Meatballs at The Quality Chop House, Restaurant Review, Farringdon

Don’t be fooled by the words ‘balls’ and ‘chop’ in the title: this house of carnivore is romantic as they come. Staring out through glass pane onto Farringdon, I feel like the tortured star of an Ed Hopper painting. Though essentially a diner, Meatballs is 30s inspired and therefore delightfully chic. There’s not a hint of Americana in sight, no crashed motorcycles or signed photos of Frank Sinatra on the walls. Instead, Meatballs have opted for tasteful gold lighting, monochrome floors and wall to wall mahogany. It’s dark, but in the ‘sexy-speakeasy’ sense, not the ‘we reuse our chip oil and serve cans after midnight’ sense. If my other half hadn’t slavered onto his lapel over the meatball burger, I’d say it’s the perfect spot for a first date.

Most snub a goat’s cheese salad starter, but their fresh, delicious combination of beetroot and pumpkin saved me from that ‘heavy cheese’ feeling. As someone who thinks cheese toasty means chevre sandwich, it was one of the best I’ve tasted.

I was expecting one of those cryptic main menus that kick-starts my stutter, but the premise is simple. There’s a selection of three meatballs known as ‘Sliders’. You pick each meaty treat individually: chicken ball, beefball, pork and rosemary ball, lamb with mint ball and, for the faint of heart, the courgette ball. There’s also a rogue ‘guest’ meatball with each menu. For the bed, it’s a choice of mash or spaghetti. We couldn’t decide, so we ordered them all, each arriving in an impossibly cute mini-bun.

Meatballs often digest like spheres of petrified wood, but each of these went down like massaged Kobe beef. Unlike most ‘meat’ themed restaurants, their buns weren’t just for show; they were soft, buttery and freshly baked. The chicken ball came up trumps, coated in a divine curry sauce. The overall Olympian was the perfectly seasoned courgette. Be warned: these sliders are deceptively filling, and opting for the chocolate brownie ‘sandwich’ with vanilla ice cream will result in a chronic food coma. Instead, try the beautifully presented Lemon Posset with airy shortbread biscuits. It’s rich, but cleanses the meaty pallet to perfection. Finish off with a Munroe style blueberry G & T. This is diner dining for adults. (Catherine McCabe)

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