Union League — Restaurant in New Haven

To celebrate a special event, we decided to dine at the Union League Cafe. It’s long been regarded as one of new haven’s best restaurants, but since we hadn’t been there for almost 20 years, I was a little apprehensive. After all, there aren’t many restaurants that have maintained their culinary excellence for two decades. But my misapprehension was misplaced.

The interior is still decorated in exquisite taste. We were there for one of those special meals when there is a pre fixe menu. It turned out to be a great deal.

My meal began with the SALADE D'ÉPINARDS ET ROQUEFORT, a marvelous mix of baby spinach salad, smoked bacon, honey roasted pears, savory nougatine of walnuts and Roquefort cheese. It was an amazing combination of flavors and textures, nuanced and delicate. My husband chose to begin his meal with the RAVIOLES DE ROYAN, a fragrant mixture of fresh herbs and Comté cheese raviolini, winter vegetable consommé, brunoise of carrot, leek and celeriac, parsley pesto.

For my main course I enjoyed the HOMARD NEWBURG, a combination of Nova Scotia Lobster, spaghetti squash, and house made saffron bowtie pastas in a light sherry-lobster bisque. It was one of the best newburg dishes I have ever tasted.

For his main course my husband feasted on the CÔTES D'AGNEAU A LA BROCHE, a spit roasted rack of lamb served with sunchoke truffle mousseline, glazed salsify, and Swiss chard, truffle lamb jus.

For my dessert, I was wowed by the MA "CHÉRI" confection, a tasty combination of layers of cherry mousse and chocolate biscuit, brandied cherry and chocolate sauce. It was one of the best desserts of my life, one of the few that have looked marvelous and tasted even better than it looked. Going for a lighter taste come on my husband enjoyed the SALADE D'AGRUMES, a tasty mix of Mandarin and blood orange segments marinated in honey and pistachio syrup, Pomegranate sorbet, and orange tuile.

The service impeccable and attentive. The wine list is detailed and complete. Dinner at the union league is best saved for a very special event. While it isn’t cheap, it’s a great value in fine dining.

About the chef Executive Chef / Owner JEAN-PIERRE VUILLERMET is a third-generation chef originally from Aix Les Bains, located at the foot of the French Alps. After working with world-renowned chefs, he opened Union League Cafe, on the site of Robert Henry’s (where he was a chef) in 1993. Inspired by the old-world charm of a Parisian brasserie, Union League Cafe has consistently garnered top awards and rave reviews. In 2010 he opened Bar Bouchee, an award-winning bistro located in Madison, CT. Jean-Pierre hopes that Union League Cafe is and always will be a restaurant that provides the best in food and service and reflects the joy and passion he has for cooking. Jean-Pierre has been named “Maitres Cuisiniers de France” (French Master Chef), a title bestowed on only the best French chefs in the world.

About the Union League Located directly across from Yale University in the heart of New Haven’s historic theater and entertainment district, Union League Cafe is a French-inspired brasserie offering a lively but unpressured atmosphere. Combining Old World charm with a relaxed ambiance, it is sought out not only for its superb cuisine and acclaimed wine list but for its professional staff and...

This was the worst experience I have ever had with what I would consider a fine dining restaurant. We came on Valentine's Day so we tried to be understanding about wait times, but this was wild. It was over 30 minutes before we saw a server, and almost 90 minutes before we received any food, not even bread. We made reservations on January 10th for Valentine's Day because of how good our experience was last Valentine's Day here, and because we wanted to account for the fact we thought they would book out quickly. After tonight, we will never be back. My duck was a mere two slices of breast and the entire dish was cold. They did not bring us bread at all or the chef's complimentary cheese puffs; we had to ask for bread with dinner. By the time our food came out, we were so starving we had to wolf it down instead of savor it. The dessert was quick, as I think the servers picked up on our irritation, but because it was quick, it was still mostly frozen. The one thing I will say was amazing was the wine. Unfortunately, we ended up pouring it from the decanter multiple times ourselves as we had not seen our servers for upwards of 15 minutes after draining our glasses. We did receive an apology from someone who wasn't serving our table when he saw us do this, and he took over pouring from us. He was sweet and professional.

Any other night of the year, maybe this is better. I've dined here many times and had a great experience. The filet is normally exceptionally tender; the duck confit is delicious. Tonight was abominable, and the fact that the manager wasn't coming out to check in with every couple at least so they could measure the service is neglectful considering how many times I saw him summoned to the surrounding tables. Over my experiences at ULC across the years I will still tell you I think the quality is incredible and the chefs are very talented. Tonight was a massive let down.

Update on this - The manager did follow up on my complaint and apologize. I know Valentine’s Day is of course challenging for restaurants, so I wouldn’t completely count this restaurant out for the future. Based on last night, no more holidays for us, but I really appreciate the response and believe it shows a lot of...

My Special day not so special. My now husband and I decided to have a small intimate wedding with about 26 people TOTAL at Union League. The reason we decided to have it so small was to avoid a lot of the stress that most large weddings have. However my experience was everything but that. The coordinator I worked with service was inconsistent. Just to provide a few examples. About 3 weeks before my wedding she tried to add additional fees that were never discussed or signed during our original contract. Exactly one week before my wedding I met with the coordinator to confirm the menu and setup. Everything that we originally agreed upon was now a maybe, no or we don't offer anymore.

To make matters worse she then tells me we had to spend another 1000.00 because we weren't meeting there minimum requirement. At this point I am livid! because we already went over the contract and confirmed everything more than 3 months before. Something just didn't make since. I was able to find that she was not adding the cost of the liquor and beverages that was already paid for.

At this point I have zero confidence that my wedding would be nothing less than amazing. If it wasn't just a week before my wedding we would have changed venues.

-Was excited about having lamb as one of the options however at the last minute was told due to the season change they no longer offer but when I check out there current menu it shows its still being offered as a option. My wedding was less than a month ago.

-They didn't have a room for me to get dressed in. The option was for me to get dressed in the bathroom. (I got dressed in there coat room instead.)

My Wedding day: -We had to dance around cocktail tables for our 1st dance (they were suppose to be moved before we came out) -Parts of our wedding cake was cold while other parts were room temperature

Sorry for the long post. This is just some of the issues.. I hope this post helps any future brides that decides to use this venue. I gave two stars only because waitress we had were good and the...