Critic's Review
The main floor of the Balcony has been converted to a sports bar; Bokamper's group bought the building for $3.8M in 2016 and the market for bad Cajun food is limited, so they replaced the Live Music sign and slapped together a menu that could have come right out of your favorite "how to" restaurant publication.
Physically, the place is the same configuration as before; they've added some wood tables and swapped out some of the decor, with the obligatory community table up front.
It's so sad seeing groups of 1 and 2 at the community table; were they seated there or is that open seating?
There's a stage at the end of the room but I doubt they'll be paying bands here.
I got what I thought was a prime corner seat at the bar, but it's really not a great seat for sports watching. I didn't have a good view of a single TV from my spot.
I don't care about college football anyway. There's a huge TV on the side wall that's really in the wrong place; most of the bar seats face the other direction; there's only a couple of tables ideal for viewing it; the booth is like sitting in the 1st row in a movie theater. Maybe worse.
The don't have a menu online so I couldn't decide what I wanted beforehand; I ordered an iced tea which was delivered without any lemon at all; and hardly any ice. The Ice-less iced tea may be a new trend.
I wasn't all that hungry, and I didn't feel like Bo's wings. The menu here is edgy Irish Pub; the "Ale Onion Soup" seemed like just the right thing for my partial appetite. I knew it wouldn't be authentic (an authentic version would either not have cheese or would be cheddar), but French Onion can be good.
Some comedy ensued as 1 guy pointed out that they were advertising the UFC fight so it should be put on the big screen instead of the Ohio State game. Management concurred, but couldn't figure out how to get the PPV event; leaving the floating DirectV logo on for a full 15 minutes. Why not put the football game back on while you figure it out?
The soup came out in 5 minutes. I think the cheese might be pre-melted.
Serving this on the edgy white plate is just stupid as the red hot bowl slides around. I fully expected French Onion soup and this certainly looked the part.
The "soup" was more like a gravy, with a winey flavor that told me nobody tasted this to adjust the flavors.
I'd describe it as edible if not memorable.
I can't recommend the soup.
A refill was delivered way before my glass was empty, which is always a plus. The didn't charge me for the iced tea, which is think was more incompetence than any kind of gratuity. Multiple service tried to serve me after I'd ordered.
Conclusion
Another Sports bar on Las Olas. 10 years ago I had to go to Pompano to watch Giants games that weren't on TV, now there's 4 places with Sunday Ticket within walking distance. I wouldn't put this place on my list to watch out of market games, however, as the setup isn't ideal. The chances of getting a seat where your game is on seems remote; maybe a Sunday, Monday or Thursday night game where it will be on the big screen.
It's also yet another Bokampers, so you know what you're getting food-wise. They have no website and don't answer on their Facebook page, so I have no idea if they have game time specials.
