Meatballs at The Quality Chop House, 92-94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA ** MEATBALLS IS NOW CLOSED**
Wow, this place is special. We have been looking forward to coming to Meatballs for weeks, it’s not been open long but long enough for us to lust after it. Inspired by a visit to the Meatball Shop in New York, the owners pondered over the idea of creating a similar thing in London, then the grade two listed Quality Chop House came on the market and Meatballs was born.
We found the waitress very helpful and knowledgeable. She suggested some dishes and we happily tried them all, she was spot on every time! We weren’t overly keen on the Blueberry gin and tonic £5.95 but the natural wine – Raisins Gaulois Beaujolais, France £4.75 for a small glass was lovely. We’ve not seen natural wine in restaurants (or shops for that matter) and although it’s pricer, if it stops my nasal passages narrowing so I can’t breathe and helps the hangover, I’m all for it.
Back to the food, we couldn’t work out what to order for quite some time, do we have ‘sides’ or ‘underneaths’? Eventually we decided. Ade ordered some Sliders -Beef and Ricotta with tomato sauce, Greek Lamb with a cucumber, dill and yogurt sauce and Pork, and rosemary with a parmesan cream sauce £5.95. The pork was his favourite by far, they weren’t the prettiest of sliders we’ve ever seen, more comfortingly homemade. The brioche bun added a sweetness that complimented the rich sauces, especially the parmesan and cream. Ade seemed to adore them judging by the noises he made – he was gutted that he didn’t order the Egg Pappardelle With parmesan cream sauce… I think he likes that sauce!
I, unfortunately couldn’t try them due to the cheese factor. We also ordered the Spinach & Bacon Salad with French beans & shallot vinaigrette as a side, which at £8.95 was startlingly more than the balls, it was gorgeous however and one we’re going to attempt to recreate at home.
I chose the guest meatballs – Swedish meatballs with redcurrant jelly £4.25 with spaghetti and tomato sauce £3.25 as an ‘underneath’. The waitress said it would be better as a ‘side’ as they come in a beef broth. Again, not the most appetising-looking dish but so tasty, huge hunks of meatballs in a thick delicate beef broth. The tomato sauce was almost a bolognaise, pure comfort food. Nothing fancy, just good, honest home-cooking.
Dessert was also a tricky decision, Chocolate brownie ice cream sandwich with vanilla ice cream & dark chocolate sauce £4.95 or Frozen chocolate cake £4.95? I left it to the waitress to decide and she suggested the former. It was good, basically a brownie and ice cream but the name livens it up. Ade had the special – Sticky Toffee Pudding £4.95, lovely but came cold, not warm like we expected. Ade’s Peanut butter malt £4.25 went down too well.
We really hope to come back soon, plus we didn’t realise it’s only a quick trip on the No63 bus from work and we’re there. So close to Caravan which we have a real soft spot for.
What we loved most about Meatballs were the little touches, like the waitress bringing water automatically and refilling it regularly, the complimentary roasted nuts and the homemade foccacia perched on the side of my bowl of meatballs. I commented to Ade that the lights were too bright and seconds later they were dimmed, a coincidence or were we being bugged? It was a tad cold in the old restaurant though, a couple of diners (male) asked for the heating to be put on. I settled for my cardie.
Sitting here on a winter’s night with a glass of (natural) red wine and a bowl of steaming meatballs would be perfect.
Meatballs at The Quality Chop House
92-94 Farrington Road
London. EC1R 3EA
T: 020 3490 6228
Open daily for lunch and dinner. Takeaway also available.
Monday – Saturday 11.30am – 11.30pm
Sunday 12.00pm – 10pm
Nice touch with the cardie!
Glad this lived up to my hopes for you, I walk past this place to and from work every day and though I never ate there in its previous carnation, it’s always been a great-looking venue and one that I thought you’d like to experience. Of course, most foodie’s will know about The Eagle opposite, the very first gastropub, which is still pretty good I hear (blog please!).
Nine quid for a spinach salas sounds a bit steep and dispropotionate to the other prices, which seem very reasonable. And it’s nice to hear about superb service too – I’ll check the flickering candles for microphones when I go 🙂
YCM xx
You should go Keithy, it’s lovely. Def one of our favourites this year, will go back when the winter comes (if it comes!). YCM xx
Pingback: The English Launderette « We Love Food, It's All We Eat
Pingback: CHECKOUT (4th edition – January 2011) « We Love Food, It's All We Eat
Pingback: Checkout Valentine’s Day Edition « We Love Food, It's All We Eat
Pingback: Alyn Williams & the Cornish Grill at Redhook « We Love Food, It's All We Eat
Pingback: Trullo Downstairs, 300 – 302 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2LH « We Love Food, It's All We Eat