The Ballantine roll is to die for! I would give a 5 star but the bar service usually leaves me wanting more. I don't like having to ask for refills one what seem like slow nights. read more

Spicy tuna roll was great, awesome beer selection. Also ordered the lobster nachos which were just ok, and the steak appetizer, which was awful. Oily and flavorless.. For the price I expected much more. read more

Took my parents for their 58 wedding anniversary. Very disappointed and will not go back. Service was just OK.... The food OMG, Dads big steak was all grizzle and almost raw and he asked for Med., Hubs Ribs were dry and over cooked. Moms fish was OK but rice was cold as ice! by the time she received another order of rice we were done with the meal. My Filet Mignon was the only meal that was delicious. I was lucky! I think the chef was having a bad night or just didn't care. The layout of the place was awesome and our service did the best she could to make us happy. read more

I've eaten here twice and both times were good experiences. Great steak and a very good pizza. Full bar with lots of beer choices. Good service and cozy/classy atmosphere. read more

Hmmm - Let me think on this for a second .....Ahh Yes, TV DINNER comes to mind after our visit to Ballantine the other night. Sadly, my wife and I were out with friends who highly recommended Ballantine after a previous good experience. Unfortunately, this time wasn't so good ... For starters, after we found our AWOL Waitress I had to ask her for a complete menu as it seemed that their proofreader didn't quite get all of the descriptions correct not the menu - IE, the menu simply stated FLAT and I was left to infer that that was a Flat Bread Pizza ... Then our meals come .. our friend's $34 ribeye was not cooked to his requested temp. How a chef can mistakenly send a Rare Steak in place of a Medium + is absolutely beyond my comprehension! My wife and I both had "steamers" which I would now guess is code for some kind of filling (TV dinner) sort of stuffed into a bland, mushy and undercooked dough. Just Plain GROSS!! On a positive note, the table check was ONLY $140 (inc tip), our friend's wife seemed to enjoy her salad and the gouda tots (appeared homemade) were pretty tasty. It seems to me that your menu is lacking a real identity and focus - they want to do high end everything and can't even get the basics of a great sauce down. It's unfortunate ... My suggestion would be to try a little harder to get the basics right before you branch out into so many different styles of cuisine and maybe you might not serve TV Dinners. read more

The last time we went to Ballentine for dinner we were blown away when we got our check. In a good way! We ordered two entrees, an appetizer, a dessert and plenty of drinks off the wine list and cocktail menu. Based on the quality of the food and drinks, we fully expected to spend a lot of money, but we didn't. Can you find a better steak in Cleveland? Absolutely! But not for $30. read more

Worst, bitchiest bartenders ever. Go somewhere else. There's plenty of other places to go within walking distance with significantly better service. read more

I'm from the west/ south side of Cleveland so I very rarely get a chance to try anything on the east side so I was excited to go here with some friends over the weekend. I had looked at the menu ahead of time and thought so many things sounded good on it. I had a hard time deciding that day, but ended up going with the Bangkok Peanut chicken bowl. This ended up being a good choice and was very filling. I thought it lacked a ton of flavor but it was good. My friends I was with all ordered different things- build your own pizza, pretzel chicken, and house pad thai. Everyone said their meals were really good. The service was good, we were seated right away (but had a reservation) and the drink menu was good. We were having a girls night out so we also returned later at night when this place turned into a club like atmosphere with a DJ. We actually ended up spending most of our night here and it was a lot of fun! read more

We always loved going here,but since they rebranded the food has not been the same. We were there the other night and we had bad service and the food was not that good. They did have the best sushi around but not any more read more

My husband and I really like this place. The last visit was no exception. We had the Ballantine roll and spicy tuna roll to start. We really enjoyed the Ballantine roll, different and flavorful. For an entree we got the lamb special and a side of fries to split. For $26 we were not expecting much on the lamb, but it was 3 large bone in pieces served medium rare - it was glorious. I liked the polenta and goat cheese it was served over too. The malt vinegar aioli that was served with the fries was yummy as well. They have a fantastic beer selection and my Moscow mule was one of the best I've ever had - the ginger beer made the drink. And our drinks came really fast, zero wait time. Our server was on top of her game. We will continue to frequent this place anytime we're in downtown Willoughby. read more

I ordered the scallops. For $28 I got 3 medium/small scallops over a bed of salty rice. Scallops were crispy and chewy. Others got the salmon which was a small portion, shrimp linguine was in a small little bowl and the French fries were crispy and burned. For the price of this place $$$$ you barely get any food at subpar taste. Wouldn't come back and the kitchen was slow. read more

Overall bad experience with the food. I had pad thai that tasted like a Lean Cuisine and was very soupy. My boyfriend ordered the rib special. The ribs had little to no meat, and were extremely overcooked to the point that some parts were charred. Very disappointing experience after seeing so many positive reviews. read more

Well - I really never was able to taste the food. They took my reservation for Christmas Eve dinner and called me today - 12/13 and said "I'm sorry but we're actually closed." OK that's great, but now it's too late to get reservations anywhere. I tried a couple of days ago because I wanted to add more people and it said they were booked. Thank you very much for leaving me STUCK!!!! It took you 2 weeks to figure out you were closed on Christmas Eve. Great organization. I wouldn't even want to try your food if you are that disorganized. read more

Hit on by the manager very unprofessional the restroom was filthy and had clogged toilets.. had to have my drink replaced twice because the glass was so dirty!!! My food was very very salty not edible wow yuck.. don't hit on your patrons!!! Just trying to have a nice evening with my friends for his bday and felt very uncomfortable.. never going back!!! So disappointed! Do not go here.. don't waste your time or money. read more

We went here for the 2nd time a few months ago and it was a different experience the the 1st time. They do not try to accommodate their customers. We had a coupon that we wanted to use, but they put so many stipulations on it when we asked about it, and even when the waitress gave a frustrated look and went to the manager, we were still told we could not use it. All of this for $6 - I can find someplace to eat that knows customer service, read more

I was there new years eve, I had been there 2 weeks previously and spent around $1000.00 for both visits with larger party of friends and family. The menu has changed for the worse and the food on the new menu is unusual and the crap hush puppies had no crab, the chicken is around 1/4" thick with mostly breading, The salmon is ok but not with an appetizing partner,The pasta was dry. The only meal I can now recommend is the pizza still good. Sorry for this review I tried to explain to the waitress last night with no luck, We used to love going there but I think yesterday was our last visit. Maybe they have help problems but they are to expensive to accept. Don read more

Best sushi in Ohio. Dry aged Ribeye is outstanding. Ask for chef special and let them dazzle you with flavors. This is a can't miss place in Ohio read more

I have been goin to Ballantine for many years now and I have to say it is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. One of my favorite dishes that they had was the pretzel chicken, it was amazing. I had come back a month later and the menu had changed. They do have an entree that is delicious and fought my eye, it was the chicken cutlet(as close to my pretzel chicken as I am going to get). Another reason why I Love Ballantine is because it opens me up to try new beers, I believe they are the only restaurant in the downtown Willoughby area that has amazing rotating craft draft beers, not to mention they have the IPAlooza every February with the whole month filled with delicious craft beers just for the members of the ipalooza(and pretty sweet hoodies). I have nothing but an amazing experience when I go their from the staff to the food down to the beers. If anyone is looking for great tasting beer and food Ballantine is the place to go! read more

Great place. In town from Cincinnati and had a great time, excellent food (salad with carrot ginger dressing was amazing, and ribeye was excellent). Love this place! read more

Although the food is fair it was our second visit here and their COOK has a full face beard with no beard net over it. On our first visit there two weeks prior we addressed it with the manager and he assured us he would take care of the situation. On our visit today he still had a full facial beard. We spoke to the manager and left. I do not want my food cooked by someone who as a full facial beard with no beard covering. Shame on the management. Also, on second visit there was another cook with a beard. A restaurant should never allow this to be. They lost all of us as customers. I am also reporting this to the health department. read more

Stopped by last night around 7:00, I was greeted by the most rude condescending hostess My wife and I have ever encountered. After being dismissed, we left and had a great meal at BJ's by mall. I doubt we will ever return. Even though we are Willoughby residents and dine out several times a week. read more

Fantastic beer selection, cool vibes, you could get lost here for hours and solve all of the worlds problems. $5 dollar drafts allows you to sample a variety of drinks without breaking the budget. read more

Servers had an attitude like she was better then our whole table, tried to get us to buy the most expensive things on the menu and totally nickeled and dimed us. read more

Trendy place. Craft beers are very good. freshly made sushi is excellent. packed on weekends. Service here is also excellent, even when it is busy. Ate here during a Cavs Finals game, and the crowd was extremely lout ( understandably ) , but normally that is not the case. I've been here twice, while they are packed, and I will definitely be going back. read more

This is my favortie restaurant in downtown willoughby. The best food, awesome drink selection, but the reason I did not vote 5 stars is because of the service. I enjoy a few of the servers in the establishment, but there is some very cocky people that work here. I have noticed that at some times during the evening of a bar/restaurant, a worker may feel the need to act in a manner to set the standards. Yet, the saying still goes no matter what time of the day it is, it's all about the customer. The best thing this place has going for it, is the beer and food, besides that I dislike. read more

Have visited Ballantines several times - the biggest issue here is the inconsistent service - the last time I visited was at 5:30 on a saturday so way before the "rush". Our server stayed away from us like we were lepers. Last visit for me. read more

I stopped in because I live just down the street near Lakeshore Blvd. I just wanted to get something to eat because I was starved. The menu was quite expensive so I figured I would go with the $10 hamburger. What a mistake. It was at best a 4 ounce burger that was ruined by loading it with basil and what looked like a salad covered with what looked like Thousand Island dressing. All I can say is yuk. The fries were solid grease and also loaded with basil or whatever the herbs were that the burger was covered with. To say it was awful would be a compliment. I thought I could eat anything. I ate it because I was starved and did not want to waste $10 and go somewhere else. I should have. The stench of the spice that did not belong on or near a burger permeated me and my clothes. It was terrible. Even the soda was totally flat. The waiter reluctantly took it off my check. Not his fault. He was as nice as could be. I did not complain to him about the horrible food because I just couldnt do it. If I ever smell that smell that permeated everything again I know I will puke. Just writing this makes me ill. It is difficult to believe any business would sell something as terrible as this. If it was just plain without the horrible grease laden weirdly spiced fries it would have been edible. This was not. One of the most horrible meals I have had in 68 years of being alive and I have had some bad ones. If they want to sell burgers stick to normal ones and change the grease in the deep fryer every so often. Usually bars have decent food. Not this one. Do not eat here. You will not like it. I will limit my comments to the burgers. I did not try the other stuff and do not plan to. read more

Upscale bar with good sushi and nice pad tai. Doesn t replace your normal Thai place of course but cool setting and good to watch games.

Never have been there before. Not impressed. Mussels were very bland. Filet was tough and their strip steak was Ponderosa quality and over cooked. Both had very little flavor. Probabaly won't try again especially for the price I paid. read more

This is one of my favorite places in the Cleveland area. What I love the most about it is that I can depend on its consistency. After visiting dozens of times, I KNOW that I can expect excellent food (no matter what I order), a great selection of beer and wine, and great service & atmosphere. The prices are right on par for the quality they deliver. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. read more

I stopped by for happy hour on Wednesday night! I typically go out for to dinner 2-3 times a week and I regularly go to DTW. I have to say the experience was amazing, my friend and I were seated right away and served drinks from the bar with in a few minutes. We ordered a spicy salmon roll to start and it was delicious, a great twist on a traditional spicy roll! Then we wanted to try something different and got the sticky ribs from the happy hour menu and they were the perfect flavor and great value for the price and the noodles on the side were amazing as well. A MUST TRY The manger checked in with us to make sure the food and service was acceptable which goes a long way when I regularly go out and I expect to get checked on throughout the meal! I will be back soon to try one of the new entrees that has many options to customize which I love because I am usually pretty picky. Great place to meet for drinks or have a full course meal !!!!! read more

my visit here was my worst dining I have ever experienced in my life the staff was ridiculous. my food was terrible and when I complained about my food to the server she got the manager dave socha who was very disrespectful to me all I tried to do was have them re make my food and at first he brought the food back and I saw him just bring me back the same plate moments later and when I confronted him about what he had did he tried to call me a liar and started to get rowdy with me and the others at my table and all I simply wanted was food replaced so I argued with him and he ended up screaming at us, swearing at us, and throwing us out the restaurant and told us to never come back to his establishment so I highly recommend not going to this horrible place unless you want a horrible visit. read more