Balsan

They do not follow instructions. Medium rare is medium well a medium egg is over cooked. I asked for a second juice with breakfast and it never came. Nobody ever asked how breakfast was.
Also gratuity was included for terrible service, a pet peeve of mine.

This place was ok once. We came back for lunch again and it was not good at all. The staff was different and slow. We had to ask for certain items more than once because they kept forgetting. Had to send my drink back to the bar because it was bitter and I thought it would be a sweet cocktail. Ordered sliders which ended being two large hamburgers.

Shortly after positing my review, Lori H. from the restaurant contacted me and gave me another email address to reach out to. I have emailed this person a few times, left voicemails, and after more than a month, it’s apparent that she has no interest in following up with me.
My original concern from my latest experience at Balsan was that they either A. did not take the foreign object in my food seriously enough or B. they lacked to competence to correct the situation. My experience with their management over the last month has only confirmed my review of this restaurant.
Unilocalers be warned.

Leaning toward 3 stars, but the staff was friendly and welcoming. Atmosphere was subdued and elegant. The shrimp on my salad were grilled perfectly, but the grill marks tasted bitter. Octopus salad was pretty good. Purple potatoes were interesting, but could have been cooked for another minute.

I was worried after seeing lots of recent negative reviews. We started with a meat, cheese, and bread plate which was spectacular. The bottle of wine was really good (maybe this was just good selection on our part, can’t remember the type). Also had the foi gras and the steak tartare which were rich and very tasty. Pretty small portion sizes across the board, but I’m a fan of that. No complaints with service or anything like that. Not 5 star quality, but solid 4.

What a gem! Even on a Saturday night it doesn’t turn into a loud circus, this place is set up for intimate dinning experience. With a beautiful bar as an accent center piece the rest of the space has subtle lighting, dark wood and luxurious chocolate leather seating. Balsan has a contemporary feel, but it is not ultra modern, no comfort was sacrificed for the sake of following the latest trends. They don’t have to try too hard, their location is spectacular, being inside of one of Chicago’s most beautiful hotels, adds a touch of a fairy tail to the experience.
I was impressed with their excellent wine list (many by the glass options) and although their menu is short at first glance it offers a great variety of options to share. We shared East and West Coast Oysters, Salmon Crudo (out of this world), Beef Tartar and Bolognese Pasta course with bits of tenderloins finishing with Goat Cheese Panna Cotta — everything was fresh, beyond delicious, well-​presented and served right on time!
The service is outstanding, top notch but with a human aspect. We had the same waitress throughout our entire meal (we had Kim), who had all necessary attributes to make your meal a great experience. She was friendly, she knew everything about the menu, wine and even the oysters! We will return!

Food was meh at best and restaurant was empty. Ill never be back

Vday prix fixe menu was great food and options, excellent service. My issue lies with having been charged $ 10 for an espresso?!! It was good but the price is a bit ridiculous and I’ve paid less than half for a much better espresso. Hence three stars. Balena didn’t have their act completely together and looks like balsan might be getting there hopefully

The Eggs Benedict was one of the best I have had, the cappuccino was not very good, but the service was amazing!

We enjoyed breakfast at the Waldorf restaurant last week while in Chicago on business. They offer a traditional breakfast menu at Waldorf prices. I enjoyed the two eggs with bacon and fruit. Great service and nice atmosphere too.

Honeymoon: strong, frothy, weird, boom
Love this place. Great for brunch, and never too packed.

I can’t give this place enough stars!
While staying at the Waldorf for Valentine’s Day we decided to have a drink here. That drink turned into most of our night. Our bartender, Kenny, was beyond friendly and attentive despite a busy night. He had great suggestions for drinks and was able to find something to meet our tastes. I can’t even begin to recap all the drinks we had. Then the night got a little fuzzy…
I do remember a burger though. Although I can’t remember the name and the menu was different for Valentine’s Day, I remember it was probably the best burger I’ve ever had.
We decided to visit the bar again later that night and finished off with a few more drinks and food. We ordered the Artisian board with different meats and cheeses. It was the perfect light meal for the end of the night. The chef happened to be behind the bar and we struck up a conversation with him. He brought out other cheeses after hearing what a fan I was. He also brought out foie gras. It was incredible!
We ended the night with a few desserts topped with the most amazing home made peanut butter ice cream. I may or may not have been a little selfish with the ice cream. The entire experience was beyond ordinary and topped off an incredible experience at the Waldorf.
Make sure to see Kenny!

I had really high expectations from Balsan. And they were only half way fulfilled. Service was efficient. The food was good. But nothing memorable. I wish the menu had more options. Overall it was okay but not excellent.

We went here a couple of weeks ago, and here is what I remember: the tartare was mediocre, the service was great, the steak alright, and the brussel sprouts and mushrooms were very good. My wife had the pot pie, which she enjoyed very much.

This chic restaurant inside the beautiful hotel is a hot spot for lunch, but on a Saturday night, expect a cozy evening of about 4 other guests. And it’s surprising because the food is delicious, the drinks are expertly made, and the atmosphere is quite romantic. If you have your heart set on a menu item from their website, be prepared to not necessarily see it when you go – some items were missing or substituted. I hear their charcuterie platters are to die for, but we tried a few other things instead:
Starter
–Oysters (3 East Coast, 3 West Coast, Cocktail Sauce, Lemon): now I should say that I am no fan of oysters, I don’t enjoy the texture and I find them to be very fishy, even when drenched in lemon and cocktail sauce. BUT, if you like that sort of thing, these are perfect: full of flavor, cold and fresh. Slurp’s up!
–Potted Eggplant (with sourdough bread): A cold and refreshing mouse/​hummus, it’s got plenty of garlic and a mustard taste – could have fooled me about their being eggplant in here though. It’s truly more of a creamy spread atop the toasted sourdough.
Entrée
–Salmon (shaved vegetable salad, garlic honey, almond): The salmon truly does melt in your mouth above the fresh bed of greens. The purée is nicely creamy and adds to the fishy and creamy fish.
–Sirloin (caramelized shallot, potato streusel, watercress): The steak is very flavorful and nicely cooked but the caramelized shallots are slightly overwhelming atop – very sweet. I adore the potato streusel as it adds a nice crunch and more savor to the sweet shallots.
–Burger (tomato jam, Brussels sprouts, bacon aioli, provolone): mmm the burger is delectable. The pretzel bun meshes into the smoky meat (although it doesn’t really taste pretzel-​y to me). The cheese makes the burger creamy and the Brussels sprouts all the more. The jam is not overwhelming which is nice since there is already a lot going on here. Although you can’t really taste the individual tastes, it makes for a smoky and creamy meal.
–Hand cut Fries: The fries are packed with flavor and are perfectly oily.
–Ricotta Gnudi: think gnocchi, minus the starch – so they are essentially rolled ricotta. They are light and fluffy, and in the honey sauce with jam they develop a slight sweetness which mixes so well with the crispy exterior of the gnudi.
Dessert
–Passion Fruit Pudding Cake (coconut crumble & sorbet): The shortbread crust is lovely and you get a slight taste of the different passion flavors – more so with the fresh fruit on the side. The coconut sorbet is nicely flavored and pairs nicely as it is quite refreshing.
–Chocolate Praline Candy Bar (hazelnut & PB ice cream): now this normally comes with black truffle ice cream but we couldn’t resist the delectable peanut butter they offer – and boy is it wonderfully flavored and creamy. I’d say one of the best I’ve had without bits of peanut butter inside. The candy bar is a very decadent dark chocolate with what seems to be a fabulous peanut butter bottom. The dark chocolate mixed with hazelnut leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after every bite.
–Dark Chocolate Terrine (peanut butter ice cream, pretzel chip): more like a chocolate mousse than a flourless cake but I suppose taste-​wise, it’s still wonderful. The pretzel is perfectly salty so it creates a terrific contrast to the sweet chocolate.
–Haut Chocolate (traditional with marshmallows): perfect! Rich, creamy, and sweet. For $ 9 this hot chocolate should be this delicious.
FINAL VERDICT: Yes, it is pricey but the food is of the highest quality and certainly has a lot of flavor. There was nothing to complain about.

My girlfriend & I stumbled upon Balsan at the Waldorf Astoria hotel after searching for an upscale restaurant that was open midday in the Gold Coast. Our foodie & craft cocktail cravings were satisfied at Balsan. We started with the fabulously refreshing XY martini with elderflower liqueur and egg white to toast to a girl’s window shopping day out. Afterwards, we devoured the East and West Coast oysters, which were fresh and delectable down to the last drop of briny goodness. The salmon with chorizo and leek dish was glorious. The salmon was perfectly seared and the thyme lemon sauce enhanced the flavor of the salmon.
I love the beautiful, intimate ambiance with appropriately placed light fixtures that give this space a nice, dim glow. This is the perfect place for a date or business lunch to impress. The servers were knowledgeable and nice for the most part. However, I found it strange that one of the servers seemed pretentious about the cocktails and differences in oysters. She interrupted me a couple times and once she stopped me mid-​sentence to say, «Well, I was going to say that, but you didn’t give me a chance.» I suppose I was overexcited about my salivating taste buds after reading the menu and too eager to participate in what seemed like a one-​sided cocktail & oyster conversation. Thankfully, we had other servers who were pleasant. Overall, I enjoyed Balsan and will be back the next time I am in Chicago!

I wish I could give them a better review, however after our stay at the Waldorf and dining here numerous times there still is something lacking. Breakfast is not a complicated meal, however we had a few flaws with service, a cracked tea cup, eggshells in the eggs benedict, and some less enthusiastic servers. For every error there was an apology, but with the 18% included service charge some of the waiters could careless…
They try with the nice atmosphere and upscale menu, but unfortunately Balsan falls short.

I totally agree with others that this hotel has gone downhill since Waldorf took over. When it was still Elysian, we came here once for drinks and had dinner at Ria (I’m still sad to this day that Ria closed). The service was top notch, even the doorman was nicer and very helpful because we didn’t know where the restaurant was at. This time we came here to eat at Balsan. The lobby looked like a zoo, not sure why so many people were there. Nobody greeted us. If it were our first time, we be totally lost.
Now let’s get to Balsan. Somehow it feels dirty to me. Call me picky, and maybe it’s the lighting, but the whole place just didn’t look as polished as before. On top of that, it felt like it was stuck in the middle – not as cool/​modern as Nomi, not as old-​school as The Bar, not as homey as Allium. The service was not too slow in our case, and we told our waiter we had the Groupon, he had no problem and I didn’t think his attitude changed. We both got drinks, the cheese and meat were chef’s choice, for entrée I ordered the sea scallops and my husband had the bucatini, and for dessert we had the chocolate terrine and chocolate de crème (yes I love chocolate).
— Drinks: DO NOT GET the Doctor’s Order, unless you really want a taste of medicine. What was I thinking?! With a name like that, why would the drink taste good. It seriously tasted like some cough medicine I grew up with. YUCK.
— Meat and cheese: good… but it’s only 2 slices per type of meat. Kind of stingy for a place like this…
— Sea scallops: perfectly cooked. I enjoyed every bite of my scallops. The vegetables on the plate, on the other hand, was a disaster. Some part was too salty, some part was bitter, some part was overcooked. There was supposed to be some foie gras dumplings on the plate, but they were really not dumplings. They were more like mushy gnocchi that were over-​boiled and falling apart.
— Bucatini: veal cheek was there, the flavor was there. My husband almost licked the plate clean because he loved the sauce.
— Desserts: both desserts were amazing. Chocolate terrine was chocolaty and peanuttery, one of the best combinations in my mind. Chocolate de crème was not so sweet, but it had the right amount of richness and I loved it. They must have an amazing pastry chef…
So to sum up, I don’t think I’d come back given other options out there. Now if there’s another groupon or gilt city coupon, MAYBE I will come back again. We will see.

Balsan has since liberated their two-​course, set-​priced brunch deal, but sometimes I wake up and still get a hankering of their pre-​brunch platter with various slatherings. Resistance proves futile for late morning promises of mini baked goods, cheeses, meat and bread. I dream of pairing them with a hazelnut-​lemoncurd-​butter-​raspberry spread combo.
Their brunch menu is limited but a well representation of fanciful fare: salmon, steak ‘n eggs, poached prawns, pork belly, and wild mushroom frittatas. The place still has a scent of raw bar lingering about– not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

I really hate giving out 1 star reviews, but in this case, it’s totally warranted. I really try to be a positive person, so I’m going to start out with a few good things about our visit to Balsan. .
*The décor is beautiful. Very classy and chic.
*Our server, Kelly did a wonderful job and did her best to make our dinner enjoyable, but that’s about the only good things I can say about Balsan.
Let’s start from the beginning. As usual, my family plans got all screwed up for Thanksgiving so my Wife booked a reservation for a four course, Thanksgiving dinner at Balsan.
The oddities started from the moment we were seated. As I was looking at the choices for the four course meal, something odd occurred to me. There were only three courses listed. It turns out the hostess gave us the Children’s menu. At first I thought the hostess was trying to compliment me for my good looks and boyish charm. I thought wrong. She gave the Kids menu to the couple that sat next to us. They were in their 80’s. Kelly noticed the mistake right away and gave us the correct menu’s. The second course consisted of two fish items. Since I don’t eat Fish, she was nice enough to have the Chef make a Pasta for me which was a nice touch.
Let me preface everything else by saying the only reason I wanted to dine at Balsan was the Ham. I don’t eat it very often, but it’s one of my favorite foods. From the time I walked into Balsan, I was dreaming of hot, juicy, delicious slices of Ham. But it looks like I’m going to have to wait for Xmas to get this treat.
First course: The Waldorf Salad was tasty. It consisted of a small portion of nuts, raisins and fruit. Not half bad.
Second course: The pasta. A decent pasta, but for some reason they added Broccoli and mushrooms. Kind of odd since I asked for plain pasta.
Third Course: The first two courses were a bit slow, but it was nothing to be alarmed about, but it took close to 40 minutes for our entrée to arrive and this is when I began to think something went wrong. When our entrees finally arrived, I fixed my eyes on my Wife’s Turkey entrée. It was a beautifully presented dish of large, Turkey slices. OK. Mission accomplished. My Wife will be happy with that. I then turned my eyes to my entrée plate and told the Gentleman who delivered it, there’s a mistake. I ordered the Ham? He looked down at me with a snooty look on his face and stated, «This is Ham. Oops! Sorry Sir.
Let me describe what was on my plate. It was stuffing with maybe an ounce of Ham that was chunked to the size of Tic Tac’s. The plate was covered by a bland gravy. The plate was so soaked with Gravy, I couldn’t tell the difference between the Ham and the stuffing. My Wife, being the smart one made a startling observation. The Kitchen screwed up the Ham! I really hope she was right and the Chef didn’t plan to dish an entrée in this manner. Sadly, for the first time in my four decades on this Earth, I left uneaten Ham on my plate. Or in this case, a Ham like substance. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was by this entrée. Balsan managed to destroy something I love.
Here’s the unfortunate bottom line on Balsan: If you’re going to set up a pre-​fixed, Holiday menu and charge your customers what amounts to a Car Payment, you have to do better than this. You seemed understaffed and over-​whelmed. Maybe they were training people or didn’t expect to be as busy as they were. Either way, you would be better off to stay closed on Holiday’s and give your employees a day with their families. From observing the diners around us, I wasn’t the only one who was let down by their experience. My Wife and I don’t ask for much. We’re not what you would consider rich, so if I’m shelling out a lot of money for a meal, I at least expect the entrée to be eatable. Like the old adage goes, you live, you learn. And I learned that I won’t be going back to Balsan anytime soon.
Our desert course wasn’t that much better. It was beautifully presented, Red Velvet Cake. But unfortunately, the Cake was hard. I ate about half of it and gave up. I didn’t just give up on the desert, I gave up on the meal itself.