The Union Kitchen (Memorial Dr)
Old facility that’s been modified to house this urban establishment. Had visited the location in West Houston which was much livelier, nicer and well attended. Food is similar at both but the atmosphere here is lacking. Dark, sort of dingy meets half-hearted white tablecloth. Server was young and experienced but tried really hard. The most disappointing part was how cold they kept it (trying to save on electricity?) and the pungent sewer smell that emanated from the restrooms and permeated at least half the restaurant. Was told this was “normal” at this location. Overall the food was good but the experience disappointing.
All good on outside patio except very noisy. Good that tables were distanced but we were sitting across from each other at our table(not next to each other) and had to lean in to listen & converse. Probably not much they can do about other noisy patrons LOL
We ate in the room downstairs that is a step up from the main room and sat in a booth. It was a very enjoyable experience.
Once I was seated outside, I noticed about 5 mins later a family of five were seated in our same area. They received service and attention first. I wasn't greeted or acknowledged by any servers until at least 13 minutes had gone by and that was only because I stopped another server who was helping a different party that wasn't even in my own area. The woman who had been helping the family of five overheard me stop the first server just to get some water and a drink. He finally introduced herself and let me know she's on the way with some waters. Well the waters that she did finally bring had some sort of particles in it and it couldn't have been from any lemons or limes because there weren't any in my water to begin with. She said herself she didn't know what it was and replaced the waters with a new and cleaner/clearer looking water. She finally took the orders at my table and at least a good 15 minutes had gone by before someone brought out food....the wrong food but food. We told them what we had ordered and that this wasn't it. The man who brought the food out looked confused and went back to the kitchen with the plates. Our server came back apologizing saying that some glitch in the system is what caused the orders to become wrong. It was just overall bad service from beginning to end. The woman was polite but she definitely dropped the ball serval times. Especially for a place that wasn't crazy busy!
I love this place! I've been a customer for many years. Great food and drinks. Excellent service. The staff is friendly and attentive.
We were happy with the quality of the food, but bar and food service was very slow.
The place was more than half empty, so no excuse for my having to Ask finally our waiter if he''d forgotten our drinks, after a 15 minute wait.
Outside dining is perfect Staff is friendly. Easy parking.
Great dinner with drinks and dessert for a special birthday!
We always enjoy the Union Kitchen! Great food, friendly service. This is our go to place for Sunday Brunch!
Wonderful food and great service.
The food was delicious. We sat out side, but there was one large group who was partying and they were extremely loud. They should’ve been placed in their own separate area. The waiter was very attentive but he was slammed and therefore the service was slow. The food was delicious and we enjoyed every bit of it. During the holiday season they needed more help and they need to strategically placed large parties who are partying elsewhere.
Service was terrible. Took at least 30 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order. Luckily the food came out quick after we ordered. But it took about an hour before the waiter took our order and it was difficult to catch him.
Great food and service!!
I went to the union kitchen because of previous experiences during the pandemic and have been very pleased with the precautions that are taken, the wait staff, and the ability to sit outside. This past experience was no different and
we will be back.
Wonderful neighborhood hot spot! Service always cheerful and efficient. Food is delicious. Robert the GM always welcomes us and makes us feel at home!
Hello,
This restaurant if quite nice however I feel as though the food needs to be more flavorful.
Thanks
shill
TUK is always good and consistent. The crab cakes Benedict was delicious!
Great lunch. Great variety of food.
The food was wonderful and the service was so friendly and accommodating. We had four different dishes...two chicken, one beef, and one fish, and all were delicious and to top it off our waiter went out of his way to take exceptional care of us. We definitely will be back soon!
My husband and I took out of town family members to the Memorial location. The manager and hostess gave welcoming greeting when we arrived; which was nice.
This was our 1st time dining at Union Kitchen-Memorial and I must say we were extremely disappointed - - primarily the service (waiter and lengthy food wait). We were seated inside at a window table as requested. However, we waited over 10 minutes before our waiter (Otto) appeared. We don’t use the scan card option and had to ask (him) for virtually everything from the time we arrived to the time we left (i.e. menus, ordering drinks (i.e. 1 bloody Mary, 2 Mimosa’s and 1 glass of Brut champagne), food order, condiments and glasses of water).
After a lengthy wait (again) our drinks finally arrived - - however we had to call Otto back because he brought a glass of Moscato instead of Brut (dry) champagne initially ordered. Also, he brought coffee and none of us ordered it. The restaurant was not busy inside, most guests were dining outside. After another lengthy delay, we were able to get Otto’s attention and place an order for food. The food was very good (i.e. eggs benedict, spinach omelet with crab meat, etc.) when it finally arrived, but the service was very slow. We had to ask for condiments, salt/pepper, glasses of water. In addition, my son got scrambled eggs instead of sunny-side up, with the Union Breakfast and his wife had to ask and wait for syrup for the stack of pancakes which were cold by the time the syrup was delivered.
I don’t know what Otto’s problem was, but he definitely needed more training and he should have enough common sense to ask guests, should he need clarification regarding orders. Although the service was extremely slow, we still left a 20% tip, because we didn’t want to penalize the restaurant or waitstaff, when they are already experiencing difficulties due to Covid. At this point, I don’t know if we will dine there again or not. Very displeased.
Great original recipes made with fresh ingredients.
Jeffrey was courteous, attentive and personable.
Great food and service! Our server Alex was amazing- super attentive and ensured we had a great experience.
Great evening with live music.
Our first time experiencing this restaurant and I must say it nice. The Miller meatloaf and parmesan encrusted flounder was delicious. The purple haze margarita was a nice added touch. Our waitress name Sage...she was very friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely will recommend and be back on our next visit to Houston so we can take in the live music on the outside seating ...
The margarita pizza was magnificent. Staff was very attentive.
We had a wonderful birthday/anniversary meal with friends. Everything was splendid!
Excellent food, always great service, one of my favorite lunch places.
Thankfully we can eat on the terrace. Waiter was friendly and provided great service. Food delish.
Food quality and service has always been consistently wonderful. Service staff has a great attitude and we especially enjoy Sunday brunch!
So the normal location (Washington) was closed. We decided to go ahead and go to this one bc I really wanted the lobster potstickers & they have a pretty decent kids meal steak. We showed up right on time for reservations. There was no hostess upfront and no one attending the bar. We waited for about 10 minutes before someone approached us and I let her know that we had a reservation. We got sat on the patio so at first we did not notice the smell of the restaurant. Right away the meal initially started off on the correct foot because I got my potstickers. They were a little bit cold when they got to our table at not quite as crunchy so I was a little disappointed but all in all still satisfied. When I went to order my meal the seafood De mare I asked if it had noodles in it or if I could add noodles if it did not. I normally get the scallops or shrimp and grits but decided to get something different. It was a huge mistake. The first time the food was brought out to me it was brought out to me with no needles and was very lukewarm. It took about 10 minutes for the waitress to finally come back out to our table and ask how everything is and noticed that I was not eating and I let her know that I did not have my noodles. So she took my plate and said that she would make me an entirely new meal. So about 15 minutes later I got my food and had the noodles in it that were steaming hot but the same seafood that was now cold. I wouldn’t of been as upset about it not being a new plate of food if the manager wouldn’t have said that they would make me a new plate of food. Instead I got cold seafood and hot noodles that weren’t worth it. Noticing that I was irritated and asked to just get it to go box because I was ready to leave the manager came out and brought us the check. When leaving my daughter commented on the strong sewage smell inside which smelled like a grease trap perhaps had not been cleaned recently. . Horrible decision to come here for my birthday dinner.
The food is always delicious and the wait staff excellent. We sat on the patio and the tables were socially distanced.
We had a wonderful birthday dinner with friends on the large outdoor covered patio. Everything was a 19 out of 10
Great meal with good choices for appetizers, dinner and dessert.
The Union Kitchen is always a great place to go. The food is fantastic and is reasonably priced for such a wonderful place. The servers are knowledgeable and stay in the background. Additionally, they are very Covid conscious. The tables are well spaced and everything is wiped down with disinfectant. I definitely recommend this place.
Celebrating moms birthday
Harris was very great!!!
Loved the Chicken scallopini and our waiter was helpful since we needed to substiute some items.
Great dining experience
Service was slow, ordered a drink took quit a while to get it, and it was wrong. Took a while to get it changed. Tried to get the servers attention quietly several times with no success. Food was just ok. I would not say it was terrible but will not be going back.
Food was good but service was very slow at this location.
FAQs
The Union Kitchen (Memorial Dr) is rated 4.6 stars by 1517 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.