Balance Restaurant

Was in Johnstown 10/28/23 for hockey tournament. Had a late game (7:45) and needed a place for 12 hungry guys to eat at 9:30 on a Saturday night. Made arrangements with Balance owner and staff to stay "open" for our team. We pre-ordered our entrees and apps so when we arrived our food orders were already underway. Had drink orders taken and within minutes our drinks and appetizers were served. We had the place to ourselves with a wonderful waiter, Trenton, his assistant, a bartender, chef Dallas and his wife who owns the establishment but I cannot remember her name. First and foremost, the menu is awesome, diverse, unique and wide ranging. Prices are very reasonable and portions very good. The really reason to return is the taste. 12 guys had 6 or 7 different dishes and everyone raved at how good their choice was. Drinks were excellent and complimentary dessert samplings were awesome. The service was excellent, we were treated like special. My hats off to them for wanting to stay "open"; the restaurant closed to the public at 9:30 and serve us. Granted, it was a pretty good bill but I had called another restaurant in the area explaining our situation and they turned us down. I believe our proprietor asked her staff if they wanted to oblige us and she told me that their reply was something along the lines of "we're going to be here anyway cleaning up, why not make some money." Please, if you're in town or even close, give Balance a try, I guarantee you will be glad you did. Thanks again to all the staff at Balance for making our dinner together as a team a memorable and satisfying event!

So not to jump past the details... but overall Balance was just ok. It is a place I'd try again because I feel like it has potential and maybe it was an off night.When I found them online I was jazzed about the menu. They have a lot of unique options which I'm a huge fan of. It's always easy to find basic menus, so to find something fun that also offered a kids menu (meaning, cool... I don't need to worry about taking my humans even though they'll be ordering off the regular menu) was promising.The space itself is funky in a good way and spacious. It spans a few different rooms which all have their own vibe, and we saw igloos outside!I'd say our food had a 60/40 success rate. The hummus was seriously awesome, as was the risotto. My protein power bowl was so tasty with a great dressing and I absolutely love that they have creative vegetarian options.Our server was so kind, but I'm not quite sure where they were for most of our visit.Again... maybe an off night. We'd try it again.If you're someone who needs a changing table, they have one!

A gem in a dining desert. Support it and help it thrive. Note to chef: Please, no garlic in risotto. Please!!Good job on the pizza! Best wishes for your continued success.

First time visiting this very cool restaurant in downtown Johnstown. We were in town for a ZZ Top concert down the street , so the location was great enabling us to park and walk a few blocks to the concert and parking on the street was free! The restaurant itself looks like it has expanded a few times, probably due to its popularity, as we were seated in a third dining room. Looks like there are three storefronts it now occupies. An industrial vibe would describe the decor.So the food was amazing. We shared a hummus veggie platter with sea salt pitas as our appetizer. I ordered the balance bowl which was whole grains like couscous and barley with beets, feta, sweet potatoes, kale , golden raisins, candied walnuts and topped it with an optional 2 pieces of salmon. So the menu says one piece of salmon is $4, while 2 are $9. I asked the waiter and he said he thought it was a typo on the menu for the one piece price. Ok. I'll accept that, but they really should correct it. Regardless, it was really good!My friend ordered the mushroom risotto with the optional filet added on. She ordered it medium rare, so the blood kind of pooled around the edge of the rise, but she said that she didn't mind that but some might find that off putting. She also enjoyed her meal.Our drinks were dirty martinis with Tito's as an upgrade. The first ones were delicious. The second ones, definitely were not the same. I asked the waiter if he ordered them with Tito's and he said he had. I told him that it definitely didn't taste the same so he offered to take them off the tab. That was nice of him to accommodate us.He was the only server on the third dining room and I think he was a little overwhelmed because our water bottle was empty for a while and it was hard to get him to even look our way to see if we needed something because he was running between tables. They were a-bit understaffed that night. Nonetheless he was pleasant and accommodating to us.

Hot and sweet pizza and cheese pizza with spicy sauce were delicious. Two sides to this place. Live music or not. We chose "not" because it was loud in the foyer. Foyer a bit odd. Dessert case with a couple of things in it. Wait here to be seated sign. Nobody around. Kitchen visible. Only a moment of weirdness. Someone came to seat us. My pizza was cheesy enough that I could not separate or pick up a slice with my fingers. An improvement would be to help the very busy staff by having silverware on the table, so the customers don't have to ask for it. Good pizza.

Nice place in this small town! Has a great little inside and outside area, and pleasantly has good food. Staff is very nice, however our waiter seemed a little overwhelmed.Had a hummus plate to start. Then finished with a spicy and sweet pizza and a quesadilla. Both were very good with the pizza probably being our favorite.In town for a concert and this was definitely a bright spot of our visit.

Good food, good service. Menu is not typical run of the mill food. We have been several times, always happy. At times the noise gets a little loud.

This place has gone down the hill! Absolutely gross, awful service, subpar drinks and food. The worst part is it feels dirty! The credit card thing they bring to the table was gross!!! I didn't even want to touch it, seeing food and finger prints from weeks. This place used to be so much better all around. But every time I come I feel like I'm being rushed out by our server. This place was good at one point, but don't waste your time today!!! Awful, dirty, snobby.....

My son in law had a draft beer from this restaurant. The name of the beer was Stella.Had something in it that went from the bottom of the glass to the top.He thought it was maggots.We showed the staff and I believe the owner.He did replace his beer.First and last visit for me!!

Balance has been off kilter as of late. Many of the best menu items have disappeared, and the menu today is, in a word, lackluster. What set this place apart when it opened was the epic food, but Balance has seemingly chosen easy to prepare dishes over the elevated dishes that put them on the map. I hope that this is a temporary situation, and that the restaurant finds its magic again.