Heart of Balham - HOB Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "The service was amazing and the staff were kind and made sure we were comfortable."
• "Servers are also great and always efficient, friendly and polite."
• "Friendly, welcoming and talkative staff who genuinely seem happy to serve you."
• "The staff at the HOB were incredibly kind and attentive."
• "Service and food have always been top notch."
• "Lovely staff, and customer service, would recommend to all!"
• "Staff are very attentive will definitely be visiting again on a regular basis."

Cons:

• "No updates given of wait."
• "They're a bit slow due they usually have many people and I guess the kitchen is small."
• "Wouldn't accommodate a substitution for my gf who is allergic to bread."
• "They take an extreme amount of time to fulfill the order (1-1.5hrs to make eggs on toast)."
• "Very slow (although it was Sat lunch) waited nearly an hour for food with takeaway clearly prioritised as at least 5 lots went out while we waited."
• "Despite being empty, it did take 30 minutes to arrive."
• "Terrible service! Ordered via Uber eats which took almost 2 hours for delivery."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The vegan bake up was tasty."
• "Great breakfast, had the French toast, chicken and waffles and Lebanese breakfast."
• "Delivious food and big portions which makes prices really good."
• "Opting for the chicken and waffles, I was met with a delightful surprise."
• "The quality of the food is amazing, especially the Halal sausages."
• "The best Shashuka i have ever had."
• "The food NEVER FAILS to impress!"

Cons:

• "The food arrived cold and tasted nasty."
• "It tasted like it was made on those cheap supermarket pre made pizza base things - very cardboard."
• "Preprepared and hanging about, not worth the money."
• "The food is overpriced."
• "Food ok but dry with not enough sauces."
• "I thought that the food was really unprofessional, not good at all. I had to throw all the food away after 2 bites."
• "Got the Lebanese breakfast. Felt overpriced and didn’t really enjoy it."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Atmosphere was awesome and every customer was getting attention by their service."
• "Love this sweet lil spot!"
• "Nestled conveniently close to the station, 'Heart of Balham' is a brunch haven."
• "Will 100% be coming back."
• "Perfect little cafe in Balham for a halal breakfast/ lunch or dinner."
• "Small, cute family spot in the centre of Balham High Street."
• "The atmosphere is very upbeat and boosts your mood."

Cons:

• "Shame there’s always such a queue to get a table!"
• "Table near kitchen was very smoky such that I coughed and got hoarse."
• "There was a massive pile of trash outside."
• "It was very cold every time a delivery guy came to pick up a parcel (every few minutes)."
• "We were seated at a little metal table next to the counter and it seemed like an extra table they’d squeezed in to give an extra 2 covers and I’d rather have sat at a normal table."
• "Absolutely shocking service, seated and weren't given menus."
• "The table was wobbly."

Value

Pros:

• "This is the best café in Balham! Such incredible value for money, and you get amazing meal sizes, loads of options and all of it comes with good service."
• "Highly recommended and I will be back!"
• "Good value for money."
• "The portions are huge!"
• "Really good value for money."
• "Great value for money (around £8)."
• "Offering excellent value for the price paid."

Cons:

• "The food is overpriced."
• "It's one of life's pleasures to sit in a Cafe and have a Coffee and something to eat."
• "Food was OK, took about 45 mins for the food to arrive at our table. Pancakes were really disappointing."
• "Very good food but over crowded and service was very slow."
• "If you don't have the capacity to serve food within a reasonable timeframe, then simply stop taking customers in."
• "Sadly very disappointed with the lack of baby changing facilities."
• "Avoid this place."

Menu Options

Pros:

• "Lots of vegan and vegetarian options too!"
• "Good selection of vegan and gluten-free options."
• "Cannot wait to return and try more of the menu."
• "The best wraps in Balham, hands down! The omelettes are also banging."
• "Fresh shopmade sourdough bread and traditional English and Lebanese breakfasts."
• "Delicious and fresh food - superb breakfast with many options."
• "Super delicious trendy Middle Eastern food."

Cons:

• "The menu also needs to be more explicit, for example the breakfast muffin should be called English breakfast muffin."
• "Although it's advertised as halal, they cook bacon on the same grill as they cook their halal meat- albeit the other side."
• "Wish they had more vegan options to choose from."
• "Ordered a takeaway falafel wrap, was shocked when I saw them put it in the microwave and then onto the griddle.. to my horror the hummous was dry and the falafel were soggy."
• "Vegan breakfast comes with gluten free bread and iialways forget to ask for this to be swapped for regular bread or sourdough."
• "There's no space in between tables so you're rubbing elbows with the table next to you."
• "If you're strict about eating halal without risk of contamination, you're better off going elsewhere."