Balthazar Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Our main server Aboubake was fabulous, very attentive and amusing, an asset."
• "Service was fab, atmosphere was excellent."
• "The service was warm and friendly."
• "Our server Marco really helped make it fun."
• "The service was exceptional."
• "Service from Jonathan was impeccable and food was gold standard as always."
• "The service here is always great. I think the prices reflect the vibe and service but the food quality is really nothing special."

Cons:

• "We had a horrible waiter. We were rushed one hour into our meal, although the food was late, and my eggs were cold."
• "However, the service was quite poor - we waited a really long time for our dishes to arrive."
• "Service was awful."
• "Wine menu prices are not transparent, was overcharged."
• "The general feeling from staff was that everyone just wanted to go home."
• "Service was indifferent and placed our food on the table like in a canteen."
• "However, the service was quite poor - we waited a really long time for getting the menu."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food however was lovely and service very attentive."
• "Everything I ordered off the menu was delicious (dressed crab and flat iron chicken)."
• "Great lobster spaghetti and steak tartare."
• "The food was absolutely delicious."
• "The food was great, especially the seafood plate - everything was fresh and of a high quality."
• "The food was undeniably excellent, with flavours that left a lasting impression."
• "Food was fantastic."

Cons:

• "The food came out extremely quickly and each dish was cold - my friend had the pancakes, and I had the Croque Monsieur, which was congealed on top and soggy underneath."
• "However the last time I went, I had the salmon and it was dry and over cooked."
• "The Mac and cheese was very basic."
• "The beef tartare was a bit tasteless and wasn’t as special as we thought."
• "Quality of food was also very disappointing. Risotto had too much cheese and served in a white bowl 3/4th full."
• "The food is nothing special."
• "Some food was served cold and was pointless to wait for the replacement."

Ambience

Pros:

• "What we love most about this place is its atmosphere, amber color internal setting coming with sense of magnificence."
• "Balthazar had such a great atmosphere, it was packed with people and we thoroughly enjoyed it."
• "The ambience was lovely, although where we were situated lighting was low as above the table it appeared a light fixture was missing."
• "Wonderful atmosphere."
• "The ambience of the restaurant was impressive."
• "The ambience was lovely."
• "Atmosphere is lovely and lively."

Cons:

• "The restaurant is very very crowded and loud - so busy that it’s impossible to talk to the people sitting at your table."
• "Very noisy with a high turnover."
• "Terrible acoustics in the restaurant and to top it off completely inappropriate music to dine to, it was almost bar level with a heavy base, which meant shouting across the table all evening."
• "The restaurant is VERY noisy. We have friends with hearing aids who would not have been able to manage a conversation with that noise level."
• "So noisy it’s impossible to have a conversation."
• "The restaurant is a bit too loud & busy."
• "It is noisy in the restaurant as it was really busy and they also play music but we could still have a conversation between our group and not having to shout."

Value

Pros:

• "Great price for London, our bill of 6 pax with drinks and wine came up to ~£240."
• "Lovely food and service, with a very friendly price."
• "At £25 it felt like a bargain."
• "The majority of us were dining from the very cost-effective prix fixe menu: 2 courses £24.50 and 3 courses £27.95."
• "The food is good and reasonably priced."
• "A london classic for brunch! Really good food and service at a reasonable price!"
• "Good quality food, but at prices you would expect on the higher end of London dining."

Cons:

• "Very expensive and disappointing and would not recommend at all."
• "Pricy but special."
• "This was fairly expensive for a 3 course meal."
• "It was extremely pricey though so I would def recommend it for a special occasion."
• "Overpriced overall but understandable for Covent Garden."
• "It's pretty pricey, 30 quid up for mains, steak and fries 30 quid, lobster pasta 40."
• "The prices charged did not align with the lackluster culinary experience I had."