This spot is one of our favorites, and definitely a "go to" when we can't decide where to head for our next date night. The downstairs bar is always fun and happening, with of course a great beer selection. The dinning room upstairs (where we sometimes head after a few bar drinks) is quieter and it seems many of the waitresses are perhaps a bit older, and been working there forever, so they know the menu like the back of their hand and deliver service with a maternal smile and welcome.
I love the crabcakes, the meatball app, the salads... I don't think we've ever gone there and hadn't loved our food. The oysters are amazing as well. We love the location and often go for a stroll down the street to the waterfront after dinner.
Just a very consistent feel-good place that I'm sure we'll continue returning to time and again
Had brunch with friends today. Â Brought their 2 year old with them. Â Had great service. No wait, which is awesome. Â Service was good. Â Brought out kid food early for us. Â Did refills decently. Â Food was good. Â Loved the shrimp and spinach benedict, and others enjoyed the fish & chips! Â Only two small items - didn't ask how we wanted the check and then they didn't split the check properly. Secondly, we felt a bit rushed leaving. Â Can I take that plate - can I take that glass? Â Like 3 people stopped by and asked to take items. Â One guy asked for our napkins - seriously? Â Never been asked for my napkin before I left the table.
Review Source:Came here late on a Friday night for supper and a couple drinks before going over the King Street. The restaurant was empty, but you could hear the roar from the bar when you walked in the door.
We ate in the bar at a booth. We had calamari to start and it was good but very greasy. Also the sauce didn't have a lot of flavor, it just tasted like mayonnaise. Around the table we had Sunday Ragu, an Oyster Po'Boy,and the Gumbo.
Sunday Ragu- I only had a taste of the meat but it was very flavorful and tender.
Gumbo- deep smokey flavor and plenty spicy. It came out in a huge bowl with the rice already mixed in. The only real draw back was the lack of shrimp, I think there were only two in the whole bowl.
They're not closing! They're just selling their old stools!
My husband and I stumbled upon Union on our first jaunt down King St. We just happened to look down another street and see it. So glad we did, its quickly becoming one of our fave bars.
We were easily able to find a seat at the bar and were greeted promptly. They have a pretty decent tap selection that includes a rotating Port City tap as well as the usual suspects (Yuengling, Sam seasonal, etc.). The bartender was very personable and chatted w/ us quite often.
We were both hungry so we decided to order some bites of of their bar bites menu. I had the Wally oysters w/ bacon (so good), and my husband opted for their tots. Holy cow the garlic. They were very good though, just be warned to have a mint after eating them. The bar wasnt too crowded and was very diverse the day we were here (as well as every time after). We'll see how it is after school starts back up.
About the only thing I could find wrong w/ this place was that the bartender was shoving glasses directly into the ice. Big no no. God forbid that glass break (though chipping is way more likely, and worse) in the ice, that bin will be shut down until its emptied and cleaned. Use the tin to shovel your ice, guys, just sayin.
This establishment is a true delight. Deep rich wood and glass interior evokes a cheery relaxing atmosphere. I just went here for lunch the other day, I had a waitress who was female and did a good job. I gave her a tip. At lunch I had a cheeseburger, which they call a Saloon Burger. I don't quite know why but I was willing to try it. Excellent all around. I ordered a rail gin and tonic to go with it and was also quite refreshed. I would definitely come back for the oysters, being quite an oyster fan myself. I understand the happy hour has .75 cent wings and $1.50 oysters. Not perhaps the best deal in town but I might give a shot. Feels like the sort of bar one could enjoy.
Review Source:Pretty good.
I usually go here just for the happy hours and when they used to have half-off everything, it was a fantastic bargain. Things have changed and now drinks are only $2 off, which is sort of a downer.
Bartenders tend to be sort of a mixed bag. Some bartenders will just have no idea what to make with your order if you order anything more complicated than 'gin martini, 1:4, lemon twist.' Others will whip up a negroni almost as fast as the order is given.
One note about the oysters at the bar. Oysters tend to be Choptank Sweets, which are farmed in the Choptank River (which is a good thing - read up on them if you're interested in the health of our Chesapeake Bay). The flavors tend to be clean, sweet, meaty, and creamy. These oysters may not be for you if you prefer brinier ones from Chincoteague or other saltier environs.
Brodie was an awesome bartender (bartendress?) when she was downstairs but now she's been promoted to do bigger and better things upstairs. Honestly, Union Street really should get a three star rating but she did a good job of being a welcoming presence in Union Street and it has become sort of my regular haunt even with the elevated happy hour prices. Happy for her, sorta sad that the bar downstairs is not quite as good as it once was.
Really great for brunch and lunch; but for going out at night it's a better place to end the night than start it. The food is really delicious and it might be my favorite place for weekend brunch. In terms of the bar, it is dark, dingy, and has a dancefloor. It doesn't have great drinks and I wouldn't recommend going there to sit down and try to have a conversation but, again, it might be just what you are looking for after midnight on a Saturday. It's a great time, stays open later than O'Connell's, and if you are from the area you are almost guaranteed to run into someone you know.
Review Source:One of the better bars in Old Town. It's a fairly large place with several different sections and a full restaurant upstairs. The food is generally average.. hit or miss depending on what you get which can also be said for the service. Even still it's oddly one of my favorite hangouts in Old Town if for nothing but the atmosphere.
Review Source:I've been here twice now, first for happy hour and then recently for brunch, and I've come to the conclusion this place is decent but forgettable. It's standard pub stuff and the service varies depending on who you get.
I enjoyed the bar bites menu at happy hour, and all the heavy greasy stuff we tried was pretty good. Service was decent considering we were in the back where they had to come from behind the bar out and take our drink and food orders. At brunch, I ordered the breakfast BLT with a fried egg. It was pretty good until I took a bite of the second half that tasted like dishwater for some reason, so i stopped there. The Bloody Mary was quite tasty and only $5--not bad for Old Town.
Went for Sunday brunch and they were very accommodating.  We had a large party reservation and they had it all set up in advance.  The menu was usual but there were some interesting items mixed in.  The short rib ragu was excellent and the Eggs Benedict were perfectly poached.  The prices are reasonable and it is hard to find  a brunch with out a buffet.  I would go back again.
Review Source:Went for brunch on Memorial Day weekend, surprisingly it wasn't as packed as I thought it would be since I called ahead a day early to make a reservation. Â Service was good, waitress was very attentive. Â I had the Usph Pancakes & my friend had the Crab and Tomato Omelette. Â My meal was a little small & I didn't get full of mines, but my friend finished most of her omelette. Â But we both enjoyed the meals & would probably go back for a dinner sometime. I'd give it 4 stars due to the service & the fact she enjoyed her meal....would have been 5 had I enjoyed mines a little more!
Review Source:Server was attentive and refilled my coke twice after I hurriedly gulped down the syrupy goodness following a 90 minute bike ride.
I put in an order for the fried chicken. The biscuits were pretty good, but I found the honey too sweet and the hot sauce too liquidy. The chicken was pretty good. When I pulled apart the skin and meat, the meat was piping hot, steam coming out and it was juicy and cooked well. The skin was a bit oily and overseasoned in some places.
The cole slaw was a nice contrast to all the other items in the basket.
It was a little loud but then again it was St. Patty's Day. There's a guy who checks ID on the way in so make sure to have yours handy, even at 2 pm on a Sunday!
After 10 years away, it's great to find out that the food here is still good. Â We ventured over here here after being met with a 90 minute wait at a restaurant near U street. Â In the time we would have waited, we drove across the bridge, found parking, got a meal and were almost done with dessert. Â The mussels and the trout were awesome. Â They have a good wine selection and the ice cream was wonderful. Â The downside was that they were out of a few items, but the waitresses' pleasant attitude made this bearable.
It's worth mentioning that there was flooding due to high tide within a block or two of the restaurant. Â This would be worth remembering should you decide to park your car within sight of the water.
I visited on a Tuesday for a post-work happy hour. Â It was fairly empty, we had no problems finding a space, and it was quiet enough for having conversations. Â
Union Street's happy hour specials are decent - half off drinks, 75 cent wings, $1.25 oysters. Â They have a pretty good selection of draft and bottled beer. Â I like my wings sweet, so I ordered a bunch of the sweet chili wings and wasn't disappointed. Â They were cooked properly, fairly large and had good flavoring. Â
Service was fine. Â The bartender was friendly, and able to make a recommendation when my first beer choice was out. Â Would not mind coming back again for happy hour (also, trying the oysters).
Had dinner and drinks at the bar. Â We were just drinking beer and they had some nice selections. Â We ordered crab cakes, calamari, and a dozen oysters. Â The crab cakes were very respectable as you'd expect in the DC area. Â The calamari was nice but was a very small portion and had almost as many peppers mixed in as it did calamari so probably something I wouldn't order next time. Â The oysters were outstanding, so much so that we ordered another dozen. Â
I liked the fact that the oysters were served in what I consider the traditional way: Â a really strong cocktail sauce, a vinegar, and was served with crackers. Â
Also enjoyed the bar tender who not only was attentive and courteous but also helped redirect an annoying customer who kept butting into our conversation.
Nice place, looking forward to trying it again.
This place is like a bad boyfriend that I need to break up with. The food isn't that great, yet I've returned several times. I guess I'm lured by the convenience -- it's located in the heart of Old Town, as well as the environment. It's begging to be a go-to restaurant, but the food is just...meh. I've tried their Burger, Sunday Ragu with Poached Egg, Eggs Benedict, Chicken Salad Sandwich and all have been average at best. During my last visit I ordered a Caesar Salad and the taste was super duper fishy. I'm aware that Caesar Salad has anchovies in it, and don't mind that, but I felt like I was in a Fear Factor episode...yikes! The waitress was kind enough to let me replace it with something else though, so kudos for that.
I'd be inclined to be a little more forgiving with my rating if the prices weren't so high. For these kinds of prices, I'm expecting a little more. The bar is a pretty good place to hang out if you are just wanting to pop in for a beer, but I would not recommend the dine in area and certainly not the food.
We visited today for happy hour after checking out the turpedo gallery. The beer and wines we half off which is a big plus. For food we have chili spiced chicken wings which we huge and absolutley amazing (5/5) also we had fish and chips (3.5/5). The services was great tho we were one of three groups in the bar area. Overall I would give 4.5 stars rounding up for good service.
Review Source:Sadly the Green Bay Packers lost, but gladly, I was invited to a private party to witness the San Francisco 49ers victory at the Oyster Room here.
Visiting from NYC, this was a perfect night! Located in historic Old Town Alexandria, and steps away from the Potomac River, the experience was divine.
The catered event included an endless buffet of:
1. Fresh Oysters.
2. Smoked Chicken Wings.
3. Savory Crab Dip.
4. Meatballs smothered in Marinara and Mozzarella.
5. Wine soaked Mussels.
There was also an open bar.
We had the best service from an experienced staff, and I would definitely come back.
Out with friends, we went to the Union Street Pub for dinner while walking around Old Town.
I had the wedge salad for a starter, but it wasn't too impressive - it seemed slapped on the plate, not much dressing, and the tomato and bacon were barely present. Considering I paid $6 and mostly just got a big chunk of lettuce...meh.
I actually really enjoyed the short rib ragu I had for dinner, but there was a major problem with some of our other orders. Protip: When someone asks you to please hold the bacon vinagrette because he's keeping kosher, it's not a good idea to bring it out on the side.
The server also was very poor on drink refills and did not provide water or lemon wedges until we asked her four or five times.
It's a beautiful space and I can see why some people would enjoy going there, but given the issues we had and the abundance of places around, I'd give somewhere else a try before I went back.
Their happy hour makes me happy!
Happy hour is 3-7, ALL drinks are 1/2 off and oysters are $1.50.
Their wine-by-the-glass list is about 10 of each flavor and they have 16 quality beers on tap (as well as some standard macro brew bottles). That is top notch!
We did a Thursday HH event and it wasn't very crowded - so that could be good or bad depending on what your want out of your happy hour activities.
I'd been wanting to check Union Street Public House out for a while since I'd heard they had a good selection of beers on tap. Â I called to inquire about the happy hour specials, and after deciding it was a pretty good deal, convinced a couple of girls to meet me there for a ladies happy hour. Â Turns out the info I was given on the phone wasn't entirely correct though, and neither the happy hour specials nor the beers on draft were as good as advertised. Â
One of the girls was happy with her dollar oysters (one of the main reasons we chose USPH), but, although I'd been told on the phone that all rail drinks were half price, this wasn't the case and she had to pay full price. Â I opted for the crab dip even though it wasn't part of the happy hour specials (which again I'd been told over the phone that all, not just select, appetizers were half price) and got my Vienna lager at the HH rate. Â The crab dip wasn't too appealing, with waaay more emphasis on the cream cheese than the crab.
Service for our booth in the bar area wasn't terribly attentive, though when we could flag our waitress down she was very sweet and helpful; she even offered to bring us samples of beer. Â She had the hospitality of a older Southern woman serving the folks she's seen daily for 40 years. Â I'm sure there are a lot of regulars that come in here and, although we certainly weren't, it was nice to get treated as such.
The best part of the evening, apart from female bonding time over beer, was running into a former co-worker from over 5k miles away who was out here for business. Â We had a great time catching up and reminiscing about our old Hawaii office. Â Glad I got out of that joint, sounds like it's only gotten worse, not better! Â So, for the sheer randomness of it, USPH almost gets an extra half star bump to 3.5, but that's not really telling of the actual place, so a solid three means average.
P.S. It's cracking me up that Yelp says People Viewed This After Searching For "cougar bar Alexandria."
Excellent service. Though wine and beer list was unimpressive and limited. Â Came for a beer, burgers, and finished off with an almond cake and vanilla bean ice cream. Â The cheeseburger was well cooked and came fresh though lacked in much flavor. Â The fries had a great cajun seasoning but barely any there. Â Then the cake was really dry and flavorless. The ice cream on the other hand was excellent. They ship in from another farm.
Nice place but wouldn't come back. Â Rather spend the money at Columbia Firehouse or Virtue.
Went here for drinks and appetizers, and felt that this place was decent but not too memorable. We ordered chicken wings, calamari, and the crab dip along with some wine and beers.
It seems to be a popular spot in Old Town, Alexandria but I personally feel that it is the standard American Tavern-type restaurant. The appetizers were okay, but nothing that stood out to me. The crab dip was decent, but the calamari was a bit rubbery and the chicken wings were sweeter than I had imagined.
I didn't have a bad experience by all means, but didn't have a particularly memorable experience either.
Hey is that Ted Dansen in a corner? Why the hell does everybody know my name? These are questions that I will probably never know the answer to but what I do know is that Union Street Public House is serving up good drinks, fabulous bar bites, and great conversation on a daily basis. What more can you want? I'll definitely be back!
PS: The blue crab dip and chicken wings are on point -- the calamari, I would save for another day.
Union Street is my husband and I's favorite spot for brunch (at the bar). There is nothing more fun that sitting down for one of their many delicious brunch choices (I usually pick eggs benedict but the seafood is to die for) and having a few beers on a lazy Sunday. The downstairs bar has a historical feel which makes even more fun.
The staff has always been great. One time I was meeting friends upstairs and the hostess asked me my name and told me she was expecting me! I have never had this happen before.
I've been here twice, once for lunch and (many) drinks at the bar and another time for dinner upstairs with a couple friends.
Lunch was a lot of fun. The bartender was very cool and attentive. Pretty solid beer selection here. The burger I had for lunch was pretty damn tasty and a good deal on special. The atmosphere was decent, plenty of people hanging out, low douchebag factor.
Dinner was a bit so-so. I ordered a ribeye steak medium-rare and it was more in the medium range. Decent flavor though. Raspberry sorbet for dessert was actually good and a monstrous portion.
The service was just slightly awkward. I'm sure it's just the waiter we got but he was uncomfortable and made us feel the same way at times. He was attentive though so I can't fault him for that.
I'm a little on the fence on this one. Â Dinner was probably a three, drinks were probably a four... I'll round up to a four.
This place is a like a frat house party for DCites straight out of college. Â At the door is a large bouncer, and when you go inside you find that the crowd and decor don't really warrant it. This easily could have been a fun neighborhood bar, but Union Street wants to tailor itself for a different crowd. Â I'm not quite sure what it is, though. Â
The food is mediocre as well as the drinks. Â At least the service was very nice, since we didn't really want to be there for more than 5 minutes. Â So, we ate our dinner and left as quickly as we could.
As we walked through, the bar scene on Wednesday night looked great. Â Lots of people having fun, good music, lively and welcoming.
We hadn't seen each other for a while and went upstairs to the restaurant for dinner. Â It was like a completely different place. Â A cavernous, overly bright room, with just a handful of tables occupied. Â Bored waiters provided diffident service. Â The first table wobbled, so we moved to a booth. Â It was so sticky your hands kind of stuck to it. Â The family at a long table let their kids go wild.
The food was good -- I had an excellent fried oyster po' boy -- but the beer was not quite, but almost flat.
Bottom line: Union Street Pub's focus is on the pub. Â Yours should be too.
Sunday desperation - running errands and found myself down on Union St and just wanted some oysters and beer. Â USPH. Â Really? Â I promised myself I would only order oysters and beer. Â How bad could it be?
Friendly bartender. Â Lagunitas. Â Cold and delicious. Â So far so good. Â Local VA oysters. Â Cold and also delicious. Â Great! Â
Wait, what? Â Some wings? Â I guess, but that breaks the promise not to order any Sysco!
So wings arrive. Â I don't even know where to start. Â I mean wings, a staple of American bar food. Â They look like shoe leather. Â Dark and dry. Â If there was any sort of sauce at all on them, it was gone by the time it hit the plate. Â The taste was as expected, as if someone had grilled and then deep-fried some tiny pieces of chicken 4-5 hours previously (or perhaps weeks earlier in some secret Sysco kitchen in some other country) and then were re-heated (or re-fried) and then sent down the dumbwaiter to the bar. Â There was also something else, a very weird taste, which took me a minute to figure out what it was - liquid smoke. Â Holy crap, they put liquid smoke on the wings.
So we put the wings aside and the bartender takes the plate. Â "You didnt' like the wings??" Â I felt so bad, he was actually befuddled. Â How can you be confused about liquid smoke leather wings? Â No idea. Â But he was a very nice guy so I actually felt bad and just mumbled something about being full.
I think USPH is like that Fabreeze commercial where they blindfold someone in a stinky kitchen or run-down factory and then spray Fabreeze around them so they have no idea they are in said stinky location. Â At USPH, the building is charming with gas lamps, exposed brick, reasonably nice waitstaff and a pleasant location - and you are tricked into not noticing that the bread you are eating was once frozen or that the wings have liquid smoke and taste like a shoe. Â At least that is my current theory for all the 5 star reviews (unless they are all for cougar-hunting).
I came here for brunch on a rainy Saturday morning, and it was nearly empty at 11:30. Â Weird, right? Â Anyways, the boy and I ordered a couple of diet cokes, the sausage gravy and biscuits, and the eggs benedict.
The first floor was playing a very strange mix of music and had 'Saving Silverman' on with no closed captioning on in the background. Â The scenes we saw included Amanda Peet tied up with in a basement with a catchers' mask on and Jason Biggs walking hand-in-hand with what looked like a nun. Â But the food! And the service!
Our waitress was great - honest and funny and quick with diet coke refills. Â My boyfriend was weary of the biscuits and gravy's presentation at first - what looked like a big soup with biscuits and sausage swimming within, but he chowed it down. Â And me, from working one summer at Bob Evans, normally don't touch the stuff, tried a bit and it was darn good. Â And rich. Â My eggs benedict was good, but the eggs weren't runny like normal. Â However, I hadn't had a bit to eat (save some tostitos with lime) all day, so down to my stomach it went. Â The ham was perfect and salty, and the hollandaise sauce was one of the best I've had. Â I'll be back very soon!
OMG...NEVER AGAIN! My boyfriend and I went here on a date this evening and I can honestly say IT WAS THE WORST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD. I am so disappointed and our dining experience here ruined out whole evening. We decided to go here based on online reviews. I ordered the Short Beef Ribs. It should have been called "A Pound of Salt with some beef that is over cooked and nasty with foul brown sauce". The Entree was $23 and I could only eat about three mouths full. It was so disgusting. No matter how much water I drank it would not take the taste away. My boyfriend got the Country pork loin (for $19). Umm basically it was a slab of pork fried with no seasoning or sauce. It tasted edible - unlike mine. The best part was the bread (that I had to ask for). At least the bread was good - that was my dinner...4 slices of bread.
Ok, Next...do not even get me started on the service. Our waitress didnt care about us at all. We ordered and she brought our drinks and then we didnt see her again for about 40 minutes when she brought our food. Then we didnt see her again for about 20 minute when she asked if I wanted a box - gee why not ask why I didnt eat my entree. Then she brought the check and THEN she became super nice. We didnt get water refills. I had to ask for bread. This restaurant is far from inexpensive...so service should have been much better.
The decor of the restaurant is very pleasant. I did like that. But the food just made it a horrible experience for me.
I will never ever go to this place again.
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