Bally Hotel

We have been to the Bally Hotel a couple times before with no problem. Good food-​good service. Tonight was a first… waitress was very friendly for being the only one working. Thank God for her sake it was pretty empty. Several things they were out of, pasta and beer fries (beer fries were suppose to come with my husbands meal.) So he ended up with crappy tater-​tots.
I order spinach and chicken… won’t ever do that again. Spinach must have been the vegetable! I got a small plate with a heaping pile of cheese on top of the chicken and mashed potatoes that were decent but no veggie. We also order «hot wings» which weren’t anything to write home about… just mostly grease and skin-​have had better. My kids had the shrimp basket. it was a good size for them. cocktail sauce came out half frozen. They need to work on expanding their kids menu BIG TIme! As a result of this, we are taking this restaurant off of our list of places to eat. Not even an umbrella for the overhead for sun exposure for outside seating. Pretty disappointed.

Been here a few times, never been disappointed by the food or service. The deep fried pickles are delicious. Tried several things on the menu, burgers seem to be frozen patties, but other than that, a solid place. Portions are big and prices are reasonable

Bartender was a snob! Ordered a 4 $ side salad that was was a plate of lettuce & a slice of tomato, a cheeseburger with stale cold bun that came out with no lettuce, tomato & onion, had to ask for that part. (also waitress looked at me like I was crazy when I asked) They do not have pickles. What kind of pub does not have pickles? Also ordered a cheesesteak that was basically empty & French fries, they do not have French fries! We were offered tator tots! Ew.
Have not been out to eat in a while & read all the good reviews about this place & we’re very disappointed.

Absolutely delicious! Great food and great service! Burger was delicious and you got to try the fried banana peppers

Stopped last weekend and had the best coconut shrimp and sauce ever. The service was great and Mike the bartender was super. We will go back.

We are away on a romantic weekend (from NY) and chose Bally’s because we liked the menu and the prices were right. We loved our evening from start to finish. The restaurant has cloth tablecloths and a pretty, pressed tin style ceiling. We met Ian who chatted with us, made sure everything was perfect, and explained how he tries to buy seasonal vegetables. We started with salads. I had the Caesar salad and I could tell right away that the dressing was made in house. It was the best I have ever tasted! We both had filet mignon with bernaise sauce for dinner. Both were cooked perfectly, one medium and one medium rare, served on a bed of wilted spinach and I had homemade potatoes au gratin and fresh broccoli on the side. My husband laughed because he was able to cut the steak with his fork. Our waitress Kristy was fabulous… right there if we needed anything but not hovering. Ian stopped by a few times to check on us. We highly recommend it and we’re probably going back tomorrow night because we’d rather have superb, fresh food than take a chance on the food anywhere else. Wishing you much success. We have a new favorite place in Bally, PA!

Great food. Attentive service. Pleasant atmosphere. We go every week or so. They serve bar food with a flair. Eat at the bar watching tv, in the dining room, pool room, out on the patio or on the second floor deck. You really can’t go wrong here.

I just noticed how short and dated my review on Unilocal!was for this neighborhood gem, and I had written a full review on my BLOG a while back, so I am sharing that review here on Unilocal!It is worth noting that my full review does not fit here — so visit me at
for the full review!
Appetizers and Soups
The Bally Hotel’s menu changes from time to time, but no matter what the menus says you can count on the Hotel to have a solid list of quality appetizers. The crab dip is solid — a little creamy but always well done! The mozzarella sticks are big cheesy sticks of yumminess. The deluxe nachos are everything you’d expect from a big plate of nachos and for a fun variation, try the Irish nachos! Bacon wrapped scallops? Oh yes! Plus, big thumbs up on the calamari! My wife gets the calamari tossed in buffalo sauce — try it!
As far as soups go, I don’t know if I’ve ever had anything other than their French Onion Soup. The FOSoup is that good! I have a crock almost every visit! They have chili listed on the soup menu, I don’t consider it a soup. It is good chili, not fantastic but you can’t go wrong ordering it.
The only thing that I’ve had from the appetizer menu that I didn’t care for was the potato skins. They aren’t bad, they just don’t make them the way I like them. They scoop out almost all the potato and fill it with toppings, it leaves them almost crunchy. This is a preference thing — some people will love it!
Sandwiches and BurgersEvery cheesesteak on the menu is fantastic — haven’t had one I didn’t like. I love the Barnyard the best! It is piled on with several different meats and cheeses — it’s enough to satisfy any appetite! Another highlight is the Prime Rib Steak Sandwich — high quality meat on a roll. The sandwich menu is quite extensive and has a number of speciality type options. If you’re in the mood for a quick sandwich, pick your favorite and go with it! They come with chips — so order a plate of waffle fries to go with it for a bigger meal.
The one thing I simply cannot recommend at The Bally Hotel are the burgers. I’ve had more than one and they just aren’t good. They taste like they are frozen patties fried up on a griddle and it just doesn’t work well. I am surprised that the Hotel doesn’t make the fresh, they make everything else with such a high quality of freshness and flavor the burger seems like an easy fit into that niche. They just don’t.
Entrees
The entrée menu is quite extensive from chicken to steak to pasta to seafood. There is something for everyone. What I like about the menu is that if you want a simple New York Strip you can get it. If you want a New York Strip topped with Crab Imperial and Bernaise sauce, you can get that too — and it’s delicious! Want surf and turf? Yup — you can get your Filet Mignon with Shrimp and/​or Scallops! They often have Prime Rib and racks of rib on special, too.
The chicken menu is one of my favorites in the area. Sure, they have Chicken Parm — but they also have Gaelic Chicken (my favorite), the Swiss Frenchmen, Chicken of Kings and the Hotel Classic Chicken which is a thigh with the bone removed and stuff with sausage and apples with an apple reduction. The Gaelic is a sautéed chicken breast in a Chardonnay Red Sauce topped with garlic spinach & shredded parmesan cheese. If you like Chicken Cordon Bleu, you will dig the Swiss Frenchmen.
Beer Menu
The Bally Hotel is, in fact, a bar and restaurant and they have an extensive beer selection. They usually have Stella Artois on tab, which I like. They also have Chimay which is one of my personal favorites and often hard to find.
I didn’t mention much about cost so far, but all the entrees are priced right. Your chicken dishes will run you between $ 11-​$ 15, steak runs up near $ 20 and the appetizer menu sits between $ 5 and $ 10. They have a really great kids menu, too! I most certainly haven’t covered every aspect of the Hotel here — but I invite you to go and experience it yourself!
Overall:
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅ — The bar area is noisy, but its a bar… the dining room is not. But no more Dave Matthews please…
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Price: ⁵⁄₅
Overall: 4.5÷5
Pros: Food is very good — love the French Onion Soup, Buffalo Wings, Gaelic Chicken the most — everything priced right! Good kids menu.
Cons: Burgers are a no-​go!
Go Again: We go all the time!

I work in Bally, and this is one of my favorite places to go for lunch or dinner. First of all, everyone is super nice! The owners are friendly to everyone and go out of their way to make sure you are happy.
I’ve tasted pretty much everything gluten free there, and love being able to bring my kids. The dining area is more elegant, and the bar area is fun and friendly. I LOVE this place.

Excellent food and casual atmosphere. A diamond in the rough! Great wings, try the liquid death sauce, hot but tasty, great burgers and delicious beer battered fries. If you’re in the area and hungry do not drive past The Bally Hotel!

Everyone loves this place, and I don’t know why?!? My fiancé and I had lunch and beers.
The good: they have a good beer selection
They have some nice looking specials
Outdoor seating
Friendly hostess
The bad: no beer list (pet peeve!)
Smaller draft selection with many bottles
Poor service
No vegetarian options
Burger not great
I won’t be returning. Perhaps I missed what these folks are raving about?!?

They say «it’s an institution» … How could we say no? Fun décor, lively barkeep. Chatty patrons. Cold beer. Thank you very much ;-).
(Review based on beer only).

We came here in search of my cousin who is a regular here for the «Irish Wake», and although he turned out to not be in attendance, we had a great time. Parking lot is across the street, and they even have people to help you cross the street (with glowing sabers). This place definitely ebodies «business in the front, party in the back.» The bar area in the front is very tame, while down the stairs is a tented off mosh pit ready to join!
The bar areas in the tent are cash only, and there were tons of porta-​potties everywhere. They did have a DJ spinning everything from «Sexy and I know it» (LMFAO) to throwbacks «I want it that way» (BSB) and «Hit me baby (one more time)» (Britney Spears).
With plenty of dancing and tons of drinks, how could you not want to go back?

Love this place. it reminds me of the bar in the movie «Top Gun».decent selection of beers and way beyond tavern faire menu, but as one other Unilocaler said, its a great place to throw down some «sudds with your budds».

A solid spot for throwing back a few with some buds.
Went last Thursday, for «wing» night, and was not disappointed.
$ 4/​dozens, numerous flavors, and $ 5 domestic ptchers. I did not opt for the domestic pitcher, and thankfully they have a decent selection of local microbrew options (Troeggs, Victory, DogFish, Etc.), as well as HopDevil on tap.
Breezed over the menu, and it looks promising… nothing super special, but well made options.

The Bally is great as a bar and restaurant, but this review is for hosting an event there.
This is perfect for a guest list of 50 or fewer, if your wedding is not going to be super-​formal. The prices are VERY low, considering that you get great food (all of my guests raved about their meals, even the hard-​to-​please ones) and professional service.
You can get a three-​course meal made to order for each guest for about $ 35 a person, including tax and tip (of course, talk to Ian, the head chef, for the exact prices and details). They offer your guests a choice between steak, chicken, fish, and a vegetarian pasta, and I loved that they didn’t have to choose their dinners two months ahead of time.
Also, the Bally charges by the number of dinners served, so if your guest count changes at the last minute, you won’t be stuck with the wrong number of meals.
They offer several options for alcohol and will work with you to suit your needs — we chose an open bar for wine only, but when we got the bill, I regretted that we had not added beer, since it turned out we could have afforded that as well. Plus a lot of our guests opted for the Victory beer they have on tap.
The dining room is comfortable and well-​decorated, and we had it to ourselves. Afterwards, we moved over to the bar side for karaōke and dancing, where our guests mingled with the other Bally customers.
Ana is fantastic as a reception coordinator, and even baked our cake for us herself. She kept everything running smoothly while, as the bride, I was too distracted to be very helpful.
In all, it was a perfect night and we were so happy that the Bally let us throw an awesome party without going broke. Their flexibility and hospitality was much appreciated. They even put our names on the sign marquee, which was a nice touch.