The Arcadia News features restaurant reviews each month.
If you have a question or comment, please see our
contact page.

Union Wine Bar & Grill
3815 North Brown Rd., Scottsdale (just South of 1st Street) | 480-686-9966

              The newest downtown Scottsdale dining/drinking destination subscribes to the current fad of patrons ordering small plates of food to share, rather than each ordering a large, heavy meal. The concept is not only fun, but ensures that even if one orders a dish that turns out to be not exactly as expected, chances are the next dish will be perfect for your taste.
                Owners Tom Kaufman and Chrysa Robertson have created The Union Wine Bar & Grill’s menu in such a way as to satisfy just about anyone’s palate. “When ordering an entrée, people tend to be a bit territorial. With this shared plate menu, it forces you to be convivial. And it’s exciting to explore and try a lot of different flavors,” says Tom.
                Their location on Brown Road, just south of 1st Street is far enough away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Scottsdale to allow users of the patio area out front to enjoy the night air without being choked from passing traffic. The bar just past the hostess stand boasts a back wall displaying their large wine collection.            
Owners of the restaurant have managed to make the building’s totally open space have a feeling of coziness nonetheless. An iron banister delineates the dining area that is decorated in rich desert hues of mahogany and browns reflected in the artwork—impressionist paintings of Southwest mesas below cloudy sunsets.
Both sides of the space are lined the entire length with upholstered banquette seating opposite various size tables with corresponding chairs across from them.     Low lighting is still bright enough so one does not have to struggle to read the menu and the background mix of modern pop is not so loud that it drowns out dinner conversation.
                That night’s special cheese selection ($8) offered a gorgeous hunk of soft goat cheese encrusted with a vegetable crumb crust to spread on toasted bread that almost overpowered the delicate cheese due to the blackened sections of the slices. We just broke off the too dark parts and reveled in the delicious cheese.
                Companion’s choice of the Maytag Blue Salad ($7) was a pleasant mix of fresh Romaine, radish, red onion and croutons, all tossed in a tasty blue cheese dressing.
                It is always nice to eat a salad that has enough dressing on it to thoroughly coat the entire serving, rather than those teensy specimen cups some restaurants begrudgingly dole out.
                The small Quesadilla ($6.50) was grilled to just the right crunchiness with a plentiful filling of gooey white cheese that had a nice light tang of Polano Chile. A fat plop of thick guacamole sitting in the middle of the quartered tortilla dish was just the right amount to spread over the delectable slices.
                Each new arrival was presented to our table with fresh fork and knife, but since we treated each dish as fingerfood, I would have also welcomed a new napkin.
                Since I ate only a small portion of the large salad that my dining companion had pushed for, I laid claim to two of the three large Pork & Ricotta Meatballs ($8.50). These moist meatballs were a subtle mix of spice and cheese resting in what the menu describes as a “rustic” tomato sauce that did not taste Italian in any way, but could have used a bit more flavoring of some kind, although the meatballs themselves had a fantastic flavor.
The Grilled Shrimp ($9) were four plump specimens situated among a tangle of thin sliced sweet peppers in a Spanish Romesco sauce that had a nice nutty flavor. The Flat Iron Steak ($12.50) was a perfect compliment, tender slices surrounded by a mix of fresh green beans and tiny roasted potatoes.
One nice effect of all these small samples was that no one feels too full for dessert. Companion’s Blackberry Ice Cream Sundae ($6) was a refreshing berry sorbet sprinkled with fat blackberries and served beside two tasty ginger cookies.
        I was more than pleased with my Pecan Date Brownie ($6.50); a delectable hunk of chocolate heaven holding up a heavy cloud of house-made vanilla ice cream drizzled with a thick fudge sauce.
All in all, I’d say the Union Bar & Grill will eventually please everyone one way or another.