Balans

I'm afraid not. The staff at Ken High Street are pushy, grabbing your plates the second you finish, repeatedly bombarding you with demands to order more drinks. The manager coaxed us in after standing outside the cafe waving at passersby with regular chants such as "table for 3, madam?", "table for 2, sir?". I asked if they were on commission (guess what the answer was..)
The food is acceptable though, decor is fine, rather cosy, but the hard-sell approach, even in London, will do nothing to encourage would-be regulars. The worst waiter was a 20 something French guy who I think has been there for some time, his constant sarcastic witticisms about the two guys at the back table was more than unprofessional.

Petra's profile     Other reviews by Petra     Petra likes    

Can I just say in response to the recent not so rave reviews, that I live locally to this Balans, visit it regularly and the staff are absolutely wonderful...as is their service. Balans is not, and does not profess to be, a Michelin starred restaurant, so don't go there looking for that - go somewhere else. If however, you want good, filling, tasty food, service with a smile + a healthy dose of fun, one of the few places in Kensington High St that allows lots of fresh air inside on a hot sunny day then go here. I often go, order just water and a light meal and the service is as good as when we drinks and eat loads. In fact we remember it especially, since one time we kept ordering water top ups during our long meal and all the staff did was oblige with a funny joke now and again about our 'wild' drinking habit! Keep it up Balans and thank riddance to the mean, grumpy, bitter people out there that don't want to come back!! Yeeeeeeha!! :)

amer's profile     Other reviews by amer     amer likes    

We have booked a table at Balans High Street Ken' tonight, after reading this review I feel like cancelling, or maybe we will just not turn up for a bit of pay back!!! ha ha ha

"Received the worst, most embarrassing service at Balans last weekend. Popped in there with two friends after shopping in High Street Kensington on Sunday afternoon to be greeted by the maitre'd. He said "how many," and I said "three". We sat down, ready for a slow afternoon of cocktails, coffees and snacking, ordering two bloody marys, a beer, water and a sandwich. The waitress took our order, and the barman began making our drinks. Suddenly the maitre'd appears, and says "I asked if you were having lunch and you said yes." Which he didn't. "I can't let you have the table if you're just drinking." I said, "we're not, I've ordered a sandwich, and they're ordering later. That's lunch." to which he replied "It's just a starter." This is despite the fact we'd ordered ?5 cocktails to start, and was probably going to spend at least ?50."Apparently you have to order mains on a Sunday when they're busy. But neither him, or the waitress told us this before we sat down, and anyway, we were all intending to eat, just not straight away."After a small exchange we realised he was not offering us any other choice but to LEAVE the restaurant, despite the fact ?20 of drinks and food were making their way to our table. We got up and left without paying for any of it. After being unceremoniously ejected from the restaurant, we walked to the Old Brompton Road branch, sat down, and ordered exactly the same thing, and received lovely, courteous service. We then went onto to order a bottle of wine and three more starters, the bill coming to ?62. To top of the service, the waiter gave us a big bag of free ice to take home to make more drinks."I don't object to the rule of "mains on a Sunday" but please tell us before we sit down. This was embarrassing and dealt with extremely badly. We should have been at least allowed to have what we'd ordered. The maitre'd only suceeded in wasting stock, offending customers and making sure a bad review appeared on this website. You never know who you're being rude to. It's a shame because I really like Balans, but certainly won't be returning to High Street Kensington branch. Old Brompton Road all the way."