“I’m a baller, baby.” That’s what the neon sign on the wall says and it looks like they have the goods to back it up.

The Balls are back. Meatball & Wine Bar is taking over Melbourne, one suburb at a time. They conquered Flinders Lane and now they’re taking on Swan St.

Richmond’s newest eatery is almost too cool for school. At the launch party, the puns are flowing. Everyone’s having a ball. The bar is balls deep. Bloggers are jerking balls.  

Meatball & Wine Bar is the brain child of Matteo Bruno. The film and TV producer stays in the background. When close friend and celbrity chef Stefano de Pieri is hoisted up onto a ladder to make a speech, he tells us “Matteo has guts”. Someone in the crowd yells out “no, he’s got balls!”. And so the night continues.

The launch party is just a taste of what is to come. Expect Italian wines, Aperol spritzers and of course, the balls. We’re expecting to see the five standard balls, pork, fish, chicken and vege that are on the Flinders St menu, along with brioche buns and maybe even a few curb balls.

The bite-sized chicken and garlic aioli balls and the beef and BBQ balls we managed to try were delicious but we’ll be back to try all the balls soon.

Meatball & Wine Bar 
Opening end of May
105 Swan St
Twitter: @MeatballWB