Union Street Public House

Union Street Public HouseUnion Street Public House
Union Street Public HouseUnion Street Public House
Bar, Eatery

121 S Union St
Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-3323
United States

(703) 548-1785 | map
unionstreetpublichouse.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.5
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
14
pDev:
10.86%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by VABA:
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Rated by VABA from Virginia

3.5/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5

Aug 26, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by DavidHume from Virginia

May 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Storning from Virginia

Mar 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by seanchai from Virginia

Dec 31, 2013
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Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

3.28/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.75 | selection: 3.25 | food: 4
Visited with the family on a Saturday evening, about 6:30pm. Place was not busy. We were seated upstairs.

Overall - There are other places with better service and a broader selection of beers in old town Alexandria. Do not visit if you are jonesing for a great craft beer or a unique brew to tick. But if you are hungry, with the kids in tow and the wife is not a craft beer fanatic, this place should make the rest of the family happy for a reasonable price.

A - Typically pub atmosphere. Generally bright. Open. Nothing unique. Clean. A good variety of booths, big tables and out of the way places for two. Noise was not an issue.

Q - No serious complaints. All beer served in pint glasses. Needed to ask for a glass when I ordered a bottled beer.

S - Not at all pleased with the service. It started with the late arrival of the waitress. We waited a good ten minutes before someone said hello after the hostess dropped us off. Then our waitress knew nothing about the beers. When I asked about the Starr Hill seasonal, she told me it was the "star." Our waitress was polite and could discuss the food, but had no clue about the beer.

S - There were about 10 beers on tap and a similar amount in the bottle. But the beer tended towards middle of the flavor spectrum and very local except for the Lagunitas IPA and of course all of the BMC. Above average rating for having a very nice Port City Porter in the bottle, but not by much.

F - Above average food. I had the Sunday Ragu, which was good. My wife had a nice salad with chicken on to which they were willing to substitute fried instead of grilled chicken. A typical kids menu selection. The Mac & Cheese on the kids menu was very good.

V - A good value. Beer and food prices were quite reasonable.
May 13, 2013
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Reviewed by whrice from Pennsylvania

3.1/5  rDev -11.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3
This bar is nothing amazing. The atmosphere and decor are obviously very cool if you've seen anything about this place. The food is not bad, nothing I'd brag about. The beer selection is not extensive but they do have some craft beers. One bonus I do remember about this place is that they do stay open later than most bars in the area, I wanna say their open til 2 maybe? They're another local bar that is typical for the local college age kids to go to. Overall I wouldn't recommend this place, but it's not a place I'd tell people not to go.
Jul 20, 2011
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Reviewed by Wegomlegging from Virginia

2.65/5  rDev -24.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 2 | food: 3
The allure of this place is evident, beautiful location and always packed with tourists. Upstairs area is also very cool, with old time booths to sit in. However that's pretty much it. Average quality and flavor food at prices that you would pay at Disneyland. Advertised crab cakes are like air. Particularly relevant here is the weak beer selection and terrible service from wait staff and hostesses. There are a few good ones, but nothing to write home about. I've been here a few times, and it's not a fluke. There are way better places to get a beer in Old Town Alexandria.
May 07, 2011
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Reviewed by Daniellobo from District of Columbia

3.45/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
Decent place with some good beer.

Not much of a location to crawl for but if you are stuck in Old Town Alexandria this might be one of the best spots to land when looking forward to a decent beer while having a bite.

A mostly poor and predictable bottle selection is balanced by a 12ish tap line where about half are brews worth mentioning. Next to a couple of Virginia Native selections of which I know very little other than their brews here are if a bit forgettable and yet decent to try, they also offer Harpoon IPA, Yuengling Larger or Sierra Nevada´s PA and little else.

Food is not memorable but it is OK, staff is competent, pricing is average, and the locale is rather child friendly. This with those decent drafts make it a reliable and recommendable spot.
Sep 07, 2009
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Reviewed by BeerSox from Virginia

3.58/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Located in Old Town Alexandria. Filled with people who love their dogs, middle aged people, and old buildings. It's not close to any metro stop, but a nice walk through the brick sidewalks toward the Potomac river makes it an enjoyable destination. From the right spots along the river the Capitol Building can be seen. The location is along Union Street, a revolving door entrance greets you with a U shaped bar and plenty of booth seating. The stools are interesting as they seems to cradle your ass beautifully - but they don't have backs.

At about 5pm on a Saturday night it seemed pleasant, not too noisy, but it's shoulder to shoulder on the weekend night from what I hear.

The selections is somewhat slim, but with some local selections like Starr Hill and Virginia Native (I don't know much about this brewery, but the Red was decent). I also had a Harpoon IPA on tap. Never got a chance to inspect the bottle selection. All I saw in the bottle was Bud Light.

The food was okay, I wasn't impressed by it. If you like oysters then this place will probably suit you. I've never had the pleasure of enjoying an oyster, and I doubt I ever will, but they seem to be good enough to be able to consume all 5 or 10 in your ice bucket plate thing.

Not the best beer destination in NoVA but it's certainly worth a visit. At least they have the local microbrews in tap, which is usually the minimum expectation I have for any place worth visiting. Old town Alexandria is nice, a good place to visit, and this is one of the better destinations. Recommended.
Feb 09, 2009
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Reviewed by 86sportster883 from Maryland

3.23/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I'd been to the Union Street Tap and Grill on a number of previous occasions and was never too impressed. However, when in Old Town, I always wind up at the East end of King St., thirsty for a beer and, the Union Street Public House is too convienent to pass by.

I've never sat anywhere other than the bar, which amazingly, still isn't smoke free. The bar area is a single square room of old brick walls, bathroom tile floors, a dark wood bar and a mock tin ceiling.

On tap they have half dozen macros to include Guinness, Yuengling and Heineken. Another 1/2 dozen taps with micros that included the Virginia Native Gold Lager and Witucki Red, Fordham Tavern Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale, Widmer Hefe, Star Hill Amber, Winterhook and the Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale. All were $2.50/pint during happy hour, M-F, 4-7pm.

I had the steak sandwich ($13.25) with sautéed onions and fries. The food was just mediocre but, I did have two pints of the Fordham Tavern Ale to go with it which I really enjoyed.

The US T&G is an OK place, but that's about it. Maybe it's the uncomfortable bar stools, or the cliché classic rock music, or the smoke, or... something. Regardless though, I know it's not the last time I'll find myself in there. Despite its sub par atmosphere, it’s still a refuge for a decent pint at the East end of King Street.
Jan 09, 2008
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Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +15.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The Union Street is a beautiful restaurant/bar with old world charm that runs from the cast iron lamps on the outside of the building, through the revolving door, past the dark wood bar, and right to your table. Unfortunately it's pretty touristy and can get pretty packed on weekend nights. But the food is really good, the table service is good, and the tap selection is good - bar service can be slow.

It's a slightly limited menu, but in keeping with the Public House theme that makes sense. If you like oysters they do them quite a few ways, they smoke their own baby back ribs, steaks are done well, and the gumbo is excellent. Everything is priced reasonably.

There are about a dozen beers on tap with quite a few local selections (Clipper City, Virginia Native, Starr Hill), but there's nothing good in bottles. The wine selection isn't impressive either, but again, we're talking more of a pub atmosphere than a posh restaurant here.

There are better places for beer, but nothing right in the King Street area. And if you're stopping by with mom and dad (who'd probably enjoy it) there's a parking lot right across the street near the river.
May 20, 2007
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Reviewed by capo56 from Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +15.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
Union Street Public House located in the city's Old Town district between King Street and the historic Prince Street. Just across the water from the District of Columbia. Where unique shops, historic sites, and river cruises are all just a short walk away. George Washington's beautiful estate, Mt. Vernon, and National Airport are close by as well as all of the other sights and attractions of the Washington DC metro area. I found the beer menu some what small but you can find something . They are mainly Old Dominion Brewing, Magic hat, Sam Adams ect. I found the food to be exceptional and the menu has a lot to choose from.The staff is very attentive and right on top everything never a glass gose empty or a empty dish stay too long. A place that is defiantly worth stopping off at.
Mar 09, 2007
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Reviewed by snarl from Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -0.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 2
A friend refers to this place as Cheers. It's a local hangout and the regulars around the square middle bar do lend it a Cheers vibe. It's often packed around happy hour and especially on the weekends. We usually opt for the back bar so that we can actually have a conversation. The service has always been friendly and sociable.

The beer selection on tap is comprised of mostly Old Dominion Brewing Co beers. They're a local brewer, so whenever you're at a Northern Virginia restaurant or bar with a [fill in the name of the place] lager or ale, chances are good that it's Dominion. Fortunately, the Dominion stuff isn't too bad. The food is tolerable. If you're just visiting, this isn't a bad place to stop since it's just a block off of King Street - the main street - in the touristy area near the waterfront.
Jan 25, 2007
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Reviewed by TinusTime from Virginia

3.6/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Stopped in here for a pint while walking around Old Town Alexandria in the unpleasant 95 degree heat. If you go in the side door you walk in to the main bar. I nice U shaped dark wood bar. Even though it was only about 3 oclock the place was too crowded for 4 barstools in a row. We were directed to a second smaller bar near the back which was their raw bar. Overall the place has a nice old school feel to it.

Union Street boasts about an impressive selection of microbrews. They might want to check the definition of impressive. I believe there were 12 taps.

Guinness
SNPA
Widmir Hefe
Virginia Native
Virginia Red
Fordham Tavern Ale
Yuengling
were the ones I saw. At least there was no BMC on tap.

Service was good and the pints were well poured into 16 oz unchilled shakers. While i didnt try anything off the real menu I can say that they had some of the best oysters I have had in a while. They have local oysters and then a few others from around the country. All types were plump juicy and delicious.
Prices were average for the area-- 3.50 a pint or so I think.

Overall not the best selection, but a nice place to take a short break on a hot day while eating some quality bi-valves and watching some soccer on the TV.
Jul 12, 2005
Union Street Public House in Alexandria, VA
Place rating: 3.5 out of 5 with 14 ratings