We just got in to town. Starving. After checking in we walked here to grab a bite. This place said they had gluten free options! We had the peri peri chicken and i had the chickpea salad and he had the potatoes w cheese. They have some spice! So good. The staff was super helpful in explaining how to order and what was safe (it is marked) Had an Aspall cider, it was warm. But still good. read more

Balance - Cafes Near Me - London, XGL

I was staying in London for a Masters course that I was attending for the week and this loveliest establishment was very close to my hotel. Truthfully I went here every single day. If you know London, you know outside of the international cuisine the food is terrible, so this place gave me everything I needed and more. It's not a cafe but it has cutesy cafe vibes. It was subtle and lowkey. The service staff members are also very accommodating. I was able to study here and get lots of work done have amazing juices, lattes, and some yummy wraps as well. I would most definitely come back when I'm in town and I highly recommend others to do as well as the food is very healthy and fresh and made to perfection daily. read more

Great spot for a quick brunch! The chicken and waffles were crispy AND soft and the blueberry pancakes were so fluffy. The eggs benedict were a little tough because the whites were maybe contained in a strange container when cooked? But they were otherwise great. I'd come again! read more

Balance - Cafes Near Me - London, XGL

We loved this place! I would have given 5 stars if the food didn't take almost 30 minutes to arrive. The place is very cute and clean. The food is fresh and the selection is great! They have an array of breakfast foods, lunch items, desserts, pastries, and hot drinks. The food did take a bit, but it was delicious when it finally came. I got the Vegan English Breakfast. It left me feeling full, but not heavy. My husband got a turmeric latte, delish! read more

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(Very rarely give 5 stars - this would be 4.5 stars). On a small street on the South End - near Waterloo station & Westminster bridge. We were looking for breakfast around the London Marriott County Hall. The homemade granola came with yogurt and lots of fruit. Exactly the right amount of sweet for me. Didn't need anything added. Hubby had the 2 eggs/bacon/pancake combo. First location that was "understanding" about trying to "create" American coffee! The lunch menu also looked delicious - lots of sandwich and salad choices. Cookies twice the size of my hand in the window! Breakfast for two, 1 coffee with cream - $30. Quite reasonable for London. read more

Great little cafe. Quick service with a wide selection of freshly prepared dishes or premade dishes that they warm up.

Went here this summer and loved it!! All of it! Can't recommend one thing over another. They have great dine-in tunes, too.

This place is underrated on yelp. We just finished our second visit and both experiences were fantastic! Plenty of vegan/vegetarian options, high quality food and presentation. Staff has been very cool both times. I ordered prosciutto Benedict and pancakes and bacon (with poached eggs) and maple syrup. My wifey ordered vegan pancakes and the vegan English breakfast. All amazing. Prices very reasonable. Will be returning on our next trip to London. read more

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Hello London! Thankfully open on Easter Sunday. Dark wood interiors. Fancy espresso coffee up front, right behind a decadent display of very alluring pastries. There was a varied offering further inside of premade food which reminded me a bit of the fancy delis in NYC. But off their menu were eggs Benedict and a poached egg over fresh avocado toast both served on crusty bread with spinach leaves on the side. The hollandaise sauce was a touch scant. But overall, everything tasted freshly prepared. read more

Balance - Cafes Near Me - London, XGL

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Friendly and helpful staff. Great food. The eggs Benedict was excellent. Nice brunch spot.

A recent addition to Lower Marsh Street, already heavily populated with cafes and eateries. Good coffee, nice cakes ( probably not made here, I'm guessing), and what is billed as "fusion " food, but which transpires means quiche and salad. Service is friendly and well meaning, but hopelessly inept and confused. Far too few tables for such a large space, and on our visit was thickly populated with soggy hipsters, lingering long over long-finished hot drinks or not knowing how to queue, while talking self reverentially. Yes, I was young once, but now I'm a bit dead inside. read more

A delicious and healthy choice for breakfast or lunch! I ordered the poached eggs over wheat bread, prosciutto and hollondaise sauce with a side of avocado. To drink a refreshing orange juice :) I came back to edit my review because I came for a second time and noticed flies around the tuna steak area. I was a little grossed out. Also, the lady who takes the orders does not deal well with too many people. She is very short circuited and you can tell she has a problem with you asking where the coffee menu is. read more

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Went for late breaky early lunch! Food was excellent. I recommend if you are want to try multiple things go with a few friends. We were 3 in our party. We each for a main and a salad - sandwiches were not available yet. They offer a nice variety of gluten free and vegan dishes. The salads were lovely. Veggies were not over-cooked and nice flavor. The eggplant, avacado hummus was delicious. We tried 2 types of quiche the vegan was good with a chick flour. The tuna in the second quiche was a bit dry. But overall food was delicious, fresh and filling. Some issues with service although kind, did not seem overly attentive. Some confusion with counter or table service. We Waited several min for our second cup of coffee and didn't seem to upsell their dishes. The serving staff may want to be a bit more educated on what is being served that day (ie-gluten free or vegan). Atmosphere is nice and I can see where it can get crowded at lunch. We came early so plenty of seating. But great for a take away or eat in the park around the corner. All-in-all, good food mediocre service. . read more

I just went to Balance around the corner from my hotel. I was looking for a smoothie for some energy and nutrition. I was wholly unimpressed. The woman who took my order was personable and she is the reason this got two stars instead of one. I ordered the smoothie and she told it to the guy behind her. He ignored her the first two times she told him. The place was pretty empty as it was about 3:30 on a Wed afternoon. On the third time, he seemed to hear, but went on with whatever task he was doing. Fine, okay, finish up and make my smoothie, okay? Nope, he turned to the counter where, behind me, were a woman and a man who just stepped in. He looked at the man and said, "Are you being helped?" He proceeded to go to the register, take their order and ring it up. So he was patently ignoring the woman behind the counter with him, me (another woman) and the woman who was part of that party - and only spoke to the man. Finally, he began making the smoothie. First he said to the woman behind the counter, "medium smoothie." She had to correct him, no, a large. This was the fourth time she said it. I watched as he tossed in fruits, but they appeared to go through a juicer. He took them from a drawer below, pulled off a stem here or there (do they wash the fruits first??) and tossed them in the juicer. A juice isn't a smoothie and they have them listed separately on the menu, so I know they know this. Now I get my "smoothie" and it seems rather small for 5 plus pounds, but ok, fruit can be expensive, I get it. I leave and walk down the street and take a sip. It's warm. I mean, more than room temp warm. And there is some weird spicy something in there. A mild burn on my tongue. That was not in my order. Do they wash the machines? I took about three SMALL sips (it was spicy!) on the way to the hotel around the corner and took a look at my cup. The juice had separated into juice and foam (Foam. Not fiber, like from fruit. Just foam.) and the drinkable portion was about 1/2 of the cup. I did not try the food. So, benefit of the doubt, I gave TWO stars because the woman was nice and I don't know about the food. But get your smoothie elsewhere. read more

New place in my neighbourhood so decided to try it. Food wise it's your standard cafe fare and nothing out of the ordinary. The place looked bigger than others around it so I assumed it would be a nice place to work - but there ain't nearly as much seating inside as you'd expect. Worst part: their service is pretty bad. What sets apart a coffee shop from the dozen there around it really is its service, and the people here are cold and incredibly slow. Furthermore, their baked goods display looks like a self serve area when it's not and I saw the staff getting upset when people helped themselves. Even though it took the staff ten minutes to bring me what I could've just picked up myself. Not impressed at all. Won't be returning. read more

Stopped by for some breakfast on the way to the station. The kids had the American breakfast and thought it was excellent. Bacon was crispy and the pancakes spot-on. The breakfast sandwich hit the spot. The fried egg was the perfect consistency of firm and oozy. Coffee was stellar! Great stop for breakfast. read more

Amazing food, amazing service. The potatoes were some of the best I've ever had. A perfect poached egg. Super fresh OJ. And the waitresses were so very kind and helpful. Food was made very fast and fresh. read more

Balance - Their desert bar. - Cafes Near Me - London, XGL

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Horrendous, sickening experience. I went to Balance with a group of 4 others. Initially the place looked quite nice and the menu looked great. Unfortunately, the service was fairly poor to begin with. The waitress got about 4 things wrong with our order which was annoying, but she was at least fairly friendly. It's what happened next that forced me to rate this place 1 star. I ordered Eggs Benedict (which came without the mushrooms I ordered and the eggs were rock hard, but that's beside the point). Halfway through eating what was already a fairly disappointing breakfast, I discovered a very large CLUMP OF CHICKEN FEATHERS in the middle of my dish. This turned the stomach of everyone at at the table. We brought this to the attention of the manager who apologized and gave us our money back. As we left she promised to close the kitchen for the rest of the day. A few hours later we discovered that she had (accidentally) shortchanged us and when we returned to the restaurant we were not totally surprised to see the kitchen still open. When we challenged the manage on this she was incredibly rude and disrespectful. I felt physically ill after that meal and the customer service was some of the worst I have ever been subjected to. read more

Cool contemporary place with a ton of good pastries, coffee, juices, smoothies, and market fresh salads and cooked items. Great breakfast menu with quality product. If you are coming and going from Waterloo station this is a fantastic place to visit on the Lower Marsh side. read more

I have given this new place on Lower Marsh a couple of chances, because I work locally and it's good to support independent businesses. Unfortunately, I won't be going back and wouldn't recommend to others. The ordering system is stupid; one has to queue up at the food order point even if just getting coffee. Or sometimes not; it would be good to have simple consistency. Food I've tried twice: once a leek and potato soup that was gelatinous and tasted of flour and potato. A toasty which was filled with a huge amount of extremely salty pesto - inedibly salty. Both went in the bin. Others in my office have had similar experiences and can only say: don't bother taking any problem to the manager, she is discourteous. read more

I liked the look of Balance from the street. Seemed like a brilliant venue on a cold wet day. However I was unable to navigate the correct queue once inside or attract any attention from staff in order to get served. Sadly my pathetic lack of attention-grabbing skills let me down again. read more