2 /5 T Lewis: Ughhhh, I didn’t want to give such a low star rating, but eek! I’ve had Balboa South as takeout, and it was actually really good so that is what brought me back- although it’s been a couple of years.
Let me just start off by saying that the customer service was immaculate and exceeded expectations. There were a few different servers who checked on us and they were very attentive. I believe one of them may have been a manager, and he was very kind and accommodating. I really appreciate excellent customer service these days, so they definitely didn’t lack in that category.
We came on a Friday evening and sat outside in the back patio. The nice, cool air & breeze was great. The indoor portion of the restaurant did not have air condition, I’m not sure if it was broken or they just don’t have it running. But it was very uncomfortable and stuffy.
Now for the cocktails and food. My tamarindo margarita was absolutely awful. It didn’t have any taste to it! It was pretty much watered down. The food was meh. The garlic fries were the best thing we had. The classic Balboa burger just didn’t hit. The patty was overcooked and dry, the whole burger fell apart. There was nothing really keeping the lettuce, tomato, and onion together- not even the cheese. If there was supposed to be sauce, it didn’t exist. You can see in my pictures that the buns are totally dry. The BLT didn’t have any mayo either. It was so dry I think part of it stayed lodged in my esophagus. I had to gulp down my watered margarita, and I didn’t even get buzzed from it! It wasn’t terrible but it’s definitely not the same taste I remember a couple of years ago. Chula Vista doesn’t have very many burger joints so it’s a bummer it was a letdown. Just try to kick it up a couple notches. You have a great thing going, but you need to install air condition and jazz up the food.
