The Meatball Bar

Calling this a gastropub is ridiculous - it's a restaurant that serves beer. Given that, the meatballs are solid, so are the sides, so are the sauces. Maybe 7 beers on tap (can't recall), decent iced tea. They have baseball on in the afternoons, when I visit, which I greatly appreciate. Can't speak to the crowd at lunch. Make sure you get 4 meatballs (I got takeout one time and only got 3). Good place, overall.

edit: I left my previous review in their early days, and they have improved dramatically in portions and flavor. Highly recommend this place and have changed my 4 stars to 5. The Meatball Bar was a great change of pace from local eateries. Instead of sandwiches and salads, you get what the name says, meatballs. And meatballs is what they do best. I ordered the Italian meatballs and mashed potatoes and got a decent meal that was filling and tasty. Co-workers tried different sets of sides and they were decent, but not the best. (Risotto and greens) The overall atmosphere of the place is a little disjointed from the cuisine, as meatballs don't scream modern and chic. I'd prefer a cozier setup, but it's not enough to dock any stars for. The reason this didn't get 5 stars is the fact that the price is a little much for the food. I paid $19 for a set of meatballs, a side, a Coke, and 15% tip. Not terrible considering the area, but not the best. This will definitely be added to my rotation and I'll definitely want to try more meatballs since they got those right. Definitely worth a try at least once.

Food is good. Noodles a little dry but sauce compensated for it. Price is a higher than I'd prefer but expected for Financial district location. About $20 for 4 meatballs, spaghetti, and a Coke. Tilapia meatballs were good. There is seating but we got lucky to find seats on one of the 2 large tables they have. Overall cool place to try.

I pass by The Meatball Bar almost every day but have been hesitant to try it due to the low ratings on Yelp. A couple of days ago I finally gave it a try during happy hour (M-F, 3-7 pm). I got the deal aptly named beer and balls ($10). You get 3 meatballs of your choice (turkey, chicken, lamb, pork, Italian etc.) along with the sauce (Classic tomato, pineapple BBQ, meat sauce, mushroom sauce, truffle fondue etc.) that you want. I decided to get lamb meatballs with truffle fondue sauce and a draft beer which I think was some IPA. The person taking my order tried to push some sides but I politely declined. Everything is premade, so by the time you take a seat with your drink you have the meatballs delivered to your table. Based on the reviews, I was expecting the meatballs to be bad, but they turned out to be average. The good news is that they were not hard but at the same time they were not soft and juicy either. The truffle fondue sauce was pretty good and made eating these balls a little pleasurable. Portion size was pretty small, just about right for a side that you can have with your drink, but for a full meal I would definitely add a side (salad, mashed potatoes, greens, spaghetti or risotto). Price was it was a pretty good deal for happy hour and I would have no problem repeating. At full price it would be $13 with a side, which is what you would pay for a soup and salad combination at lunch in FiDi, so it's in line with other options in the area. 3.5 stars generously rounded up to 4, is how I'd rate this place.