No I wouldn’t recommend at all.unless you know the menu, its hard to figure out what each plate is cooked. I get it’s a high priced place for foodies, but the only thing I found good was the roasted pork. Waitress was trying to sell her plates, & was a bit rude. Never asked if we wanted desert. Young people who don’t care what they spend will eat there but not me!
Union Restaurant was just a bad experience and not worth the time or money. Our group made a reservation for a Sunday evening. We were seated at a table outside in the full blazing sun; all the other tables were shaded so we asked if we could move, but we were told no because there were reservations coming. We asked if we could move our table into the shade, but we were told no because “this is where we set them up tonight”. When the table next to us left, we asked if we could move to their table (in the shade), but again we were told no because there were reservations after us. We had to get a manager involved just to move to a table that wasn’t unbearably hot. The physical unpleasantness of the evening could be excused if the food had been good, but alas. The order of $12 bread was only 3 slices. The sea bass did not taste anything like sea bass and the Creste di Gallo (duck breast pasta), neither tasted nor looked like any duck I’ve had or cooked before. There was a giant chunk of what appeared to be a large rubbery tube (maybe a vein, but way large for a duck breast) that definitely put me off my meal. Towards the end of our meal, the waiter brought the dessert menu with our check (?!) and informed us that they were out of the olive oil cake (one of only two desserts on the menu). Overall the whole experience was just not good.
Fresh ingredients and great service makes this place a must if you’re visiting Pasadena. We had the bread board, a simply but tasty salad and split the spaghetti…loved all of it.
We stumbled into this eatery without a reservation so we sat at the bar where the bartendress was friendly and accommodating. The food was wonderful but please replace those napkins that left white lint all over my black sweater!
Soggy and over-sauced pasta, not one but all four dishes. So disappointing. This was our second visit in 3 months. The first was really good, worthed a 4.5 stars; but this one sucks. The octopus was good and so was the bread, and the citrius salad was ok. The white wine by the glass was alright too. Then everything went downhill quickly. The truffle fettuccine was pricy, when the truffle was almost fragrance-less and taste-less, and the pasta overcooked.It was an expensive meal, and a let down. Hope will improve dramatically or say goodbye soon.
We ordered the arugula salad which was deliciously light with a fantastic dressing. The spaghetti and meat balls was aldenti with a moist and flavorful meat sauce and meat balls. The sea bass was a crispy skin and very moist. Get the Almond joy dessert absolutely wonderful. We will be back very soon.
Expensive but delicious food, helpful staff and a great location in the heart of Pasadena. Serving sizes were a little small but generally very well prepared flavorful food. Seating and ambiance was good and staff was helpful and polite.
We went to Union with a party of four and asked that all four appetizers be served together, and then that all four main courses be served together. We were told, however, that this is simply not possible at Union, despite the hefty price tag! The four appetizers appeared, one after another, over the course of an hour or so. The same thing then happened with the main courses. The result was that one person would eat while the other three watched. In effect, we had a two hour, eight course tasting menu where each person ate two of the eight courses. I, for one, do not care for eight course tasting menus, even when I get to eat all eight courses. This "two out of eight" system left me puzzled. How hard is it to serve four appetizers orders together when a customer requests that? If you want to share plates, go to Union - the food is certainly good. However, if you want what most people think of as a conventional two course dinner plus dessert, find someplace else.
We enjoyed a great bottle of wine and a fabulous meal. The service was excellent. The menu is family style and everything is meant to be shared. The food delivery was spaced out well. We finished the meal with a great dessert. Our reservation was for the patio but we asked to eat inside since it was a bit chilly outside and we were accommodated. Recommend this restaurant for a great meal with fantastic service.
Had the torchetti, cacio e pepe, and triangolini, and all three pasta dishes were excellent! Having been to Italy multiple times and had great cacio e pepe and pumpkin ravioli in brown butter, the corresponding dishes here were an original take on the Italian classics and were just as delicious. The mushroom risotto was also quite tasty, buttery and deeply savory. However, the endive salad was good but not great. Service was friendly and prompt and the ambiance on the patio was pleasant and relaxing (the heaters helped).