I’ve always seen the ‘meatballs’ sign on the window out front and was curious if they only sold meatballs. Yep, for most part of the menu there are different types of meatballs and wines. Hence the name. Sounds simple and it is, and that is what makes it remarkable. Meatball and Wine Bar use fresh Australian produce to create delicious meatballs and they are served in an uncomplicated way, which lets the produce shine. I like the idea that there are meatballs on the menu, but there are so many different choices on how you can eat the meatballs. It’s unique and it makes it fun. There is also a great wine selection.
I love the décor! Brick walls, oaky furniture and wine bottles and wine boxes everywhere, it sort of felt like you were in a wine cellar. It was awesome! The atmosphere brings sophistication to the restaurant, which makes it much more than just some tasty meatballs.
So firstly you can choose what type of ball you want. They have pork, beef, chicken, fish and veg. Then you choose a sauce. They had Italian tomato, white creamy or pesto salsa verde. And then you can choose something for the balls to sit on. Italian beans, creamy polenta, potato smash, homemade pasta or veg. You can also choose to have sliders instead, which are the balls and sauce of your choice in three mini brioche buns. Yum!
The pork balls were my favourite type, which had fennel, sage and orange. We had them with the homemade pappardelle pasta, which was so thin and light and fresh, it was incredible. It went really well with the creamy sauce. Delicious!
We also had the beef balls in the sliders with the Italian tomato sauce. The three little burgers were delicious. Oh if we got the pork balls in the sliders then it would have been the three little pigs. Oh well. Anyway these were delish! The brioche buns were soft and buttery and the beef was juicy and delicious. Plus there was a secret little pickle in each bun, which I liked. Wait, these were my favourite too. They were adorable and easy to eat.
We also got the chicken meatballs, which had pistachio, muscatels and parmesan. We had them with the pesto salsa verde on the creamy polenta. The polenta was really creamy as described in its title. That was yum. I liked the pistachio, the nuts made the balls more textural. Hmm I don’t know about that last sentence hehe. And the pesto was tasty.
For dessert we ordered a whoopee mac. The whoppie mac should be called ginormo! It was a ginormous ice-cream cookie sandwich. It was the size of a burger! It was massive and it was delicious. You get to choose your own flavour combo. They had a variety of cookies and a selection of homemade ice-creams. We chose chocolate cookie and caramel ice-cream, can’t go wrong. It was wonderful! It was massive, I don’t know if I could eat a whole one myself. The ice-cream was really smooth and creamy and the chocolate cookie wasn’t too sweet so it worked well. Plus also there were little surprise chocolate chips inside. It was yum.
We also ordered a vanilla bean panna cotta with berry coulis. This was a special on the night and it was good. The panna cotta was really creamy and vannilary which went well with the tart blueberry and blackberry coulis and biscuit crumb. It was really yummy.
They also had charcuterie and cheeses which makes for a great appetizer or if you just wanted to drop by for a quick bite. I really enjoyed this place, it was fun and the food was great. I like that the meatballs were made from Aussie produce. The venue was great and so was the service. It was a great dinner, simple honest food and a fabulous wine selection.
I heart Meatball and Wine Bar!
Olives x
The Meatball & Wine Bar
Address: 135 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Website: http://www.meatballandwinebar.com.au
Phone: 03 9654 7545
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 8am-1am, Sat-Sun: 11am-1am
