Union — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

a beautiful masterclass in good-food-does-not-have-to-be-expensive-and-teeny-tiny-with-pretty-garnishes. every single drink/dish CARRIED. 60 out of 10. let's get into it.

we started with some drinks. i got the winter margarita, my friends got beer and orange wine .i'd never had orange wine before, not really my taste, but still good. the winter margarita was not sweet enough for my liking but, oh, they fixed that so quick. they sweetened it up and that changed the whole cocktail. 10 out of 10. honestly 13 out of 10. It was so good lord 😭

for apps we did the spicy gem salad and the burrata. the michelin guide describes the salad as "peak salad satisfaction" and i could not agree more. SO good. i almost thought it had meat in it for a second. so rich and flavorful. the burrata carried its weight as well. the bread was so perfectly burnt and buttery and yikes i'm thinking back right now. too good. appetizers were 12 out of 10.

the entrees is when i really started to get emotional. we did the burger, the cavatelli, and the half chicken. let's start with the burger. that burger (and listen close)... that burger was the best burger i have ever had in my entire life. FACTS. i will be back solely for that burger. the bone marrow aoili was so luxurious and the fries/garlic aoili combo had my knees buckling. 20 out of 10. the cavatelli was just good for me. i'd eat it again but it wouldn't be my go-to. i would certainly recommend though as a veg option. the chicken was BIG and VAST. the smokiness really came out and the meat was so perfectly cooked. gobbled the whole thing up chile. 10 out of 10! i will say i wanted a little bit more sweetness from the sweet potato/apple combo, but still very good. that was a theme throughout, everything was (very, very good), but heavy and salt-forward. dessert i was excited to have something sweet and cold.

at this point i wanted another drink so i ordered an amaretto sour. they didn't have the amaretto so they suggested a singani sour instead, a bolivian brandy that I had never had before. WOAH it was incredible. 20 out of 10. I'm already trying to see how i can order some singani online. like a pisco sour but more depth to the liquor. difficult to describe, but very light, refreshing, and flavorful. would order again as my first drink next time.

then the dessert came out. we did the apple bread pudding which let me just tell you.... i dreamed about that bread pudding. ima just leave it there. 30 out of 10 on the apple bread pudding. it was so good, but warm, and so we then got the honey green tea cake (I think is what it was called). wooooaaahhhhhhh with the ginger chai icream on top??? cleared that too. also 30 out of 10. you see what i mean? nothing was nasty.

overall a solid 5 stars. i will be going back. the hospitality was top notch. a good meal that doesn't shatter the bank. I also loved that some of the cocktail sales go towards HBCU tuition scholarships. ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾the host austin was amazing (pay austin more!!) I did not get the name of our waitress but also very, very kind and attentive. pay them more too!!!! bib gourmand 2023...

We have eaten here twice before and it was delicious. We decided we wanted to have our wedding lunch here for a party of 28 people.

We worked with Megan to coordinate the lunch. She is absolutely on top of her game. She was in constant communication with me during menu planning, day of coordinating, and even gave me a phone call leading up to the event to make sure we were squared away. Megan was there for our event and made sure everything went smoothly even though we were about 20 minutes late to get to the restaurant. They were ready for us.

She had great insight to help make sure we didn’t order an excessive amount of food. It was delicious. We had just the right amount of food to make sure everyone was full but not uncomfortable. We didn’t want any left overs on purpose. We have taken left overs home before and they are fantastic.

Most of our guests ordered mocktails and cocktails from the bar and they said they were fantastic. We had coffee service from Larson next door and it was delicious.

The restaurant is cozy and welcoming, very comfortable to use...

It absolutely pains me to give this place 3 stars. The service and ambiance are really wonderful, and it feels like a place that should provide a fantastic dining experience. But a restaurant has to be judged by the quality of its food, and, in that domain, Union fell short.

Despite pricing its offerings at the level of other “New American” restaurants in Chicago (think: Au Cheval, Loyalist, Gretel), Union’s food isn’t competitive. The burger is a well-done, Hardee’s whopper with onion straws, and their potatoes are pretty, but poorly seasoned, mushroom-like globs of unsalted potential. The hush puppies taste like the Jimmy Kimmel of wasabi; boring and inoffensive.

Finally, the vegetable options were lackluster. Broccolini with tahini sauce, fried olives, and cucumber salad? The restaurant appears to be suffering an identity crisis; either get a shawarma roasting spit or buy a bottle of caesar dressing.

Again, the service was great. The beer was really good. But the chef needs to be replaced before I can...