balfour kitchen

rated 4.5. went here with the partner and a friend for weekend lunch. we were promptly seated and offered complimentary still water and/or sparkling water. there was even a complimentary soft blanket for us to cover our legs during the cool winter days, if we wished.

we ordered the 'shaking beef' (tender pieces of beef, with lovely savoury caramelised sauce and mushrooms and tomatos; the side of homemade chips were well-made), 'grilled lemongrass chicken' (succulent chicken with a nice vietnamese-inspired noodle salad) and 'lime cured fish' (subtlely cured fresh fish with textures of pickled and fresh vegetables cupped in lettuce leaves). we also ordered a side of 'aunty five's fried cauliflower' (lightly battered and crispy steaks of cauliflower with a delicious dipping sauce).

friendly and efficient service. casual ambience - lovely setting with downstairs/upstairs and indoors/outdoors (latter with heating/fans dependent on the weather) seating. reasonable prices for the ambience and the food.

overall, a lovely restaurant with some modern and innovative, vietnamese-inspired dishes. would come back.

crab omelette with potato rosti for a sunday morning brunch sounds like heaven to me. the food was decent, however i could barely taste the crab. for the price, i would have expected a lot more. not to mention that the rosti was one that i had added, an extra.

while the service here was quite good, i can't help but be disappointed by the food. i ordered the eggs benedict with bacon. the hollandaise was incredibly buttery, which was made worse by the fact that the bread it was served on was basically a croissant. the bacon was overcooked to the point of being leathery. at least the hash brown i ordered on the side was great.

lovely setting, the food was good though the brunch menu was limited, especially for the vegetarian in our party. sadly the service was pretty disappointing. six people and our drinks arrived over a 12 minute period. so much for toasting. we constantly had to ask the waiter for water and literally hand him the empties to get him to take them away. i asked for a straw - had to go get it myself. both our servers were new so perhaps they will improve.

tasty food, delicious bubbles, and a stylish back drop. we had a large table so took a while for everything to get organised but worth it when it came and they were great about organising the birthday cake surprise

i had breakfast here on a sunday morning. the setting was quite nice. staff were pleasant, and accommodating. the food came within 30 minutes of order, and was well presented with a grest incorporation of flavours. i had the classic 'big brekkie', which i would say is one of the best i've had in town. despite this, my only criticism is the number of flies buzzing around whilst we ate. it was quite off-putting. i'd most likely come back, but maybe a seat inside next time.

tonight was my anniversary and was really looking forward to coming back to the balfour kitchen as i enjoyed the high tea here last year. however the table my partner and i was sitting at had water leaking from the air and onto my partner and his food. when we approached the staff she said to us "well there isn't much we can do about that..." then walked off to tell another staff member. so another staff member who was male came over and was so helpful and lovely he moved us to a different table with a lovely view. really appreciated that! then the first female staff member who rudely spoke to us came to help as we moved to our new table and my partner just casually suggested to move the table we were originally seated at for future customers because it is a health and safety issue. she then responded she has no idea about that area (health and safety). we were both still shocked at her responses. i have never been so angry so i decided to just let the lovely male staff member who helped us out know that we were very bothered by that other staff member and her service. i apologise i didnt get your names i dont mean to refer you to female staff or male staff. he responded extremely well so professional and left with a smile on his face when he offered us complimentary wines. it even made me feel bad for mentioning it to him but it really ruined our anniversary and am sad to say that we will not be returning back anytime soon...

i took my grandparents and family to balfour today for hightea. although on the pricey side, it was well worth the out lay. we had beautiful bite sizes pieces of food, and a glass of champagne. the staff were also lovely. i definitely want to go back and have a meal there.

thanks balfour for a relaxed birthday brunch. great food and attentive service. good wine list. my elderly mum loves balfour because of the above, and the quiet warm setting.

i was truly disappointed by the meal i had last night, first of all the pork belly was unavailable due to a busy lunch? which meant only 3 from 4 mains were available, sorry but if you've sold out at lunch get more for your dinner bookings. i booked this table months ago! the fish was less than average and the potato undercooked. come on, really how difficult it is to boil potatoes and par bake them? as a table of four we spent $550 in this establishment, the drinks were great, the entree of gyoza's delicious, but the mains not so much. my friend couldn't eat her steak as it was rare as opposed to medium rare. if you're going to present yourself as a fine dining restaurant please back it up by what you put on the plate.

i ordered a red balloon voucher for high tea. the booking was really easy. i was called to confirm and sent an email.
we arrived and was surprised to find a renovated queenslander. we were sat immediately on arrival at a beautiful table with a great view.
we were given the drinks menu and ordered our teas.
within 5 mins our tea cane out as did our savoury plate. i enjoyed every item on the plate. the brioche buns could have been a little fresher.
then we ordered a second drink and our sweet try cane out. needless to say we couldn't eat it all. really enjoyed the different items on each tray. nice not to have scones and have some different flavors to try.
i would definitely recommend.

service was excellent. a beautiful relaxed atmosphere with a homely touch. the eggs benedict was pretty good, the chardonnay hollandaise was slightly acidic but not too overpowering. i really enjoyed the fig and walnut toast - not too sweet. went well with the t2 brisbane breakfast tea.

visited on monday morning, plenty of seats were available and we got a nice shady table out on the deck.
ordered the smoked barra omelette ($22), brioche french toast ($19), and beetroot & gin cured gravalax ($23). we were sharing these three meals between just 2 people so the chefs split the french toast into 2 serves which was nice. however the barra omelette was a bit dry and bland, i had to ask for some hollandaise ($4 for a tiny little sauce bowl!!). the gravalax was okay, not that special but the rosti on it was nice. the brioche french toast was probably the best out of the three, it was moist and flavourful. overall the experience and atmosphere was great, but food was underwhelming especially for the price.

i had an amazing experience with my team at balfour kitchen this morning. the food was amazing and presented beautifully and the the staff member that served us was very friendly. i can't wait to come back and try the dinner menu!

this is a little gem hidden away from the hustle and bustle of nearby fortitude valley.
whilst sitting on the fabulous verandah of an old queenslander complete with the very relaxing atmosphere we enjoyed excellent food and very attentive service. will definitely return and would highly recommend.