Union Nails

Usually go to a place closer to my apartment in Lower Pac but I was running errands in the neighborhood and popped into this place. Besides being overpriced for a what you get for their gel mani — the next day my ring and pointer finger on my left hand started to swell. Another day goes by — full blown infection under my pointer finger and the side of my ring finger. Without going too deep into the gory details — I ended up having to extract the infection with a pin, squeeze it out and treat it with Neosporin. Gross — but others need to know about this.

a good friend told me not to come here but i only gave it a shot because it is 2 blocks away and convenience was important in this particular instance. The place has curb appeal but it is hands down the worst pedicure I’ve gotten in SF. My feet were in the water for maybe 2 minutes before she started doing her thing clipping & cutting. 5 minutes later there was scrub on my DRY feet & legs. I made a comment so she had me dip my feet in the water for a second then she started the worst heel scrub job ever. The polishing was decent but at the end, I asked another worker who spoke better English if my heels look acceptable. She was like «ooo! i fix it i fix it!» Her name is Rosie and she is very sweet and she did fix it, but pedicures should be relaxing and this was certainly amateur hour or she just didn’t care. There are other places around this area. I highly recommend checking out those places.

Very good spot in the city to get a mani/​pedi done. I like to make appointment with Rosie she is very nice and does a good job. Only drawback is that this place is very popular and can get very busy. Sometimes I have had to wait even if I had a scheduled appointment but it is worth the wait. Rosie does a good job.

This is my go to spot for manicures, particularly Gel. They do a meticulous Jon and make those light, pastel colors always look rich and colorful. I once had a gel mani from here last perfectly for almost 4 weeks other than grow out!

Don’t come here! One of the ladies accidentally cut my skin and she didn’t even apologize! Super awful attitude here.

DON’T Come here
Bad attitude. I was even told «remember to bring my tips in cash next time» oh shut your mouth, how rude and ridiculous.

This salon is one of my go-​to spots, ONLY for spa manicures/​pedicures. I haven’t tried their other services. I love the massages/​hot stone that they use on my pedicures, and the massage chairs are very comfortable. I never had to make an appointment, they always take walk ins; although, it can get pretty busy during peak hours (weekday after work hours).
The color selection is okay, they have the regular standard colors, but I usually just bring in my own.

This is my go-​to nail salon. Everyone here is always friendly, they do a great job and it’s reasonably priced for SF. Highly recommend!

Very sanitary, no wait, huge selection of polish and the prices are very reasonable given the competition in the neighborhood. Lady did a really nice pedicure and excellent $ 10 foot massage. Will return.

I’ve been coming here for years and its pretty consistent. They do a good job and there’s never any problems. It’s fairly priced and they have a massive color selection. They always have a ton of current magazines. Can’t speak for the waxing they do here, just mani and pedi.

I came here with a friend to have a nice experience and girl talk after a champagne brunch on Polk. We walked in and immediately had distracted customer service and were rushed into our chair. My pedicure water was scalding hot. Once my services began I explained that I had to meet a friend very quickly outside as I had her cell phone. They acted rude and asked for my credit card right away to pay. as if i would run away without paying. After they had me sign for my charge (while still getting my pedicure) they asked how I wanted to tip. I told them I didn’t have cash and they kept asking for the tip, for the tip, for the tip. My friend felt uncomfortable and needless to say, i didn’t get my nails painted because they wanted me out of there so quick. And they STILL charged $ 35! My friend finally finished and wanted to tip for me via her card and they still insisted the ATM. The paint job was blegh and experience was HORRIBLE! Do yourself a favor and go ANYWHERE else but Union Nails.

no wait on a Sat afternoon, hurrah. the biggest reason for the five stars is them having all the basics and NOT trying to upsell every two seconds. I could truly relax and enjoy my spa pedicure. tip needs to be cash but they take credit for services. spa pedi was $ 22 and well worth it. I will be back!

second time Ive been here. Why did I come back?
Don’t cut and make me bleed
don’t talk about me negatively in Vietnamese
Don’t charge for things the shop 300 feet away does for FREE.
Do your research
never again
never again
never again
never again
IM NOT RICH
never again
never again
never again
IM NOT RICH
never again
never again
never again

Just need to say that the gel manicures from this place last forever! It’s been over two weeks since my last manicure, and they’re still intact and would be flawless if my nails hadn’t grown. Normally from other places the gel would start peeling off after a week or so, leaving an ugly scratch on the surface and my nails looking horrendous. Somehow they end up getting the job done skillfully and efficiently with results that are worth paying the extra gel manicure price for. I use my hands a lot– at work, at home– AND, I’m super clumsy with my fingers in general so it’s impressive that the manicure would last this long.
Don’t care so much about the service– typical nail salon experience, but I don’t expect much of that anyway as long as they get the job done. I actually like it when it’s quiet and I have my own space while being pampered, which they fulfill so it’s all good for me. I’ve been here for mani-​pedis and gel manicures, and the ladies here do an awesome job. Clean, quick, and meticulous without a ton of mess-​ups like some other salons I’ve been to.
Coming back soon for my next gel manicure!

I absolutely love Le. She’s very meticulous with gel manicures and French manicures. Plus she’s very nice to chat with and always has a great positive energy.

Moved to the burbs of NY… I was the luckiest woman in the world to have Le do my nails for 5 years… she should open a school. I have had 3 disheartening pedicures since moving here. When you are 6 months preg and have a 1 year old… a pedicure is a luxury… I miss Le and Union Nails, not to mention some of the best coffee ever at Cheese Plus across the street.

this place charged me $ 2.50 when they said the ATM is free for customers. I didn’t have cash handy and they said I couldn’t tip on credit card so I used my BofA debit card and never «agreed» to any fee … it’s not like I’m in another country? Raised to their manager that I thought notice should be given to customers bc free sounds like no charge from anywhere — and he told he can’t control what the bank charges… That may be accurate but anything I have used before has an agreement screen. He refunded the fee so I’ve updated here from 1 to 3 stars.

Le does a mean set of gels and a very thorough pedicure. $ 50 for both gets you a result that easily lasts two weeks, and usually three unless I do a ton of kitchen prep work.
She’s never trimmed my cuticles too close, doesn’t buff too hard on the removal of old gel, and is super meticulous about getting uniform sized/​shaped nails. She’s also careful to cap the free edge on each nail, and doesn’t mind if you ask for a third coat of certain, less-​opaque lacquers.
Other than how hectic this place can get on the weekend (and for good reason), I can’t think of any negatives.

This place is in a convenient location, Union and Polk. I would say this is the most average mani and pedi I have ever received. There was no wait so that’s a plus.
First they tried to sit me off to the side and when I asked for a massage chair they said it would be a dollar extra. Then once I sat down and we got started, they didn’t even turn on the massage chair for me until close to 5 minutes into the mani/​pedi.
I felt like the woman doing my pedicure was rushing just to get it done and not meticulous about really getting every stray piece of skin or trimming my toenails as short as I had asked her to. I got a 10 minute foot massage and she was still done with that and painting my nails before my manicurist finished (and they started at the same time!)
My gel manicure was pretty standard, I would say nothing special, but also good enough that I would probably go back for a quick manicure if I needed one.
All in all, if you need a quick mani/​pedi and done at the same time this place is reasonable, but not out of this world.

Since penning my original review of Union Nails seven years ago, a couple things have changed:
— The price has gone up $ 5 for a spa mani/​pedi to $ 28
+ The spa mani/​pedi now includes hot stone massage action
We went around 9:45 on a Sunday morning and had no problem securing two spa chairs next to each other. My manicure from Union Nails chipped quickly but I’ll probably still come back here when availability and proximity collide.