El Balconcito

This was hands down the worst service I’ve ever experienced. I came back to this restaurant after a long time just for the food — drove over 35 minutes — but the service completely ruined it. Our server (I believe her name was L.) seemed visibly annoyed from the start. Whether it was a language barrier or just her attitude, it made the whole experience uncomfortable. We ordered at 6:55pm, got our appetizer in 10 minutes, but 45 minutes later, our entrees were still missing. What made it worse was that she never once checked on us, even though she walked past our table multiple times. She was checking in with other tables but ignored us. When we finally asked, it seemed like none of the staff even knew we were still waiting. She eventually said "10 more minutes" — but by then, we had waited enough and asked for the check. To top it off, people who came in after us got their food well before we did. No apology, no explanation, nothing. We felt completely disregarded. Very disappointed and won’t be returning.

Extremely tasty I love them for their seafood, nice professional waitress! Have drinks and cocktails and wine!! Absolutely love their seafood soup!!

We went a couple weeks ago. The service was very friendly but slow. The restaurant was very unassuming. Looked like it was an old take out pizza place that they made into their own. Could use a sprucing up. The food was on the pricey side but it was plentiful and tasty. We really enjoyed the ceviche and octopus salad! The salt cod fritters where stuffed fill of fish! I got a whole grilled fish simply prepared. We order a bunch of dishes and again everything was tasty except for the mashed potatoes (pure de papas). They are serving boxed (powdered) mashed pots, why? Everything else was tasty but the take a shortcut with potatoes? We would go again if we are in the area.

I always go to the castor location and thought I’d give this location a try and they tried it real bad… I ordered camarones al ajillo and they gave me a bunch of frozen shrimp in melted butter and let me add that I showed the light skin waitress how frozen the shrimps were and she could’ve cared less she was too busy flirting with the men at the bar

Loved our dinner at El Balconcito The food was incredibly fresh and flavorful, with beautifully presented dishes that were a delight to the eye my husband had the bistek encebollado and I had the octopus salad with a maracalla drink and everything was incredibly delicious. The servers were incredibly helpful would recommend them

Wow just wow. I literally spend 74$ on 2 things in this place. One was a paella and another one was a T-bone steak. I asked for a medium rare. The steak is hard and overly cook. The mash potato is from a box you can taste it and is craaaaazy salty. I couldn’t even eat it. The steak is so hard to chew. And the steak alone was $28 and for that price is freaking beyond ridiculous. Here’s an image for everyone to see.

I love this restaurant, all the waitress are very friendly , even the chef's, they make you feel like a family.

The food used to be a lot better.. the soup used to be creamier and the beans were better also the place is not as clean anymore. The only good thing is that Service got better..

Her you can- Ethnic dine, with family, friends or solo for dinner and late night or grab a drink. Located in the Olney section of Philly, expect Peruvian classics along side traditional South American cuisine in this modest family friendly restaurant. The sangria is great and very traditional. Go for seafood over poultry. My ratings are based on a 5 star scale. Where 1 star is tragic and 5 star is Ouwww terrific! Overall ratings- 5 star ( because of the food specifically) Food taste- 5 stars! Very traditional taste. Food portions- 5 stars. Portions are pretty large. The sopa marisco is definitely enough for two people. Customer service- 5 star. Attentive & friendly. Cleanliness- 3. 5 stars Decor- 3 stars very understated but functional. Ambiance- 4 stars for what it is. A family restaurant.

Worst service I have experienced in my entire life. This is the second time I visited this restaurant after a long time. The food was the reason I drove 35+ mins from my house but the service was terrible. My server (i think her name was L.) seems to be annoyed when taking my order. I dont know if it was a language barrier that was causing the problem but her attitude was very off. We placed the order at around 6:55pm and appertizer arrive after 10mins. But our entree was no where to be seen 45mins from that moment. The server checked with other customers to see if they are doing fine but never asked us (even when she passed us multiple times). When asked it seems like none other server knew that we were still waiting on food. When we asked she went to the back and come back say "10 more minutes". We gave up and had to call for the check and leaves. The people came after us even got 10 entrees up before us. No sorry was given the entire time we were there. It's like we were treated like nothing. Completely dissapointed.

Great service, delicious food and drinks. Only upset about corn and cheese since it was just that...

Party of 11 was told we would be seated in 45minutes. After over 1.5 hours we had to ask how much longer we would wait. We were told we could be seated but at two separate tables, which we agreed to. We were seated and one chair was so close to another table that no one could get by, especially since this chair was placed in the path to the restrooms. We asked if there was anyway we would just get a different table nearby, one waitress insisted that this chair placement was our fault because we had more than 11 people (we miss counted a child and had 12 instead of 11). We had to ask for them to tune on the lights multiple times as when we were seat the lights were on but shut off (for some u known reason) and we couldn't read the menu. The servers were rude. One keep insisting that we ordered something that we didn't order. And when one person asked if their steak could be cooked more (because it was ice cold) the server came back to the table and asked "what's the problem now" (in Spanish). All the food (besides the ice cold steak) was lukewarm. When we told the waitress that the women's restroom was out of toilet paper, she rolled her eyes and walked away. Came back and said (to my husband who was sitting in a chair by the wall where they seated us) "I need you to move so I can get you more toilet paper". That was our first and last time there.

I like the ceviche here but everything else seems average. The service is ok but I think it's bc of language barrier.

Very nice service, even more delicious food! We got the fried snapper and a side of plátanos machos, they were scrumptiolicious!

Parking was not bad at all. Small place and slow service, but very friendly. Do not expect to have a quick meal here, but that is not a bad thing at all!! I had lunch with a friend who can eat and then some. Splitting the Paella Marinera left us both with a satisfied grin, stuffed bellies and an entire takeout container full of food. The flavors were amazing, the presentation was perfect Paella pan and all! I'll definitely return to this nice find!

This place is not bad... not amazing but a solid find. The good: - typical spanish establishment - lots of conversation and noise - drinks (try the passion fruit drink!!) - lot of options The not so good: - one of my biggest issue was that although it is a spanish speaking establishment, hostess should try to make an effort for non-spanish speakers as it is a honor (for me at least) for someone to want to try your culture, food. 3 different server refused to speak in english (even though they knew i did not speak spanish). - bit of a regular only type of atmosphere (as in if you are not a regular, the red carpet for first timer is not offered) - food was just ok. Again, judging based on the cuisine (eg, peruvian) i was disappointed in the lack of spices and flavors used in classics. we drove 30 min to get here and probably made it worst since i was craving peruvian food. However if you never had amazing peruvian food, this would be rates as good (thus not giving lower rating) I would visit it again but with lower expectation and without my 3 year old!

For the past few years we've been on a Portuguese food kick, and last year we discovered a few Peruvian restaurants- so we were excited when a friend recommended this restaurant specializing in Portuguese & Peruvian food. We started off with a pitcher of red sangria- it was good & strong! The clams casino were fresh & stuffed with crab meat. We had the grilled chicken & shrimp with beans & rice and a seafood soup. Everything was really good. We'll definitely return and bring a few friends!

Came here with BF. Well worth the trip for great food. We ordered 3 dishes with seafood- ceviche; arroz con mariscos and parihuela soup. Drank caipirinhas all evening.

So I brought my family here to eat As my daughter was eating she finds this long hair in her food we are not from here we are from Maryland so we drove pretty far just to eat no discount for finding a hair in our food just an apologyMy advice is to check your food before you eat it you might find something in it

I use to love this place but the service is horrible! Bad service makes me loose my appetite. Never ordering at this place again. I rather stick with the one on castor ave. Way better service.

This place is small but has good service. I got the steak dish with peppers and onions; it was very fatty and flavorless. Fries tasted off, like they had been defrosted and re-heated. The tostones were again flavorless and didn't have a crunch to them. I've had other dishes here that were good. This was a disappointment.

The only thing good is the fried cassava fish - super dry and the taste it was so bad texture like rubber soles meat - same Ig you like fried cassava this is the place to go!

My job sort of brought me to this place at a moment my tummy could not hold the hunger any longer... This is my first visit to this Peruvian/Brazilian restaurant, and I was actually impressed by both the tasty food as well as the friendly service. Next time I will definitely bring someone, despite the remote location.

Good but not great. The food was just ok because the flavors weren't all there. I've been to many Peruvian restaurants in Jersey that have that WOW factor on many of their dishes. This was not the case. I ordered Lomo Saltado and although the meat was tender, it lacked some flavor to it. I tried to put some of the green ají sauce and it was watered down and not spicy at all. Just tasted like cilantro water. I live in South/Central Jersey and was hoping to find a Peruvian restaurant closer to me but, I'd rather take the trip to Perth Amboy (Se salio el Pollo), Elizabeth (El Carbonazo) or even Union City (Parrilladas Dany) and enjoy an authentic peruvian meal than to try and save a trip. Disappointed...

Im so sad to write this review, my family and I have been going to this restaurant for 10+ years. We recently went over the weekend and it was horrible. We always order the same things, parihuela, ceviche, jalea and solomeo. We came very excited to eat but we left very disappointed. I guess the owner or cook changed because nothing tasted like it should, we did start to note the change once Vista Peru in Philly opened however the food was still estable until our most recent visit. The closest thing that was eatable was the ceviche but the corn wasn't fully cooked. My mom complained about the taste of her solomeo and nothing was done about it. Note, we are peruvian and We are very sad to say we won't be coming here anymore.

After a bit of research on Peruvian food following my meal here, I learned a few things. First, Peruvian food is influenced by Spanish culture, Chinese, Italian, West Africa, and Japanese. My first encounter with Peruvian food was most definitely more Spanish, and this time seemed more Chinese. Since I was expecting the "Spanish style" I guess that was why I felt so disappointed. I probably didn't order the right things! I'd guess that the options my friends and I tried were more of the "Chifa style" (Chinese Peruvian like the center city restaurant) and that is why the taste and look was so similar to Chinese food. I just finished my leftovers and alone without [other dish interference], just the rotisserie chicken with the amazing picante sauce on it was quite delicious. I can't quite give El Balconcito 4 stars yet but my new found knowledge about the influences of Peruvian food and my soon to be had craving for the sauce will definitely have me coming back for another try.

Delicious food! Authentic Latin flavors cooked to perfection. We went to the Godfrey location. Parking was easy. Highly recommend the Seafood Soup and the En Salada De Pulpo and Shrimp. It's a must!

Not a bad latin restaurant. Great atmosphere, decor and the waitress was very attentive. I got the grilled chicken meal with a side salad and tostones with an extra side of grilled onions for $3 more. The chicken was very flavorful and the mealnitself was filling. I would have wished for a tad bit more chicken but again the meal as a whole was filling. I would definately come back again with a group as the restaurant has several group table locations. Overall very happy with my choice and will be back.

This restaurant is as the reviews stated. The waiter service is terrible. I went with my family and they forgot about my order. It took them 35 minutes to bring my food. On top of that, as a real Peruvian this is not Peruvian food. If you're looking for Peruvian food DO NOT COME HERE. I ordered lomo saltado and this was utterly bad. Idk what part of the cow they used, the steak was super fat and thick. Then the taste was like bbq it was so bad. My mother ordered chicharron de pollo ans the yellow rice was tasteless and was hard. The green sauce was bad. The waitress stated the chef is from Guatemala which does not help with the Peruvian food. The manager did accommodate by taking this fake lomo out of the bill which was highly appreciative.

I'm in Philly for a week for work and been craving for a peruvian food. Found this place in yelp and tried ordering "to go". The service is very bad even for picking up a food! The girl that was charging my card looks so unfriendly. My card "Chip" wasn't working and so i asked her if she can try putting my card number manually. She did put it with an attitude. And told me it didn't worked either. she says it was declined so i thought i had to call my bank to confirm the charges because I'm in a different state (i live in DC). There was no signal inside the place and so i asked the lady if they have a wifi so i can call my bank or access my app to confirm the transaction but she wouldn't let me. I got back to my car, get my other card while calling my bank outside the store, they told me that it was declined because they put a wrong zipcode for the charge! Smh! I want to quickly get out of there because of how uncomfortable i am with the attitude that she was giving me. My conversation throughout this process was very calm and i try giving her a chance to be nice, but she stayed with that attitude the whole time. She could've handled that in a different manner. She was treating me like I don't have money to pay for my order at all. I got to my hotel and saw that they didn't put any utensils nor napkins in the bag. The beef was hard and overcooked. I really do hope that this place can improve it's customer service experience. It is very disappointing!

I've been here twice to dine in. We have ordered takeout from here. The food is always delicious, never disappoints. The only thing that does disappoint is the kids menu and the fact that they only have one dessert which is Flan.

The service was mediocre, staff had bad attitude. The food was cold and stale. Would not recommend

This was our first time here. Walking in, I think we were the only English speaking clientele. Considering the type of restaurant, this was a very good thing. The restaurant was packed, but we were greeted promptly and shown to a table. Although the restaurant is small there's a cozy, casual vibe which is nice. We ordered the ceviche mixto (we went with the hot - you can do a mild version). It was excellent! Bursting with flavors of lime and cilantro. For the main course, we ordered a seafood paella. It was loaded with seafood and was way more than the 2 of us could eat. Desert of flan and coffee finished an excellent dinner. Will definitely come again!

If you are not aware of the culinary delight that is Peruvian food, I recommend that you make a trip out to El Balconcito. The decor may not be much to look at, but the food is legit: large portions at reasonable prices. The fried yucca ($5) was just all right, kind of too lightly-fried and cut into too-large wedges in my opinion, but I don't really like fried yucca to begin with. The huancaina sauce it came with for dipping was good, though not exactly spot-on. We tried the lomo saltado ($12), which was a generous helping of succulent, tender steak strips stir fried with french fries, onions, and tomatoes in a delicate peppery sauce. We also tried the arroz chaufa de camarones (peruvian-chinese style fried rice with shrimp), which tasted very similar to rice dishes I've had in Peru, but maybe with a tad more Asian flavoring. At $13, there was a shrimp for every square centimeter of rice. This was not your average Chinese-tasting fried rice, it had flavors that were distinctively Peruvian. The waitresses were friendly and spoke enough English that language wasn't a barrier. The atmosphere is slightly dingy and has a local divey tavern feel, but you don't get awesome Peruvian food at most dingy taverns. Can't wait to go back and try the pollo a la brasa.

I love this restaurant! Every menu item is amazing. I get the lomo Saltado and love their ketchup/mayo sauce. I'm rating Balconcito on their food because the service could be a little bit better. Servers take a while to get your drinks/ take your orders/ bring the check. Aside from that, you'll love this place!

Despite the service being extremely slow the food will be some of the best you will find in the city. This hole in the wall is as authentic as it gets and the prices are very reasonable.

I ordered online and the order was pending for 20 minutes so I went into the restaurant. The server came to me and said he didn't see any order. Another 10 minutes pass and He finally comes over and says he came make it. However I ordered to go not dine in and asked for a refund. I was refused and told to contact bank. NEVER eating here again!

I wish there was a 0 stars option ! -worst service ever throughout the entire staff -disgusting food The prices were extremely high for such disgusting food. We've been at the other location and it was ok but never again ! Do yourself a favor and don't throw your money away in this place definitely not worth it at all !

El Balconcito John De Casanova Pros- Great authentic Peruvian cuisine, a friendly and bilingual staff, reasonably priced, nice decorations that show famous landmarks of Peru, and a built-in bar. Cons- Hard to find parking, small plates, small environment. My girlfriend and I (I'm Peruvian) were out in Philly looking for a restaurant that served Spanish food. After coming across this restaurant not too far from our location we had a little trouble finding parking in the immediate area. After parking a couple blocks away, we entered the restaurant and saw how small it was. There were only about 10 tables and a few seats in the bar. Once we sat down however, our waiter made us feel welcome and was very friendly. My girlfriend ordered the jalea, which is a mixture of various fried seafood such as squid, octopus, and fish. It also comes with fried potatoes and fried yuca. I ordered a lomo saltado which is rice with cut up sirloin steak mixed with onions, tomatoes, and french fries. We also ordered an appetizer called Papa a la huancaina. Papa a la huancaina is potatoes covered in a traditional creamy Peruvian cheese sauce. While I was waiting I began to look around noticing many portraits of famous Peruvian landmarks, that as a Peruvian I truly appreciated as it shows the beauty of the country. The all-around decorations of the restaurant made me feel welcomed, provided a nice ambiance, and made me feel as if I was at home. Once we received our appetizers, we noticed that the plate was really small even for an appetizer, but it was delicious. Our entrees did not take long to come out. The lomo saltado was very juicy and tender while the french fries were your standard all around great tasting french fries. What made it all stand out was the juice that naturally pours out of the steak. While the lomo saltado tasted amazing, the portion was quite small for an entree and left me wanting more afterwards. It did not fill me up completely. On the other hand, my girlfriend's jalea was a pretty good size and I was able to take a few bites off her plate. The fried seafood was very crispy and delicious. I also loved the fact that it is topped off with lots of onions giving the food more flavor. Finally, we had a great tasting dessert called flan. The flan was very soft and creamy, and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite desserts from this Peruvian restaurant. I will be coming back soon. While the plates were small as was the restaurant itself, we enjoyed the food and ambiance and will be coming back the next time we are in the area.

This place is so amazing and delicious ! My friend took me here one day and I've been traveling 45 minutes just to dine here. Great food, great price and great people ! Check it out

The food is good but the service isn't. Waited wayyy too long for our food. The servers are forgetful as well. I would ask for something and never received it. I would have to ask multiple servers just to get another drink. Definitely consider this before deciding on eating here.

The worst experience ever. This place don't even deserve one start. I never leave reviews, but this time it's necessary. This restaurant it's extremely expensive and the amount of food that you receive don't justify the price. I ordered grilled chicken breads with garlic shrimp. This order comes with two sides. As a side I got tostones and fried yuca. I paid $25 for three thin pieces of chicken, 6 small over cooked shrimp, 3 tostones and 5 cold pieces of fried yuca...horrible...I also got a piece of flan which I don't think you can call the tiny piece of flan that I got "piece". The piece was so small. Unbelievable, it also seems that they cut one piece of flan in two and gave me one of the two pieces. I'm extremely disappointed with the taste of the food, the amount of food and the price. I don't recommend this place.

Cozy, welcoming ambiance within the restaurant itself. First time here and I was pretty pleased with the Ceviche Mixto. They offer three different levels of "how spicy" you'd prefer your plate for the ceviche. Servers were great, food tasted fresh and was affordable.

Cozy little place with terrific food! I had the 1/2 roasted chicken from the Peruvian menu and my friend had a steak with shrimp from the Portuguese menu. We both really enjoyed the lunch and the service was very good, too. Lots of great choices on the menu, so I'll be back soon.

So i went to the one on castor it was so good took a lil for the food to come out but it was worth the wait

The seats are horrible and the ceiling is old. They charged me double what I owed them and 11 dollars more for- I dont even know what. The administration is atrocious.

This small family restaurant is a real jewel. Very busy around dinner but well worth the wait. The service is friendly and the menu diverse. The ceviche is the BEST in the city.

After studying abroad in Chile and working in an authentic Peruvian restaurant in my college town here in the US, I've been on the hunt for an authentic Peruvian restaurant in Philly. Well gracias a Dios that I found El Balconcito!! It's a bit under the radar and off the beaten path, especially for Center City residents like me, but the food was exactly what I was looking for and expecting. In addition to Peruvian cuisine, they also feature Portuguese on their menu. Because I was missing the familiar Peruvian food that I used to eat so frequently, I chose to stick with the Peruvian dishes. The portions were huge and the food was very enjoyable. Our leftovers became lunch for the both of us the next day. We had the papa a la huancaina, ceviche, tostones rellenos and lomo saltado. I wanted to drink the huancaina sauce by the gallon. The ceviche was a wonderful mix of freshness, flavor and color. The tostones were yummy but so filling, I could only eat one. The lomo was delicous. And the fact that they had bottles of picante sauce (the good green Peruvian kind) on every table really won me over. Psht, Tabasco shabasco. Picante is where it's at. The service could have been better but it wasn't terrible. It seemed like we waited an excessively long time for our check though. The atmosphere is casual and laid back, just as the Latino culture tends to be. You know it must be good if you're the only non-Latino people there.

This restaurant is very small. It was once a corner bar in its past life. They have booths and tables and the light is on the dim side, making it cozy. The food is Peruvian/Portuguese was a strong emphasis on seafood. Their seafood selections are very fresh. I had the tostones with shrimp. The tostones were hot, crunchy and with just the right amount of salt. They serve the tostones molded into a cup shape and top with delicious perfectly cooked shrimp. The table ordered the fried yucca as an appetizer and it was tasty. Very lightly battered and cut into chunky sticks, serviced with a limey cilantro dipping sauce. The menu offers red snapper, octupus salad, crab and lobster dishes.They offer a full bar so you can have a cocktail or drink with your meal. Some of the dishes are a tad pricey, but the food is excellent and bursting with freshness. Staff was pleasant and spoke English.

We walked in to a packed house (as it should be at any restaurant on Valentine's Day) but then it took a turn. As we waited in the cramped quarter awaiting a table, we noticed of all the people who entered, we were the ONLY ones not offered a menu to review while waiting. Feeling a bit akward, my husband just grabbed one off the shelf. I dont know if it was because we were the only non-bilingual couple in the room, but rest assured we did not feel welcomed. After 30 mins of being ignored and they refused to serve us and then sat a couple who came in 20 mins after us, we were fed up and walked out. Never again and i dont suggest it. To any others in search of an ethnic experience steer clear!

I had the rotisserie chicken and it was really good. The hot salsa sauce that they gave me was really good also. I brought my wife and kids and the prices are reasonable and we all enjoyed our food.

El Balconcito is excellent. Although its technically Portuguese and Peruvian, a lot of what they serve is Dominican, and damn good Dominican at that. While not the best Portuguese and Peruvian I've ever had, El Balconcito's version are about the best to be found in Philly.

I have been here a few times and never have been disappointed however not overally impressed. The restaurant it self is literally a whole in the wall. The service here is mediocre but the food is flavorful and fresh. I would recommend this dive if you really are not looking for the best service...but are looking for some good Latin American food.

Drove by this place on the way home from work for a few weeks,then had to stop in. My wife, being Puerto Rican, was craving some latin food. I opted to get takeout one night to bring home. I got a half of a roasted chicken, these beef stuffed tostones, regular tostones and these cod fritters. The food was okay, nothing to write home about. Maybe I'm used to more flavoring in food the way my mother in law cooks. It wasn't terrible, but not what I expected. the fritters were soft in the middle, with a mushy fish texture...not a good combo. the stuffed tostones were okay, but the filling was this odd creamed beef mixture. the chicken was standard. good, but again nothing lke what I was expecting. All in all, it was good but I probably wouldn' t go back.

The food here is amazing. We ordered the ceviche ahead of time and it was perfectly done. The only issue is with service. We never knew who our actual server was. They all were busy doing other things and forgot about our 2nd half of the order and water for the table. I'd definitely come back for food, but I won't expect 5 star service.

Good food but it's too restaurant is too small. Generous portions. Wide variety of drinks available. Even the pickiest eater can find something to eat. However, with the restaurant being so small and the large plates gives it a claustrophobic feel to the place.

They charge you more on tax. It happened to me five times in a row. I've got annoyed and told them they calculated tax wrong. And they lied and saying it's right but couldnt show me the calculator bc they did lie. For every meal they charged me 1-5dollars extra. Food is mediocre. You can find better places that doesn't trick your customers and lie about the bills.