Union 50

Holy, all that is good in the world. Get the bone marrow. Do it.

I’m a fan! Dined while visiting from Chicago and was pleasantly surprised to find such a place in Indy– trendy yet didn’t come across as trying too hard. Food met expectations. The table had the seared tuna and duck. The Tuna would get re-​ordered and the Duck was average. I would re-​visit for primarily for the upbeat environment and secondly for the food.

Hands down one of the best restaurants indy has to offer! We decided to give this place a try for devour downtown on a Saturday evening. It is located a little away from mass ave and we were delighted to find they have there own parking space near the alley on cleveland street. We got very lucky to find parking because it was jam pack for 7 pm. Even from the outside you can tell this place was going to be special. We had reservation for 7:15 and was seated right away. This place is absolutely gorgeous. Reminds me of a speak easy restaurant i have been to in LA. We were greeted by our waitress who was training at the time and she advised us to try the devour downtown menu because there menu was specially made just for the event. So once its over you will not see it on the menu. The devour downtown menu was $ 35 per person and comes with 3 course. On top of the menu we ordered chilaquilas poutine which was amazing! We really enjoyed everything here from the service to the food. We didnt wait long at all for our food and someone was constantly there to refill out waters. My boyfriend did the mussels, fried chicken, and some kind of choc espresso dessert. The mussels was delicious and the broth which was soak up with the bread was delicious and all the flavors just explode in your mouth. I had the arugula which was delicious but a bit boring. I got the pork shoulder sandwich which I regretted too! i was a but skeptic to try the skatewing fish but the sandwich seem kind of generic even though it was good. I didn’t realize it came with fries so I would of not gotten the poutine because at that point I was too full to even attempt to finish my food. i should of went for the mussels too! Everything my boyfriend got was great portion and all delicious. The waiter made sure all our food came in as we finished the other ones. The service rocks here! We never had to wait. Our bill for the night with tip came around $ 105 without any alcohol. A little pricey for us but well worth it because we try to do a little fine dining every 6 months and this place seems to be worth coming back. I definitely will be coming back to try there traditional menu. Also on the way to the restroom they had a super fancy fire pit outside. Definitely a great place to chill and have awesome cocktails. Cant wait to be back!!! Definitely 5 stars all around!

Updating my review from last year, where I gave them 3 stars. Been back again a few times now and find both food and drink improved. First the drink. The quality of the cocktails has matured, nice variety and taste. The wines have also improved, with a solid selection, at a restaurant normal pricing. The food quality has also improved. We have rambled through the menu and find good taste, variety, and quality. In our visit last year we found our meals over seasoned, since that time, in our visits, we have only had great dining experiences. Hats off to management, you are doing a great job with this place.
Oh, great live music, makes the atmosphere quite nice!

Union 50 was a overall great experience and has a trendy environment. On the night that I came, I came with a group of people, and the Union 50 staff was generous enough to accommodate us in one of their private dining rooms. We were waited on by 3 people, which meant waters were refilled prompty — always a brownie point in my book.
The table ordered a variety of dishes, but the most popular choice, I also got — was the duck. Other dishes that I will briefly comment on are: the shrimp and grits, the pulled pork poutine, and the kimchi meatloaf. The couple bites of shrimp and grits were flavorful and the shrimp was juicy and tender. The pulled pork poutine was also good — the fries crispy with a sweet tang to the BBQ sauce. The kimchi meatloaf I was most surprised at because it wasn’t overwhelmingly fermented tasting but still added a unique flavor that I hadn’t tasted in a meatloaf before.
I think my biggest problem with the duck was that it came out kind of lukewarm, and they didn’t crisp the skin, which is one of the reasons why one would order duck in the first place. The white fat was still on it, which should be rendered off by presentation. The bread soaked in jus was flavorful, but I think I would have preferred the contrast of the crunch of a toast rather than a soak because the duck skin wasn’t crispy at all. The dessert menu was unimpressive.
Overall, I would rate the duck at 3.5, but I rounded up the overall score to 4 because of all the other factors of the restaurant.

Union 50 captures beauty and sophistication while yet being laid back at the same time. Even the main entrance doors are beautiful! Once you open the doors you walk in and your focus shifts to the bar — pure eye candy!
I’ve been here a few times and always received knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating service without being too in your face.
My food favorites are the chilaquiles poutine, kale salad and chicken and waffles (not always on the menu). My favorite drink is the Mariska Hargitay, which I discovered is a seasonal drink, so I opted for the Detective Stabler instead. ;)
I would recommend checking out the scene before bringing a large party here to see how it will fit your needs. I was here with a party of 10 and we were seated at a large square table. Long story short, the table top is extremely large and has to be slid all the way out every time someone wants to leave or rejoin the table. It was so awkward, but our server Riley handled it with ease. It’s even made a little more awkward when there are two other tables near yours with the same set up.
All in all this is one my favorite places and I will be back soon.

I stopped in Union 50 on Friday evening to have drinks and apps with my hubby and his friends. Ever since, its my «go to» location for taking guests I would like to impress. Union 50 is so chic its not even funny. Not really hungry — order the Hand-​cut fries — Manchgo and Bacon fries with garlic truffle aioli and beer cheese sauces. Overall, this app was great. While I felt one of the sauces, garlic truffle– was just fancy mayo, it was good.
As far as the menu for dinner, I’ve everything I had tried was stellar. The salmon is awesome, the smoked pork chop is divine, the sticky wings are yummy and all the guests I’ve taken here have only said awesome things about the meatloaf. Overall, the chef here is right on. You get a big bang for your money. Live music is always on the menu as well. Check out the website for the lineup. Also, the wait service is usually stellar. They are quick and keep our waters filled. Bathrooms were clean and modern.
Make sure you make a reservation or you will be eating from the bar. People are staking out the place for tables. This place has a large group room; one side for standing (socials), the other with large setting for dining.

Visited Indy for work and was taken to this cool place. Sat at the command-​presence of a bar, where we were able to take in the chill ambiance: multi-​positioned low-​lighting, warehouse-​mimicking distressed wood, dark black revealing ceiling, and multi-​design /​multi-​purpose seating. Aside from the main room that you walk into which is open-​concept with open-​styled seating (some small booths for intimate dinners, larger almost community-​style tables for larger groups, and bar-​seating), there is an entirely additional room which provides the ability to hear one another a lot better than the main room. The music isn’t super loud in the main room, but it’s definitely present.
They have a number of great beers on draught, including supporting local Indy craft brews. The Black Acre IPA was my favorite, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more. We ordered a cheese /​meat board, which the staff helped us pick out. Being more adventurous, we picked the foxglove cheese which was super creamy — this is the kind of cheese you have no shame in licking off of the board to ensure zero goes to waste.
I ordered the mussels and had a great experience. There were cooked tomatoes and full-​cloved garlic in the tomato-​y broth that I seriously couldn’t get enough of; comes with two triangles of toast to soak up all of the awesomeness. Would definitely recommend for any mussel-​lovers, regardless of the location (land-​locked city).
This is a great place for business dinners, chilling with friends, and meeting new people. The staff is extremely well-​versed on the menu and providing recommendations, regardless of being a bartender or part of the serving staff. Definitely a place not to miss when you’re in Naptown.

I reallllllly wanted to like this place, but just wasn’t impressed. Even the second time we visited.
First experience was on a progressive cocktail tour. The place was crowded and the bar didn’t really seem to give a hoot how they set up their specialty drink station like many of the other places we visited on the Mixture tour.
We had to wait at the bar, which was intimidating by any definition. Large, loud and the back wall was well over 30 feet or more high, with «top shelf» booze located way at the top.
For a tour that was meant to be quick — there was no dallying because of the number of places you were trying to visit — Union 50 did not present their cocktail efficiently. We ended up having to cross 5 – 6 more place off the tour map because of the time we wasted.
The cocktail wasn’t great, either. Overly sweet and just had too much going on.
Several months later, we chose this place because they served dinner until midnight. We arrived around 9:30 and promptly ordered a cheese plate, a bowl of mussels and a few other apps. These were acceptable and ok — the cheese plate was HUGE and came presented on this huge table-​sweeping wooden arch — which was kinda cumbersome when trying to reach drinks or pass plates.
We weren’t really ordering main courses, so we dallied.
The waitstaff kept coming by like every 10 minutes asking if we were done. We’d say, «No,» and go back to drinking and eating and conversating.
This went on until around 10:30 (which means we were there only about an hour.)
Finally, three staff members, one of whom was a manager and if not a head server swooped in and said: We’ll take those dishes and literally pulled the plate out from under me while I was eating from it and all our apps (that were unfinished) were removed quickly from the table.
SOOOOO– WTH, right? The place didn’t close for another several hours and food service didn’t stop for at least an hour-​hour and half. What was the rush? And we were eating that!
We didn’t say anything, but since it was getting to be the college bro hour, took our party to a little drink place in a basement around the corner.
By and far, i was unimpressed by the service and the way we were treated and the food wasn’t good enough for me to consider trying it again. Very sad, since I hear others have had better experiences.

First visit. Just a cocktail and a few apps. Pretty impressed. Like the menu design and choices. We ll come back some time for sure. The bartender has been very very nice, courteous and obliging. The only reason I’m doing 4 stars is that we re not having entrees today and I don’t want to mislead anyone. However, the rest of our visit has been 5 star for sure. This place will be a part of our plans in the future.
It’s a little tough to find but it is right behind Mass ave near the corner where pizza ology is located if that helps.

We had dinner at Union 50 this week — Union-​ific!
Ambiance — a cool buzz with warm lighting, distressed wood, and subtle acoustic music that didn’t interfere with conversation but served as a very nice accompaniment for dinner.
Service — too good for words — seriously. Pleasant but unobtrusive, attentive without hovering, timely but not rushed and with each course a group of 4 or more servers arrived in unison, clearing plates, serving dishes and utensils in one swift and simultaneous motion — unexpected and unique — a gastropub with high end service — extraordinary.
Drinks — a very nice selection of unique beers, cocktails and wines. Something interesting for everyone.
Food — we started with a cheese and charcuterie board — candied pork belly, soppressata, Marin triple cream Brie, sea hive beehive and a bleu cheese that was creamy and gentle to taste. We followed that with truffle fries and the unique chilaquiles poutine, and then finish up with the Caesar salad, mussels, baked tomatoes and goat cheese, and squash gnocchi. A wide range of tastes and styles, all nicely plated and delicious.
Great job Union 50, great job!

Yooo that Grand Board was DELICIOUS! Sticky wings– phenomenal. Fries– I’ve had better, although I ate them all so they clearly weren’t that terrible.
Cool vibes, I liked this place a lot.

I really enjoyed my visit to Union 50. I’ve been hearing great things about this trendy establishment and was elated when I had an opportunity to visit.
Union 50 gets a 5-​star rating based on their décor and atmosphere. It is beautifully decorated. I love ever aspect of it. The blue music mural by the kitchen, I need in my living room. Over by the bar, they have shelves up to the ceiling with one of those layers you see in libraries (I didn’t think I would see those anywhere but in a library); but it was really cool.
They have an area for private parties which was nice. They also have live music which I really enjoyed. Sarah (something) and a Billon Stars were on showcase when we went and I really enjoyed their sound.
Now Union 50 gets a 3 – 4 star rating when it comes to the food. I feel like they have a great menu, but they need just a little… something. We ordered stuffed dates which was absolutely delicious. It had cheese, chorizo, and something else in it; didn’t think I would like it, but I really did. I ordered the scallops and they were really good, along with the sweet potato purée. However, the spinach lacked any enthusiasm. Simone at my table ordered shrimp and grits and said the shrimp was chewy. Another person ordered the special; which happened to be a seafood stew. It had mussels, shrimp and something else that I can’t remember in a tomato sauce. Two things. First off, not sure if I would put seafood in a tomato sauce (just personal preference). Secondly, it was bland; it didn’t deliver (to me).
I’ll probably give it another chance and try other things on the menu

After all the stellar reviews, I have to say… I was a bit underwhelmed.
Yeah, it’s nice and fancy and clean… and they have a great selection of drinks, it appears.
But I found the staff to be a little off putting, and the prices to be a bit steep for what you get.
Honestly, I left thinking «Why all the buzz??».
It’s OK… but wouldn’t be my first choice.

My brother and I came here for dinner and drinks. It is clearly a popular spot and a reservations are helpful! We shared a cheese and meat board, which was a really good way to start the meal! We ordered the vegan fig salami (very cool, Union 50, you almost never see that on a menu!) and an assortment of cheeses. I ordered a salad, it was very good but on the small side. My brother had the wood-​fired wild mushrooms; he enjoyed it. I had cocktail and he had a local craft beer.
The atmosphere was cool and the spaces what broken into several areas, including space for live music– which was super loud when were were there — but that wasn’t a deterrent for us.

Union 50 is a restaurant that I always want to go to, but it is just a bit out of my normal budget. Most dishes are over $ 20, so there are definitely more affordable options on Mass Ave.
If that doesn’t bother you — i’ve always had a great experience here and I think you will too.
The atmosphere is casual and trendy and the building is much larger than you think. They definitely have a memorable entrance, and you are immediately greeted with a huge wall of bottles.
If you are visiting while live music is playing in the corner it can get a bit loud — the good news is that there is another room behind the musicians. You may want to opt for a quieter meal, but don’t forget to support your local artists!
The food has always been delicious. I think Union 50 does a very good job at mixing different flavors together and providing the customer with a unique dining experience. I definitely want to applaud the creativity and professionalism of the chefs. They work hard.
The beer list didn’t wow me, but the wine does. Wine on tap? Yes please. The cocktails are fun and strong. One night I had a few. No shame.
Last, but not least — get the seared duck as your entrée and split the pastrami poutine as a table… or as a 2^nd entrée for yourself. No shame, remember?

I have reserved the right to judge all restaurants by two very important categories, their handicapped accessibility and their use and execution of mushrooms in their dishes. I have to say that based on these two categories, Union 50 definitely impressed.
We visited Union 50 as part of Devour Downtown (summer 2015). We went on a Monday evening around 6:30pm and had no trouble getting a table and fast, excellent service. I was beyond impressed with the décor, seasonal menu and wide selection of whiskey, and I don’t even drink!
Union 50 definitely showed up with their Devour Menu as the dishes were carefully created just for this event and can’t be found on their regular menu. While it seems some restaurants pass off their Devour menu and participating patrons as the unrefined riff raff of the culinary world (often smaller portions without the bells and whistles), Union 50 dressed to impress and gave Devour folks a special treat with this menu. The highlight of the Devour menu was the bourbon marinated fried chicken with Tasso mac n cheese and pickled okra; a sophisticated take on classic comfort food. There was a sweet sauce that balanced well with the pickled okra and slight heat in the mac .
The yellowfin seared tuna featured fried avocado, sweet corn salsa and a cilantro jalapeño emulsion that layered perfectly with just the right balance of sweet and heat. I also hope fried avocado catches on as the texture was wonderful.
In addition to the Devour three course menu, I couldn’t pass up the wood-​fire wild mushrooms. Heavenly. Thd potato-​bacon terrine accompaniment and romesco sauce balanced so well with the balsamic glaze and complimented the earthiness of the mushrooms. My biggest pet peeve is when a store or restaurant tries to pass off a bunch of portobello and button mushrooms as ‘wild’ mushrooms. No. Not fooling this fungi loving gal. It’s becoming an epidemic in the restaurant industry to go ahead and label all cultivated fungi as wild. So needless to say because of my one-​woman mission to educate the public on all things fungi, I was a bit skeptical when I didn’t see what type of fungi were included in this dish on the menu. When I hear ‘wild mushrooms’ I am looking for chanterelle, trumpets, boletes, oysters, to name a few. I’ll even let the occasionally shiitake pass.
Union 50’s Wood Wood-​fire wild mushrooms absolutely can call themselves wild and I am wild over this dish! I did see some portobello and buttons but there were definitely shiitake, oysters, trumpets and I think I spotted some boletes too. What, a treat! I’d love to see if this dish rotates seasonal, local wild fungi. That would be a drop the mic moment for me and my fungi crusade!

I had dinner here last night with my parents and sister who were in town visiting for the weekend, and we had a wonderful meal with great service! We were a little early for our reservation, and so were more than happy to wait in the bar for a bit, but our table was actually ready early. We all enjoyed some of the fun cocktails. I had the veronese derby; I usually don’t go for sweeter cocktails, but this really sounded good and I was not disappointed — bourbon, strawberry shrub, zinfandel and a frothy egg white topping. it was delicious and pretty too!
We started with the grand board, and some of the bacon wrapped dates. I really don’t think you can go wrong with the grand board; it is chef’s choice, but unless someone is really picky, this is an amazing deal; $ 30 for generous portions of 3 cheeses and 3 meats with lots of bread, pickled veggies and mustard. It is beautifully presented on an arched wooden board and was plenty for a first course for the four of us. The dates were wonderful as well; sweet and salty and delicious.
I had the scallops for my entrée. Again the presentation was beautiful, and the scallops were sweet and delicious. I loved the little chicken pieces in between the scallops too; I never thought scallops and chicken would work on the same plate, but it really did! The flavors of the kale and corn went very well with the dish and seasonings and sauces complimented very nicely. My family members had the duck and halibut and really enjoyed their dishes as well.
For dessert, I had the decadent chocolate cake which was so good! It’s served warm in a dish with ice cream and roasted cherries. My family had the homemade truffles and the dessert that is a new twist on bananas foster. We loved it all!
Service was great! Everyone was friendly and the meal was nicely paced! Absolutely no problems with entrees arriving before we had thoroughly enjoyed our cheese and meat board! There was a huge party in the back room that slowed things down a bit after we ordered our desserts. We didn’t complain at all, but our server first apologized saying that the salads for the large group were put in just before our desserts. Then, again, without us saying anything, the manager came over, and again apologized and said they’d be taking care of the desserts for us. Wow, not necessary, but a really nice touch!
Valet parking is the way to go on a busy night. They do have a small lot off of Walnut Street, but it was full when we arrived. The valet is only $ 6 and saves the hunt on Mass Ave particularly when there are big events going in the area!
We were there from about 6:45PM-8:30PM on a Saturday night and it was definitely busy and full, but we didn’t find it too noisy! It was very easy to have a conversation. I’m guessing that those who have noted a high noise level have been there after the live music starts.
Great food, wonderful service, we will definitely be back!

Two words: pastrami poutine. Oh my goodness they were delicious. The sauce is amazing and the pastrami and cheese went really well with it; I didn’t find it too salty at all. They are a bit on the oily side but if you’re ordering poutine, healthy is probably not your top priority.
I’ve also tried the kimchi meat loaf, which was amazing as well. The meat was very tender and flavorful. The kimchi flavor is also somewhat light so it’s not too spicy even if you can’t handle any spiciness at all.
The espresso-​porter bbq pork sandwich was decent but I felt that it lacked flavor. Their salads are tiny, overpriced, and not that exciting.
I’ve only been here once for the night life and wasn’t a fan. The live music was nice but it was insanely crowded. They also don’t have Fireball here. Instead, they have their own ‘homemade’ fireball. Fireball is supposed to be smooth but their homemade version was absolutely disgusting. I was with a group of 6-​ish people who tried it too and they all hated it.
But otherwise, Union 50 is a great restaurant and I would definitely come again whenever I’m back in Indy.

How about wow-​enducing entrance, eh? I have driven by here a zillion times and never realized the grand entrance was actually in the back. The biggest factor that sold me on Union 50 was the design of the building both inside and out. The impressive bar and $ 10 cocktail menu have me coming up with excuses for my next visit.
As for the eats: we ordered the kimchi meatloaf and BBQ pork sandwich paired with French fries. The star of the show was the fries — based on their poutine menu, Union 50 takes their potatoes seriously. I was a little disappointed in the meat used for the meatloaf — it was on the fatty side with more gristly patches than I can handle. I did, however, enjoy the potato pockets under the loaf. They reminded me of potato pierogi filling. If you can snag a spot near the kitchen, I highly recommend hopping on it. I found my entertainment in watching the dishes receive their final look-​over and garnishes. Union 50 takes presentation seriously.