Beef Meatball with Italian Tomato Sliders
Fish Meatballs with Green Pesto Salsa Verde on Home-made Lasagne
Beef Meatball Sliders and Fish Meatballs
Chicken Meatballs with Green Pesto Salsa Verde Heroes
Whoopie Mac -Coffee Macaron with Chocolate Ice Cream
From the moment you step into the Meatball & Wine Bar, you know that you will have a great time. The Meatball & Wine Bar has a cool and funky vibe that reminds you of a diner in New York. From the great tunes to the friendly staff it is a place that you will definitely want to bring your friends back to.
The venue has a number of seats ranging from seats at the bar, high tables as well as communal or tales for big groups. There are dark wooden tables with exposed brick walls and posters of meat cuts on the wall.
From the get-go the service is outstanding and fun. Our friendly waitress informs us that “It’s all about the Balls” cheekily. There can a many innuendos that follow with the menu here =) The concept is simple – you pick your balls, the sauce for the balls to come with and if you want anything with the balls. Looking at the menu, you want to try it all!
Each meatball is 60 grams and lovingly made by artisians using traditional recipes. The Meatball and Wine Bar uses only the finest of ingredients – the Beef is 100% pasture fed Black Angus Beef, the fish is the freshest Australian fish, the chicken is Lilydale Free Range and the vegetables are from the freshest produce. You would think that 3 meatballs is not enough but trust me they are really filling. For the sauces you get a selection of Italian tomato, Creamy White, or Green Pesto Salsa Verde. You can then add something extra for them to sit on – Potato smash, Home-made Pasta sheets, Italian beans, Polenta or the Day’s Green Vegetable selection.
I ordered the Fish Meatballs with the Green Pesto Salsa Verde Sauce on Home-made Lasagne and my friend ordered the Beef Sliders. I have never had fish meatballs before so I wasn’t sure what to expect – but these were delicious! They were mixed with potato and the fish was poached perfectly to create the meatball itself. The flavouring was perfect with the right amount of tang. I think I could have done without the home-made pasta though, as it didn’t really add anything else to do the dish.
Despite our fullness, we were convinced to try the Whoopie Macs – which was the dessert. Once again it had a similar concept to the balls – you pick your flavour of macarons (Coffee, Pistachio, Berry and Chocolate) and then select which Ice Cream you want (Coffee, Burnt Orange, Vanilla and Chocolate). We were told that the Pistachio and Berry Macs were sold out sadly, so we decided to share a Coffee Mac with Chocolate Ice Cream. These Whoopie Macs are seriously huge and I don’t think I could have eaten it all on my own. The Macarons are crunchy on the outside and soft and delectable on the inside – simply yum!
The balls were so enticing that I ordered takeaway balls as well. (They only do Heroes takeaway – which is the 3 meatballs in a Ciabata Roll – and it comes nicely wrapped up with a Meatball and Wine Bar sticker, in a brown bag that has your order written on the bag. Really great presentation). I got the Chicken Meatball Heroes with the Green Salsa Verde once again. This combination was fantastic. The chicken meatballs are blended beautifully together with pistachios, muscatels and parmesan and there is a smoothness of the chicken together with the crunch of the nuts.
With this type of menu, you are always left wondering what the other combinations would be like and one of the many reasons to keep coming back. Although I have to say, once you have their balls – that is really reason enough to come back. Together with the friendly and fun service and the concept – this place is definitely one that will be around for ages!
Note: The chicken used is Lilydale free-range chick which is Halal
Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – A variety of Meatballs, Cured Meats and Cheeses – Menu can be found at http://www.meatballandwinebar.com.au/
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual, Laidback and Fun
Standout Dish: Any of the Meatballs!
Service: Friendly, Fun and Enthusiastic.
Online Booking: Meatball & Wine Bar doesn’t take reservations unless you have a group of more than 8
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.meatballandwinebar.com.au/
135 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Tel No: 9654 7545
Opening Hours:
Breakfast:
Monday to Friday: 7am to 11am
Lunch / Dinner:
Monday to Sunday: 11am to 1am
Brunch:
Saturday to Sunday: 11am to 3pm
grazing panda 