Food Is Always Delicious
My spouse and I dined at Union Standard for brunch on a
Sunday morning in early November 2018. (We dined here previously twice for
dinner and brunch on a weekend in mid-September 2017; see our review titled, “So
Good We Returned the Next Day”.) The
restaurant is open for weekday lunch, weekend brunch, and daily dinner. You can
make a reservation using the online Open Table system.
Union Standard
opened in February 2017 in downtown Pittsburgh’s Union Trust building.
Commissioned by Henry Clay Frick and designed by prominent Pittsburgh architect
Frederick J. Osterling, the Flemish-Gothic building opened in 1917. This restaurant
is convenient to most downtown hotels, including the Embassy Suites, Omni William
Penn, and IHG Kimpton Monaco.
The restaurant
offers seating on several levels. The space begins on the corner of William
Penn Place and Oliver Street, then stretches back toward Grant Street. Because
of the rise in elevation of the land, the restaurant’s dining areas are
staggered. A street level dining space, host stand, and small window waiting
area are located on the ground level, with additional seating a few steps up,
and the bar and lounge up a few additional steps. Marble floors, walnut tables
and chairs, and red leather booths (both semi-circular and regular) allow
customers to enjoy views of the cityscape through the nearly floor-to-ceiling
windows on two sides the restaurant. The front windows abutting the main door
are stacked halfway with wood. A colorful, contemporary mural of the Western
Pennsylvania landscape (with trees, mountains, and a reference to Fallingwater)
on the primary wall (the other walls are glass) provides a focal point. The
rear (mezzanine) bar area has a four-sided bar (with a raw bar on one side),
surrounded by high-top tables and a few cozy leather booths. A rear entrance to
the restaurant leads into the building lobby, where perhaps you can take a peek
at its 11-story atrium with glass dome. The second floor contains the semi-open
kitchen and seating (table and banquette) that overlooks the ground-floor
dining space. The restaurant seats about 170 people spread over 7,000-square feet.
We sampled the
Bloody Mary, which was garnished more elaborately the last time we dined (this
time, it was missing the fancy wooden toothpick studded with an heirloom baby carrot
slice, olive, chicharron, and tiny pepper. We also tried the Spicy Apple
Margarita, which wasn’t spicy (although it was apple-y) until our last few
sips. As an appetizer, we shared the smoked trout toast (two slices of grilled
bread topped with the fish, pea tendrils, and other goodness), followed by main
dishes of the duck hash and the burger (a yummy sesame-seed bun with a burger
patty topped with cheese, iceberg lettuce, and shredded jicama) along with a
side order of fries). Our server delivered our check too early for us – we were
planning to order another round of drinks and dessert, but instead, we left.
We will continue to return to Union Standard because of its
good food and stylish environment.
