Meatballs

Firstly, let's get the unavoidable innuendo out of the way. Until someone opens a pop-up spotted dick dessert bar, or 'Breasts Brasserie, the lean chicken grill', this is the most tittersome restaurant in London. The menu has a section called 'Our balls', and the waitress at the end of the meal asked, 'How did you find your meat?'

Meatballs does indeed sell pretty much only meatballs. In this sense, it's part of the US food invasion London's currently weathering: meatballs are a big part of Italian-American cooking, especially in New York. Over there, though, they would have dispensed with inhibition and called this place something like 'Big Willy's Tasty Balls'. But that wouldn't have looked too good above the door. Meatballs has a plum spot on Farringdon Road in the former Quality Chop House, a stunning Victorian building with a listed interior.

There are five different types of balls available: beef and ricotta; lamb, cucumber and yoghurt; chicken, lemon and caperberry; vegetarian courgette; pork and rosemary. A guest meatball is introduced weekly. They're available on little plates (£3.95 for three; £1 for what I'll call 'The Hitler', a single extra) or as the very trendy 'sliders' - traditionally mini burgers, but here balls slipped between buns (£5.95).

Also on the menu are salads and sides - mash, spaghetti and an iceberg wedge. If you want two veg, there are roast carrots, peas and creamed spinach. Sticking with the US theme are malted shakes, although at £4.25 seem too pricy for us to recommend.

We weren't bowled over by the balls; although they were all tasty, their flavours weren't assertive enough. But their provenance is admirable - free-range pork, Orkney beef and lamb - and fresh herbs were apparent within. Such a singular concept feels quite unusual, but then probably so did the first burger restaurant in London. Maybe the city will embrace these balls given time.