Ali P.
Yelp
**This review is for the Balta breakfast buffet only **
We went for brunch at Balta on New Year's Day, with the hopes of a festive setting and some opulence to start the year. The restaurant is nicely decorated, but only some seats have a view of the city. The breakfast buffet, at 675pesos/person, is expensive by local standards but not bad compared to NYC. The buffet includes AYCE of a variety of products as well as one main dish off the A la carte menu, as well as coffees and juices. Our server, while very friendly, was not very good and definitely shaved a star off the experience. She forgot one person's juice, another person's coffee, and when we needed a replacement knife and fork, she said, "Of course" but then disappeared, and we had to flag down someone else who immediately whisked the cutlery off another table. I also asked for toast, which was cheerfully acknowledged...but never came.
As for the buffet options - it's not the most sumptuous I've ever encountered, but if you like yogurt/granola with a wide variety of nuts and fresh fruits, you'll be pleased (I, liking neither yogurt nor most fruits, was underwhelmed). There was also a very tasty variety of croissants with different fillings. There were some other savory options, including lox (strangely unsalty, and only a very small quantity that was not replenished) some meats (all pork), and some cheeses.
All in all, it was a nice atmosphere with decent to good options (especially if you're less picky than me), but the service was lacking enough to detract from the experience.