Union Restaurant — Restaurant in Pasadena

Party of 4 on a Friday night. The place was packed. It's cozy, and a great ambiance for a date. Though, you'll definitely need to speak up, it's loud, so best to keep the foreplay talk till after dinner.

We shared the caccio e pepe, wild mushroom, asperagus, squid ink pasta, lamb rissotto, and halibut.

Let's start with what I did not like and wanted to like. The halibut was dry, but then again it's halibut. It's easy to overcook. I believe it was served with pickled carrots and a fruit puree. I wish I remember what was in it but it was a boring dish. If you enjoy blan dry white fish, or if you think chicken breast is better than dark meat, and prefer your steak medium well to well done, then by all means try this dish. It will keep your night dull and PG like Sunday Bible class.

The lamb rissotto is misleading. It was made with brown rice. Yes I know how hard it is to make risotto from brown rice and to be honest you shouldn't. It doesn't have enough starch and it felt like eating quinnoa. And no, it's not creative to make risotto with quinnoa, that's not risotto, it's barely even food. The citrus used, might have been yuzu, was too overpowering and masked all of the lamb flavor. It also didn't help that I didn't see any pieces of lamb belly. Again, like the first dish, if you swing between veganism and dipping your feet in the devil's water with "meat flavored" dishes then this will rock your socks off. Didn't do anything for me. I felt cheated and heartbroken. It's a goddamn rissotto. It's supposed to be rich and comforting!

The caccio e pepper. Ahhh! I love caccio e peppe. Why? It's a simple traditional dish of just pecorino, pepper (lots of it) and butter, obviously pasta as well. Here's my problem with it: it was cold. The pasta came out at room temperature. There was a poached eggs in the dish. Why?! Is it trying to be a carbonara? There wasn't enough pepper. But the pasta was fantastic, al dente af! But seriously, why was it room temperature? I was so disappointed. Btw, if you want good caccio e peppe, try Uvuo in Santa Monica. That's a full flavored party in your mouth caccio e peppe experience. I should knock another star off for this travesty. But I'll let it go because the pasta itself was that good.

The wild mushroom, hell yes! It was amazing! The polenta was smooth, creamy, and heavenly cheesy. I could eat this all day. Who doesn't enjoy a well perpared dish of fungi?

Asperagus, cooked to perfection. I believe there was prosciutto and something else (tart). Balanced flavor and texture.

Squid ink pasta with lobster, very nice. I knew I would love this and I am thankful it wasn't cold like the caccio e peppe. The squid ink pasta was just amazing. Al dente, a hint of squid and you can tell they seasoned the water with the right amount of salt when it was boiled. The lobster was as a lobster should be, firm yet delicate. One of the top dishes on the menu.

We also had the bread starter with house churned butter. That was okay... I enjoyed the bread dipped with the wild mushroom. The butter was good, hats off for making it in house. But don't expect it to be something you get in Europe. I also want to mention that it could have been underwhelming since the bread came out after more potent dishes like the wild mushroom. If there were any delicate flavors in the butter, they was masked.

On to the wine. If you're sharing dishes and ordering indescriminantly like we did, get a light body, fruiter wine. A mix of flavors like this and a medium body wine will leave your taste buds stale. I also don't particularly like Italian wine. I think they're kind of one note and boring. But that is me, and I do not have refined pallates for wine. I know what I like when I taste it, Italian wine is just not the tip of my tongue. Haha see what I did there?

Our waitor was super friendly as so were all of the staff members. I am rating it 3.5 stars. It would be a 4 if that caccio e peppe was at the right temperature. I'll forgive the halibut and faux risotto since they were out of the steak...

+Service/Atmosphere: Second time here, but first time dining inside made me really regret our decision. My friend recommended this place to-go during COVID and we really enjoyed the pasta dishes! However, this time around, the atmosphere seemed super rushed on a weekday. Cute ambient lighting and great for a romantic dinner. Although, we came right during the dinner rush and it was completely bright outside. There were a lot of customers both indoor and outdoor. Luckily, we made reservations as we were able to sit inside on a tiny table for 2 people. Service was good, but didn’t feel very welcomed.

+Parking: Street parking or paid garage parking is a bit difficult in downtown Pasadena.

+Food: They ran out of the lamb belly (fettuccini) early on, so we decided to try this Pesto dish. We were also told to mix the cheese in with the pasta, but I’m not a huge fan of that much cheese. Would not recommend, but if you want all of the cheese flavor, then go for it.

Charred octopus with fennel - best dish and highly recommend! Torchetti - Pork ragu pasta. This was the best dish and would recommend, but we definitely preferred the lamb belly pasta dish. Good portion and even flavors. Bucatini - We did not like the vegetarian pistachio pasta dish. The pasta felt undercooked and lacked flavor.

Previously tried my friends tonnarelli cacio de Pepe, which was delicious and the lamb belly during Covid. Not sure what happened to the flavors, but oh well.

+Dessert: Crostata di nocciole - hazelnut was a perfect complement to the raspberry Not sure if we got the olive oil cake or the pear cake, but it was just okay. We preferred the vanilla ice cream.

+Drinks: Nebbiolo Piemonte 2020 - This glass was very refreshing for a hot Summer day and a red wine. Good match for our dinner. My BF always gets a sparkling / Italian soda drink anywhere we go, since he’s not a huge fan of drinking. We recommend any Italian soda drink.

Overall, the food is a hit or miss, atomosphere is just okay, but not very welcoming. Waitress was nice though and provided a nice wine selection. Order the meat...

The photos were definitely not the greatest when I took them. Overall this is a solid take a classic spin and brought to modern era on pasta dishes. The first dish was the tomato appetizer with stone fruits and chili vinaigrette where it was a classic take on the tomato, basil, and mozzarella. The sweetness from the honey and fruits with a touch of homemade ricotta gave it a fresh vibrant feel as with the herbs of basil and mint. Great way to get your palate started. Torchetti is definitely a winner, solid pork ragu/Bolognase pasta with that homemade ricotta brought it all together. Tasted home cooked and fresh but with a bit of a lift overall than your typical grandma’s version. It is on a slight bit spicier side, kind of lingers. If you are really sensitive to spice then avoid it but I personally liked it. The corn tortilla tortellini had your similar Mexican influence of flavors but not so overbearing that it takes away from being a pasta dish. The corn and hints of sweetness really helps bring the dish together. Nice mix and balance of sweet and a slight salty. The Aleppo gave it a nice kick, left you with a lingering dry spice feel where it’s pockets and moments the heat kicks in from time to time. That emulsified water/butter sauce where it coats the back of your spoon reminds you it’s still pasta. The squid ink lumache definitely reminded you of the sea. It was a bit saltier than I would have liked but if had a tad bit less salt, the dish would have been great. Out of all 3 dishes, the Torchetti and corn tortilla tortellini were what I would go for, definitely the Torchetti if anything was the real winner here. Everything tasted fresh and homemade so you probably can’t go wrong with choosing any items off the menu. Now the finishing touch that everyone needs to get is the olive oil cake. It tasted like a divine butter cake, crispy exterior and soft interior. Topped with that sugary coated macerated berries and sweet creamy ricotta ice cream and leaf of basil. Would highly recommend this dessert. One word to sum it up...