The Meatball Shop

Horrible service. Staff were so rude & inconsiderate.
We were a party of 3 with a dog so we knew we had to sit outside. We had the dog on the outside away from the door as they asked and they still come out and say the dog is to close.
Last I checked according to NY law you can have your dogs sit outside with you !!!
Also they wouldn’t even give us time to look at the menu.
Just horrible. The other locations are much better.

In short: Service great but food was awful
First I need to give credit to the staff for being super sweet and accommodating. Great service.
Otherwise, their cocktails are MEGA sugary. My boyfriend said it was the worst old fashion he ever had and my drink was awful as well. The food was not a lot and we both came home feeling sick after eating there. The food overall was very blah and boring.

Visiting NYC and ordered from this place tonight. I placed the order through Postmates and it came missing items I ordered plus silverware. Needless to say you can’t eat risotto without a fork or a spoon. My wife ordered a chicken pesto hero and it was as if the bread had been soaked in oil. It was pouring out if the bread with every bite. Disgusting.
Obviously, the guys lack attention to detail and I won’t eat here again.

Whenever I can run out of the office for a break (which is rare). I come to get a meatball sandwich. the plates are substantial and the place is small but comfortable where you’re not on top of people. the servers are very pleasant and attentive. the atmosphere is nice and service is quick. thank you.

They mixed up our beers and ended up comping all the beers we ordered that night. It’s the shit like that that keep me coming back to this place. I’ll remember this.
Also their meatballs are pretty good!

I’ve been to this location for brunch, lunch and dinner. I’ve always had friendly waiters, and have been served quickly. I love how you can choose your own meatball creation, and can be as creative or as boring as you want! I personally tend to be on the boring side, but I’ve tried the spicy pork meatballs and thought they were amazing — highly recommend those.
Now onto dessert… any place that lets me choose my own cookies and ice cream and puts them together into an amazing sandwich of goodness is good by me! Come here hungry… you’re going to want to have room for dessert after you finish your balls! :)

Do it. Who knew meatballs could be so good? Certainly not me — I don’t even like meatballs (except for these ones, obviously).
If you have to avoid gluten you’ll be happy to know their chicken balls are gluten-​free and delicious! I can’t go past the tomato sauce, even though I know I should diversify. Love the kitchen sink — it’s the tastiest way to get in your greens. Yum! Staff are friendly too.

This is a restaurant that has meatballs «BALLS» with many creative dish selections. They have outdoors seating along Second Avenue which is wonderful, and their indoor dining area is casual with wooden tables along with a comfortable cozy bar area. Once we dined outdoors for lunch where we ordered their menu selection, the Kitchen Sink, which comes with three meatballs, your choice of sauce and their chef’s choice vegetables. But this time, we decided to check out their Brunch. I had taken the advice of our waiter and ordered the Balls Benedict; Two Poached Eggs, Bacon, Two Sausage Meatballs Hollandaise Sauce on Brioche Toast. Brunch was great along with their very reasonable prices. I believe this restaurant is a cool happening place that is not pricey and caters to a young UES crowd. But that should not stop anyone, including myself enjoying a good Brunch in this energetic casual laid back restaurant.

Came here for dinner with a group of 4 on a Saturday evening. Doesn’t take reservations. So although it does get crowded, they do their best to seat you quickly once your whole party has arrived. Overall pace of the restaurant is quick so we were able to be seated right away.
Drinks to start — ordered a small pitcher of the sangria that me and my brothers GF shared which she recommended. Very refreshing!
For my main, I ordered the spicy pork kitchen sink with the fried egg and the BF ordered 3 sliders (pork, beef, and the special which I believe was a meatball stuffed with mac&cheese). Mine was quite a large meal while his looked a little bit more bare, so we ended up sharing a little bit which worked out fine. I was overall very happy with mine — meatballs were tasty, great selection of veggies and salad on the side.
Love how they have a special meatball that changes frequently so that you can always try something new. Cute place, fun and lively atmosphere. Would definitely come back here again to give something else a try.

I’ve been meaning to try this place for a year now, but I never got around to it. I ordered delivery (Postmates) earlier today. I’ve never been a meatball sub kinda girl, because I have texture issues and soggy saucy bread literally is so disgusting to me. But I was hungry and my friend was rushing me so I placed my order for a meatball sandwich anyway. (I really wanted it over pasta. next time)
I got chicken balls with classic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. YUM! The chicken balls were REALLY good, and it really wasn’t all that soggy! Even after a delivery! I can just imagine what it would be like fresh.
I’ll definitely be getting it over pasta next time and I’ll probably sit in. I hear it’s nice. They have delicious sounding desserts, too– and whiskey root beer floats?! WHAT?! Yas.

My coworker and I grabbed take out from here
Pros:
— The two dishes we ordered were very delicious (both came with four meatballs each) — pesto rigatoni classic beef ($ 16.33) and mushroom gravy spaghetti classic beef ($ 16.33)
— Cute décor inside — should try dining here but I heard about the awful service from the other Unilocal reviews
Cons:
— Pricey for the portion size but it is on the UES after all
— They do deliver but you have to use the two companies they use (to me, signing up for a new account just for delivery isn’t worth it)

I had been wanting to eat at the meatball shop for a while and I’m so glad I finally did! The only thing is they don’t take reservations and it gets busy very quickly, especially on a Saturday night. We arrived around 730 and had a 25 minute wait, which for some people quickly turned into an hour wait. There is a bar where you can kill time but even there all the seats were taken. The menu is great — there are a lot of different meatball/​sauce combos and styles to choose from. You use a marker and check off your choices on the menu. I had the spicy pork meatballs with classic tomato sauce and rigatoni. The meatballs are delicious, full of flavor and very filling. The hero is also really tasty but could’ve used some spice to give it a kick. I wish I had room to taste their ice cream sandwiches but I was stuffed. I’ll definitely be back asap!

This is the place I feel I would like to visit regularly bases! So far, I have been to the Meatball Shop 4 times and I satisfied with their food all the time.
One of my favorite is «chef’s kitchen sink». This is the best choice if you are not planning to share food with anybody but want to have both meatballs and vegetable. They will give you 3 meatballs and about 4 seasonal vegetable on the plate!
Another my favorite is sliders. Generous size and we can order just one slider. If you would like to taste different kind of meatballs and sauce, this is perfect for you!!! so far, my favorite is chicken meatball with parmesan cream sauce:) I have to go back and try other flavor!!!

I’ve been hankering for the Meatball Shop for quite some time. Other than the wink-​wink names incorporated in everything from the menu to the website design, I had heard that the meatballs were actually quite good. The offerings carry on the theme with names like «family jewels,» «naked balls,» and «smashed balls» — in fact, the one thing that didn’t quite fit was the one I ended up ordering, the Kitchen Sink.
(If you’re following a low-​carb diet, you’re a vegetarian, or you just really, really need to eat healthy after last night’s dinner of Swedish fish and fried veggie chips, I would suggest going with the $ 12 Kitchen Sink rather than the $ 9 naked balls + $ 6 veggie side. But if you really want risotto or mashed potatoes under your balls, who am I to stand in your way?)
I chose the veggie balls with classic tomato sauce over the chef’s selection of veggies, which were amazing — hummus, roasted carrots, some kind of barley mix, and sauteed celery. Diced red onion seems to feature prominently in most of the veggies. I thought the veggie balls, a combination of black bean and lentils, were a little too mealy, but my carnivore boyfriend loved them. I tried a bite of the beef meatball sub, and slightly regretted my choice.
Dessert was less spectacular — one of the waiters had enthusiastically trumpeted the ice cream sandwich, insisting that you could just smoosh the two cookie ends together. Cookie just broke up into pieces. I think I was expecting my old childhood favorite of the Good Humor chocolate cookie/​vanilla ice cream sandwich. Espresso ice cream was not bad.
I had thought the Meatball Shop would be packed on a Sunday for lunch but we were able to get a table as soon as it opened.
NEXT TIME: risotto, meatball sub, the mini Buffalo balls, all the other balls, balls, balls, balls everywhere

This is a 1.5 star review.
Wow, I’ve never rated a restaurant so low before based solely on the food. Unfortunately, couldn’t rate it a 0 or a 1 because the overall atmosphere and service were perfectly acceptable… but WOW I’ve never had such a terrible-​tasting meal before.
My boyfriend ordered a sub, which he complained was dry and mediocre… then he tried my spicy pork meatballs (I ordered it as part of the kitchen sink). He, who loves meatballs and usually doesn’t really have any opinions on the quality of food, grimaced and said he felt sorry for me. The meatballs tasted… raw…but they weren’t raw. I took a bite, ate the rest of the kitchen sink (wasn’t a huge fan of the vegetables and grains on the plate either, except perhaps the cooked carrots), and then attempted to finish the rest of the meatball. Whew! Finished… except there were still 2 more big, raw-​tasting meatballs left on my plate :/​I didn’t want to be rude, as, again, the service was pretty good, so I cut up the meatballs on my plate to look like I ate them. Thankfully a waiter took away my plate without any perceived awkwardness, as my boyfriend finally finished his sub too.
I’m not quite sure why this place is soooo popular… the atmosphere is interesting and the ordering system of using whiteboard markers quaint, but it’s hard to have a conversation as the place is so loud… and, on top of that, really terrible meatballs! I came back and described my experience with my two roommates, who both had also gone here before, and they also agreed — one said her meatballs were chewy and too hard, and the other was disappointed in her kitchen sink as well.

I love this place. Been here a couple times for brunch and for dinner. Kitchen sink kitchen sink kitchen sink!!!
End of story best thing to order on the menu, go for spicy pork and spicy sauce!
Awesome selection of veggies underneath. Super delicious. I would definitely recommend this place for brunch or dinner.
Real fun vibe inside and lots of bar seating.

I have been to various locations of meatball shop a few times now.
I have never been too impressed. I think the food is ok but nothing I have had has made me crave them to go back.
The service is always nice and friendly.
This time I got a meatball smash sandwich. Spicy pork meatballs with spicy meat sauce and a fried egg. It was ok but I should have skipped the egg. I didn’t think it helped the sandwich at all.

My daughter and I were recently hooked on the CNBC series «Consumed» which featured the Meatball Shop. I had also seen this small chain on the Food Network so on a recent trip to NYC we headed over to Upper East Side location for dinner.
The concept or model of the Meatball Shop is fascinating to me. They basically do meatballs and do it very well. They offer 4 – 5 choices of meatballs a few sauces and nice selection of sides. They have few specials and a good size beer and drink menu.
I had the classic beef meatball with Parmesan cream sauce. The meatballs were very flavorful and moist. The sauce was excellent. I also added a nice side salad of mixed greens and apples. This set me back $ 15.00 ($ 9.00 for the 4 meatballs and $ 6.00 for the salad) that is pretty darn reasonable for NYC.
The Meatball Shop’s stores get crowded. We went around 6:30 on a Saturday and were seated right away. By the time we left there was a wait. The interior is simple and pleasant. It does get pretty loud in there so it is not the best restaurant for conversation. Service was very good and friendly. It is easy to see why they are so successful.

From beginning to end, our experience at the UES location was a complete disaster. I do not plan on visiting any of their other locations.
The hostess sat us down at the edge of a long table, and we were sitting without waters or the presence of a waiter for almost 15 minutes. The restaurant was not busy at all, maybe at ¹⁄₃ capacity. We were confused on how to order, and wondered if we were supposed to fill in the menu with our markers and bring it up to the bar. What were the special greens and vegetables with the Kitchen Sink? Were we able to mix-​and-​match meatballs?
Once our server finally came to our table, we asked about the specials on the board. After he went through every single special that was already written, we asked if those were the greens and vegetables for the Kitchen Sink. He said no, and had to explain which those were. Overall, the menu is very confusing and the waiter blabbing about every special that we were not interested in did not make matters any better.
— NAKED BALLS: CLASSIC BEEF/​/​PARMESAN CREAM & CLASSIC BEEF/​/​SPICY MEAT
For an entrée focused on the balls, you would think that they would be substantial enough — big balls or something stuffed in them. Nope. Each meatball was so small. And the worst part? I know I could make better meatballs than these.
— MEATBALL SMASH: Thinking I was better than my friends for ordering this sandwich, I was wrong. The brioche buns were burned along the edges, the sandwich was mostly provolone cheese instead of meatballs, and the meatballs probably took up one half of the sandwich. It’s the worst when you have a sandwich and can’t taste the meat until halfway through.
All in all, I don’t understand the concept of this place:
*The menu makes it seem like it’s a quick service restaurant, yet they provide full service with waiters who do not check up on guests.
*The place is called meatball shop, but the meatballs are so small and underwhelming that you really do need a side (pasta or vegetables) to make this meal worth it.
*The décor of the restaurant really freaks me out. It looks like ghosts roam the restaurant and you will drop in a couple seconds riding the Tower of Terror at Disneyland.
*The bathroom is very spooky. The lights weren’t fully working and therefore flickering, the sink handle for cold water was broken, and it was so cramped that my knees almost touched the wall. There are also windows in the dimly lit bathroom that almost make it seem like you’re seeing Bloody Mary at a glance.
Clearly, I will not be coming back.

I had been to the one in the Village and liked it. From the outside, it doesn’t seem like much, but when you walk in, the environment is immediately warm. Love the décor — feels intimate. The restaurant is very long, and the back room is slightly partitioned off, which I liked.
It’s cheap by New York standards. I got the Kitchen Sink, which comes with 3 meatballs (spicy pork), sauce of the day (chili), with an assortment of veggies (collard greens, carrots, others). I added a fried egg. It was absolutely delicious and satisfying. I also ordered the rigatoni with pesto sauce. It was about $ 13 total for this, which is awesome for dinner. They have a large cheap wine menu.
Wished I had room for dessert, because that looked hella good.

ICE CREAM SANDWICH !
J’aime beaucoup le concept où vous cochez ce que vous voulez sur le menu (effaçable) avec un feutre. Oubliez les boulettes qui sont vraiment mauvaises. Pas de goût de viande, farineuses, on dirait de la quenelle, pas bon pas bon (j’avais opté pour les classiques au boeuf et sauce tomates).
La purée est sans plus et la sauce tomate est assez acide, c’est dommage.
Il fait assez sombre dans le restaurant et les toilettes sont assez spéciales et peu rassurante (objet et photos anciennes façon maison hantée haha).
En revanche l’ice cream sandwich (de la glacé entre deux cookies) est juste délicieux. J’ai pris flocons d’avoine/raisin et glacé chocolat et wow. Un peu trop sucré mais c’est bon. Les cookies sont assez mou pour bien aller avec la glacé.
En revanche j’ai pas mal aimé le service aux petits soin, il faut dire qu’il y a beaucoup d’employés.