The Meatball Shop
“Ordered vege ball, kitchen sink w/pesto which came with an abundance of salad, beans, quinoa and apple slaw.”
“I'm leaving off a star because I wish they would do away with marking the menus with the dry-erase pen.”
“Loved them when they opened years ago in LES and love the new=ish UWS location.”
The Meatball Shop
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This isn't my first time here and it's always delicious! The food and ambience is always on point. The menus are basically a dry erase board where you can check off your order. Very easy. No confusions. They give you options on what type of meat ball you want : beef, chicken, spicy pork, veggie or the special of the day ( today was pizza ball ) then you have options of the sauce you want : Pesto, Marinara, Parmesan Cream Mushroom gray and then you can pick the sides you would want. They have different options as what you could get but I chose the subcategory Kitchen Sink which comes w 3 balls and the market salad and veggie of the day. Tried to stay low carb. You also have options of the 4 balls and all other types of sides and even balls on a bun. Highly recommend this place!!
This place is SO fun to go with a group of friends to. First of all, they really try to cater to the customer's preferences so you fill out the menu with a dry erase marker and mark off what meatballs you want with what sauce and what side. I had the spicy pork meatballs with the spicy meat sauce and it was the perfect amount of spiciness. I also got a side of rigatoni with the parmesan cream sauce; if you are a mac and cheese lover, order that. My roommates loved their meatballs with the pesto sauce and said the risotto was amazing. The service was great, and I would definitely recommend coming here with friends/family/kids!
I LOVE THE MEATBALL SHOP. I have to say I bring friends and family here the most when I want a fun atmosphere with affordable, delicious, high quality food. There are so many locations to choose from but of the 4 locations I have been to this is by far my favorite. I started ordering the "special" ball whenever I would come. They seem to always be the best choice. And the staple items are always there so if need be I can order it other times! This time in particular I got the lamb meatball with the special pesto sauce. It was the best sandwich I have had there yet. It was $13. I got it on whole wheat bread and it came with their house side salad. It is the most simple salad but packs so much fresh flavor with the light olive oil dressing and thin Sliced apples. I always order a side of rigatoni with the spicy marinara. It is only $6 and is a good portion for two people to split as a side. The pasta is so fresh and cooked to 'al dente' perfection. If I could pick one restaurant to go to for the rest of my life it would be this one. This location is pretty large (if not possibly the largest) compared to the others. And they also have about 6 tables for outside seating. This is so nice in the spring summer and fall. I ordered a Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout for $7. I love this beer so much! It is nice to have real beer choices besides the typical domestic boring brands. The staff is really friendly and accommodating.
BIg disappointment. I was hoping after trying the one in LES and Brooklyn, I would hope one of them would taste good, but nope I was wrong…..This chain is not worth it…except for their mint ice cream! I only went here because of our 15 people group consensus, the out of towners wanted to try this place.
Special breakfast sausage
-It was enough to share, but it wasn't anything special. It was on the dry side.
Meat balls
-This site was probably the worst of the 3 that I went to.
-Little flavor and very dry!!! It was probably dry because it seemed a little over cooked.
Overall:
I am not a fan of this place and I am not impressed. If you absolutely want to try this place out, make a trip to brooklyn because that was the best out of the 3 that I tried. The only plus is probably the fact that it can cater to a large group of people.
I wasn't expecting this restaurant to be… well, a restaurant. With a name like the meatball shop, I thought they sold meatball based items to go, like a sandwich shop or something. This is actually a very relaxing and comfortable restaurant with a nice bar.
I don't usually like menus where you have to follow a protocol. You know, step 1 choose this, step 2 choose that. But here, it is one of the few times that type of format actually makes sense. Plus it's very simple.
Basically…
1. Choose what kind of meat your ball is made of
2. Choose the sauce to accompany it. ($9 for 4 balls).
3. Choose the carbs or vegetables to accompany your meatball meal. (+$6). You can also choose to have your meatballs on top of your sides, or served separately.
The meatballs are all served with parmesan cheese & delicious focaccia bread.
Of course there are also meatball sandwich options as well.
The first time I came here, I stopped by in the summer to purchase some meatballs to go. While I waited at the bar, the bartender was kind enough to offer me some ice cold water.
The second time we stopped by, we actually ate in the restaurant.
Old-Fashioned: good cocktail!
Classic Beef with Spicy Meat Sauce:
It is so much more than I expected from a meatball. Each ball has about as much volume as a burger patty. The meatball was seasoned well and the flavor was incredible. The sauce was also great. Despite its innocuous appearance, it does have a kick to it. The more you eat, the spicier it gets.
Spicy Pork with Parmesan Cream Sauce:
I liked the pork meatball too, but I didn't like the parmesan cream sauce. It was too heavy and thick. It felt like swallowing too much alfredo sauce.
Beef Balls with Parmesan Cheese & Pesto Sauce:
The pesto sauce was delicious. I could taste the crunch of the pine nuts.
Risotto & Zucchini:
The risotto was as good as the meatballs. It was very creamy.
I would definitely return if I were craving big giant meatballs or some type of hearty meal for a reasonable price.
If you think it's a horrible idea to go here on a Saturday night, you may be wrong. Yes! We were told forty minute wait for two, but actually only ended up waiting about five minutes before we got a text that our table was ready. Wonderful start!
The setting is dim, decor is rustic, but food is great. I had the veggie balls with mushroom gravy as a part of the kitchen sink. What is a kitchen sink? Basically, the most worth deal you can get at the Meatball Shop if you love vegetables. For just $12 (+$2 if you opt for a fried egg aka the family jewel), you can get three balls with whatever sauce you'd like and a bunch of vegetables. This one came with a scoop of lentils, some yummy pumpkin, an apple salad, a huge scoop of kidney and garbanzo beans, and what I believe was kale (super dim lighting, couldn't tell!). Now, if you don't like that mix, I say don't go for it. I wasn't the biggest fan of the veggie ball – it had a weird consistency and a bit too much lentils, but the gravy made it delicious.
Absolutely recommend coming here because it is a wonderful place to have dinner. The menu is somewhat limited to the main course being meatballs (aka JUST meatballs, meatball subs, sliders, etc.) because it is THE MEATBALL SHOP, so if you're not a fan of your food in balls on top of veggies or in between bread, I wouldn't recommend it to you.
I've liked the other Meatball Shops I've been to, and I like this one. Being on the UWS means it's less packed then the downtown locations, though it's been lively every time I've been here.
Good to know: You can get a terrific vegetarian meal here. I mention this only because it's not self-evident, from the name. The vegetarian meatballs, while sometimes a little dry, are good, especially in the context of something like the Kitchen Sink, which is a mix of 3 meatballs and a chef's choice of greens, salads, spreads, and vegetables, e.g., roast carrots, polenta, barley, beets. It's a mishmash that always somehow comes together well.
5 stars for food, 4 stars for service.
So many people have recommended trying this place and I finally took the plunge and went with a group of 3 late on a Saturday night. We had to wait about an hour, which was no problem because we just hung out at The Penrose around the corner and they texted me when our table was ready (extra points here for referring to me as a "baller"- who doesn't love a food pun?)
Anyways, the menu is a bit confusing at first, but basically you check off with an erasable marker what kind of meatball, sauce, sandwich/platter you'd like and they bring it you. I got individual meatball sliders because I wanted to try everything. The special that day was this macaroni and cheese meatball with cheddar cheese sauce which was absolutely to die for. I also tasted my boyfriends spicy meatballs in spicy sauce (even more points here for using Franks- that shit really does go on everything).
Food was delicious, drinks were delicious. My only complaint is to our waiter, who, despite working in an establishment full of delicious meats and happy customers, had a stank face on the entire time. She got frustrated when I told her it was my first time there and didn't understand how the menu worked, and then got sassy when we ordered a second round of balls. How can you be unhappy when you work at a restaurant that openly refers to everything as balls?! Other than that, A+.