Do not confuse a landmark building with decent food
Written: Feb 17 '04
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Pros: Historical, close to touristy area for out of towners.
Cons: Bad food and pricey for such poor quality.
The Bottom Line: Order a beer and appetizer at the bar to visit for the historical aspect. Save your appetite and money for someplace where the food is the draw, not the building.
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| jdanyliw's Full Review: Union Oyster House |
My girlfriend and I live in NYC and went up to Boston for dinner on Valentine’s Day, to do something different. I searched and read reviews on a bunch of restaurants the week prior looking for someplace that could offer everything we wanted. The Union Oyster House won out for several reasons. Good location, tasty looking menu, historical significance, and colonial charm. Seemed like the perfect place to go.
The waitress was a little brutish with her jokes and mannerisms. We weren’t out for a pub crawl; we were out for a nice dinner. Other than that the service was just fine and we were never rushed. We ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio from Italy which was excellent, the only good thing we had that evening. We ordered the ‘Steamers for Two’ as an appetizer, I got the ‘Broiled Seafood Platter’, and my date ordered a medium lobster. We split a slice of Boston cream pie for desert.
The steamers tasted good but were loaded with sand. I thought I was going to wear my teeth down chewing on dirt. I’m not talking a little sand, there was a sand pit on the dish by the time we had finished.
My ‘Broiled Seafood Platter’ was horrible. The swordfish was the worst I have ever had; I almost thought it was man-made meat. It had a fatty texture to it kind of like lamb. The rest of the seafood was just alright. I would not be surprised if the entire platter was composed of reheated frozen food from the local grocery store. To put my opinion into context, I don’t have gourmet taste buds and I am not a picky eater. I rarely dislike a meal to this degree.
My date got the lobster which she thoroughly enjoyed. I got to try a few bites and it was delicious. But then again, there is not much challenge in steaming a lobster now is there? Having said that, she also ended up with a case of severe nausea the entire trip back to NYC later that night. There is no way to know for sure if it was the lobster that made her sick. But based on the quality of the rest of the food, I would not have been surprised if it was. Just so you know, this is not the result I was going for that night. I actually wanted to have a nice romantic evening, not send her home in a body bag.
The Boston cream pie was crap. I mean seriously, take some pride in the city where you serve and do it some justice. Had the meal ended in a great desert I think a lot of the other bad things would have left less of an impression.
Our final review: we ate in the oldest restaurant in America. And we will never eat there again. The place has a cool history and nice atmosphere but the food is laughable. If you are a tourist in Boston as we were, I would suggest stopping in for a beer and a small dish from the bar so you can check the place out for historical purposes. But save your appetite and money for a restaurant whose main draw is their cuisine, not their building. Lucky for me I had a huge reserve of charm to fall back and recover the evening on so my Valentine date is still talking to me. : -) But I have a funny feeling she may not allow me to pick any restaurants in the future.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jdanyliw
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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