This restaurant has a lot of seating available and takes reservations on line. Their menu has so many options for different platters, sandwiches, dips, etc. I went with the chicken shawarma sandwich with Laban bi khiar as my side. The yogurt salad was so good drizzled onto the sandwich. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, and the pita was soft and nicely toasted. The sandwich also came with pickles and vegetables inside which gave the sandwich a nice crunch and extra flavor. The wait staff was great and we didn't have to wait too long for our food. read more

Balade - Chicken Shawarma Sandwich - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

The food and service last night was great. We had the hummus Lahme and the supreme mix grill which were delicious! Our server Maria was very attentive and made us feel at home read more

I've had Balade delivered for dinner twice and as of last night, have eaten there twice. So far, it's some the best Lebanese / Mediterranean food I've had in Manhattan. First time we got delivery, we were astounded by the freshness, high quality, and deep flavors and knew we had to visit in person. Luckily, both times were with friends so I got to hear about the meat specialties they enjoyed! Our waitress Isla last night and a gentleman from last time were both great at providing a welcoming and friendly dining experience. The interior is warm and feels like an old world cellar of sorts. The manager I saw running around deserves a round of applause for what he does to keep that small space running so smoothly. Everything I've Tried at Various Points: *Classic Margarita *Beirut Beats/Zaatar Manakeesh (Lebanese pizza) *Mezze Supreme Assortment (hummus, baba ghanouj, labne, mouhamara, kebbe krass, sfiha, makanek, and halloumi cheese) -- didn't try the meat-filled appetizers *Pickled Vegetables *Warak Einab (dolmas) *Lentil Soup *Artichoke Salad *Rkakat (fried, cheesy phyllo rolls) *Fattoush *Falafel *Balade Fries + Balade Rice *Shankleesh (aged cheese, herbs, zaatar) *Fatayir (like spanakopita) *Fafet Shrimp (incredible yogurt sauce) *Loubiye Bzeit (stewed-like green beans) *Lebanese Salata *Kenafa + Baklava Desserts Friends Have Ordered and Raved About: *Mixed Grill Platter (beef, lamb, chicken, veggies, pita) *Shish Tawook (chicken, veggies, rice) *Lamb Hummus Favorites are: lentil soup, fatayir, loubiye bzeit, baba ghanouj, fafet shrimp, and warak einab. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu it seems. I do suggest making a reservation. Huuuge fan of Mr. Semaan's vision and am happy to have recently found out about Balade Your Way nearby which is their fast-casual, small-menu sister restaurant that I'm hyped to eventually grab lunch from! read more

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Loved the vibe here. The staff are so nice, they really made the night. Will def come here again!!!

Good menu and decent prices. Food is good too, but the place is not really 'clean' at all. This is the second time we had a bad experience here and not going back. First time was smaller insects and this time was a giant cock roach roaming around. The owner doesn't seem to care. read more

I got the shrimp that were tossed in ginger and scallions and they were cooked to perfection. Our sever George was personable and super kind and friendly for one of our party members' birthday, and I would 100% come back for more Lebanese food. read more

We had dinner reservations for restaurant week. Cozy inside but somewhat dark. But we had a very attentive waiter, who brought out an extra light without us even needing to ask. Very very good food, large portions. Would definitely come here again, even without restaurant week. read more

Had a chance to come to Balade with a dinner with friends and I absolutely enjoyed it. This is a cute trendy spot with really good middle eastern food so if you are craving kabobs this is your place! We ended up being seated quickly as we had a reservation earlier, and ended up ordering: *hummus with lamb - this was fresh and delicious and came with warm pita - it was a lovely combination, and enjoyed every bite! The lamb was also soft and juicy *babaganoush - this was also delicious and flavorful, I couldn't stop eating it! * kabob combos - we got both the combos - and I loved all the variety of meats from lamb chops to the steak as well as chciken, beef and the minced meat kabob. All the flavors were different in their own way and love how there was grilled veggies too. The table loved it Overall food was delicious and juicy and we also loved the wine there as well. Would highly recommend! read more

Balade - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

great food, great service, excellent for groups and birthdays!!! a gem in nyc! i especially enjoyed the shrimps

The beef platter was SUPER tough and dry and it was honestly my least favorite meal of the night. The pizza with chicken however was really tasty and I thought it was good. We also ordered falafel and hummus which I liked so overall the food was ok. The waiter kept trying to get us to order more drinks and dessert which was fine but it got to be a bit much after a while. Overall the vibes were good of you had a birthday or celebration. read more

Balade - Pizza - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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Good but not great Mediterranean food. Service was friendly. Swing by if you're in the area, however it's not something to go out of your way. read more

Wow. Some of the best food I've had in a long time. Cute small restaurant, very intimate and great service. We loved it and will be back.

I came here on a mission; try the mixte grill I saw on many pictures. It's a mixture of meats; sirloin steak, lamb chops, chicken Tawook, lamb kabob, and kofte, on a pan, burrier on a giant pita bread! The theatrical presentation was nice, and the meats very good. It was a bit overpriced at $88, I guess that's New York. The Konafeh was ok. read more

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The dining experience at Balade is next level! The ambience is perfect for a night out, service is attentive and friendly, and the food is top notch. For starters, the Kebbe Kras was a highlight. Think falafel empanada stuffed with savory ground beef with a creamy dipping sauce. So unique and simply delicious. If you're into meats, definitely recommend the Makanek beef sausage starter, served sizzling on a skillet at your table. The pita is some of the best I've had, perfect for pairing with the Hummus Lahme. For the full Lebanese meat experience, I recommend the Supreme Mixed Grill Platter. It allows you to try all the main meats -- my favorite was the beef kafta and chicken. The pita, meat variety, and dipping sauces complement each other very nicely. We topped things off with their signature Baklava, the best I've had in the city. Get a few starters and platters for the table and you can't go wrong. Balade's Lebanese fare is authentic, fresh, and filling. I highly recommend! read more

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This place is really good if you want authentic Lebanese food you can't find anywhere better unless you go to Tripoli. The service is top notch as the servers are very attentive, the food reminds me of the restaurants we ate at the last time in Lebanon, only difference we ate with our hands not knives and forks. The ambiance is very nice, while there you find yourself transported to someplace different then 1st Ave in NYC. The place is great. Bring cash you get a little discount cause they charge you the credit card fee that they are charged. If you haven't been you must go... read more

I always feel at home here. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and I've visited countless times. The food is consistently outstanding, and the service is always top-notch. Bruno and Kisla are the best. Without a doubt, this is my favorite restaurant in NYC. read more

This Lebanese restaurant has an extensive menu with lots of tempting options. It's very vegetarian and vegan-friendly. To start, we had the baba ghanouj and grilled halloume. The eggplant was creamy and light. It was served with warm mini pita breads and tasted very fresh. The halloume was smoky and flavorful. It came with three pieces of cheese which was a bit of a small portion size so my only complaint was wanting more! For my main, I had the falafel sandwich with fries. The dish was quite large and definitely enough for leftovers. The sandwich itself was a bit dry. When we asked for sauces, they provided both a garlic and tomato sauce. The garlic was whipped and fluffy with a hint of spice. It complemented the sandwich well. The tomato sauce didn't have too much flavor, but did improve the texture of the sandwich. The fries were extra skinny shoestring style. They could've been a tiny bit crispier, but were pretty tasty. One of my friends got the fatet shrimp and loved it, but the shish tawook and meat shawarma were dry. Overall, I'd definitely recommend a visit. read more

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Ordered lamb chops platter... menu image shows 5 lamb chops but on delivery there's only FOUR LAMB CHOPS.. please change the image on your menu-it's misleading when we see 5 and then get 4. I see on multiple posts that there's only 4 chops not 5 in the order... so it's the std nowadays. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND ID GIVE FOOD QUALITY 10 stars but had to deduct a star for food quantity. STILL CRAVING THAT ONE MISSING LAMB CHOP. read more

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I happened upon this spot and found something worth returning for. The establishment reflects community priorities. Services was attentive. Their dishes showcase quality ingredients. Balade delivers consistently! read more

This place appears in many conversations. The kitchen develops combinations that surprise completely. The workers handle service efficiently and courteously. Well-situated with extremely pleasant employees. I back this spot with certainty. read more

We made a reservation for 8pm, showed up at 7:50pm, but were only seated close to 9, so you can imagine how inconvenient the night was. (-2) The chaos at Balade makes me wonder if the reservation system even works because we were not the only incoming diners complaining. For starters, the restaurant was packed. Typically I would consider this a good sign but in their case, maybe not because of how mismanaged the wait was. At one point, it got so busy, and the entry was clogged with so many- servers, incoming diners, passerby's etc., and a server dropped a who piece of chicken leg that brushed past a woman, who was waiting her turn to be seated. It was aggravating to see, not the accident, but the mismanagement and overbooking that caused this sort of commotion. Just because we were a large party of 7, we continued waiting because of how hard getting a new reservation last minute on a Friday night would be. The host tried to make up for it by offering a glass of wine (+1 for that) to our group while we waiting but it didn't do much for us since he said we would be seated within 10 minutes of that but the 10 turned into 30. (-1) Once seated, the order in which the food arrived was all jumbled up (-1). The food also, could have been better. The pita and manakeesh were good (+1), but the meat in the platter tasted a little overcooked. The fries were well seasoned. The portion of garlic toum that came with the whole platter was underwhelming. While the hummus with vegetables did taste nice, the portion was too small compared to the accompanying pita- I spy a business ploy to order more hummus to keep up with the pita supply. I was left disappointed by the end of the night so clearly my experience was not positive. read more

Balade - Mixed Grill Platter - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Checking out this restaurant on a whim was a smart move. Coming across this spot was fortunate! I'm set on making this a regular dining spot. The whole menu offers satisfaction. The money spent here was worthwhile. read more

Food - hands down amazing 10/10. Would definitely try ever on the menu. Service - the staff was very delightful and attentive. Ambience - it is a quaint space but the atmosphere was lovely. read more

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They don't skimp on the pre-fixe / unlimited portions option and the food is tasty. Some of the better Mediterranean appetizers I have had with a unique take on several traditional dishes. The staff were very friendly and handled our large party well, but it was pretty disorganized and took a long time for them to seat us despite having a reservation. read more

Food was good and service was friendly. It did take a while for the food to come out though. read more

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Balade has authentic and delicious Mediterranean food. It reminds me of homemade cooking when going to someone's house who knows how to cook. We got the beef kafta platter that comes with mixed grilled vegetables and this rice and noodles dish, along with chopped onions and parsley on the side. It also came with pita. They are super nice there because we called to request to switch out some of the grilled vegetables and they happily did it. The portion is large and filling. That one plate costs $28 and was enough for 2 people. Next time I would get extra rice, because that rice is special. It's right up there with my love for garlic rice and sticky coconut rice. Very few Mediterranean places even make that kind of rice and vermicelli noodle dish. Now I'm in the mood for it, lol. read more

Fraudulent charges and hidden fees. We were a party of 5 with a 5-person reservation, yet the restaurant added: a 25% automatic gratuity, a $7 "convenience fee", and then still prompted us to tip an additional 20%. None of these charges were disclosed. I later discovered I was overcharged on my credit card. This is completely dishonest and likely illegal. Avoid. On top of that, the food is pretty bad. read more

Food was delicious and Lebanese wine was too! Place ended up getting very busy by the time we ended dinner and I know they wanted us to move along. That was the only drawback. When your server is recommending the ice cream shop down the block for dessert...but we did share a scoop of pistachio ice cream which was delicious! read more

Balade is a cozy, lively spot and would recommend but not my favorite of all Mediterranean places! Good for date nights and mid size groups. The food was great, not amazing, and the service was extremely fast. We received our food in what felt like 5 minutes! balade fries - 5/5 Labneh bi touh - 5/5 Chicken wings - 3/5, great flavor but a lot of char and hard to eat Kebbe kras - 2.5/5 Pizza sampler - 4/5 read more

Balade - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

Finding this place shortly after moving here was fortunate. The savory food selections were incredible, arranged professionally and paired perfectly. The spot shows design consciousness and cleanliness. Employees acted promptly, efficiently, and in a friendly manner. I regret all the times I passed by without entering. read more

Awesome Mediterranean food. Lots of great dishes. Highly recommend. Too many things to try

Went to have dinner with friends recently. Service was excellent. Menu very diversified. Appetizer was hummus & falafel. We both agree it was the best we ever had. The pita served was warm & fluffy. The chicken dish ordered was made precisely to perfection. The eggplant dish was extraordinary. The place is lovely and intimate. I highly recommend Balade for extremely authentic Lebanese food. read more

From start to finish, a great experience. My wife & I came here for brunch/lunch on a Sun. Arabic music playing, beautiful decor, tatreez and cultural books along the walls, it was a good set up for a great time. Our servers were ALL friendly and polite, the bartender/FOH manager(?) was an incredibly warm Albanian gentleman, and the food.... We're no strangers to middle eastern/Lebanese food, and this was definitely worth it. We started with a fatoush salad tht had an AMAZING dressing. Then had a mezze sampler so we could get a broad sample of what Balade serves, and everything from the pillowy warm bread to the ridiculously good labne hit the spot. finished it off with some Lebanese coffee. Great experience read more

I celebrated my friend's birthday here. It had a nice vibe and they turned off the lights when brining out our cake. The food itself was pretty mediocre. I enjoyed the Lamb Hummus and pita. The chicken mediterranean pizza was also unique and yummy. But the other dishes were nothing special. read more

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I will start by saying that the food here is WAYYY better than the service and the service is the reason why this isn't a 4/5 star. First, we ordered some drinks to start. I had gotten some fruity mimosa (I forgot the name/don't see it on their online menu). It came with a little black floating bug and an ice cube and so I told our server that there is something black in my drink. He said, "Yeah, it's an ice cube.." like okay thank you for that sir lol My friend asked for tzatziki when his sandwich came out. It took them 30 minutes to bring it out. By the time they did, he already had finished his entire sandwich. We were the only table in the entire restaurant. For my food, I shared the Hummus Lahme which came with pita. This was actually amazing - the flavors were great and the meat was such a nice edition. For my main, I got the Chicken Shawarma Sandwich. Also pretty quality. I wish this place had better service because the food truly is quite good. read more

Balade - Chicken Shawarama Sandwich - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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Talia was INCREDIBLE WOW the service was so great such a great server WOW so great the food was EDIBLE!

A group of friends and I arrived at 6:45 on a Thursday by reservation. The restaurant was pretty empty, but by the time we left around 8:45, it was packed, so I do think a reservation is the way to go. To start, we had the Labne w/ Toum to for the table. This came with fresh mini pitas. The labne was delicious and had a lovely smooth texture. For entree's we had the fattoush salad with chicken, a shwarma sandwich with a side of fries, and a shish tawook sandwich with a side salad. We all enjoyed our entrees, well cooked and flavored meat, a great complimentary hot sauce, and a slightly sweet fattoush salad dressing that really hit the spot. Service was friendly and attentive. I would definitely recommend if you're craving lebanese/middle eastern food in the area. read more

DELICIOUS!!! Balade is a small, easy to miss restaurant that often goes overlooked for other East Village standards like Au Za'atar and Horus Cafe. However- the food really stands out from the rest. Incredibly flavorful soujouk and labneh starters. Every bite brought in a different element/level to the dish. The chicken shawarma salad is perfect for people who are craving that special shawarma taste without the heaviness of rice or fries on the side. The mixed grill platter was heavenly. Quality of meat throughout the meal was some of the best I've had in the city. We unfortunately were seated at a table facing the wall, and interacted with a couple stand offish employees, but very eager to come back to put the fifth star back in place. read more

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Wonderful Lebanese Restaurant serving delicious home made specialties inspired by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Lovely ambience and great service. read more

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Had a great dinner at Balade! My friend and I walked in without a reservation and sat at the bar--service was incredible! Talia behind the bar was the best, super friendly and welcoming! Kisla was also amazing and recommended the ashta for dessert, which was so good. Great food, great atmosphere--we'll definitely be back! read more

Balade - Mediterranean Near Me - New York, New York

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