Union

A gastropub built beside a bar

The burger lands with a brisket patty and two-year aged Wisconsin cheddar, and Union in Logan Square, Chicago, is a room built for that kind of appetite. The house opened as a sister establishment to the adjacent Lardon, a charcuterie-focused spot, and it targets the dinner crowd with a menu balancing comfort classics and creative twists. It is operated by Steve Lewis as one of a trio of venues that share staffing and programming, which is how a neighbourhood gastropub gets the kitchen depth to cook past bar food. No chef is named for the address in the available sources. What is stated is the concept: a beer-hall style bar that means to lift bar fare beyond the humdrum, in a neighbourhood already known for its breweries. That shared ecosystem is the practical reason a bar menu here can carry more technique than the format usually allows.

Twenty-four taps beside the grill

Union’s method sits in the meeting point between Midwest produce and bar food that has been given more time on the tools. The house names sustainable Midwest cooking as its ground, then lets the menu move through frying, charring, stuffing, grinding and sauce work. Fried olives carry mortadella and romesco. Lamb meatballs bring pistachio, caper broth, shaved fennel and pomegranate into one dish without making sweetness the point. Cauliflower romanesco gathers charred cauliflower, piquillos, shishitos, almonds, mint, queso fresco and spicy romesco, a dish built by contrast rather than polish. The brisket burger is the anchor, with bone marrow aioli, fried onion strings, brioche and Yukon Gold potatoes. The beverage program gives the kitchen its other rhythm: 24 rotating taps focused on Chicago, Midwest and Great Lakes beer, more than 200 whiskeys, and a curated wine list with biodynamic, organic and domestic selections.

Dark wood, Edison bulbs, regulars at the bar

The room keeps the work close, and lets it stay close. Dark wood, brick, Edison bulbs, high tops and booths make Union feel like a neighborhood bar before the plates begin to explain the kitchen. The noise stays conversational, which matters in a room where people lean into beer lists, share a burger, pass fried cheese curds across the table, or sit long enough for the bar to become the station they came for, not just the place they passed through. Michelin has recognized Union with a Bib Gourmand in 2023 and 2024, naming the kind of value that comes from care rather than ceremony, and from a room that does not need to announce itself loudly. The room’s best measure remains concrete: a large bar, a daily draft line, and plates like cauliflower romanesco moving from the pass into Logan Square booths, close to the people waiting for them.