Union Bar & Grille

The service here is satisfactory and the American cuisine is enjoyable. However, the platters are way overpriced. An order of buffalo wings was around 60 kuai...

Very disappointed to find this is a smoking friendly place. Yes, I understand there is a bar in part of a restaurant...and this is China; however, I believe they are also trying to front as a restaurant. Watching a family with two young children eating in the non-smoking section a mere 15 feet away from the smoking section. Cloud going right into their faces, and all over for that matter since there is really no separation between the bar and restaurant. Something very wrong with this whole picture...

Unless they are trying to compete with the same demographics as The Den, Management should really think of reviewing and changing their current policy. Let me know when things change, and I may come back. I recommend other non-smokers to do the same.

Authentic Ruben Sandwishes and tasty burgers. Fries are also always done perfectly. Outdoor seating is not ideal but still very nice. Great value for its price point.

I really love this place. I was disappointed by my sandwich the first time I came here, but subsequent visits have been nothing but delicious and pleasant. The Reuben sandwich is the best in Beijing, the onion soup is excellent, the chicken salad is so American tasting, and the chicken wings are so, so good. I'm really looking forward to trying the tortilla soup and the cheesecake in the future. The soundtrack is really fun, and I like the super American atmosphere. My only complaint is that the wines are quite expensive, although the selection is very good for this kind of restaurant. I haven't had any problems with the service, and you can always get a fapiao here.

We were 8 friends to go there because one of us loved this restaurant.
I ate a salad with beef and blue cheese and a meat plate.
Salade was good but too expensive for the quantity and the meat not the best one. Fries were OK.
For the dessert, I took the chocolate cake. Good and really generous, good deal. Despite I prefere the Salt's one.

We'd passed by this place often and been captivated by the pleasing smells, so we thought it was high time we gave it a try. I can confidently say it will be our last.


Despite the kitsch American diner decor, the staff were far from the smiley staff you'd expect in the States. To make matters worse, rather than opening with Chinese they insisted on having, what were often confused and misleading exchanges in English.



"Reservations" barked the guy at the door. We assumed he was asking if we had reservations, but it turned out he wanted us to go to the desk for someone to seat us.



"Can I take you to your seats?" asked the waitress we'd called over. After a moment of incomprehension she followed up. "Smoking or non-smoking?". Our confusion was justified. We were already sitting in a booth and had simply signaled for the menu.



The food was classic American burgers and steaks. Not bad, but hardly mind-blowing. Certainly not worth the hefty price tag. 85RMB for a cheese burger? Really?



We didn't leave hating the place, and perhaps an American longing for home might find something of worth here. But with the wealth of good eateries around Sanlitun, I can think of little reason to return to the lackluster fare of the Union Bar and Grill.

I've been here twice for lunch and both times left disappointed. Agree with a previous reviewer.. the place is a bit dirty and clearly not properly maintained. I would expect much more from Dan Ryan's group. The pasta I had on my last visit was mushy, greasy, and under seasoned. The seared tuna salad I had on my first visit was not the freshest. Both meals were underwhelming but nothing so horrific that I felt it was justified to send back to the kitchen so just left hungry and with some suggestions for the management. Hope they can sort their stuff out because the location is good, and the feeling of American-style bar is spot-on. Great place for drinks, maybe not so much for the food.

I would describe Union as a "pleasant" place to be, and the surroundings make you feel all warm and comfortable. The food is not bad, the service is not bad either, but not bad means average, and average is no more than the best of the failures. The prices though, suggest something different as they are definitely towards the higher end of the game. I don't mind paying high prices for quality, but to pay high prices for "averageness" just doesn't make sense. I did like the background music, but I didn't like seeing how dirty the place was. The carpet looks like it hasn't seen a vacuum cleaner in months, the blinds had a layer of dust which you can write your name in, there was rubbish visible underneath some of the furniture and the windows are filthy with tobacco stains. I would recommend putting the profit Union made from my lunch this afternoon towards the cost of an Ayi. Are times really that tough or is someone being greedy?

Homesick Americans should look no further -- this place is ridiculously authentic, and, if my waitress had not been a Chinese woman named Angel, I might have started feeling reverse culture-shock. Unfortunately, this also means that prices are American as well. I would never order the wine here outside of happy hour -- you could easily buy a whole bottle at Jenny Lou's for the price of a glass. The grilled chicken sandwich was solid, but it would have been The Perfect American Sandwich if they'd added a little mustard, a slice or two of melted cheese, and a couple slices of tomato! American sandwiches are known for including lots of ingredients, so it's disappointing that this sandwich only had chicken and lettuce inside. Soundtrack is very good.

Service and food here are solid, but prices seem high for what's on offer: RMB85 for a good (but not outstanding) cheeseburger, RMB55 for a Guinness? That's US$13 for a cheeseburger and US$8.30 for a Guinness. Also, be careful with the drinks. When I came by for lunch I was told a Coke was RMB10. The waiter come by and asked if I'd like another. I didn't know if it would be free or RMB10, but I did not expect it to be RMB20, which is what it showed up on the bill.

My husband and I go to Union for the Ruben sandwich and coffee (free refills). The service can be a touch slow at times, but all in all very decent. I've been for dinner a couple of times with my husband, but still prefer going for a family brunch. There is a nice kids menu and markers are provided for coloring. Seems to be popular with many families on the weekends and so I'd like it if Union invested in a couple more highchairs, they're often in short supply!

This place rocks. Been there many times and I have never been disappointed. I just hope it will close around the tune of 1 o'clock during the evenings.... cause some of us are night owls!

The way the lady bartender pours the draft beer like guinees is absolutely wonderful.She is so careful makes sure the beer the drinker is happy. The pubgrub here is wonderful .The salad and the steak is my favourite.
The place has good music .I have never been disappointed here.

ok, so it feels typical american and with the high banquets an almost suburban strip mall steak house quality. but something about this place works so well. the staff have been a mix of professional, relaxed and friendly which leaves a good first impression. the simple dishes: brunch items, burgers, warm chocolate desserts are all consistently good quality and match what you pay for. even the white chef paper over the cushioned table cloth is perfect to rest weary Beijing elbows. ;) my only complaint is the bread basket and the bread in general: too light and often rubbery. i miss dense french breads and warm ones. the soft interiors dampen the echoing you'd get across the way at Blue Frog so makes a nice place to unwind with friends from the noise in the Village. if you still want that, sit by the window that faces the plaza and get your glass of red and burger blasted by the bright screen for fun.

I went there and ordered the burger. I wanted it medium-rare, but no, you can only get it medium-well or well-done. When I asked why they told me it was the company policy and it has nothing to do with the freshness of the meat, the manager even add that it was always like this for burger, for steak it's OK to have any cooking, but for grind meat it's never like this.. Right! What about a steak tartar dude!
Anyway the burger was overcooked and tasteless and... I got sick from it, all night in the bathroom.. Thanks Union for an overpriced (85¥), overcooked and not fresh burger.. I will never come back!

I've been to the Union Bar and Grille numerous times already. I LOVE the restaurant. I don't know about the decorations inside the restaurant, it seems a bit dark for my American taste. But, the food definitely speaks for itself. The restaurant definitely holds up to its ' American food ' mantra. VALUE, great value food. The only complaint I have is probably the burger bun... It's a little too crunchy for me.
I recommend the Southwest Chicken salad, Spicy chicken wings, classic cheese burger!! And definitely not the least, THE RIBS are excellente!!!

This place is wonderful! I love love LOVE the Union. The chicken wings are the best I've had in Beijing and the salads are great! The pastas aren't the restaurants best feature - the truffle mushroom linguini is not consistent in quality. Perhaps there are different chefs. The wine is a bit pricey but not exorbitant.
The service is friendly and reliable and the atmosphere is lovely!
This place makes a great date night spot.

The food was impressive and great all the way, service although friendly was a bit slow and we had to wait for quite some time. Prices is slightly higher, would we come back? Perhaps...
Would we recommend, maybe, but not to first time Beijingers.

Customers who go to Union may want to have drinks AND meals, and Union should just get rid of that silly policy of not serving happy hour drinks to those who sit in the carpeted area. This is one and the same joint, for crying out loud! I'd be happy to drink by the bar area if that's all I'm having; but I'd like to have the option of having my happy hour together with some dinner but not necessarily by the bar, or is that somehow not good for the business? Someone please reverse this "longstanding management decision." (manager's words, my translation).

hmm... i can't believe i haven't written any reviews here since i have been to union a LOT of times.

favorite menu: chicken wings! chicken wings! chicken wings! LOTS of chicken wings! after all those wings intakes, i'm surprised i'm not growing ones. for me, the most delicious chicken wings i've ever had in my life is in this place.

seared ahi tuna is good, worth a try. tried some of their pasta, was good as well. tried sandwich (forgot which one), was not really my cup of tea even though my friend said it was good.

but i think the chocolate cake is delicious. not to mention yummy mojito and cosmo.

i'll be back.

It's unfortunate I didn't make the leap of faith and try out Union Bar & Grill earlier, it's a fantastic restaurant with a sizable selection of courses. A slab of ribs and a bottle of beer, topped off with the molten chocolate cake — that's the perfect combination to top of an evening. Though, I would note that Union Bar would be an excellent restaurant to take your date. My one quip with Union is that when they have happy hour, you can only sit over by the bar area to enjoy the drink specials. It's all the same restaurant, you should be able to sit anywhere and get your two-for-one drink on.

I kinda echo some of the less favourable reviews about Union. The servers were friendly and attentive, which is really commendable, since there are many restaurants that have bad food AND cocky servers. The ambience was quite pleasant, although I was quite disturbed by the paper "table cloth". When I first stepped into the restaurant, I got a relatively high class feeling, but the paper "table cloth" totally shred that image into pieces as soon as I was seated. The food, too, was less than impressive. If it had been a little cheaper, then it would perhaps been worth the penny. But we felt that the price paid and quality of food was a mismatch. Yeah, mismatch is the word with the many things I observed at Union.

I just love this place! Great service a super-nice food!

Great feel as you walk in, drink service for a quiet bar was not as snappy as I would have thought, food was as expected, we had a rave review from a friend, but the quality of the dishes was a let down. Steak that was tough, crab cakes crumbling and dry, tough ribs, which should have melted off the bone as experienced in other TGIF style Restaurants. Being a Beijing local, I would be hard pressed to return.

This place is well decorated and has a lovely atmosphere, with friendly welcoming staff who are (sometimes toooo) eager to please. Unfortunately i was not so impressed by the food itself, it wasn't bad, but was simply average, with the potential to be so much better.

Very comfortable yet smart place, food is excellent and they now are serving a full menu with excellent steaks and great BBQ items, its not a burger joint but still the best burger I have had in Beijing bhands down.Molten Chocolate Cake ( gotta have it with vanilla ice cream)....they do great in IFC in HK and the Beijing Union is everybit as good........

I have to say that if you are looking for a good burger then don't go here it sucked the first time. The second and last time I went I had the chicken burger and it sucked even more. I could not believe that the chicken took up only filled half the bun and was about as slim as a piece of paper, I wanted to ask the staff where the hell was the chicken? ON the positive side the staff was great and the feel and look of the place is impressive but they need to get a new cook. I have eaten at the Union Bar at IFC and it’s great so I suggest you go steal that cook!! If you make that change well then I will give it another go.

service not so great as in -- the staffers are nice but don't really know what they are doing. i recommend union grill for one thing only: wings!!! they have hands down the best buffalo wings EVER. order a full plate & make it your dinner. so yummi :)

One amendment to the initial review. After a return visit, it seems like the staff is communicating in English much more fluently, so no need for any qualms about visiting if you're not a Mandarin master.

This resturant is well-known as American style hamburger,grill steak and lolli-lamb, with elegant environment and a little bit vintage atmosphere,you can imagine how pleasant sitting here to dine.
Deserve to be mentioned, waiter or waitress in this bar are attentive and you will find a feeling of intimacy.
the cheese hamburger is ok, i don't think the lolli-lamb is very tasty,may be the pungent flavor in lamb isn't fit for me, the lava cholocate cake is a must try.

A great little American pub with perfect decor that transcends you to warm cabin somewhere in the mountains. We tried everything from the caesar salad, french onion soup, classic cheese burger, asparagus, the prime rib burger to the 12oz prime rib. The food was good! The french onion was exceptional with fresh baked cheese on top. The cheese burger was decent, not exceptional. and the prime rib steak was fairly above average. The drink menu was filled with alcohol and a little slim on the non-alcoholic beverage and non-free refillable sodas which is very very un-American of them. However, the ambiance made up for it.

We ordered the chicken wings, a chicken caesar salad, beef and vegetable soup, asparagus with bearnaise sauce, and burgers.

The place is a bit pricey, but everything was fairly tasty, except...

THE BURGER SUCKS!

My quest for a half-decent burger in Beijing continues. I tried, as always, to order my burger medium-rare but was told that medium-well was the rarest they could do. I went ahead with the order anyway, and the burger was tasteless, oily, and overcooked.

The bread in the bread basket at the start of the meal was also pretty bad... reminiscent of the bread at Subway.

Oh well. The ambiance was fairly pleasant.

The menu is small (apparently this will change when the restaurant gets established) but perfectly formed. We were skeptical and ordered just about everything on offer. To our delight it was all fabulous and beautifully presented. Highlights included: chicken wings, served uniquely with the flesh partially off the bone; Ahi seared tuna with a really interesting spicy crust; a beautifully cooked sea bass; a really tomatoey tagliatelle bolognaise; a gorgeously gooey molten chocolate cake and a rich banana cake.

The drinks were really well priced at RMB40 for specialist US craft beers and RMB175 for a bottle of sparkling Australian Pinot Gris. That coupled with friendly service and a very pleasant atmosphere make this place a real winner.

Extra marks for the baby chairs, paper table cloths with marker pens and very kid friendly staff.

Will definitely visit again.