Union Park Tavern — Restaurant in Kenosha

Maybe an off night. This was our 1st time eating at Union Park Tavern on 8th ave / northside of kenosha WI. We had previously attended a political event there where saw the menu and decided we would come for dinner one night.

On the Saturday before st Patrick’s day they started serving dinner at 3 pm and we arrived a little before 4 pm. The bar and back patio were very busy , there was a bluegrass band setting up and we were seated in the dining room. There were a few open tables but these filled in within 3o minutes.

Our primary wait person (Sarah?) was great - upbeat, friendly and patient. There was some confusion on the hand off between Sarah and a person floating between tables helping the other waitstaff and the kitchen. For example- a line cook had to come out and ask what one of our sides was because the float person didn’t add it to our order. We had to ask for glasses of water a couple of times. There was a sign on our table adverting a brand of beer I like but the servers were surprised and didn’t think they sold it. Anyways- the service was ok.

The food unfortunately was a disappointment. I had the st pat’s special and my wife had a cheese burger with onion rings. Both entrees came out together in a fair amount of time given how busy they were. Everything was well seasoned, was well plated and came out hot.

The st pats special included a good portion of boiled red potatoes, carrots, corn beef, cabbage and a slice of soda bread. Potatoes and cabbage were perfectly done and tasty. Carrots were a little bit undercooked but ok. I’m not experienced with Soda bread but it was very dry and grainy.

The corned beef was a major let down- mostly fat. I’m very accustomed to eating corn beef on both sandwiches and served as a dinner entree. I get that it’s not a lean cut of meat. I expect it to be greasy, unctuous and will have some fat. I’ve never been served anything with so little actual meat compared to fat. Out of approximately an 8 oz serving- I’m guessing there was 2 oz of identifiable brisket, another 2 ounce of meat strings amongst the fat and another 4 oz of just fat.

The options when ordering a burger are pink or no pink. My wife ordered no pink and the burger was very dry. Maybe it’s super lean beef but we were surprised at how dry it tasted. The onion rings were tasty and generous portion.

Either the food was served as the management intended …. or … management isn’t keeping a close enough eye on what’s leaving the kitchen. Not sure which.

Overall, based on food quality, I’d say we got low value compared to price paid.

Union park is a nice neighborhood tavern. Good vibes. Dining room, barroom , rest rooms are all clean. Ample street parking. Menu sayes they take cash only with ATM onsite but we were pleasantly surprised now take credit cards with no surcharge.

I’m guessing We are on the same political page as the owners so we want to support them and we will give Union park tavern another try for dinner...

Let me start by saying I'm no stranger to expensive food. We prefer paying good money for a great meal, but then everything on the plate needs to be great. Boy I don't know. Maybe I just grew up at a time when Friday fish fry was an inexpensive dinner for a family. $18 for cod? C'mon. We paid far less in Iceland, for the best fish fry ever, from a corner stand. Maybe a bad comparison, but best in Kenosha?

The food was good, I'll give it that. The fish anyway, for the first 3 minutes after being served. All the different fries we tried were bland frozen bag fries. So no, not great. Ore'ida is better and I gave that up 20 years ago.

I can't at all understand how this place keeps winning best fish fry. If this is Kenosha's best, I suggest going to Racine. Sure it's good, and it's fresh, not frozen, that was clear. But it was soaking wet underneath, so it didn't stay crisp more than a couple of minutes. Have they not heard of resting the fish before serving? Just put it on butcher paper for 30 seconds. It's not hard, not difficult, and doesn't take any extra time. They could line up the pretty plastic containers on the plate while it rests. The Boat House is better, and theirs isn't what I would call top notch either. There too, it's served wet unless you specifically ask for it not to be served on greens. I mean, who are these "chefs"??? I expected more for $18.

3 fish fry, 2 tap sodas and a glass of wine for $80 with tip. Will I go back? Most likely not.

Restaurant was clean for a bar, but mostly occupied by seniors. Kinda dark. Kinda dank. And maybe that had a lot to do with my overall experience. Even the sides come in little plastic carry out containers. A tablespoon of mayo for my fries, served in a little plastic takeout container, and charged 75¢. I ask for mayo every time I order fries, but never have I been charged until now. I'm glad I didn't ask for butter for my bread, or extra napkins.

BTW they're still in the 20th century. Cash only. At these prices you'd think they could suck up the point of sale fee. ATM in the bar, $2.50 service fee.

Yeah, after reading this back, I'm certain this was just my first, but also my last visit. I'm not saying don't try it by any means, but there are so many better options in the area. I do wish we'd just gone to Tuscany bistro and spent $180. At least I wouldn't be here writing this on a Friday evening, and I would know the food was an absolute steal for the price. $24 for fresh ahi tuna made by a professional chef. Worth the $6 I'd say.

Are there any Long John Silver's around...

I would have put a negative star for service if I could. I don’t know if it was an off day for the bartender but her service and attitude were horrendous. There were only a handful of people in during the afternoon, we were hungry for a good meal and a beer. The atmosphere seemed chill and I was looking forward to a Friday fish fry. We got our waters and there was a distinctive chemical taste to it that we couldn’t ignore. We felt bad about asking, so we politely and gently asked for new waters. She took the glasses away, proceeded to dump out our water angrily and then made a drink for another customer (who was belligerently drunk and had clearly been there for a while). Instead of bringing us new water glasses, she told us we could purchase water bottles. And when we politely declined and said we would be fine with regular water, there just seemed to be something still on our previous glasses that gave it a weird flavor. She walks off in a huff, muttering fairly loudly “OOOoook, sureeeee “ and starts to pour new glasses for us. We felt so uncomfortable that we just left. Really disappointed to be treated this way without any provocation. One of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever...