Meatball Hero & Pasta

Excellent — fresh, delicious, and made-​to-​order. We have eaten here several times and keep going back, bringing friends, family. Vegetarian friendly. The polenta fries and mushroom risotto meatballs are must haves. This is definitely one of the best restaurants in the neighborhood.

Delicious food and friendly service!
A friend of mine recommended the place to me. The first time I went I tried a bit of everything on the menu (glutinous, I know, but it was just too good)… from the meatballs to some of the sides to the desserts (cheesecake balls).
I was in the area again tonight and made my way back over for dinner. Not only did the food once again deserve two thumbs up, but the owner was a pleasure to chat with while he was preparing the cuisine. This place 100% deserves a 5-​star rating!

Like others have said I’ve walked/​driven past this location numerous times but only after the fiancée bought a groupon did we go in. The owner is always there but is super friendly and always gives good advice. The menu is somewhat limited but don’t worry you’re going to have a great meal regardless. The fiancée got the pasta but immediately regretted it after trying my «red hero», a meatball sub with smoked mozzarella. Its very clear the ingredients are all premium and the meatballs are made from scratch. You’re probably saying, come on its a meatball sub how good can it be? If you don’t believe me play it safe and find a groupon for the place.

I have walked pasted this restaurant dozens of times never tried it. Big mistake. Recently, I have bought a coupon off of
and after reading the great reviews, I thought I’d check out this restaurant.
I was greeted right away when I walked into this restaurant the line cook and the owner. The menu is limited, however, there are enough items listed to have a great meal. Placing the order is very easy. I had ordered a lettuce salad with broken ceasar dressing, Pasta — Your Way. I had picked the fettuccine pasta with Alfredo sauce added chicken and garlic.
Each order is cooked to order which is great. While my meal being prepared, the owner was very talkative and showing care for his diners. Within 10 minutes or so, I was out of the door.
Once I got home (10 minute walk), I had started with the salad. The salad dressing was okay — not what I was really expecting. The pasta dish was incredible — seasoned right. No complaints at all. Enough pasta for leftover.
This is a great place — BYOB. It sounds like, this is more of a carry out restaurant. I wish I had tried this restaurant sooner. I definitely recommend this restaurant and looking forward to my next visit.

I usually don’t eat meatballs but this one is truly amazing friendly service too I get this like almost every weekend it’s become my fav place

I got the chicken meatball spaghetti with a side salad and drink. It was pretty good… I definitely couldn’t finish the pasta. Wayyy too much. I would go here again but try the Alfredo.

Awesome Meatball sub! I got the small which comes with two really big meatballs stuffed in a mini loaf of bread. Yummy and totally filling. :) Loved it. The polenta fries are also really great!
Recommend for a quick great tasting filling dinner.

Just discovered this gem. Love the comforting meatballs over pasta or in a innovative scooped out bread. Homey ambiance. Super reasonable price.
We had the sampler — I think it was a chef creating and not on the menu. We got to try a bit of everything — polenta fries, risotto balls, chicken /​beef & catfish meatballs.
Looking fwd to my next visit.

How lucky am I that Meatball Hero is a stone’s throw away from my home?!
I was very over Sandwich Me In and was excited to see this place replace it.
Thus far I’ve tried the beef and chicken meatball heroes, polenta fries, and the pasta. Perfect portions. All hearty, but not in the «I can’t move I’m so full» way. Their spicy giardiniera is to die for.
Plus, the guys are super friendly and their incentive program is great. Who doesn’t like free sides and drinks?
My only critique is that the menu is pretty limited, but it sounds like they’ll be expanding this. Looking forward to trying some new options.

SO GOOD.
Prices can’t be beat! And the chef/​owner is super nice — explained all the different options.
Every single thing I tried here was delicious: the polenta fries, every type of meatball, homemade giardiniera, and the homemade bread. We even got to sample a new pasta salad recipe, salmon meatballs, and cheesecake balls that are hopefully going to be added to the menu because YUM.
I live in Logan Square and wish this place were closer. Will go whenever I’m in Lakeview!

Cute place, make ur own pasta. I’ve been there twice each time trying something new… I promote small businesses in my hood… So go try it. Something for everything… Recent visit had spaghetti pasta in Alfredo w/​ham… SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES!!! Bön appetite…

Great homemade pasta, bolognese sauce, meatballs, focaccia and salads. Try all of these homemade foods, made there at the restaurant.
Really good food!

First time trying this place…
My office orders lunch every Friday & this was my suggestion today. I think everyone in the office, for the most part, liked their food. I didn’t eat until I got home. Low and behold, my meatballs are partially raw inside. The inside is pink/​red & mushy. Not quite what I was expecting. Sauce tastes good at least but will not be eating the meat.
Mushroom Risotto Balls are pretty good.
I guess I’m gonna have to make my own tonight…

Went here for dinner before running a 10K. This is a place that shows why Unilocal needs half stars. It’s not quite a 4 but probably higher than a 3.
I got simple spaghetti and meatballs. It was good. For quick and cheap Italian you can’t expect something from little Italy
The marinara has a spicy kick I wasn’t expecting but i liked it. The bread you get is really good as well.
The meatballs were fine. I got standard beef but they have a few options. Overall for the price it’s worth going if you want something quick.
They have meatball sandwiches that I would want to try.
The biggest thing hurting them I think is that they have Pompei close by and given the choice id rather go there. Yes it’s a few dollars more but I think it’s better.

Experience: ⁵⁄₅
Came here on a Wednesday evening for the first time. It recently opened and I saw the positive Unilocal reviews and decided to give it a shot. Nice pleasant atmosphere and friendly customers and staff (a customer said hello to me when I walked in… maybe they knew me… idk). Pretty basic menu selection, but if you are going to do a few items, do them well. Meatball Hero does them well.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
I ordered the small Red Hero with giardiniera (see photo). I wasn’t incredibly hungry and this filled me up just fine. It looks small in the photo, but it feels big in your stomach. A small (2 meatballs) is $ 4.99 and a large (4 meatballs) is $ 8.99. I ordered the combo which consists of a 20oz bottled beverage, choice of side, and small sandwich. Less than $ 10. For a side I had the Polenta fries with red sauce (see photo). I can’t recall ever having had polenta fries before, but these were pretty good. More of a sharer than anything else. I kind of got tired of them after a few.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Nice cashier and chef. I ordered to-​go and it was ready in a few minutes.
Price: $-$$
Meatballs are fresh and made to order. A lot of food for the price.
Overall: ⁵⁄₅
Great location next to the hospital. I definitely will go back to try the Catfish and Chicken meatballs. I hope they get a Turkey in the future!

OMG. Place is awesome! Great owner/​chef very friendly and welcoming. The place is cozy with some space.
Food portions are perfect. Food has great spices and made to order. You can create your own pasta dish. The salad was made with home made dressing. Everything is home made fresh.
The different types of meatballs. Catfish meetballs? YUM! I had chicken meatballs and was delicious. The balls are huge.
Can’t wait till he gets speakers so he can play music while eating. Haha

While the menu is limited, the tastes are good. A couple of pasta options and a selection of sandwiches, nearly all of which involve some form of meatballs. Red meat meatballs. Fish meatballs. A couple of other kinds of meatballs.
I opted for an entry-​level spaghetti and meatballs with a soda. ($ 12).
The bolognese had plenty of meat and a good zip to it. The noodles, wavy like ramen, pulled everything together. And the four golf ball-​sized meatballs were packed with flavor.
Served with two generous slices of fresh bruschetta, I’d say this was a good stop.
I don’t know how long they can go with their limited offerings. Perhaps they have plans to expand the menu as they become more established.

I love that everything is made in house from scratch –the pasta, bread, etc. The meatballs are delish! I’ve never had polenta fries before and I’m officially addicted. The prices are great and the portions are filling. BYOB is a plus and there’s a Binny’s right across the street (very convenient).

It’s these tiny little places that come out of nowhere, open up with no fanfare, and just amaze you that really make you appreciate living in Chicago.
This place JUST opened up as of this writing and I am blown away. Before coming here I had never had a mushroom risotto ‘meatball’, polenta fries, or a catfish ‘meatball’ and to my delight, I was very impressed by them! (They didn’t actually have meat in them, but I’m not sure what else to call it) It’s brand new so the décor doesn’t match that of more established restaurants, but what it lacked in décor it absolutely made up for in the quality of the food.
My fiancée and I got a side salad, the polenta fries (!!), the mushroom risotto balls, and the Green Hero with pasta and bolognese sauce. The Green Hero is a ball of eggplant, mushroom, bean, and oat veggie-​balls. The cuisine is best described as Italian-​American fusion, but it’s kind of it’s own thing. And EVERYTHING we tried was awesome. The polenta fries served with marinara are basically everything I’ve ever wanted out of a fried stick-​like food and dipping sauce (I also grew up eating polenta). The mushroom risotto balls are like these nuggets of «wow, I didn’t know what to expect, but this is great!» I was really impressed.
I went back up and ordered the other three meatballs for my fiancée and I to split and try out. They were the Beef, the catfish, and the chicken. Each one tasted great. With their own distinct textures, spices, and flavors; they each stood out and were delicious.
The only thing that I would do differently is the spaghetti was a little on the al dente side, and I’d like to see a menu option where it’s a meatball sampler with 4 or 5 of the meatballs, some marinara, and a side of the polenta fries. OK, so that’s two things, but I still enjoyed everything that I tried. I could also see this becoming a great byob spot (it might be BYOB, just doesn’t have it listed yet) or drunk spot late at night. As of right now they close at 10pm on the week days and 11pm on Friday & Saturday. I can hope, right?
It should also be noted that the bang for your buck here is great. Big portion sizes and prices are very reasonable.

I was blown away by how good the food was, and the Portion size is huge for the price. The service was great and fast