Balans
European Restaurant in Soho
Opening Times
Monday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 05:00
Tuesday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 05:00
Wednesday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 05:00
Thursday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 05:00
Friday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 06:00
Saturday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 06:00
Sunday
Opens 08:00 - Closes 02:00
The Balans are a cheerful and funky chain of restaurants, usually full of a young crowd taking advantage of the energetic atmosphere and the late opening hours. The menus offer a mixture of modern European cuisine.
Hedonistic eating and drinking in Soho - all night long
Balans Soho Society has a spiel that we can get on board with because when a bar is telling us that ‘too much of good thing is just a good thing’, we feel much better about ourselves. It may well be part of a chain but we like its marketing, at Balans there’s none of this clean eating, mindful living business, it goes heavy on the hedonism and gets the Soho spirit right.
Moody and hip, the Old Compton Street restaurant and bar is the type of place that feels like it encourages you to over indulge, to drink more than you should, to eat more than you should and not give it a second thought. In response to that, we decide to go along with the vibe of indulgence, digging into a late night Soho Full English with a Slap on the Rum cocktail on the side. Now, a fry-up is a fry-up (generally) but when you’re consuming said fry-up in the heart of Soho with a potent rum cocktail on the side at midnight on a Friday night, it feels a little special. Oh, did we mention that Balans famously goes all day and all night? No? It does. Breakfast to brunch, brunch to lunch, lunch to dinner and right through till the next day, weekend opening hours are 7.30am to 6am, which makes this pretty great in our view.
Other meals on the menu include the Balans burger, steak, roast cod and fish & chips at prices that would buy you three or four plates of Full English at your local greasy spoon. Still, they have to pay for those night shifts somehow.
With a good selection of beer and wine, along with a cocktail list of classics and Balans specials, this is bordering on becoming a Soho institution. We’re suckers for all night openers and we’d happily watch the sun rise from the Old Compton Street restaurant.
Reviewed by T.A.O
anonymously
Published on Jun 24, 2016
Balans is a great addition to Soho's lively scene
An all-day all-night feast, Balans Soho is part of a small and select chain, nestling in the most cosmopolitan areas of London, including Earls Court, Kensington and Westfields. Balans also moonlight over in the US with a number of locations cruising the nightlife of Maiami. The key thing to remember about Balans Soho is it is open all hours, quite literally all hours.
On those all-important Friday and Saturday nights, it’s possible to settle down to a table of food any time between 7.30am and 6am the following morning. A bit of a hidden secret for those wandering Soho after the final Sambuca shot wondering what to do next. During the week, the hours are marginally more sober, spanning 7.30am until 5am, and Sundays sees a very modest 7.30am until 2 on Monday morning. Licensing laws do prohibit alcohol after 3 in the morning, but the serving of food remains strong through out the night, perfect for those looking to rebuild after a raucous night on the town.
Balans gears itself for a mix of pre-theatre, post theatre, breakfast and afternoon customers, as well as the night owls. Due to this, it sits as a diverse hybrid of restaurant, bar and café. Possibly better for those after a casual meal rather than a cosy dinner, the quality of food and drink is none the less satisfying and the choice is wider than a lot of the surrounding contempories.
Starters range from crab cakes with mango papaya, salsa and chipotle remoulade to shredded duck spring rolls with cucumber ribbons to beetroot cured salmon with dill mustard.
Mains jump between Thai curries, ducks, steaks, burgers and pork bellies. There is also a fairly extensive seafood menu, including shrimp linguine, salmon fishcakes, battered haddock and a seafood jambalaya of mussels, squid, shrimp and clams. The sea bass is particularly good, coming with crushed new potatoes and a chive butter sauce.
The portions are generous, although slightly heavy on carbs and sauce, perhaps reflecting the cravings of the later crowds. As reasonable priced foods go, it is a cheerful selection that though not mouth wateringly gourmet does the job and certainly doesn’t leave you wondering what it was you paid for.
Deserts include brownies, New York cheesecake and a spectacular and highly recommended raspberry ripple sundae with meringue, raspberry and vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chopped nuts. And there is no skimping on portion size.
Balans is slightly renowned for the cocktail selection, and it would certainly fill the gap for a pre-drink post drink stop off, especially if you fancied combining with food. The wine list isn’t bad either.
Perfect for getting in the mood to go out, having a raucous sit down with a group of friends, or as an alternative to the darker, louder cocktail bars, Balans is a great addition to Soho.
Reviewed by Directionless
Published on Oct 8, 2012
Food at Dawn in Soho
If you’re a regular to West End nightlife, you’re bound to have been to one of the two Soho branches of Balans. One of the few places in London to offer you a full meal at 5am, it’s wholesome burgers, eggs Benedict, breakfasts and Bloody Marys are often the just the thing after a night on the dancefloor.
The cocktail menu contains all the popular choices, Margaritas, Daiquiris, Mojitos… and are usually of a good standard, however it does seem to vary according to who’s behind the bar on the night. “Huh, was it too strong for you?” a hunky waiter smirked on an occasion when I simply couldn’t finish my Berry Vanilla and we’d ordered the bill. “Erm, no, it just wasn’t very nice” I uttered without realising he was taking offence. On paper the ‘vanilla flavored vodka, crème de mure, lemon juice pressed apple juice, over crushed ice & berries’ looked extremely appetising, in reality it just tasted like bad vodka.
The food menu has delicious fish cakes and calamari, wholesome tuna steaks, asparagus risotto, and veal dishes, all cooked to a high standard, a little like American diner food but with a European edge, with the mains averaging £12.
Despite its popularity in the area, Balans has managed to retain a certain amount of anonymity as a place to spend time undisturbed, after all Amy Winehouse is a regular. Those who do want to be seen can sit outside and spy on the pretty couples of Old Compton street. There are also branches in High Street Kensington, Chelsea, and Chiswick; however only at the Soho branch will you experience the fabulous decadence of the area.
Reviewed by Leila
Published on Aug 5, 2008
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