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| - If I could pick 3.5 stars, I would. 3 seems a bit low and 4 a bit high! We've frequented Union Grill for over 10 years and have seen it go through ups and downs. At times, it's been a solid 4, maybe even 4.25, but has generally gone down in quality.
Wait staff is attentive, very congenial and works hard to get things right. Bartenders are efficient and friendly. All good for a "neighborhood" kind of place. Beer selection is awesome with a passable wine selection. If you want decent bar food: Burgers, chicken tenders, etc - those get 4 to 4.5 stars.
Salads, aside from being over-sized in many instances, generally would get a solid 4 stars if Union hadn't cheapened up their salad dressings which are often over-sweetened with fake flavoring. Fish is generally fresh and good - a solid 4 to 4.5, but sides can be lacking taking the meal down overall. Veggies are often offered as sides and are fresh and prepared well. But rather than add a nice butter sauce or just plain melted butter for the broccoli or cauliflower, etc - they throw a pound of veggies on your plate - I guess the thought is that quantity will suffice over quality.
Soups are OK. French Onion is a bit bland, but is the best of the offerings. Tuscan bean is passable. Matza Ball is good. But if you eat there regularly, these have been on the menu for a few years now. They used to change up soups now and then with some pretty flavorful offerings. It's OK to offer a few standards, but gets pretty boring to see the same 4 soups on the menu year after year after year...
Roast beef has been put on the menu again. Not something we eat a lot of, but it's of decent quality, prepared well and is good in their "au jus" sandwich. But who knows how long it will stay on the menu.
Another example of the cheapening of the menu is morphing of what were great crab cakes into cheap knock-off pretty poor tasting fish cakes. It seems Union often opts for cheapening ingredients or quality of offerings in lieu of evaluating size of portions and right-sizing while maintaining quality.
In summary, not a bad place to dine. The food isn't bad. But with all of the other options on the East End of Pittsburgh now, it's dropped down the list for us.
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