Union Kitchen and Tap Encinitas — Restaurant in Encinitas

Looks like my review a year and a half ago was actually read. If your going to have Kennebec fries, you have to make poutine. That's like eating and slice of NY pizza with a fork and knife. The poutine was good, but where was the gravy? The fries were a little big kind of like Bosscat in Costa Mesa, but still Kennebec and started off so well with the cheese perfectly melted. A solid dish and intro into poutine if you haven't been north of the border for the real thing

Ok so back to the rest of things. The steaks, though not USDA prime, was good. I ordered rare, and it came medium rare. I also would have preferred the butter topping to be unflavored. Jugs of beer are just pitchers. They are actually a good deal and the best way to drink here as they just seem understaffed, like everywhere and like all the time so don't expect to order a drink, pound it and not wait 15 minutes for them to come back around.

I recall the menu being bigger and the beer list being expansive. I as looking at entrées and actually thought I should just get 3 appetizers there just weren't the options I remember or expected. Burgers are still solid, they need more sauces and things to dip in them. Mac & Cheese is ok, aside from it needing to be creamier, I found the pasta itself a little firm. You have to ask for water, they will not offer and probably won't refill it for a while

Cocktails are still good and they really try not to pack the place until the kitchen closes, then it's a free for all club. I really think that once dinner is done they should shut off the TV's otherwise what's the point. The price point here is starting to rise, losing some of it's value. It's causing me to not think of them when deciding to get a drink in Encinitas.

Nothing has really improved over the years, but it's still a good place to come. Ideally this would be a great place to grab a beer after work, but just 1 or 2 drinks max. The crowd here is a mix of beachy hipsters and yuppy suits. The beer and wine menu were about what I expected for a gastropub and I actually found the slew of big screen TV's to not take away from the pubbishness with a sports bars motif. Tall hardwood tables and chairs and the tall roll up doors make it very open and inviting. Summertime will be crowded for window stools. Nice bathroom, but could be larger, a healthy spirts selection. I got exactly 1 oz of whiskey when I asked for bulleit neat, which I thought was skimping it, I should have ordered 3 fingers (we all know that isn't accurate anymore, especially with the heavy weighted modern glasses). It was probably more surprising to me to see what 1 oz of liquor actually is. I normally don't order such a small amount.

I was a little disappointed in the menu. The burger was ok. I love the fact they use Kennebec fries, but they don't offer poutin, which is a killer dish and a good one can rival Carne Asada fries (and I'm from San Diego too). Duck leg and confit are a little too fine dining to go with beer and I felt a little out of place. The beet salad was excellent, but could due without the walnuts due to the sweetness of the beets and the fennel/star anise combo could have been balanced with a citrus/vinegar or red onion versus arugula. The fries were amazing, crisp and Kennebec stay that way for a while and don't get soggy like most. Chicken pesto flat bread was good. I wasn't a fan of the tomato's, they might have been stewed or blanched and not fresh crushed. Heavy grain/flour on the bottom got messy if you ate with your hands. I was really expecting more of an amalgamation of dishes and ideas. Nothing stood out as unique and it didn't quite seem artisanal or a seasonal daily menu. I really didn't see the creativity I expect from a gastropub, but then again I find a difference in that a true gastropub people come equally for food and libations, not fine dining around a...

If you are looking for a place to host your next event, then check them out!

My husband and I had our wedding reception at Union Kitchen and Tap in Encinitas in October. We were blown away by the service provided and fell in love with the atmosphere, the food, and the support from their staff. The staff totally killed it! Amazing food, personalized drinks that our guest LOVED and would not stop talking about, and let's not forget about the friendly service. Our wedding day could not have been possible without these guys. One of our favorite memories is watching the Union team members dancing, singing and having fun along with the 80's Flashpants band.

A special shoutout to Amy, Union Kitchen and Taps event coordinator! Amy made the overwhelming process of wedding planning fun, easy and truly enjoyable. She is personable, down to earth, kind and radiated a calming presence that helped ease all the nerves that come along with a big event. Her knowledge and experience in the field shows and her passion for making our vision come to life was evident. She was extremely patient with us and took the time to understand our vision and then was able to execute it with such grace. Amy supported all of our menu changes and day of event schedule changes with ease. Anytime we had an idea, she made it happen.... no questions asked. She really went above and beyond to make this day perfect. We can't even begin to explain how blessed we were to have Amy be a part of our...

Food is fantastic. Service was horrible. We came well before closing and were treated pretty badly Thursday night. We sat out on the back patio. No silverware, no staff coming close to or checking on us for most of our time there. I kept having to ask for more water and silverware. Our waitress rushed us, stared me down during the tipping process, was pretty rude and dismissive and didn’t check on us once aside from US eventually having to flag her down to order some food. Worst service Ive experienced in a while, I was pretty surprised. The waitress had black hair & an high bun and I don’t remember her name but if I chose to ate there again and was seated with her, I would leave. It was that bad. Not only did she provide basically zero service but she was super rude throughout our few interactions. If you’re paying this much for food, the service should be better and the waitress could have checked on us at least once. I’ve lived in Encinitas for 22 years and have come here many times throughout the years. I’d recommend just ordering to go. Again, the food is great but the seemingly hundreds of staff members there make it pretty clear they are better than you and don’t want you to be there. From the hostesses to the waitress. So rude. We didn’t ask for much, I don’t get why we were treated so poorly.

I do have to say the busser that took our plates was very kind. That was the best staff interaction...