Halal Reviews for Balade East Village

The food here is hands down delicious. I very much enjoyed the taste of Lebanese culture that was expressed through the food I had here today. My friends and I decided to split the supreme mix which consisted of most of the meats served here, all cooked to perfection and flavorful. The rice was nothing special and I enjoyed the salty fries. The reason I rated three starts is because 1) it was a hot, humid New York City day & the restaurant barley had AC on, luckily I wore lots of deodorant 😂. 2) this place has been getting some attention lately so how could they let their bathroom be out of sorts? My daughter ran out saying she saw a bug on the toilet and it made my heart drop. When I checked the bathroom there was in fact a small roach but even more strange… no toilet seat! 3) like I mentioned earlier, I had brought my daughter (7 years old) who asked the waitress for lemonade and when coming around toward the end of the bill the waitress had asked if she wanted another one, my daughter being a child excitedly said yes however I strongly said no… low and behold the waitress brought another lemonade and decided to charge us for it too…… the only thing worse than paying for something you ordered is something you didn’t want/order? 😂 Lastly this place looks very big in pictures but it’s definitely deceiving lol. Come for the food!!

Love this place. Ate here for the second time on Friday. I lived in Lebanon for five years and can attest that the food is authentic and well prepared. We were a group of 4 women- had a hummus and fattoush (salad) to start and then the deluxe platter. Yes it is an expensive platter at $89, but it was enough meat for all 4 of us and we didn’t even finish it all! So we felt it was fairly priced. Service was great also, highly recommend

The food was the best Lebanese food of my life, other than my grandmother’s! You can rarely find sfia on a menu, and this was a total highlight, spiced and cooked perfectly, from the baked dough to the beef mixed with pine nuts, to the touch of cinnamon and allspice (I think!) The tabbouleh was also perfection, heavy on tomatoes and parsley, very light on bulgur wheat. We loved the vegetarian grape leaves, the labneh with a delicate layer of olive oil on top, the hummus and the fattoush. Be sure to get the vegetarian sampler plate so that you can sample all these dishes.

Went for lunch, staff were very friendly and efficient. Sat in the outside dining area which was very fancy for an outside dining area. Had the dogs with me, and they were warmly greeted and well looked after as well :). Ordered the shish kebab and the chicken salad. They were cooked to order, which took an extra couple of minutes but lead to beautiful things happening on our plates. Absolutely delicious, nice big portions. A real gem. Will definitely be going back.