The Balcony Grill & Bar

I would only recommend this place to get your drank on. I’ve been here a few times to get drinks and I don’t have any complaints there. The nightly and happy hour specials are actually pretty damn good. Its definitely not a spot for craft cocktails but sometimes you just want to get sloshed with your buddies (aka great spot for UCI students or every once in a while for alumni =P). The food, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. Food is mediocre at best but it’s really just on the table as something to be munched on while drinking. With Irvine having so few nightlife options, The Balcony is an A-​OK spot to add to your rotation.

After YEARS of loving this place and sending friends and family here to enjoy my favorite Taiwanese Satay Shabu, last nights experience for Valentine’s Day was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the relationship between me and the Balcony Grill and Bar.
Our server, Jennie, was great. Very sweet and attentive.
But over the last couple of years, the restaurant has changed. We’ve noticed the gradual change, but still kept coming back because my children and I have such a great fondness for this place.
The restaurant is falling apart… the seat backs in the booths are ripped and there were two huge holes that both my son and my nephew pointed out in the walls for the men’s restroom. It’s starting to look more like a dive restaurant than the hip place it was when it opened several years ago.
My children and my friend (the friend that I RAVED about this place to in order for her to agree to come out with us on Valentine’s Day) ordered sodas and my sister and I ordered mojitos. The server comes out to tell us that the CO2 tank was out (sorry, no carbonated drinks), so we wouldn’t be getting any sodas tonight. The restaurant opens at 5pm and no one checked the tank before or made a run to Costco or Sam’s Club? So, everyone had to order juices (which are not eligible for «free refills» and you know how teenagers drink…). They allowed free refills for two of the kids, but the others, we were charged for refills, so my bill was much higher than expected.
Our mojitos came out and they were flat… no CO2=NO club soda. Not a problem for my mojito (I had the lychee aloe mojito) but my sister’s traditional mojito was a bomb. We sent it back and asked for a margarita. I can’t imagine how their bar must have suffered from no carbonation. And on Valentine’s Day? The biggest restaurant day of the year? C’mon…
We ordered the food, and my nephew, who always orders the same thing, ordered the shabu with seafood. We were informed that they had taken the seafood option off the menu. That was disappointing.
We ordered 6 Taiwanese satay shabus, and when we got them, again, I was SO disappointed. The huge chunks of cabbage I’m used to getting have over time dwindled down to scraps of chunky spiny cabbage and no leaves. Two little shreds of squash. One piece of broccoli. One little piece of bok choy. Two little pieces of carrots. Scraps of zucchini spears. The rice was CRUNCHY. They must be rationing dipping sauce (we knew from previous experience) so we ordered extra to come with the meal and it looks like what they did was to divide the usual portion into smaller dishes. And the shabu itself was watery. So very disappointed with this place.
I found this place 6 – 7 years ago, and fell in love. I have spent the last 3 Valentine’s Day evenings with my children at the Balcony. We reserved the back room for a private party for my daughter’s 16^th birthday party two years ago. And I’m sad to say, I’m done. When my son left the restaurant and said, «That was the worst experience I’ve had there,» I had to say goodbye.
I hope you get your act together soon.

I’ve only been here to drink, so it’s hard to say what everything The Balcony has to offer. I can say from the bar side, I’ve been happy with the service and the prices are about fair.
We’ve been here to take numerous types of shots, the kind that require the bartender to mix a few things up. The drinks are strong and plentiful.
I haven’t had an issue here and it’s fun to drink at then go next door for Karaōke at Plush.

I had no idea what to expect from The Balcony, and I still don’t really get it, but whatever it is, I’m down with it. I met someone here for a drink on a Saturday night at around 10, and upon entering we were confused about what exactly this place is. Is it a bar? Is it a lounge? Is it a restaurant? I guess the answer is «Yes.» The layout is somewhere between quirky and bizarre: there’s a small bar hidden behind the front of the house with a few tables and seats nearby, but the rest of the space is split up in several pockets of dining space. The folks up front weren’t very helpful, so with a shrug we got seated in one of those pockets near the kitchen.
Two things we noticed: this place has a surprisingly robust food menu (we’re talking hot pot, Taiwanese plates, appetizers, desserts), and they’ve got a decent drink selection too. Happy Hour (25% off appetizers and x amount off drinks) exists every night from 10 to close, and there’s a rotating nightly drink special (Saturdays are $ 10 soju carafes). We stuck to scotch/​beer didn’t get any mixed or specialty drinks, but I wouldn’t mind another time. Eventually we ordered a plate of fries and «magic calamari,» and they were freshly prepared at least, if not exactly magical.
Service was… strange. There wasn’t anything bad about it per se, but our waiter was really informal and it resulted in some weird exchanges. I understand trying to be friendly and casual, but we were thrown off several times by his questions. On the bright side, we were never rushed or felt like we overstayed during our three-​plus hours here, so it made for a relaxing night.
The Balcony is definitely not what I expected, but I gotta say I’m a fan! It has a little bit of everything, and it’s not like there’s an abundance of bars/​lounges/​whatevers around DJ, so I’m happy to return, parking problems notwithstanding.