The city of Adelaide is not short of a pub or two, or three, or even four. This means that with so many places to have a drink in a city of approximately 1.3 million people the publicans have to find something that sets them apart from the rest. The Kent Town Hotel created the jungle room by building an indoor jungle canopy. The Largs Pier Hotel has a unique rock and roll history offering their patrons a luxury experience with heritage accommodation. Recently the Ourworldinreview team went to the Union Hotel to discover what they have done to make themselves stand out.
The Union Hotel is located at 70 Waymouth Street and is marketed as Adelaide’s original Gastropub. A Gastropub is a trendy bar that serves high quality food and the Union Hotel puts a lot of effort into maintaining a modern contemporary menu.
The building exterior showcases one of Adelaide’s classic historic buildings. The Union Hotel was established in 1855 and has continued to faithfully served Adelaide’s population. When you enter, you can see the hotel has had some modern renovations and updated interior design. They also have this beautiful stain glass skylight letting in the morning sun.
The corner entrance of the hotel leads into Bar Cuba a small front bar and positive introduction into this modern gastropub. From there the bar separates into three different room types, a casual informal area, a lounge dining room and the more formal dining area.
The casual drinking area has long benches with stools and a private alcove table where large work groups can mingle for that after work drink and quick pizza.
The major dining area is neatly set out with standard tables and chairs, and has a more formal dining atmosphere.
Between these two main rooms there is also a small lounge dining area which has a door leading into the small gaming room.
The Union Hotel’s menu gives its customers a good selection of modern contemporary dishes to choose from. After you have selected your meal, head over to the bar and place your order. We opted for the Chorizo Bucatini Pasta for AUD$22 and the Marinated Pork Scotch for AUD$28.
The Chorizo Bucatini Pasta was durum wheat bucatini, mixed with chorizo, chilli, garlic, roasted capsicum, baby spinach and a white wine creamy pesto sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the flavours were well balanced with that little extra kick from the chilli.
The presentation of the marinated pork scotch was picturesque. It consisted of a rectangle block of fried polenta, spicy chorizo, a broccoli floret, caramelised apple and a superbly cooked pork scotch. The meal was covered in a subtle fruit gastrique & red wine jus. Carving into the scotch was fantastic exposing succulent white meat. This entwined with sweet and spicy flavour combination was excellent.
Overall the Union Hotel lives up to its marketing and is truly an excellent gastropub. I commend the Union Hotel for putting so much effort in to provide good quality meals for its customers. The Union Hotel’s offering doesn’t stop there either. They have a good range of craft beers on tap, as well as your more common beers and an excellent wine selection.
For more information on what’s happening at the Union Hotel or what they can provide, visit them here. The Union Hotel is perfect place to relax after work, or enjoy a special occasion with a good meal. So next time you are in the city, make sure you pop into the Union Hotel. Stay for a drink, have a meal and tell them, Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!
Union Hotel Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)
Decor = 8
Atmosphere = 8
Service = 8
Price = 8
Food = 9
Overall = 8
