Union Ale House — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

I am changing my review of this place. I come from a bar background so I understand the lay of the land. Typically there are insiders and outsiders and really that’s no different than any job. But typically bartenders will still take care of people who are at their bar. I will say that before the owners changed there was a mutual exchange in that I am a regular but I am not looking to be an insider. Just want a place to rest, eat good food and hang. All of the female bartenders except Lacy have totally given up professionalism. About 2 months ago I ordered fajitas and Rosie was the bartender. Since the new owner took over she became outright rude. I didn’t tip AT ALL because of this. Luckily because I’m nervous about fraud, I only move what I spend over from another account. When I left she attempted to put an approximate tip of 15ish dollars on but it declined. I didn’t say anything. I was never rude to her but her regulars don’t like me and for the most part it’s mutual but we are adults so that shouldn’t matter. This is a small town and the food is good here. The karaoke is fun. I’m a singer so I love it but I always have to call and see which bartender is working because if Michelle is working she will not only directly insult me but after I order she will stop and talk to one of the other bartenders and then go out for a cigarette before she comes back and smirks at me that she is aware she can get away with anything. With staff like this I would honestly keep an eye on the numbers because it is apparent that the bartenders run the new owner which it wasn’t like that with the previous owner. There were lines that were not crossed. Now there are no lines. And I have heard from clients I sent here. Only 2. They didn’t get the best service but they thought perhaps they were short staffed. I watched the bartender Jen make someone at the bar feel absolutely terrible when she ridiculed him and said that Union is a special place and if you act right you can sit on the big comfy couch with them. I wouldn’t bother writing this review cause this seems to be bitter small town long time friends shenanigans and that’s just what it is. But this is a big tech town with Discover people coming in and conferences major surrounding hotels. So the food is absolutely outstanding but you just never know what kind of service you will get. I would highly recommend unless you have my thick skin just ordering from here. And to be honest, I’m not so sure the regulars even like each other. Small town shenanigans… 🦃

Update: I went to the owner and a bartender first. I have been holding back on details as I don’t want to be petty but perhaps I should. The owner appeased me and if I were to say what transpired last night, I think this would further corroborate what I have already said here. The owner was suppose to call me back or text and he didn’t and then another incident happened. Why would I come back? Because in the suburbs, there are few places to go to with good food. But the regulars went after me with such aggression and the owner backed them up, so maybe they finally got their wish. Kevin promised to harass me everytime I come. The owner told me to not highlight the man Tom who sits at the bar and watch porn when I was attempting to defend myself. I apologize to the lively bartender Lacey. The owner when I spoke to him was only interested in recording me while I sing as I am a professional singer and putting it on Facebook but since the patron Kevin has said he is not against abuse against women and the owner accepted that, probably now it isn’t safe to go. And furthermore, since I get out and about I have met many people who said they experienced the same thing. So this is a deep pattern. And it is supported. 2 men watched the owner be rude to me last night and a patron was rude to them for defending me so they left. I guess, lay...

We were staying at a fantasy suite down the road on a Sunday night and ordered Union Ale House because they deliver there. They came recommended by the staff at the hotel. We ordered a pot sticker appetizer, chicken pesto pasta, and a Greek Skirt Steak entree. The delivery driver DID NOT call as they said he would but instead showed up at the door. Awkward.

The pot sticker appetizer was delicious but the skirt steak was tough and over cooked, the French fries that came with were a soggy, disgusting mess, and the chicken in the pesto was good but the pasta was drenched in olive oil. If it ever had pesto on it it, it was 100% separated, but my intuition tells me someone poured olive oil on it and sprinkled some dehydrated herbs on it. Finally, neither entree had seen even a pinch of seasoning.

While we appreciated the delivery concept in the situation we were, everything could have been done much better without much effort. Call if you say you're going to, use seasoning on food, don't pack a whole order of fried to be delivered in a tiny styrofoam container, and use real pesto if that's what you're offering.

This was a total disappointment and I wouldn't recommend anything other than the Pot...

I liked my food, service was good, but for an ale house to only have a few craft beers on tap is kinda crazy to me. Also, 4% service charge on the bill??! Have people lost their damn mind? Increase your prices appropriately instead of sneakily adding a charge to the end. Really put a sour taste in my mouth, probably wouldn't come back again for that greed alone. Edit for owners response: You can clearly see that the owner refuses to take responsibility for the over priced service fee. It was stated at the bottom of the receipt in text, nowhere before that like at the door, or in the menu. Not even as a line item in the numeric total of the receipt. When I brought it up to the waitress, she said no one has ever asked about it. So either she is lying or I'm the only customer who thought it was odd to have a random fee added. Not only that, it doesn't state it's a credit card fee it says service charge. When I asked if she could take it off if I paid cash, she said yes at first, and then realized she couldn't. So looks like as a manager you are lying on the reviews or you need to do better training, because like I said the...