Union Bar and Grille

A sleek but sterile establishment with a small bar area. Stopped by to explore on a Saturday afternoon and ordered drinks. Bartender generous with samples of draft beers but ended up with cocktails. At 4:30pm asked to see menu. Told that they were not serving until 5 so no menu. Big blowsy blonde and friend (known to bartender) showed up a few minutes later and were given menu.
Finished drinks and left moments before five to find a place to eat.

Had high hopes for brunch, but sadly wasn’t impressed. Service was slow for a weekend brunch despite the restaurant being empty when we arrived, and our server seemed really disinterested.
We had the lemon baby dutch pancake and the blt popover.
Pancake was light, but very small portion size for the price.
Popover was burnt, I could hear it crunch every time he bit into it. I wanted to send it back, but he declined because it took so long for it to get to us in the first place.

Me and my workers are frequent around this location during lunch since our office is nearby, but I didn’t really pay attention to the restaurant itself. Then one day I ran out of ideas of where to go to eat as I dine out three times a week on every weekend.
So this place popped up in my head, there’s also a restaurant next door, so I had to make up my mind which one to go for. I looked up on reviews on this one and it sounds like a nice place.
My husband and I decided to have a date night here on Sunday, we came in when they just opened for dinner, it was quiet, of course.
We started with their complementary corn bread with butter, it was delicious.
For appetizer, we had corn risotto, a dish with corn, some rice and cheese, I would have skipped this dish.
Steamed mussels: fresh & had nice sauce to go with it but a bit salty.
Main courses were root beer braised angus brisket, and hanger steak. Meat were tender and cooked perfectly.
While the food are well-​seasoned, but not really stand out from the crowd.
Our waiter is new but he’s nice and prompt.
We were comfortable and enjoyed with our meal until there’s a woman, I guessed that’s a manager, came around asking every single table how’s things going, but skipped and ignored us, we don’t need anyone to check on us, but ignored just only our table? that was very obvious something not right, is that how the manager act? it didn’t end there, when we put out the tab, she took it without saying anything or even looking at us, but grabbed it with an attitude, even my easy-​going husband noticed and said it to me. We are the type of people not expecting much from the service when we go to restaurants, all we care for is to receive the correct order and have good food, we don’t need to be checked up on, we would waive you down if we need something, but don’t give us an attitude when we don’t make any complaint or cause any problem while being there. Seriously I just don’t get why some people would act like that.
With such people, it doesn’t bother me much, however, it’s sad for a classy place like this for treating customers not equally.

One of the best brunches around! My friend and I had agreed to come here for Sunday brunch. We didn’t get to take advantage of the brunch special as we were a little late for our 10:45AM reservation.
My friend ordered the Dutch pancake. This delicacy arrived in a skillet. It looked delicious, and according to Ana, it was :)
I ordered the special of the day: Carnitas Eggs Benedict. As per usual for all eggs bennies in my life, I ordered the hollandaise on the side and the eggs poached hard. I’m not a huge fan of lots of hollandaise and I don’t like my eggs runny. Our entrees arrived, and my eggs benny had the hollandaise atop the poached eggs. I didn’t bother asking about it, and decided to take a walk on the wild side. I cut into my eggs, and sampled a piece of egg, carnitas, and English muffin with the hollandaise. It was DELICIOUS. The hollandaise had a bit of chili powder sprinkled on top, and it complemented the eggs nicely. I was quite impressed. The hollandaise wasn’t too eggy or lemony; it was smooth and delicate. Eggs were cooked perfectly, the carnitas was juicy and flavorful, and the homefries were light and not on the greasy side. I’ll post a pic soon.
Unilocalers, I think another restaurant has my love for their eggs benny :) Don’t worry Masa. I still love you.
Service was on point. Food was tasty well prepared/​plated. I most likely will be coming back for brunch soon :)

My wife and I went there the other night, we each ordered the BBQ pre-​fixe. I ordered the corn, brisket and strawberry-​rhubarb crisp; she ordered the watermelon salad, the pulled pork, and the bread pudding.
Starters: I would say that my corn was a little over-​boiled, and had a bit more topping than I prefer. The watermelon salad was very good, with both standard and golden watermelon. Brisket was very tender, but lacked a bit of flavor; pulled pork was also tender, but very (unexpectedly) spicy. Strawberry-​rhubarb crisp was tasty, but needed a tab bit more sweetener to counter the tartness of the rhubarb; bread pudding was good, especially with the fruit-​sauce that was used.
Ambiance — It’s a nice looking place, dark wood, comfortable seating.
Service — I’m not sure how to judge this. Our waitress was very attentive and prompt. I felt like she was agitated, either at us or something. Not that you need to be over the top friendly, but I’d say I didn’t necessarily feel welcome.
Quality — Great quality. My corn starter was a bit disappointing (I’m a fan of grilled corn on the cob, as boiled corn often gets soggy, as this did), but everything else was very good. All the meats were cooked perfectly and very juicy/​tender.
Quantity — Decent portion sizes on everything.
Value — High-​end BBQ, which is a bit difficult to judge. Total bill came to $ 75, which isn’t bad, but for BBQ…
Overall — We both liked the place, but struggled with paying that much for BBQ. Ambiance was great, dishes were good, if I were to go back, I’d probably be a bit more selective (skipping the starter & dessert).

Really nice restaurant. The circular booth is the way to go for a double date :) food was yummy starting with corn bread and ending with the fried dough churro donut dessert. Sweet corn risotto was yummy, so were the chicken and the steak.
Our server was great. She kept the wine coming and was attentive but not overbearing.

I wanted to love this place based on the reviews, but it didn’t live up to expectations. Being out of state but from the area, I needed to find a place to host a baby shower. So with Unilocal’s help, Union had great reviews.
They had a $ 15 pre-​fix menu for brunch, which included fresh juice, coffee cake, and 3 entrees of choices. In addition, we added mini French toast appetizers, fresh fruit, granola/​yogurt. So the Total came to $ 29 per a person. This is an excellent price in the south end and they had no minimum. They even accommodated vegans.
So why 3 stars? It’s not based on the food, although I would not get the granola/​yogurt next time. It’s purely do to the service or lack of service. It was a huge disappointment.
I booked reservations for 15 – 20 people. Please note they do not have any type of private sectioning or private room. I was told semi-​private on the phone, but I blame myself for not having someone making an in-​person tour.
The manager was very accommodating with my Menu and I e-​mailed them my final ¹⁵⁄₁₆ person count the week before. However, they had the table set for 20 when I came in. No worries here, I was early anyways.
The incapable service was mainly due to the new staff and our 2 wait staff. At first, they were extremely nice– but I didn’t realize they had other dedicated tables. So, there service was non-​existent. I had to repeatedly ask them several times to clean up a table spill. We had appetizers but no plates, and they asked us to use the coffee plates before they can go into the kitchen and grab some. I really expected more from this place. When I checked out, the manager didn’t even great me on my way out.
What’s important is my best friend and the mother to be had a good time, but I can NOT recommend this place. I really wish I booked a room at Stella or somewhere else in the South End. I expected more in term of service. Unfortunately, I will not be back for a shower or brunch. Too bad, because the food is decent.

Fabulous place for a laid-​back, filling brunch when you’re not looking to get ripped off but still get great restaurant atmosphere and service!
The brunch deal was a good option for my friend who wanted something sweet, coffee and an egg entrée. Their coffee cake was slightly on the dry side, but had a nice streusel topping.
After browsing Unilocal pics, I decided i wanted to get the heuvos rancheros with poached eggs (you can get them scrambled if you want). For only around $ 10, this was the perfect hearty entrée for me. Breakfast potatoes on the very bottom, then 2 layers of crispy fried tortilla over it with creamy flavorful black beans in bewteen. Eggs and salsa piled at the very top. Poached eggs were PERFECTLY cooked so the yolks were runny ‘n rich, dripping down the sides of the tortilla tower.
Totally hit the spot! Great place to come with a friend or date if you want to have conversation, good food, and great service. I probably won’t come back to brunch again for a while since the menu isn’t all that exciting, but once in a while, would totally recommend it.

Are you looking for a nice and somewhat sophisticated place for a good Sunday brunch in a city like Boston? Well, this place may have your answer. When I walked in this place, I did not feel like I was in Boston, I felt like I was in a much better place such as New York or San Francisco. There was a reservation already made and I arrived with a lot of sagacious and good-​hearted people that I know.
I got this special eggs benedict dish which came with corn beef. Most of the people ordered this BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwich or the omelet that had either chorizo sausage or ham and Swiss cheese. I thought the corn beef portions were somewhat meager because the slices were almost as thin as bacon. However there were great complements to the tasty eggs. The home fries that came with the dish were also tasty and not overly cooked. The dish overall was probably one of the tastiest eggs benedict dish I had in a long time.
The dessert I got, which was a crème brûlée, was also good, but the cookie that came with it as a garnish tasted almost bland. The interior is nice, and it’s definitely one of the most comfortable restaurants I have eaten. The service was not great, it took a while for our food to arrive, but we waited comfortably and had great conversations. You can dress casual, but not too casual. The prices were moderate for a place that looks a little sophisticated.
Overall, if you somehow ended up in a somewhat decent city like Boston, and you want a decent brunch in a comfortable and sophisticated setting, this is a very solid choice. I wouldn’t mind coming back here for brunch again with a group of people and if I have plenty of time.

I Love the Edison light bulb installation overhead the bar. I was only able to partake in their thirst quenching drink menu but everything seemed delightful.
The price points will turn away most Bostonians but the selections are top notch. I ordered the 6 pts Brooklyn rye ale and the mrs had a mildly tannin red.
The dinning area was trendy and smart and the bathrooms were impeccable. The mediocre rating was for the incorrect wine order otherwise we would have given a 4 star rating. If we could afford the food we would have probably given a 5 star rating as the surrounding patron’s dishes looked memorable
We will probably have to come back for the brunch which has more of a favorable $$ attraction for the average working class

Union Bar & Grille is known for their Early Riser All Inclusive Brunch $ 9.95‌which is available from 10am to 3pm Saturdays & from 10am to 11am Sundays, and includes Cinnamon Swirl Sour Cream Coffee Cake, one of three entrée choices (Bacon, Cheddar & Chive Omelet; Farmer’s Veggie Scramble; Dutch Baby Pancake with Sugar & Lemon) and served with Fresh Squeezed Orange or Grapefruit Juice & House Coffee or Tea.
Unfortunately, we did not arrive within that window of time, so we made do with their regular brunch time menu with its offerings ranging from $ 8.25 to $ 16.75.
Service was pleasant, but the food sure took a long time! Perhaps because the place was bustling? It was 30 minutes before our entrée selections made their appearance, and another 30 minutes for the desserts to arrive after ordering. In fact, our mealtime here ended up taking a whole 2 hours 45 minutes from beginning to end, though I will admit, we waited the first 20 minutes for our last companion to arrive before ordering — but that’s still a good 2 hours plus for brunch.
A number of our party ordered the eggs benedict in one of several varieties. Unfortunately the kitchen either does not have a handle on poaching eggs right or they let them stand too long back there as many were found to be hard yolked. I had ordered their gruyère popover ‘blt’ with bacon, frisee & tomato, rosemary fries $ 11.25 with a crispy poached egg for an additional $ 2.75, and even my egg was half hard yolk with just a bit of ooze on the side. Otherwise I found my choice rather large and tasty. Their rosemary fries were hot, crisp, and flavorful, and much preferred over my sampling of their home fries. My milk arrived in the smallest glass possible, though it looked quite neat in the wine glass. I also sampled the brioche french toast with whipped maple & pear butter, maple syrup $ 10.50 and it was pretty good.
Desserts are $ 8 each The bananas foster bread pudding, bourbon caramel, vanilla bean ice cream was moist and tasty, but rather small when set next to the candied yam crème brûlée with flourless chocolate pecan cookie.

Overall: maybe this place’s strength is dinner, but I was not impressed with its brunch. While the menu had a lot of appealing options, I didn’t think they were executed well and service was slow.
Likes:
— ambiance is trendy with unique lighting
— appealing menu with good sweet and savory options
— chorizo omelet was pretty good (however ingredients weren’t very plentiful), chorizo had pretty good flavor. Would’ve loved to see more kale and chorizo in the omelet
— potatoes were perfectly cooked with a little crisp on the outside
Gripes:
— slow service and servers with an attitude
— Dutch baby came out partially burnt and less than appealing looking

Came for brunch with some out of town visitors! Overall, this a good option in the South End that takes reservations. The ambience is nice and most of our plates were clean at the end…
Love it:
— Prix fixe menu is a great deal for $ 9.95! Coffee cake isn’t awesome, but a nice treat to hold you over!
— Chorizo, kale, manchego omelet was delicious! Chorizo had good flavor and side potatoes hit the spot
Hate it:
— Our waitress had some serious attitude and was not accommodating
— Our Dutch Baby came out burnt on the edges so ¹⁄₃ was mostly not edible

I wasn’t sure what to expect with a $$$ rating but we stopped for brunch and it was surprisingly affordable and delicious! Bloody Mary for an appetizer with the brioche egg with tomato sandwich! Both were on point. I’m not sure about dinner but brunch is a must. And they weren’t incredibly packed either we didn’t have to wait for a table at all which is not typical for that area!

I was meeting my brother and some of his friends here for brunch on a Sunday. The place was extremely busy but they were still very accommodating and squeezed us in last minute. I loved the restaurant atmosphere, it pulled off casual dressy very well. The restaurant is fairly small but still includes a bar along one end and the rest is filled with tufted booth style seating; the booths range from circular to bench style. White linens are on the tables to dress them up. Overall décor is clean and simple.
The servers were all professional, timely and friendly.
The brunch menu had a great variety of items from the classics like eggs benedict, omelets and egg combos to more unique dishes like braised pork with poached eggs and thyme jus. I was trying to go healthier and ordered an omelet that included sweet potatoes, caramelized onions and pecorino. It was accompanied by a small side of home fries. The dish had great flavor, was served at perfect temperature and was the proper serving size. I left feeling full, satisfied and wanting to go back when I’m in Boston again.

For all of you who play Masa for the brunch win, I trump you with Union. There’s a delightful little section of the menu top left which is their pre-​fixe, and trust me that’s the way to go. Orange juice + coffee + coffee cake + one of three brunch entrée choices = $ 9.95. Um, I beg your pardon? Yes.
Our group of 6 was comfortably seated at a lovely leather circle booth. They seem to do the «team waitstaff coverage» and I’m not sure that I saw the same waiter more than once, but I have no complaints about the service. It was prompt and courteous.
Once we discovered the pre-​fixe, we all chose that, which makes splitting the check a breeze. We sampled the veggie scramble (which was just asparagus really) and the bacon and chive omelette (which was just delicious really). No one got the «dutch baby pancakes» and frankly I’m still uncertain what that is.
All in all, a solid, solid choice for brunch. We made reservations and it was good we did because they were pretty busy. Not quite Atlantic, but SO much better than Masa. New fave!

Excelente lugar muy caro pero vale la pena, bueno para grupos, cortes de carne excelentes, tequila muy caro, porciones pequeñas

Great food, atmosphere, and service. Came for brunch and really enjoyed it. The menu has a good variety, lots of drink options, and pretty reasonable price wise. I recommend a reservation, especially for more than a party of 2.
Parking, if you drive, can be tricky, although Washington is all metered, just be prepared.
We will return.

Came for sunday brunch and some of our party was an hour late but the staff were accommodating. We got coffee cake and drinks before the others arrived. I didnt like the coffee cake too much, it was very light (good) but yhe topping was an odd texture. I got the drunken pumpkin for a drink and it was nice and not too strong for brunch. I wish there was more spice in the drink. My friebds say their bloody mary is their favorite in boston.
For a meal I got the french toast which was filling and okay, but not amazing. The butter was supposed to be maple pear flavored but I couldn’t tell. Some people got the Dutch pancake and one was burnt.

So, I went back to give their brunch another chance. Didn’t order from the prix fixe menu, and I am SO GLAD I didn’t.
My order: Wild mushroom pizza — wild mushrooms, caramelized onions, squash, burrata, and fried eggs on flatbread. O.M.G. Sweetness from the onions and squash, meaty texture from the mushrooms, saltiness from the cheese, and oozy yolk over the entire thing — HEAVEN.
Tried a friend’s huevos rancheros — pork carnitas, black beans, tangy tomatillo salsa, and oozy yolk on a crispy tortilla? Yum.
Had a bite of a friend’s brioche French toast, with a vanilla pear sauce — buttery, custardy goodness.
Although the prix fixe looks like a great deal, the entrée choices are a bit boring and the coffee cake is dry with no crumbly crust — just these strange, not crispy/​not soft oats. And what is coffee cake without a crumble topping? It’s only worth your while because the drinks are included. (Otherwise, $ 4 for a small wine glass of OJ? $ 3 for a cup of ‘joe that tasted a bit burnt? Mmm. no thanks.)
Moral of the story: definitely go, but order off of the regular menu. Let your stomach grumbles tell you what to choose, not the price.

I really dig the atmosphere of UBG. Semi-​eery chandeliers, gorgeous black, classic seats, it’s spiffy and chic– a great place to bring my girlfriend for our goodbye lunch. Feel free to dress up a little because the atmosphere beckons you to. With the location at South End and average dishes for brunch @ $ 10, it’s a steal.
4 stars for atmosphere and service (I’ve never had anyone come refill our waters so frequently). The front gentleman in charge of seating arrangements was charismatic. Even when my gf and I stepped out and posed for a farewell photo upon leaving, he actually came out of the restaurant to remark it was a great day to take photos, thanked us, and told us to come back again.
Eggs benedict was a solid 3.
The muffin was so hard, it was difficult to cut. The center was slightly softer so only the edges were left over. While it wasn’t burnt, it was still oddly hard. Their hollandaise sauce is the strongest flavored sauce I’ve tried so far out of my history of egg benedicts– there’s greater emphasis on the lemon juice so it’s a tad sour. Given the beautiful atmosphere of this place, I was expecting to be blown away by their benedicts but alas no. My favorite local diner does it better than UBG.