Union Square Is Cool Urban Dining Spot
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
If you’re looking for a cool spot to chill out after work, Union Square, located in basement one of the Gangnam Financial Center in Yeoksam-dong just maybe the place for you.
This is one place where you can order anything from seven different restaurants serving different cuisines. You can opt for fusion Asian cuisine at Little Xian, Chinese food at Dim +, Korean food at Bistro Hahn, Italian food at La Spiga, Japanese food at Chaya, Mexican food at Taco Factory and fusion Japanese cuisine at Tiny Tani.
We tried out Union Square during lunch, ordering teriyaki tenderloin with mashed potatoes in a spicy soy reduction from Little Xian and rainbow roll from Chaya. The teriyaki tenderloin was tender and juicy, served with pineapple slices for a contrast in flavor.
Dark, sophisticated interiors, and low lighting characterize Union Square. It is a good place to have lunch, since there are reasonably priced lunch specials. But after six is when Union Square turns into a dining bar with DJ Breakbakery providing cool sounds to relax to.
There are set dinner menus priced between 25,000 won to 45,000 per person. It features appetizer, salad, main entrees, coffee and dessert.
Union Square also has a Happy Hour from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, where you can eat and drink all you can for just 20,000 won per person, during weeknights. Mondays are Ladies’ Nights when women pay just 5,000 won for all the beer they can drink, while Tuesdays are Wine Nights featuring ``Buy 1, Get 1’’ Free glass of wine.
Wednesdays feature all you can drink sangria for 5,000 won, Thursdays is when you buy one mojito and get one free, and Fridays are Mexican Nights, when you can buy one shot of tequila and get one free, plus a Mexican buffet for only 10,000 won per person.
On weekends, Union Square serves only buffet for lunch and dinner for 30,000 won per person. The buffet features the basic salads, sushi, soups, cold noodles, fresh fruits, bread, cheese and cakes. As part of the buffet, customers can order from a selection of dishes from each restaurant.
We decided to check out the weekend buffet, and we ordered carbonara pasta from La Spiga, roasted black cod marinated with Japanese red miso from Tiny Tani, grilled tiger prawns with double garlic noodles and grilled chicken with garlic and ginger in shitake vinaigrette from Little Xian.
Of all the dishes, the black cod was the best, since it was tasty and light. The grilled tiger prawns with noodles featured fat shrimps, onions and green peppers for a flavorful dish.
Overall, Union Square has the good food, drinks, moderate prices and cool ambience to make it the place to wind down after a stressful day at work.
Union Square is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. during weekdays. During weekends, buffer is available from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. For reservations, call (02) 2112-3822.