Union Park Dining Room — Restaurant in Cape May

We have wanted to try this restaurant for years but it was never open in the winter when we would go to Cape May. This year we were in Cape May last week and our group of 8 decided to give it a try. The decor was elegant and the service was suburb but the food was average at best, temperatures all over the place, portions jokingly small and the prices outrageous. They were serving a 3-course dinner only (starter, entree, dessert) for $65 a person. You could add a starter for an upcharge ranging from $15-$30. You could not substitute. Entrees allowed substitutions for an upcharge ranging from $5-$45. I had the Bay Scallops starter which had maybe 2 bay scallops sliced thinly sitting in the ailoi with little slivers of the vegetables arranged on top, very pretty, somewhat tasty but it was gone in 2-3 bites. Ok, it's a starter so not too big but then came the entree, The Petit Tender, it was described by the server as similar to a Hanger steak. Not so. Again a tiny portion of meat, thinly sliced into maybe four slices, sitting in some kind a puree with some arugula on top. This one was gone in 3 bites. It looked just like the starter I had, but this one had very little taste and the meat, cut very thin, was still very chewy. Around the table similar reactions to their food choices. The biggest serving was the caesar salad starter. After many bottles of wine and laughter about what pizzeria we will be ordering from for second dinner our server took coffee orders. We has already selected our desserts when we ordered. Coffees arrived and were consumed and then we sat there for a good 15 minutes before desserts arrived. This was the only issue involving service and probably not the servers fault. To our surprise the desserts were a decent size. The slice of cheesecake I had was actually bigger than both my starter and entree. I could understand these portion sizes if this was a 5, 6, 7 course tasting menu but this was an appy and an entree and we all left hungry and disappointed. We all agreed this was a costly mistake. Thank God it is a BYOB. P.S. - We ordered pizza from Mario's, it...

Over rated in the worst way. I will say on the positive side they seated my party immediately after arriving, so our reservation time was honored. We sat inside and the room was full. The menu was price fix, which I hate, because I don’t want to be forced to have and pay for a dessert I don’t really want. I have allergies and need to be very specific when I order which has not been difficult at hundreds of restaurants I have eaten at. But that wasn’t the case here. The waitress made no effort to assist and came back from the chef where I asked her to go and ask saying that she had no idea what I could eat or not eat and that they were too busy to accommodate me. I have NEVER had that experience and I hadn’t been with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile I would have walked out. She was curt and said I should just eat the protein because she couldn’t guarantee anything. Well I did get the protein and didn’t take the chance of getting “poisoned” by food containing my allergen and I will say it was one of the most expensive tasteless meals I have ever ever had. What a waste. I had the beet salad and then salmon with literally no side. My friend had suggested maybe put it over greens and waitress replied that they did not have greens, only romaine lettuce. (Huh?) So, I would caution coming to this place if 1) you think $95 should buy you a flavorful meal 2) if you have any allergies 3) if you want to spend your money wisely. I would have ditched the sad appetizer and dessert if I could have had a tasty main course. They might want to consider employing people who know how to speak to customers. I could understand if they were busy but surely she could have at least pretended to try. Good luck and suggest many other places to eat...

Overall 1-star and that’s benefiting from the curve of a way overpriced food scene where many restaurants are lazily coasting, otherwise maybe 1/2. The food was a solid 2-3 stars at their price point (average $50 entree). I get it, restaurants can change for bread. But if I’m charged $7 for “artisanal” bread I expect warm artisanal bread, not cold, slightly stale Acme quality bread. Our group had the foie, octopus and tartare. All ok. We each had a different entree and they were all just ok. Salting was a little off, mostly under. My lamb was tasty but not worthy of $50. It is described as sitting on patatas and romesco. Most diners with experience in Spain would have trouble identifying that as “romesco.” I don’t know if Chef Schatz was out for the night but the kitchen needs to pick up their game. The server provided a bad 1-star experience. His demeanor was rude. He reminded me of a retired middle school teacher that most students didn’t like. Zero flexibility whatsoever. Did not introduce himself. He refused to take any food order until we ordered everything. No exceptions. Every interaction with him was cringe-worthy and unpleasant. Despite booking as a birthday celebration and being acknowledged on arrival as a birthday, dessert came and went, nothing happened. Other tables had a candle on a small tart. Ultimately, he said the “birthday woman” didn’t order a dessert so she didn’t get anything from the house. I addressed all with one of the owners on the way out. His response, “I’ll address it with the server, we’ll do better next time and make sure we don’t have the same server.” I dropped $500 last night (6 people, no alcohol), so feel some...