Union Dining

There appears to be a range of  views about Union Dining.  There are some rave reviews but others  aren't so good.  We passed on the appetisers and entrees (perhaps a pity, as there seemed to be some interesting choices here, but it was a group decision to forego having a couple as shared plates, as suggested).   The mains were mostly pretty good:  the goulash hit the mark for me, although I was told the duck seemed overcooked (apparently duck replaced the chicken listed on the autumn menu).   My observation of the duck dish was that there was a lot of duck but not much else on the plate!    The sides were all good, as were the deserts.

But it's noisy (trendy, I know, but still) and we had an issue with the service.  The waiter spilt a little wine and, yes, it was cleared up.   But then he appeared to abandon us;  was it a light-hearted comment one of our group made when ordering, or did our response to the wine spill offend?   Be that as it may, once our mains arrived, there was  no further wine service, no top-ups of water and no replacement water glass for the one that was taken because it was in the wine.   By the time we'd finished our mains, we made our feelings known, and from them on we were attentively looked after by another member of the wait staff and a gentleman who appeared to be in charge.

Our other issue was with the wine list;  yes, interesting, but heavily weighted towards the upper end of the price range (although wine is also available by the carafe).

Perhaps Union Dining deserves another chance (edit, in view of the gushing review it gets in the Good Food Guide).   But being in Swan St, if we go in the evening, the only practicable transport for us is by car.....and of course parking is a problem in that area.   It might be a good place for a long lunch, when public transport would be viable.  On the other hand, there are so many restaurants, many of which are closer to us,  and only a limited number of opportunities to eat!  So for now, our feelings about it remain mixed.