Restaurant Balam

Mary Orfali (2 reviews)

25 May 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Delicious food and drinks, specifically the temazcal was SO good and presentation was beautiful. Loved the ambiance! Will definitely be back with my hubby

Sonia Del Signore (12 reviews)

17 May 2026

Source: Google

4.7

Amazing food, delicious drinks and beautiful decor!! I would give it 5 stars for atmosphere if it wasn't for the music being way too loud (live dj ), the point of going out to eat with friends is also to talk without shouting. Besides that, everything was great.

Ralph Abou Sleiman (11 reviews)

17 May 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Had an amazing experience at Balam! The food was absolutely delicious, full of authentic flavors, and everything came out fresh and perfectly prepared. The atmosphere was beautiful, warm, and welcoming. A huge thank you to the waiters Emilia and Abdallah for the outstanding service. They were incredibly attentive, friendly, professional, and made the whole experience even better. They constantly checked in to make sure everything was perfect and made us feel truly welcomed.

Logan Keshavarz (46 reviews)

16 May 2026

Source: Google

4.0

Would give a 4.5. Balam is an interesting one, we went for Mother's Day and were greeted with a complimentary mimosa! We arrived 3 hours early of a reservation due to mischeduling a different event. Despite this service was spot on, friendly, and accomodating for our unique situation. I'm sure it helped that we came before it got busy but it was appreciated. When it comes to the food, it was generally good. The guac and chips were delicious, the quinoa salad was one of the best I've had. The tacos (shrimp/octopus and duck) while good, were perhaps underwhelming relative to their ingredients or just not to my taste. The churro dessert was sublime however. A real winner here is the cocktail menu. I had the pleasure of trying two drinks that came in smoked containers that were both wonderful. I also had a dessert drink called a "Gold of the Gods" that was arguably the best equivalent to an espresso martini I have ever had. Atmosphere in the restaurant is however average, at least during early afternoon. The walls are somewhat drab, or deliberately done as an aesthetic. All the plants are plastic. I could see it looking better in the darker hours of the day. The center bar is very nice, but some of the seating is a bit cramped. I had to move my chair so servers could pass behind me multiple times. Altogether, I could see myself returning and trying some of their other fare or to at least reorder one of the drinks. We had a good time and a good Mother's Day, and we appreciate the staff at Balam for making it a good one!

Jean Stéphane Beauchamp (17 reviews)

15 May 2026

Source: Google

3.7

The food was good, some dishes more than others, but nothing outstanding. I was actually expecting a little more in terms of originality in their Mexican dishes. The wine list is quite short. The service was good, but uneven. The atmosphere is pretty but not great for intimate conversations.

Aalekhyo Mukherjee

12 May 2026

Source: Google

3.0

Though the food tasted good, the portion is pathetic for the one I had ordered. Ambience wise good but expect to get back hungry after paying huge price.

Zoltan Szomoru (45 reviews)

11 May 2026

Source: Google

5.0

The Rib Eye tacos were a carnivore’s taco dream come true. And I also had a life changing experience. Ask Freeman to hook you up with an espresso Martini. Just WOW!

Kun Acat

11 May 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Had an amazing Sunday brunch experience at Balam. The service was exceptional from start to finish, and Daria truly stood out with her professionalism, kindness, and attention to detail. The ambiance was warm, lively, and welcoming, making the whole experience even better. The place looks absolutely beautiful

Bernie Yoo (6 reviews)

10 May 2026

Source: Google

2.7

Rarely do I leave a review. I had to for this one to warn potential first time diners. We were 3 families meeting for Mother’s Day brunch. Place is beautiful and staff was welcoming. First the drinks: the kids ordered some soft drinks. Full to the brim packed with ice and a dash of soda. The wife ordered a cortado coffee and got an espresso instead. Then the food… 3 of us ordered the chicken and waffles. The plates were hastily presented. Two tired looking limp waffles with a few thin slices of strawberry and literally 3 blueberries. Honey (not syrup) on the side. There was no dulce leche, no pecans and no coconut whipped cream in site as advertised. The chicken tasted like it was fried the day before and was chopped up and reheated on top of the waffles. 2 of the moms ordered the lobster chilaquiles. It was a ridiculous mountain of fried flour tortillas with canned cold lobster and shredded cold cheese on top ( not heated up or melted. No sauce no gauc included really sad) the fried fish tacos were ok. The corn tortillas were not warmed up so obviously they were hard and mealy. The saving grace was the spicy salsa and chimichurri sauce. The rib eye tacos came with chewy stringy fatty meat slices inside. The bone marrow that it came with was not even cooked. The bone came cold, the marrow was not seared so it was like cold white fat bone in, sitting in the middle of the plate. Ugh… We sent all of the chicken and waffles back, as well as the lobster chilaquiles. (They did bring out some extra dulce leche sauce for the waffles eventually but it wasn’t enough to save the dish) Mom got the fish tacos instead of the lobster chilaquiles, aunty decided to skip brunch and ditch her lobster, I decided to skip any more surprises and declined to eat anything else, my son had to share the tacos with mom because he didn’t finish his waffles and my brother in law at least enjoyed his 2 eggs that he had ordered extra on the side. They brought my wife her corrected cortado coffee which ended up being another espresso with a bit of foam on top. (No non dairy options) Overall very disappointing and lack lustre. NONE of the dishes came out looking or tasting as they were described on the menu. Everyone agreed that when they served our plates we all had the impression of “that’s it????”. Although the staff was polite and attentive, after we let them know of all the problems they seemed to hide from us. We were told that there was a new cook in the kitchen and no real apologies or effort to redeem themselves other than “would you like to try something else?” I’m really not trying to be aggressive or mean but I HAVE to leave a review so that hopefully someone reads this and takes the constructive criticism to heart and actually implements improvements. This place will not survive unless some major changes are made. This coming from a service industry veteran of 20+ yrs Decor 5/5 Staff 2/5 (they were nice but we’re not able to host us adequately) Food 1/5 I would give a 0 but some of us ate food and uncle did like his 2 over easy eggs. I’ve heard that their dinner service might be a better put together meal if you are daring enough to try. We tried to keep it positive as it was Mother’s Day but it put a real dent in our day :(

Restaurant response

Response added on 11 May 2026

Hello, Bernie Thank you sincerely for taking the time to share your experience in such detail. We are truly sorry to hear that your Mother’s Day brunch did not meet your expectations or the level of experience we aim to provide to our guests. Your feedback is being taken very seriously, and we appreciate it as constructive criticism. We recognize that there were several shortcomings regarding the quality of the dishes, presentation, and overall service, and we sincerely apologize for the disappointment, especially on such an important family occasion. We will be reviewing every point mentioned with our team and making the necessary changes to improve our kitchen, execution, and overall guest experience. Your comments will help us grow and better meet the expectations of our customers. We truly hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again in better circumstances and provide you with the experience you should have received during your first visit. Thank you again for your honesty and feedback. Balam Team

Ginger D (5 reviews)

26 Apr 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Authentic and amazing quality of food. Service was great and loved the ambiance. The only negative was the music, a little too loud, hard to have a conversation without raising your voice.

Lidia (20 reviews)

25 Apr 2026

Source: Google

4.7

I enjoyed the restaurant very much, it has a good ambiance. The waitress was very friendly. The food was good, I really enjoyed the lamb. I recommend this place. I will go back, especially in the summer to sit on the terrace.

Nada (7 reviews)

25 Apr 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Literally my new favourite place and Emilia’s service was 10/10

Marie Girard (2 reviews)

10 Apr 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Nice menu, atmosphere and excellent friendly service.

Rachel Jayaprakash (7 reviews)

9 Apr 2026

Source: Google

4.0

Great atmosphere and service, however felt that the food was a bit of a let down.

Andy Garcia (2 reviews)

9 Apr 2026

Source: Google

3.3

Great intimate spot away from the tourist area. We had the carnitas and fish tacos, flavorful. Get the green salsa it’s worth it. Service was good , drinks spot on. Would go back on a Thursday or Friday night to maybe get a better feel of the festive ambiance. All in all solid choice.

Maria Doncheva (152 reviews)

5 Apr 2026

Source: Google

4.3

While l I liked the food ,location and service , the ambiance is very loud - you need to shout to hear your table companion .

Darryl Humphries (2 reviews)

30 Mar 2026

Source: Google

3.0

The waiter was brutal -- never filling up water / never asking if we want another drink despite walking by our table many times / two of share a dessert brings one spoon --- no table recognition at all -- i had to constantly push -- another cocktail more water , cutlery, done with this course etc. re: ask for a beer more than once as they forgot etc....honestly we go out all the time -- this is the first review i have ever posted but its unfortunate there is zero table training

David Sears (70 reviews)

28 Mar 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Experienced exceptional food and service at Balam last night. The staff was very friendly and accommodating and we were very impressed with the dishes and drinks we had. Music was perfectly balanced so that it added to the atmosphere without making it difficult to speak to each other.

Luxe Nettoyage Ross (40 reviews)

26 Mar 2026

Source: Google

4.5

Drinks can be better That's all everything else is perfect nice location space seating coziness decor wow top tier I didn't eat.

Philippe Beaudoin (28 reviews)

22 Mar 2026

Source: Google

3.7

Food was good, plates could be a bit more elevated to reflect the upscale positionning of the restaurant. I thought the slow service was due to us being a large group, seems to be consistent accross the comments regardless of the size of the reservation, understaffed.

Sheema Esmail (114 reviews)

22 Mar 2026

Source: Google

2.0

Horrible food. First time I had bland Mexican food which I didn't think was possible ($300 later for 2 people). Staff was overwhelmed. I hope they get their act together as the place itself is beautiful. Needless to say that I will not be back.

Sylvie Amar (9 reviews)

20 Mar 2026

Source: Google

4.3

Very good food and service.

Sara G (28 reviews)

19 Mar 2026

Source: Google

3.7

Only reason i give 3 stars is false advertisement of “gluten-free” icons. Looking quickly at menu looked wow tons of gluten-free options, but most if not all of those options were not gluten-free at all. I understand it says tiny “no gluten containing ingredients” so did not say gluten-free per se but these icons are used everywhere for gluten free and the reason we chose the restaurant. So beware if celiac/gluten-free - mostly not gluten free menu even nachos. Service was nice not their fault but to be known for other gluten-free persons

Liz B (1 review)

17 Mar 2026

Source: Google

1.7

Very disappointing experience. We came to celebrate a birthday, but the wait times were extremely long. After 45 minutes of waiting for our dessert, we still hadn’t received it and ended up leaving. Overall, the service felt disorganized and inattentive

Rosalyn Brown (4 reviews)

15 Mar 2026

Source: Google

4.3

We sat at the bar and had a great bartender/waitress. Loved the Burata salad. Top notch. Also order a couple of different tacos and my favorite was the octopus.