This place is awesome! Always a great experience every time I come here. My waitress Barbara was great! She was very attentive and sweet. Food is excellent, very fresh. I had the crab stuffed avocado and it was so good. The patio is nice also. I will be back! read more

I was invited to go here for brunch here on a Sunday. I was surprisingly disappointed mostly in the food itself. The food was very bland. I ordered the California Benedict: English Muffin, sliced beefsteak, tomato, avocado, poached egg, citrus hollandaise & pecan smoked bacon 12.50 The English muffin was cold and the egg seemed a little too poached. I was expecting a little more flavor given the toppings, but to my surprise it was lacking. The staff was attentive and seemed to know the menu pretty well. Refills were attended to without request-- which I like. The restaurant it self is located in a strip mall on the corner. What i didn't like was that they kept the back patio door opened and it left the restaurant at a very uncomfortable cold temperature. I have had more flavorful brunch, and dont think it was worth the price tag. read more

Last year, when I visited Houston in January, I enjoyed a very good lunch at the Union Kitchen. Today, I returned to the restaurant with family members and the meals were sub-standard. I ordered the Soup of the Day, a corn chowder with vegetables. It had the taste and consistency of Campbell's Chunky Corn Chowder with other finely chopped vegetables and pepper added. In addition, I had the Avocado stuffed with crabmeat. It was fried, which I did not read on the menu. That aside, the avocado was well beyond it's freshness date and had black rot from the inside out. There was barely a tablespoon of crab in the whole avocado, which had been halved. My companions were also disappointed in their meals, except for the person who ordered the Union Burger. He and I had coffee that was cold when it was poured and refills were also cold on a day when it was in the mid-30s outdoors and in because there was no heat in the restaurant. I will not return. read more

I have only been for brunch, and only a few times, but man, it's been great. I will say, we beat the normal Sunday crowds every time we've been. On one visit, we lingered enjoying some coffees and stuffing ourselves with every bit of the delicious food that we could muster (there was still plenty left) and service began to suffer due to the crowds arriving. I've had the Taco Cups, Waffles, French Toast, and a daily special omelette, and it's all been fantastic. The Taco Cups were almost like crispy breakfast tacos, but better. Both the waffles and the French Toast were the perfect combination of slightly crispy on the outside and incredibly soft on the inside without being dried out. You could eat either without syrup, though why would you want to? Even the muffins they bring as a starter after you've ordered brunch... these freaking things are my crack. Last time I visited, there were only two of us, but we went through two baskets of these muffins, and we got a third fresh batch to go. I'm sure there may be 100 bakeries around town that can make bigger/gooier/softer/better muffins, but I prefer these muffins to the different baked goods that very nice restaurants (like Brennan's) hand out before brunch. Anyway, so far, so good. This is my new go-to brunch spot in the area. It's in an inconspicuous shopping strip on the outskirts of the typical old-school Memorial kind of neighborhood. You get a nice view of a couple of houses if you're on the patio, which makes it feel rather homey. The patio also has those plastic wind curtains and plenty of heaters, so even though the weather hasn't been warm lately, the patio is still perfectly comfortable. I'll have to try dinner sometime soon and provide an update. read more

We went here on a whim on a Sunday morning looking for something easy, nearby and serving typical brunch fare. It was a great choice and we will definitely be back. We arrived at 10:30 and the place was pretty quiet. We got a table on the cute little patio under a heater and it was a nice ambiance. The 4 of us ordered: the waffle entree, the taco cups, the fried chicken and biscuits and an omelette with spinach and sundried tomatoes. The omelette was just ok but the rest was very good! Prices were reasonable but not inexpensive. The menu had a really nice variety and quite a few unique dishes. The service was excellent up until the end of the meal. The restaurant became incredibly crowded and our waiter was clearly bogged down but it took 20-30 minutes for us to pay out and leave which was just too slow. That being said, we will definitely be back for brunch (before the rush!) will also try it out for dinner! read more

Just to get the bad out of the way. The tables are too close together. You can hear everything the people around you are talking about, and the waiters bump your chairs to get meals to the tables. Also, the service is a bit on the slow side. Now for the good news. The food is delicious and the prices will not break the bank. We started with the carnita potstickers. Drizzled in a ginger lime salsa and served small spots of hot sauce on the plate, these were a good starter. 5 to a plate for $11. The pork had a good flavor and the ginger lime salsa was a good combination. The pork loin was "fork tender" and flavorful. The reduction sauce was wonderful. Served on spaghetti squash and sweet potato mash. I would get this every time. The pistachio crusted chicken was also a hit. Served with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and "sun-dried tomato lime cream sauce". Another great flavor combination. This was served on top of linguini marinara. A large portion, leaving plenty to take home. read more

This place is pretty good overall. Really nice presentation that is fun to experience and to share such experience with friends and family. The food is generally pretty good. I had the cheese ravioli, which was listed as one of the "signature dishes". For a signature dish, I had expected the ravioli to be house-made, but it was no better than the generic frozen cheese ravioli you can find at your local grocer. The difference is that it is served with a sauce, that /is/ very tasty and unique and probably house-made. The server suggested I add blackened chicken on top, which I agreed to. I liked their attempt to thoroughly season the chicken, only problem was that it was quite over salted, but not inedible. My husband had the pistachio crusted chicken. The chicken itself was fairly good, served with artichokes, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes along with a lime cream sauce. My husband LOVED the artichokes and the sauce. All of this topped a bed of spaghetti with just regular tomato sauce. Why they chose to put all of that otherwise great food on top of a generic, bland spaghetti and tomato sauce is beyond me. Along with myself and my husband was my mother-in-law, who enjoyed her food - crab cakes and a farmer's market salad - and thoroughly enjoyed the impressive presentation thereof, particularly of the salad which was wrapped by a long slice of cucumber (I've uploaded a picture). I was seated at the patio and they had a singer there singing various oldies and some more recent easy listening rock songs. I didn't catch his name, but wanted to give him kudos because his music certainly added to the nice atmosphere and relaxing experience. read more

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I think that Union Kitchen is a great place for a brunch. I have been here three times now for brunch and enjoyed everything that I have had off of the menu, so I feel like it is a pretty solid spot. The service is always good...the servers have always been very friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. It can get a bit busy, especially for brunch and right after churches let out on Sundays, so sometimes the servers will seem a bit overwhelmed, but they always seem to get over to check on their tables anyway. The space is nice, casual, but feels upscale. They have a very nice patio on the side of this location which is great for a spring morning, though they enclose it during the winter and run heaters which allows you to utilize it then as well. The only time it might be unpleasant out there is in the height of summer when anything outside is just nasty. During brunch (10am -2pm Sat and Sun) they have bottomless mimosas and a bloody mary bar, which are both great ways to pass a weekend afternoon. The brunch also includes a veritable plethora of different Benedicts to try, and the fried chicken and biscuits are absolutely amazing. I have now also tasted both the pancakes and the Belgian waffles, and they were both solid preparations of these old standbys. I haven't been for dinner yet, but we will get in there for an evening meal at some point as this restaurant is quite near our home...I will update the review to include dinner service. I think that anyone looking for a great brunch or lunch spot would really enjoy Union Kitchen, and I promise that it is better than the star rating would lead you to believe. Give it a shot for yourself. read more

I met with a group of women and with the table size of 8. orders were made off of the Restaurant Week menu. the food came out very slow and inconsistent with in the plates. Appetizer: empanadas Entree: crab cake Dessert: banana bread pudding The empanadas were honestly the best thing that we had that I had the whole dinner for lunch I should say the crab cake was dry and it just seemed like they were frozen cake that they fried and them to stand in between two pieces of bread with a little bit of sauce the banana bread pudding has to be the worst and I would never advise anyone too order it. Such a big disappointment very large chunks of very hard slimy pieces in it that I just could not bring myself to eat. I even offered to someone else at the table and they declined after taking the fork in filling the consistency of the hard peaces. Needless to say not my choice of restaurant to go back and and visit read more

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My waiter Harris was AMAZING!! He had me and my friend smiling! He has a GREAT personality!

It took my wife almost 20 minutes to get her wine. It took me almost 30 minutes and several consults to get a beer as two separate servers including the "beer and wine guy" tried to help. The B & W guy couldn't even tell me what beer they had on his first trip even though he was sent over to inform/advise on beer. It wasn't until his third trip that he was able to tell me about all the beer they had on tap, still obviously under-informed on what the various beers were ("The Goose IPA"). And the actual beer selection wasn't even as good as the menu listed. Crab cakes were described as all lump no breadcrumbs which sounding interesting although not my style. In actuality, we had to search for crab meat, couldn't taste the crab meat or much else. If cheap frozen crab cakes from a box at Kroger tasted like this, I would be disappointed. My wife was thinking the exact same thing. No questions were asked even though my wife sent hers back with only a single bite taken out of it. The duo of sauces (marinara and something herbal?) were an interesting choice. My wife's entree was the veal chop which was tasty. Probably rates 3/5 for the plate. Although the bone was described as succulent with marrow and was actually rather bone dry. She said the sauce was tasty. The cookedness of the mushrooms in the risotto varied from raw to done. My hangar steak with jalapeño grits was a flabby, three sectioned slab with lots of fat (roughly 1/3 inedible and I was searching for meat) with absolutely no jalapeño in the grits. Jalapeño wasn't even held next to these grits. I expect the cook looked back after the grits were done and saw that he/she left out the jalapeño, if they were even a thought. Unfortunately, I chose the on-menu hangar steak over the nightly special hangar steak because of the jalapeño grits. This was pointed out to our waiter. He had a few excuses at first. Maybe an apology eventually after I explained to him that it wasn't a small amount of jalapeño, it was absolutely no jalapeño. As for the steak, I would have left this one at the store. The cheesecake for desert was tasty. Best part of the meal for me. We would return potentially for the cheesecake, but would not have another meal here. We are rating this restaurant 2/5 because it was clean and even though service sucked, the server seemed like he was trying. read more

Awesome Experience! Loved the Beet salad shrimp pasta !! Staff was Great! Will definitely be going back!! Bread pudding amazing !!

Came here for a friend get together as one of our friends was in town for spring break. Things were going great and I had ordered the spinach and goat cheese pizza. The food came our promptly with very little wait in my opinion but then it went down hill from there. I'll definitely say I liked all the ingredients that were on my pizza however my pizza came out cold, lukewarm at best. That was definitely a disappointment and I can understand that since we had a big party and pizza cools pretty fast. Another downside. This is not an exaggeration but it literally took an hour for them to get us the bill and for us to leave. I was looking at my clock as I needed to be somewhere after dinner. The waiters around 9 asked us how we wanted our bill split and it then took 30 minutes for them to give us each our bill. Once everyone gave them the credit cards, it literally took another 30 minutes for them to return our bills. We might have had a party of between 11-13 people, but an hour is kind of pushing it. Not sure if I will be back. read more

This place is great!!! The food is amazing and the service is great. This is the second time I've visited and I loved my experience! All the items are yummy. They gave us a back room for our private party. I loved the chicken and biscuits with gravy. Yummmmy!!! read more

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Came here for Valentines and it was super packed. I'm usually not a fan of american food, but ordering was really hard for me. They had a lot of options that I was curious about and want to come back and try. Ended up eating the following: 1) House Prepared Ravioli - wow bebe, stuffed with 4 cheeses and crab, but let's just say it was overstuffed with Heaven! 2) Pistachio Crusted Chicken - didn't blow me away, but I liked it! thought the chicken was juicy enough, but maybe the pistachio flavor could of been stronger. The food was great, but I'm taking off a star for service. I knew it was going to be poor because it was Valentines day. It still managed to be less than my expectations. I still tipped my guy well because he was really working, but it just seemed that he didn't have much help. Maybe someone called in, but management needs to be stronger in these situations. I'm fairly certain they overbooked with reservations and they tried to sit walk ins. At some point, you have to say reservations are full tonight and cannot do walk-ins until peak dinner time is over. You can't make everyone happy in life and not every decision should be based on money. Let some customers go and focus on the ones that took the time to plan ahead and make reservations. read more

Took the kids there last weekend for brunch. The service was friendly and the food was great. We ordered pancakes -- and you should know, the order is huge. So the side order of pancakes that my son ordered meant there was way too much food. The biggest downside was the speed of service. They didn't appear to be that busy but it took forever to get refills on our drinks and the butter we wanted on the side came 10 minutes after we reminded them and, when it arrived, we were already done eating. So, to sum up, it's a good meal, but be ready for the leisurely pace. read more

Great restaurant on the west side of town when you don't feel like dealing with the parking mess that is CityCentre. (And I sure don't.) Met up a couple of friends from high school. Started out with spinach and artichoke dip (not boring, very delicious, I swear) and a bottle of cab. Cab is my newly discovered favorite. Got the meatloaf tower. It's literally a tower. Bottom to top: Texas toast, meatloaf, gravy, mashed potatoes, fried onions. YES YES. read more

I really want to like this place. And on a few occasions this place has knocked it out of the park. However the inconsistencies with the service and food bring my original score of 4 stars down to 3. Last night we ran over to the Union Kitchen for a nice Friday meal. The server welcomed us and the Manager even came over to greet us. All seemed well. We ordered a few appetizers. The calamari was great as usual. We also ordered the avocado bites and crab cakes. We got the Crab Stuffed Avocado instead. We told the server of the error and he said he would get the Bites out quickly. It took 10 minutes and we had to remind him, it was like he forgot. I ordered the Burger Medium Rare. She had the Caprese Salad. Our entree's took over 20 minutes to arrive. When it did I noticed the burger was Well done. The server didn't come back for over 10 minutes. I asked for the burger to be re-fired. I also asked for the Onion Rings to be left off the burger and to serve it with fresh onion slices. When the burger arrived. It had those horrid onion rings again. The burger was not plated carefully and looked like a hot mess. I was so hungry I ate it without complaining. NOTE TO MANAGEMENT: Get rid of the Onion Rings on the burger. Both times they were on my plate they had the consistency and flavor of elementary school paste that is breaded and barely fried. They are not crispy or flavorful. The service seems to run from the excellent, (Thanks Phil for a great time) to others who seem not to have a clue on how to create a good dining experience. One clue to the wait staff is, QUIT standing over by the wall by the kitchen door and spend more time in your station. They did comp our desserts, but that was due to a whole other issue that occurred while waiting. I just wish the manager had stopped by our table at the end of the meal so I wouldn't have to write this review. oh well. I still say to friends to try it out. Chances are that it will be good read more

Food was very good - service was a bit slow. It took a long time to get our drinks and never received refills on our waters. I would give it another chance though because the food really was tasty.l and service can be hit or miss anywhere you go. read more

What a great find in the West Houston area! Great food, reasonably priced, excellent wine and bourbon selection. The Manager and waitstaff were SUPER friendly! Perfect for a date night without having to venture into Downtown! read more

What a fabulous meal!!! Crab Napolean - beautiful presentation; fresh and light appetizer with crab meat and fruit salsa Veal Chop - mom says the best she's ever had; I took a bite of the risotto, creamy... Chilean Sea Bass - wow!!! huge piece of filet, golden and crisp on the outside, sitting on a bed of edamamme and corn... I cleared the plate, and that says a lot since I usually can't finish more than half my main dish... Chocolate Tower - again lovely presentation; fresh cream, chunks of chocolate sprinkled in between layers of chocolate cake... Service was extremely attentive - water refilled multiple times, dishes cleared as soon as we were done with each course, crumbs picked up... Mark's has always been my favorite restaurant in Houston, but boy am I happy to find another venue with more affordable prices and closer to home... read more

Wished to like this place.. The food was good and atmosphere was enjoyable. I just had a bad experience using my groupon and my brother-in-law ended up losing his card; he never got it back : ( I don't think I'll go back to this particular location. read more

If you're looking for a restaurant in downtown Kingston that is guaranteed to over deliver, that would be the Union Kitchen and Cocktails. Incredible food and drinks with top notch presentation and the waitress was excellent! While it wasn't our first choice for our anniversary dinner, we certainly will be returning there again! read more

I enjoyed my dinner at the Union Kitchen. I think the reason I'm giving a 5 is because the server was just really good at what he does. We got treated really nice by the server, it was our first time and he explained the menu and told us his favorite dishes. We ultimately order what he recommended and we were not disappointed the food tasted good, and was expedited within good times frames. The manager came at the end and offered us coupons because it was our 1st time. Everyone was super friendly and professional. read more

Service is so slow in the bar. They are not checking on their customers Seem very under staffed in the bar area. Bartender doesn't have time to wait on 6 tables plus make drinks for everybody else. Great food read more

This place..is good!!!! Fast friendly service with a smile..I ordered the sea bass..I thought it was decent.. flaky and fresh..Houston restaurant week menu made it a exceptional value. I will return for more of this great food soon. read more

Fantastic Birthday Dinner! Devon as our server was amazing and the food was outstanding! Highly recommend it!

Very nice restaurant. Perfect spot for date night or anniversary celebrations. I only had the pleasure of attending dinner service and was very impressed by the dim lit dining room that was showcased with candles, elegant table settings, and wine bottles along the wall. I was dressed casual so I had immediately felt under dressed. The food was very good and not over seasoned. read more

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I thought this place was good overall. Pros: Atmosphere was spot on. Food tasted very good. No loud music so you can communicate. Cons: Prices are a bit expensive for the location and what you eat. read more

Leslie is the most attentive server in the place! Ask for her! Food is delicious and wine list is great. Camaron fresco linguine is absolutely perfect - light and flavorful. Do not miss a chance to get to Union Kitchen - great weeknight treat. read more

Came in with some friends Derek Kindle took exellent care of us,we were very satisfied & will be going back.

Had a late lunch on Christmas Eve at the memorial location so not very busy but still a nice ambience as the bar area had a few patrons. Very friendly welcome and smiley server made us feel appreciated customers rather than an inconvenience that interrupted their down time as in some of the other local chain restaurants. We enjoyed the blackened shrimp salad and the steak salad, both were delicious and a good portion size (not huge like some places that fill the plate with lettuce) Will visit again read more

The Union Kitchen - Blackens shrimp Cobb salad - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I want to like this restaurant. The location is great, the atmosphere is cozy and casual, and I love the outdoor patio with the guitarist. So the 2 stars are for ambiance. The food lacks any kind of passion, and disappoints diners of that "I can't wait for the food to get here" anticipation when it does arrive. I've eaten here twice with my husband, and my son. The wait staff during both of my visits here seemed new, inexperienced, and forgetful. Our first time here we didn't know the restaurant offered specials. Our second experience here we had to ask what the specials were. The waitress could barely pronounce the food she was trying to explain, and we were baffled when she left our table, so we stuck to the menu. My first meal here was the Chicken & Basil Pesto Orzo. Sadly I have to say it was way too salty, and I found myself politely picking at my plate trying to find something good in this dish. By the end of the evening, I still couldn't find anything good about this dish. My second meal here I ordered Peggy's Diver Scallops. The scallops were served over a bed of butternut squash risotto. The scallops were very good, but the risotto was a mushy, tasteless mound of yellow rice which I sadly left uneaten on my plate. I was still hungry, but not enough to eat what they were calling risotto. We ordered carrot cake for the 3 of us to share for dessert. How can you go wrong with carrot cake??...well you can if you order it here. We received a tiny slice of cake. The cake was old, dry, and tasted like it has been frosted with Crisco. We all took one bite, and our forks went down. We won't be back here for a third dining experience any time soon... read more

Great restaurant, delicious food and even better service! You can't fo wrong with the steak, meatloaf and chocolate cake!

Had such a good experience here for Saturday's brunch! Got there right at 10, were seated immediately, and the waitress came over and recommended that we upgrade the Mimosas to bottomless for $3 more. Love that tip! I had the Carnitas Eggs Benedict. They were phenomenal! My favorite part: we ate quickly but stayed at the table to talk for 45 minutes longer, the waitress did not pressure us to leave and instead continued to refill our mimosas. Definitely worth a try! read more

Ok food that is served with awesome service. I ordered the magherita pizza. Did I order the wrong thing? My friend ordered soup while my fiancee ordered a shrimp/steak salad. Their's was good and mine was ok. The flavor and temperature were there but lacked much of the sauce. Our waitress was attentive and came by constantly to refill drinks. She wasn't a conversationalist but the service aspect was there. read more

The service here really is top notch. Everyone from the hostess to the waiter were very friendly and efficient. I came here for lunch with some coworkers, and usually I expect less than stellar service with a group. This was not the case. They have a pretty good lunch menu. I decided to go with the soup and salad combo. My coworkers all ordered off the regular menu. The lentil soup was simple but good. I also had the Caesar salad. The dressing was very nice, but the salad was a little lacking in croutons. My coworkers had the veggie wrap (off menu), pecan crusted chicken salad, grilled salmon, and some type of club sandwich. Everyone said their meal was great. My boss who had the salmon practically licked his plate clean. The sandwiches and wraps on the lunch menu come with homemade chips that were very tasty. (I MAY have stolen one off my coworker's plate.) I'd like to come back for brunch next time because the brunch menu online looks really good. read more

I came here on a surprise date with my boyfriend. I'm not sure how he picked this place, but I loved it! The appetizers, the food, the service, the desserts - all of them were way above average and much deserving of all 5 stars. When we first sat down and looked at the menu, we realized there was no way we could only come here once. There were at least 6 entrees we wanted to try. I ended up getting the Farmer's Market Soup of the Day - which was some poblano cilantro something or other - and the roasted beet salad. Delicious. Light, healthy and filling. And I only ate about half of it (to save room for dessert). My boyfriend had the Chilean sea bass with an assortment of veggies, including edamame. I think I liked my food more than him, but we've had Chilean sea bass at a top notch French restaurant before, so we're a bit harder to impress in that department. And the desserts... where to start. Make sure to ask about the options before you order your meal. You need to know which one you'll be saving room for at the end. I knew there was no way I'd pass up on the chance to eat dessert here, so I boxed up half my meal in preparation for this grand event. And it passed with flying colors. We got the chocolate tower. It reminded me of European cakes. Not too sweet, not too warm, not too chocolatey, but still chocolatey. My mouth is watering for it as I'm typing this up. read more

Meh is right. Appetizers: Baked brie was okay. Not terrible but not amazing. Prosciutto wrapped asparagus were eh. The prosciutto they used is too thick for the asparagus. All you get is saltiness and not a good balance of flavors. Entrees: The Peggy's Diver Scallops were extremely disappointing. The risotto was bland. You could tell that they used not very good quality cheese in the risotto because it was really stringy. I stopped eating it because the asparagus was bland too. It tasted like someone forgot to season with salt and seeing stringy pieces of cheese...not really appetizing. The sear on the scallops was non existent and the scallops didn't reach temperature because the insides were cold by the time I cut into them. The most annoying part was that I pointed out all of these facts to the waiter who didn't do anything. Not even an apology for the sub-par food. I left half the food on the plate because it was so inedible. Union Shrimp lacked consistency. My dad has ordered this dish twice and it has been too contrasting in quality and taste. Pete's Filet Mignon was average. Better prepared and cooked steak elsewhere. Rainbow trout was the least disappointing. It was cooked well but lacked flavor. Nothing unique. Just not bad. Even the complimentary bread came out cold. My parents had to ask for it because it was on everyone else's table but ours. I won't be going back here. I have a eat everything twice policy but I can't forgive bad service. read more

My dad bought one of those travel zoo deals, so I came to help him use it! Union Kitchen is in a strip mall off Memorial. I wasn't expecting much from the meal, but it had a lot of good Yelp reviews online. Once you walk in, the ambiance is classy and upscale. We tried the fried asparagus with lump crab and I had a filet. The fried asparagus was lightly crisp on the outside and the lump crab made it luxurious. What earned another star was the filet. It was a perfect medium rare--seared on the outside, but pink on the inside. I appreciate a restaurant that does a good medium rare. Also, the waiter's wine recommendation was spot on. The server was also very attentive as was the bus boys. Great place for a nice meal or a date night. read more