Tonight I went with two of my best girlfriends to Union Bar and Grille for Restaurant Week. Union is located on Washington Street in the South End. Although I had never been, I heard wonderful things about the restaurant from my cousin, another dining out enthusiast.
Before arriving tonight I tweeted how excited I was to check out this restaurant. I received a reply right away from the restaurant saying they were delighted to be mentioned and would have a booth waiting for us when we arrived. How lovely!
When we walked in, we were greeted by the manger who said, "Are you Molly?" Why yes, yes I am! He said he was thrilled to meet us and walked us to our booth.
The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and has a warm, cozy, welcoming atmosphere. The tables are in the center of large, dark leather booths. Butcher paper covers each table and our particular table had a small silver lamp and a single pink rose in a silver vase.
Once seated we were delivered a cast iron skillet of corn bread. It was delicious and the perfect start to the meal.
We perused the Restaurant Week menu and saw they were also offering a wine special. A "flight" of wine, which includes three 3 oz glasses of wine called the Take Off, Mid-Flight and Final Approach. How cute! Between us we had two flights of white wine and one flight of red. Our server (who was FANTASTIC) told us about each wine as he placed it on the table. Its so nice to learn about what you're tasting!
For the first course, two of us tried the arugula, tomato, and grilled corn salad served with zucchini ribbons and fresh herbs. The presentation was beautiful and it was dressed perfectly. We literally cleared our plates. Not a kernel of grilled corn left.
We also tried the peach and golden tomato gazpacho. While it tasted mostly like tomato, it was sweet from the peaches. The texture was unusual for a gazpacho. Probably not something we would order again.
For dinner, we sampled all three options! Starting with the hanger steak served with blue cheese stuffed tomatoes and grilled mashed potatoes. I'm a vegetarian and this meal looked incredible!
We also tried the blue fish served over basmati rice, grilled corn and pickled, sweet onions. While we weren't sure exactly what type of fish blue fish actually is, it got devoured quickly!
I had the fettuccine with spinach and basil leaves in a tomato/onion sauce. It is supposed to come topped with shrimp, but they offered to serve it without the shrimp as a vegetarian alternative. While the pasta and it's sauce were quite delicious, you could tell the dish was lacking a key component (the shrimp in this case). I did see another pasta option on the regular menu I would love to try on my next visit.
For dessert we tried the raspberry spiked brownie with pistachio ice cream and the strawberry ice cream soda. The brownie was warm and decadent and the ice cream and whipped cream were the perfect compliments. Both brownie sundaes literally disappeared.
The ice cream soda garnered the attention of everyone else at the surrounding tables. It was dripping over the sides of the soda glass with pink, frothy goodness. The whipped cream was heavenly and the strawberry soda makes for a sublime summer treat!
As we were finishing our dessert the manager stopped by again to say he would like to treat us to dessert on our next visit. How sweet!
As we got up to leave we all agreed this was one of the best dining out experiences we had ever had. First, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. Secondly, the food was fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. Lastly, the service was absolutely exceptional. Both the manager and our server went out of their way to make sure we were welcome, comfortable, happy and enjoying our evening.
Thank you Union Bar and Grille team for one of the best nights out I have ever had in Boston. I can't wait to return!
