate.

Breakfast burritos are tasteless, no seasoning. Staff just shaked their heads when informed. Poor

I’ve been eating here for years and primarily grabbing brunch but today I had a lie in and came for the lunch menu! The steak, fries and onion rings were delicious and I love the atmosphere. Even today on a rainy day the music was great and it’s a perfect people watching spot when you grab a window seat. The staff are always excellent and today I was looked after by Ovi who was fab, friendly, helpful and efficient! Thank you for having me team, I’ll be back soon!

Ovi was a very kind waiter and even offered to add extra pepper to our eggs, which we were very happy to accept! The Food was also incredible!

Had an amazing time and ovi was our waiter and was amazing

The pankcake was awfull !!! You can totally taste the flour and it was sticky in mouth Not fluffy at alll

Thanks to Ovi for this great time, a very warm and welcoming waiter.. We ate very well, we will return with pleasure!

Great coffee and breakfast. Ovi looked after us. Will defo be back.

Brilliant breakfast spot. Served by Ovi this morning who was top quality, myself and both mates were very pleased with the experience. 10/10

Delicious food and excellent service by Ovi

Environment: (8/10) The environment is quite small, cozy, and tight, prepare yourself if you're gonna get close to other tables nearby. The energy is vibrant, it gets real busy. Food/Drinks: (6/10) We ordered: 1) flat white (nice with latte art) (8/10) 2) iced coffee + caramel (nice but small) (7/10) 3) full English breakfast (amazing, the potatoes and bread are to die for, for me at least! All other items, poached eggs, bacon, beans were cooked wonderfully - delicious) (10/10). 4) crispy duck okonomiyaki (DO NOT ORDER - they tried to make a pancake with duck pieces, kale onion, topped with sunny side egg with sauces. Issue 1. Portion is dramatically small, it's like eating a crepe with eggs, that's it. 2. The kale greens thingy was sliced n fried, tasted like eating fried grass, hard to chew 3. The sauce was too light and had no flavor, overall it tasted bland, grassy, runny, not a plate to start your day, not nice... See the image if you like.) (2/10) 5) sourdough bread slices (toasted just right, with butter, this was to salvage the damage from my inedible crispy duck okonomiyaki plate. They don't have a price on the menu, but it's 3.5 pounds with butter and additional 1.5 with jam.) (9/10) Service: (3/10) They were friendly and pleasant and took care of us all the way. However, when the food they recommended is inedible, they won't do anything except "that's too bad, I liked it, would you like to order something else instead?" Ok, I understood the duck was horrible, they won't fix it or take it back so I ordered bread in addition instead. When it comes to paying, the waitress didn't show the receipt as we were paying with card, I made the payment then found out the bill is automatically charging 12.5 percent gratuity, and the bottom of the bill says gratuity is optional. When you charge the card, they also ask you to add additional gratuity AGAIN. Please note, this place misleads gratuity TWICE. Be warned, very sketchy practice.

Thank you Ovi!! You were amazing ❤️😊😊

Great place to hang out, eat, chat, drink coffee. Staff are fantastic, today Ovi really looked after my friend and myself. Will be going back soon

Amazing service from Ovi on Monday this week. He is wonderful at his job. Thank you so much, Ovi! Patrick & Paddy.

Nicole was very attentive and friendly.

Very pleased with the service. Nicole was very welcoming

Lovely help from Nicole and the food was really delicious!

Great food and staff. Our server Nicole went above and beyond for me and my friends. Very warm atmosphere 😁😁😁😁

Lovely service and good atmosphere (R&B radio was a hit), food was excellent

The girl named nicole in the shop assistant has a very good service attitude!!!

Nicole was great accommodating to all our needs . Food was 10/10 . Music was also a great touch . Enjoyed the experience

Music was 10/10 waitress(Nicole) was very welcoming

Nicole the server was very attentive. We really enjoyed the music and vibe.

Ovi helped make the brekkie a wonderful experience. Very attentive and charming. And he was great about checking in to see if I needed anything. The tables around me all seemed happy as well. Perfect balance of charm with efficiency. Thanks, Ovi!! PS Location couldn’t be better.

Good food with good prices and good service. Open till late 👌🏻

Ovi was a lovely server- would definitely come back as food and staff were amazing

The experience was amazing and especially credit to the waitress 'Andrada' who gave us exceptional service and always checking on us with a happy smile. Fantastic because of this we would recommended Balans to a friend!

Absolutely cracking place, friendly atmosphere for soho xx

Good coffee (decaf cappuccino) and yummy breakfast of poached eggs and bacon on toast. The quality of the food was excellent and for a Sunday it wasn't too busy. Recommend for a decent breakfast. Lots of choices too including veggie full breakfast options.

Best service from Alina and Adina. Thank you ladies

Alina did a superb job of serving us for lunch on Sunday 16 June 2024 😊👏.