Meatball & Wine Bar

Never disappointed when I go here. It’s a fair feed for a small price, and the flavours are all to die for so it doesn’t matter which way you match them. The cocktails are sure to please everyone as well as their carefully selected wine list. It’s also great going to a nice restaurant where they play some biggie smalls and have such a relaxed environment

There’s no denying the meatball and wine bar do some good meatballs and wine. There’s more variety than I expected from. I mean how different can meatballs really be! Nearly everyone in our party of 6 got something different and enjoyed every mouthful. But what impressed us more than every meatball we devoured was the most delicious cheese board ever. The stuff dreams are made of. Creamy cheesey dreams!
With all the good food in mind, it must be said that prices are much more than you’d expect to pay for meatballs and some pasta or potato mash. Definitely not a once a week kind of place, but nice for a night out!

Quite a pleasant surprise. The food was fresh and yummy.
I had fresh pasta with pesto and chicken balls and it was really good. Great comfort food. Unfortunately it was cold when it arrived. Not cool.
They were busy when we were there and understaffed badly. Despite this, service was friendly and good.
We had lunch on a public holiday and the 15% surcharge note was hidden away in tiny print on the otherwise blank page on the back of the drinks list. Very poor form.
Great, affordable option if you’re in the area and Feast of Merit is closed!

Simple grub, tasty and quick. We arrived here not sure what to expect and were pleasantly surprised, despite it being a busy Friday pre football night in Richmond. Not a place for a quiet romantic evening but great for groups.

It is not often I have a ‘Girls Night Out’ with my mum and sister, but when we do have one our special days, we go all out. The Meatballs day was one of those days. Both my sister and I had heard pitter patters around town about how «Meatballs rule!» So we thought it was most ideal.
It was an early dinner, so besides one other table it was just the three of us in the industry chic decorated restaurant/​wine bar. Immediately, one notices how offensively loud the music is for an eatery, fine for a bar but not a restaurant– the couple near us were basically yelling at each other while they comforted their child in the pram. It was uncomfortable.
The bar looks impressive and put me in the for my favourite– Bloody Mary. There was one guy at the front, bar tender/​laptop DJ/​waiter/​manager, probably the most disengaged front of house staff member I have ever seen. It seemed it was an effort for him to simply place the water bottle on the table because he put it in the absolute corner of the table rather than the Middle. The Bloody Mary was awful.
The menu at Meatballs is different to what you’re used to, you pick the type of Meatballs you want plus two different sides. Plus you could pick additionals and they have some antipasto a they claim to make in house. We took maybe 20 minutes to order and were asked by the melancholy gentleman if we were ready to order but at no point if we needed assistance. When we did asked questions, we were met with abrupt answers.
To share: we ordered the Spaghetti & meatballs, chicken meatballs with potato smash and some greens. As you can imagine by this point, we weren’t getting a good vibe from this place so we were expecting a Maccas run.
The spaghetti & meatballs. The meatballs were pretty good, in the sense that they were well seasoned, well cooked and not offensive. I’d bet my thumb that spaghetti was store bought which I think is unacceptable. The Napoli sauce tasted like unreduced, unseasoned, canned tomatoes.
Chicken meatballs were awesome! Potato smash? Let’s calls it what it is, ‘I’m too lazy to finish mashing the potato and cook off the milk.’ ‘The greens’ was spinach, pumpkin yoghurt and almond salad, wasn’t properly dressed, but when stirred actually tasted great.
Our water was filled up maybe once. Plates were left around. I want to add we were sitting a metre from the waiter guy. When we were about to leave another waitress arrived and she was quickly sent to clean our table and take payment.
During the EFTPOS process, it asks for a tip– here’s a tip– be better at your job.

I have to begin my review by apologising
Apologising for the fact I meant to take pictures of the food but it was oh so amazing we could not wait
Hard to find anything to criticize about his place
Choose your meatballs (pork, beef, chicken, fish, vego); choose your sauce (tomato, white, pesto); and choose your base (cannellini bean, mash, creamy polenta, etc)
How can you go wrong?
Wine list a little pricey for what’s on offer but for the meatballs I’m happy to wear it
Lastly and definitely not leastly … They cater for gluten free. For those of you that follows posts you know that is a big thing for me, given in coeliac and not a fad dieter
Two big thumbs up from me!

Lovely staff meatballs of surprising verity, can recommend the fish balls with green sauce and beans. The starters of mixed cheeses and quality ham was A1
All at reasonable price

So there are meatballs and there is Meatballs’ meatballs. And their meatballs are delicious, no question
The wait staff were friendly, courteous and suitably attentive without being intrusive and added suitably to a very enjoyable visit.
With 27 permutations and combinations of the meatball offering plus the specials, there is something for everyone.

Went here for date night last week & amazingness would be the word. Slightly strange as we walked in we kind of got pushed to the side as the waitress served others & let others in which had me very concerned BUT then another waitress came to seat us & the whole mood changed! She was simply fantastic, she made our night so very perfect! Friendly, knowledgeable & great for a chat. She recommended different items, told us all about the specials & our options!
The food was delish, if you don’t like meat then don’t bother going. Meat & cheese board, pulled pork sliders & of course meatballs! Then to top it off an ice cream sandwhich for dessert!

Great staff and service… Over priced and the food was definitely not what I’d been told it was… Very average for that price

Had the Lamb ribs here. They are amazing! so filling and tasty!
Their ice cream whoopie sandwiches are insane and they have a great variety! A must try for desert or dinner!

Go on, admit it — you love some tasty balls…
And even if you don’t — chances are you would like these ones!
Balls come in sets of 3 (no judgement here) and you can pick from beef, chicken, fish, pork or veg. All made with amazing fresh ingredients and fairly generous in size (always important).
Pick from red (tomato), green (pesto) or white (cream) sauce and a base to sit your balls on — pasta, polenta, smash or veg.
I really enjoy the food here and love that you have full control of your combo. It always seems to add up pretty quickly though. Our bill was just shy of $ 90 for two meals and a run of the mill wine.
Worth a visit if only to see how many bad ball related puns you can come up with!

Really nice place. Great atmosphere and good selection of alcohol. Food selection is narrow, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Everything sounded amazing which made it hard to decide even with the small selection.
Pork meatballs, red sauce and mash was a winner. Also had a taste of the brioche sliders. Was quite upset I could try the pork ribs special. Ice cream sandwich for dessert.
Lovely!

What a great vibe. I loved it we came late and had the late night menu. The chicken meatballs were the favorite of the group I came with but my favorite was the beef. Great recommendation of drinks to match. Do your self a favor and visit this place.

Love the meatballs and the new digs at Richmond are an awesome space.
I took a point off because the wait was just too long, over 2 hours for a table. you need to get there early as there’s a no reservation policy.
The combination of meatballs, pasta and sauce is a simple meal, that’s reasonably priced, and delicious. The wine selection is great and the ambience encouraged us to stay for for a few wines.
Perhaps it takes some inspiration from the meatball shop in Brooklyn, NY, which is very similar, but it’s successfully added some Melbourne style and charm.

There are many wonderful things about the Meatball & Wine Bar, but the cheeky menu is a perfect place to start. It is subtle and clever, and I don’t reckon the word ‘balls’ could have been included many more times.
The menu concept is simple: pick a ball, pick a sauce, pick something for your balls to rest on. I highly recommend the beef balls with green sauce on smash. There’s homemade beef jerky, which is a unique addition to any appetizer list. The specials are always good, and tend to stick around for awhile if you need to go back for seconds. Vegetarian? Fear not-​veggie balls are offered, as well as ample salads. The waiters are friendly, and have an amazing knowledge of local and Italian wines.
The only downside? Alas, no reservations. The wait Thurs-​Sat can be lllooonnngg, but they take your number and call you when your table is ready (just enough time to imbibe at any of the many bars in the area).
Overall, a must try that has become a go-​to.

If you’ve been to Meatball & Wine Bar on Flinders Lane (
) you’ll know what your in for. They’ve opened another on Swan St in Richmond to entertain the east.
Same offering, which to the uninitiated equals delicious meatballs with a choice of sauce and accompaniments. Finished off with the tempting dessert of macaroon sandwich for a big ball of ice cream with your choice of flavour combinations.
Good choice of Italian wines by the glass as well as beer on tap.
Perfect for a Friday lunch or dinner with friends to try a few combos.