Ballou's Restaurant & Wine Bar

Visited on evening of March 2. Disappointing. Dark dingy decor not kept up and dreary. Food was not great. Mac and cheese was gummy and not hot. Told the server and she said “sorry” with no offer to change or rectify. Goodbye $20. Meatball appetizer was dreadful. Restaurant was dirty, especially the bathrooms with spots all over the walls and overflowing trash. Service was fine, I felt bad for our waitress. Needs new everything. Not recommended.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 4

Let me preface this by saying the service, wine, and tapas were exceptional. I'd come here purely for wine and appetizers. The atmosphere is very comfortable, the large windows really amplify how cozy it is during windows. Not gonna lie, makes a great dating aesthetic, it's unfortunate that the entree's disappointment.The appetizer we got was cheese fondue (tiger cheese which is a type of gruyere) with carrots and apples. It was delicious.Now the entree's, not great. I got the brisket and my wife got a lobster risotto. The brisket was dry with very little flavor and the risotto was overly salty and without balance.All in all, this would be a great place to come for appetizers and wine but not a meal.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wine Flight

The food was very good. Afternoon lunch with my family (party of five) visiting from out of State.This visit, the service left more than a lot to be desired. We were literally the only customers in the restaurant, and it took a very long time (at least 20 minutes) before we were asked what we wanted to order. The woman taking our order was not friendly. My BIL stated loudly that he was hungry. She was within earshot. It felt like we were ignored. We nearly left. In hindsight, I wish we had.We have been making eating here an annual tradition, usually having lunch in June, but after this last experience, I believe we will take our business elsewhere this summer.The reason I gave 3 stars was for the food. Service was one star.

Recommended dishes: Fig Prosciutto Flat Bread, Wrap

Drove an hour because we heard great things about this place. Sat down and waited 20 minutes before we walked out because no one ever took our drink orders. They had 1 wait staff at 1 pm on a Saturday. Huge disappointment, now we need to find somewhere else to go.

Service: 1

Amazing food and lovely atmosphere. But it’s been 1.5 hours and we have only gotten appetizers… we had been hoping to stay for fondue dessert but didn’t plan on this being a half-day meal.

Parking: Plenty of parking in the area.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Wine Flight, Chocolate Fondue

WE HAD A GLASS OF WINE AND 2 APPETIZERS, WHICH WAS VERY GOOD. YET VERY PRICEY IN FACT THE WHOLE MENU WAS.....TRAVELING UP THE COAST FROM THE SOUTH, CT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE.. I HEARD THAT TAXES ARE VERY HIGH AND COST OF LIVING AS WELL.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fondues are great here, and an extensive selection of wine. Prices are reasonable. The lobster on the seafood risotto was sublime, though the shrimp were flavorless and likely frozen for a long period of time.Regardless, worth visiting and having a glass of wine and a bite to eat!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

I can’t say enough about this staff!! We have frequented this place multiple times, and they never disappoint! The three power women tonight were : Grace ( server -incredibly kind, warm, and professional) , Andrea ( the reason we came because so nice on the phone!!), and Mia whom we have written about in the past and is always nice!!! She has been at the restaurant since we began and is wonderful. Food delicious as usual and drinks superb! Thank you staff for welcoming us and our two “friends” ( inside joke).Also, we want to mention the patrons who come to this restaurant. We could not have sat on the patio by anyone kinder. Adults and kids alike were just the warmest and friendliest people! We want to live in this town if they are locals!!! The patio was packed on a beautiful July evening!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nice quiet restaurant, inside and outside seating. Plenty of parking, but we were not there during the peak dinner time. We had salads. There were large and filling! Would go there again!!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Mixed experience. Wine was good but the bottle of white arrived room temperature. Crab cakes were flavorful but rather gummy. The 2 pasta dishes were underdone, brisket was overly fatty, entree salad and flat bread were very good. Management was very conscientious

Such a disappointment. We had good luck there in the past and thought this would be a good place for Mothers Day lunch. Half an hour to get water and menus, another 10 to get a drink. Very long wait after that for appetizers which consisted of a cheese platter that had no bread or crackers and 4 stuffed mushrooms. No plates or silver wear so I got up and got it myself. After just over an hour and a half we get our meals which had to be send back because they were cold. Then we try to order an Espresso martini for my wife and they ran out of Kaluha. For this 2.5 hour experience I was relieved of $200. Never again, they have to get there $&?!<^ together and get som staff in there. Would have been nice if the manager showed his or her face an at least explained what was going on. Last time we try this place! I would do no stars but I can’t post without at least one so there’s your token star…,,

2.5 stars. I have been to Ballou's multiple times before today and have never had an issue. Today was a complete disappointment. They were totally under staffed today, a holiday, & I felt so bad for the waitresses who were clearly drowning, I give them a lot of credit for keeping it together the best they could. It was frustrating for me and my family as we sat without even our drinks for 45 minutes. It was over an hour before we got our meals. The lobster bisque was great, as well as the crab cakes. However, the other items that were ordered weren't impressive at all.

We came here to eat on a Thursday night at 6:15. When we sat down there were three other groups at the restaurant, but they were done with their meals and left shortly after we arrived. We sat outside and we were promptly given some sticky menus. The food menu was more limited than what is advertised on their website and of the options that remained, all of the prices were about 30-40% higher than on the website menu. We were told someone would be out to bring water and take our orders. We waited for 20 minutes without anyone coming to take our order. It felt weird that we had been surrounded by utter silence for so long in a seemingly abandoned space; no other customers in the restaurant, no staff, not even any ambient music playing. We stuck our heads back inside the main restaurant and didn’t see another living soul in the building. At this point we decided we would have a much more enjoyable Thursday night dinner leaving Ballou’s and ordering some delicious meatball subs from Grand Apizza five minutes down route 1. Grand Apizza served up quality subs in under 15 minutes, less time than we spent sitting unattended at Ballou’s waiting to order. I implore the owner and staff at Ballou’s to do more to make this restaurant an enjoyable experience. Numerous restaurants share the block and seem to be better managed; they serve large crowds on weeknights and weekends. Ballou’s menu looks great and we think this should be a great restaurant for casual drinks and unique food options in Guilford. I’ve seen similar reviews about poor service and I do not think any action has been taken. I am sad to say I cannot rate Ballou’s on their food. 2/5 stars

We absolutely loved our meals and “sweet” wine flight at Ballou’s! My hunny had the Lobster Mac & Cheese (he said it was filling, loaded with lobster, and was total creamy deliciousness!), and I had the Seafood Risotto. While I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a risotto (it seemed more like rice or a rice pilaf) because it lacked that extra creamy texture risotto usually has, it was still a savory and excellent dish none the less. Again, with a good portion of seafood for the price, especially during this season of inflation we find ourselves trapped in. Ballou’s also has a large variety of wine tasting flights to choose from, along with small plates, bigger entrees, and even fondue’s. The latter of which we will be back to try in the near future! Despite the reviews sounding a bit “hit or miss”, we found this place to be a personal win for us! Our waitress was a sweetheart too, and did an awesome job managing all the tables on her own, and making sure we felt well taken care of!

Nice staff, good atmosphere. The food are tasty