Balans Menu

Balans Restaurant Review:

The global fare---ranging from Szechuan popcorn shrimp Indian to tilapia channa masala to Italian pumpkin mascarpone tortellini---is clean and consistent enough that this contemporary London import has become a staple of Miami dining. Sunday mornings are the most culturally interesting: those local trendies who wisely opt to get home at a reasonable hour on Saturday night gather early (before dinner hour), with newspapers and dogs, for brunch. Scrubbed and contemporary, the original Balans is Lincoln Road's most prestigious patio from which to people-watch, and this Brickell-area Balans attracts the same chic crowd. At night, Balans is packed to the rafters with those in search of an interesting, light meal, a bottle of wine and light conversation. Exotic salads, whether Thai chili-beef or Florida crab-citrus, are favored here, and appealing vegetarian selections like a salad-garnished cheese soufflé are unique options. But the lobster club sandwich wrap, several stories high, towers over all the other items on the menu combined.