Ballou’s Wine Bar

Restaurant is not open. Needs to be removed from Unilocal

The wine list is great and the «wine flight» option is awesome for sampling small portions of many different wines. Atmosphere is quaint. The food was good, but not superb. Definitely more worth the trip if you’re into sampling wines rather than the food alone.

I am extremely surprised that this place is still holding up. I gave it a try both as a restaurant and the tea room. Let me just start by saying that both restaurant and tea room are in the same building and staff is the same for both areas. I guess this should have been more than enough for me not to come back. However, lack of other tea rooms in the area, spending the day with my mom, and good mood all contributed to choosing this place again. If you usually go out to have a good experience and enjoy yourself. In this case, it was a moody ruiner.
First we walked in and dirty hip hop song was on. Hm, I am not conservative but that song would have been more appropriate for a nightclub, not tea room on Sunday.
The place was empty so we were the only ones. We were seated pretty quickly and offered menus. After reviewing the menus, even a quick trip to a restroom, we were still waiting for our server. I heard the staff leisurely talking by the bar area and continued waiting. Finally the server arrived and we ordered afternoon tea option that comes with sandwiches, scone and sweets.
I asked to substitute one of the items for another equivalently priced item (you can order any of the afternoon tea option items individually so you can see the price for each item individually too. She wasn’t sure if we could do that and left to ask her manager, I guess. When she came back she said it will be an extra $ 3. Okay, I am not going to fight over $ 3. We placed our order and were left to wait.
A long wait after that (more than half an hour), our food finally arrived. Note we didn’t get our teas until right before our food arrived. I am not really sure why it took such a long time for our food. It is just sandwiches and scones. I am sure scones aren’t baked righy when we place our order. The sandwiches come with egg or chicken salad (don’t tell me you make the salad fresh for each order). The order was messed up and the check still came with the extra charge.
We were done with our food and had to wait for our server again. At this point, I just wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. The mood was ruined and worst of all, what I thought would be a nice treat for my mom turned out to be a disaster so I felt bad and we both felt uncomfortable after this whole experience.
When the server showed up I gave her the an Amex credit card. She left and after some wait again, she came back and said they don’t take Amex. It said whether it is visa, master card or Amex on the front, in big letters. How hard can it be to see it right away? So fine, I hate the place by this time that it is almost unbearable so here is another card.
In the end, the bill ended up at $ 50 for small teapots, mini-​sandwiches and scones AND endless wait, messed up order and extra charge. What?!? RIP OFF!

Unilocal says I can’t check in not close to location weird. This is a great place had a wonderful time. I has the White Sangria which has cucumber melon and Pan-​seared Tuna (RARE) Salad just amazing. The bartender 9n duty tonight 8÷22÷14 and waitress Michelle was great:)

I’ve been to Ballou’s a few times with friends and always love it! The extensive list of wines is great and the fondues (both cheese & chocolate) are delicious. Their dinners and paninis are delicious as well. I could probably eat my way through the menu.
The place has a great atmosphere, and the staff is always friendly and attentive. Definitely one of my go-to’s for catching up with friends and enjoying fondue. The chocolate peanut butter one is heavenly.

Fun place to try some wines, and chat with friends… Food is good, but the draw here is the wine and the social oriented appetizers. Cheese plates are wonderful, and you cannot go wrong with dipping stuff in melted cheese! Staff has great taste, so pick their brains on wines and flights!

You had me at «wine flights»!
They have a fairly large outdoor patio, which is enjoyable on a warm summer night. I, of course, got a wine flight of 3 different white wines. Each glass had a good size pour, so it’s worth the money. It was nice to compare the wines side-​by-​side. The 3 white wines that I tried were all delicious. The ones that I remember were the Gouguenheim Torrontes (hint of citris and pineapple with a dry finish) and Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (grapefruit, lemon, & orange flavors).
My friend and I shared the crab cakes and artichoke/​pepper jack cheese fondue that came with soft chunks of bread for dipping. Everything was good– a little on the pricey side but it was a very pleasant experience.

Got the amazon deal for this place (two wine flights and a fondue). The chocolate fondue was great! I got the plain chocolate served with cake, strawberries, bananas and rice krispy treats for dipping. I’ve had the cheese fondue before as well and that was really good.
Its my second time here for the deal, while the wine is not too memorable I keep coming back when I have an afternoon to kill so there must be something to it. This time I got a panini with Italian sausage and peppers… meh, there was more bread than ingredients in between but it was tasty.
Cute place if you like fondue and a good option to catch up with family or friends. The staff is always friendly too. (3.5 stars)

Come here for the wine flights and the fondues if both those things interest you. For me after once or twice the appeal of dipping bread and carrots into hot cheese loses it’s appeal. I come back for the wine flights. The menu is fine, nothing spectacular — a few good paninis, a few good dinner options. If you don’t really know what wines you like there are some pre-​selected flights to try. Otherwise I strongly suggest just picking your own.
P. S. No AMEX.

I hate to see the negative reviews about Ballou’s in Branford, but I suppose to each his own. On the contrary, all of my experiences there have been pleasant. Not over the top extraordinary, but just a good place to hang out, have some wine and good food. I feel their prices are reasonable, but I do think there are too many options on the menu. Perhaps if they minimized the menu and just specialized on a page or two of certain items, I think the quality would be much better. I think that’s what is preventing me from giving them 5 stars.
The wine menu would also benefit a change once in a while (it’s always the same) Maybe make a wine list for each season to spice it up? I think I’ve tried every single red wine there so some alternation would be nice. They also have a decent selection of craft beer on draft in case wine isn’t your preference. Overall good restaurant but could seriously benefit from a little makeover.

I can’t even really review this restaurant because we walked out.
We tried to go to SeaGrass Grill but it closed in May ( Unilocal, update your site!).
Since Ballou’s was right across the street we decided to give it a shot, in spite of having mixed experiences at the Guilford Ballou’s.
The hostess who greeted us seemed surprised to see us, in a vague way. We understood why when we realized that there was no one in the bar and only a few couples in the dining room. This did not bode well for a shoreline restaurant at 8 PM on a Friday night in August.
She slowly rose from her chair and asked if we wanted to eat. We said we did and when I asked how late the kitchen was open (because she seemed so surprised that we were there) she said «Umm…9:30?»
After we sat for a few minutes in the empty bar watching the bartender restock glasses, we decided this was not the vibe we were looking for and went elsewhere.
As I said, I can’t really review this restaurant as we were put off before drinking or eating anything.

My husband and I were in the area tonight (chasing the full super moon), and decided to finally try this restaurant. (A side note, we live within 2 miles of the restaurant and did not want fried food from the restaurant next door).
Ballou’s totally sucks!!! do not waste your time or money going there! The waitress was just ok… on a scale from 1 to 10 — she was a 5. Service was not great, not welcoming… I ordered a fondue (was velveetish… totally not warm and smooth, as you would want and expect. However, after 45 minutes on the tiny little tea candle light burner it was finally a bit warm).
Do not waste your money or time patronizing this restaurant. Their menu is way to extensive. If they had mastered the art of a few key items, along with specials — they would have succeeded. Unfortunately — they did not do this. They won’t be around too much longer…

We walked a mile from the marina for a 7:30 reservation. At 9:15 pm we still were not served. The place was not busy and we did see another couple walk out as they never even had their orders taken. We were a party of 6, did not get our wine or bread for 30 minutes. The waitress kept apologizing, saying the kitchen was backed up, that our meal would arrive soon. At 9pm we told her we would give it until 9:15. She told us our check was taken care of, that we shouldn’t have to pay for the wine. We walked out, another mile back to the marina and had our dinner at Dockside where we were served in less than 15 minutes. The one star is for the wine.

We visited Ballou’s for Branford Restaurant Week last night. As a full disclosure, this was our 3^rd choice for a restaurant as we try to go to places we’ve never been before, and we’ve been to the Guilford Ballou’s location previously. The Branford location is MUCH bigger than the Guilford location, which was nice and unexpected. We sat in the dining room and quickly asked if we could move our table as there was a table with two women and what felt like a dozen small children (but really only 3 or 4) that were running wild. No server or manager asked the women to reign in their children. I fully expected these children to start coming to our table and taking our food, they were that out of control.
I ordered a flight of wine (nothing to write home about). My friends each ordered a glass of red, and my boyfriend got a seltzer. One of my friend’s wines had clearly been open for a long time and was starting to go stale.
After moving to the dining room side, we got our appetizers (Dubliner cheese plate for us and Stilton blue for our friends). My boyfriend had also ordered a side salad. Our waiter asked if we needed one or two and we stated just one, but they brought out two anyway. The cheese plates were both delicious and had plenty (but not TOO much) food on them. Two at my table had the brisket (both raved about it), one had the spaghetti squash (also delicious, but they did not ask which sauce to put with it), and one had the pasta sensation (which was great). We finished our meals with the Nutella fondue and the Chocolate Peanut Butter fondue. We shared between the four of us and, if we had more room in our stomachs, would have licked the bowls clean.
The parts of the night that led to the 3-​star review were the loud neighbors to begin with and the lackluster service. It was totally dead, with only a few other groups seated that night, yet there were huge stretches of time between our courses, and our waiter rarely came to check on us once we were at the bar table. He was behind the bar watching the UCONN basketball game and we had to flag him down a few times (including to pay for our meal). It was disappointing that the service was bad after the food was so good — and the price was great with the restaurant week deal.
I won’t go back to the Branford location, but am still planning on frequenting the Guilford location. We had much better service there, even with a packed house.

I had purchased a groupon for this restaurant because of my obsession with fondue. The location is a little bit of a drive from Manchester but i have to say well worth it. When we arrived we ordered our fondue upon sitting down. The fondue arrived before we were even able to put our drink order in, I thought that was a little strange. I have worked in many restaurants and would always bring a drink order out before appetizers. However the fondue (Italian cheese) was amazing. And they deliver a wine bottle of water (cute touch) to the table.
I ordered a half of the motz, tom, and basil panini with a cup of lobster bisque. The sandwich was nothing to write home about however i was very impressed with the bisque. It had a good amount of lobster meat in it and wasn’t too overwhelming. My friend also had half a paninni and she absolutely loved it. The menu was unique and had a lot of tasty options to choose from. I will absolutely be back to try some of their other tasty menu options.
We finished the evening with the nutella chocolate fondue. This was amazing! I love rice crispie treats and the fresh fruit they provided for dunking.
Our server was attentive and nice. Cant wait to go back, already have plans to purchase another groupon. Its a great deal! Def worth the long drive.

I was pleasantly surprised at finding this little gem in Branford. Not that I spend a whole lot of time there, but when I do, I’m always looking for something new and exciting, and I found it.
This place was actually open on a Monday, which I have found, most eateries in Branford aren’t, or run some weird hours, but there have been times I’ve just gone to new haven for dinner instead. Stumbled on this place, open, with an outside seating area. Bonus points in my book.
They have fondue, which was cute and delicious. I can’t compare it to the melting pot because I’ve been there so many times I can’t count, but I was pleasantly surprised and super happy at the cheese fondue.
They have a nice menu of pastas, which of course was my staple of the day. The pasta was delicious, the meat tender, and the sauce with just the right amount of spices and seasoning.
Their wine list is quite impressive, tried an autumn white wine (yes I know, going into uncharted territory for this red wine drinker) and it was superb, with lots of autumn pumpkin notes that wasn’t overwhelming. More bonus points: they have one of my favorite Pinot noir bottles called block 9.
Didn’t have time for dessert but want to definitely come back for chocolate fondue alone. Will be back!

Went here last night with two of my girlfriends. We all had wine and sat outside on the patio. It was pretty hot outside but they have umbrellas so there is a lot of shade. We ordered the pepper jack cheese and artichoke fondue. In previous visits I have ordered the chocolate peanut butter fondue. Both are delicious. The cheese comes with bread to dip and the chocolate comes with banana, strawberry, cake bits and rice Krispy treads… so yeah. Pretty epic.
If you are looking for a place with a relaxing, charming atmosphere to sit and catch up with friends, this is the place! It would also be a great place for a date.

I was thrilled at the idea of a romantic little place with wine and fondue, but i was let down. We went on a Friday night at 8 o’clock and the place was pretty empty. The first thing that hit me was the smell of about 100 scented candles. I had a headache within 10 minutes from this.
The wine menu was insane, there was so much going on, it was hard to remember what wines we wanted in our flights. We each ordered a wine flight and a cheese fondue. There only appeared to be one waitress available for the whole place and so it took a while to get our wine and fondue. None of the wines were anything to write home about, and the fondue was disappointing at best. As the night went on our service got slower– he ordered a beer and i ordered another glass of wine and some truffles. The only part of the night i liked was the dolce truffle. Other than that i wouldn’t go back. Especially after a $ 71 bill that left us still hungry and in need of a decent drink.

Food: 4
Décor: 3.5
Ambiance: 4
Service: 4.5
Value: 4.5
Wow, the wine flights at this spot were awesome. Cool location too. Too bad they didn’t last.

This being my first visit to Connecticut, my first meal in the state was hear, in Branford. Apparent;y this building has changed hands a few times, and the pleasant waitress, food options, and ambiance were all enjoyable. The menu is not super packed. A mix of seafood, pasta, sandwiches, and meat.
I ordered the #18 Panini half plate — sweet italian sausage, provolone cheese, red pepper spread, and red onion. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t above average, but filled my stomach. The bread was very crisp around the edge (a personal disliking), but didn’t smother the taste of the inner parts. Their paninis come with a field-​greens side salad and italian dressing, and 4 ripe olives.
Memorable moment of this establishment? Dessert. Four of us split an order of plain Nutella fondu, and a pot of peanut butter Nutella. The PBN stole my heart — I simply love peanut butter, thus Nutella mixed in was very tasty!