Meatball Shop (West Village)
After hearing only great things about the Meatball Shop, I kind of had to try it. Though its not a place that I would normally go to, the fact that an outpost just opened on Greenwich Street, since I rarely go to the Lower East Side or Williamsburg, gave me that extra motivation to finally check it out. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations and can get quite packed during prime-time hours as it is a pretty small place. The decor is pretty rustic and homey with a white subway tilled bar and dark wood floors. The front of the restaurant features mostly bar seating while the back has a communal table and a few scattered tables. The open kitchen is also a nice touch as well.
The menu mainly consists of meatball sliders and heros but surprisingly there are a good amount of vegetarian options as well. Meatball Shop offers beef, chicken and pork meatballs and one “vegetable ball”. The sliders are $3 each while the heroes are $9 which I would say is quite reasonable. The menus are on a laminated sheet that you check off with a dry-erase marker and then hand to your server. Its a good idea but I did feel like its easy to mistakenly erase something and mess up the order more so than if the server just wrote it down on a pad. The portions are generous and the food is decent. The meatballs, while not the best I’ve ever had, and the hero managed to stay together the entire meal (nothing is more annoying than when the kitchen overstuffs the sandwich and it all falls apart in your plate). I’d personally go for the traditional beef meatballs but the chicken meatballs are a lighter and good option as well.
To be honest, The Meatball Shop serves food you really can’t complain about. Its a step up from normal deli heroes and meatballs and the menu is priced well. Though I’m not running back anytime soon, The Meatball Shop is a great family place or just a good place to eat at when you don’t know where to go and are in the area. It won’t disappoint you but don’t expect anything out of this world either.
Ambiance: 6
Food: 6
Service: 6
Overall: 6
Verdict: Mirage
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