Sandwiched in between Clerkenwell and King’s Cross on a fairly nondescript part of King’s Cross Road, The Union Tavern has to work a lot harder to pull in the punters than a lot of pubs down the road that have a healthy flow of passing trade. As a result, you can enjoy some very good pub grub at cheap and cheerful prices.

The Venue
Opposite a Holiday Inn on a fairly unremarkable part of King’s Cross Road, The Union Tavern manages to catch the eye from the street, thanks to the bottles of beaujolais neatly positioned on each table in the dining area, an expansive part of the pub that clearly gives the impression that they’re firmly focused on their food output. They even bill themselves as a bar and restaurant but, in reality, it's a pub serving decent food.

Inside, it has some nicely maintained original features dating back to Victorian times, such as the wooden-framed glass partitions which break up the bar from the dining area and provide pleasing-on-the-eye decorative flourishes. The lower section of this open-plan, split-level pub is pretty much reserved for dining with a partially visible kitchen in effect at the far end. If you’re just in for a pint, the bar area has seating that’s not explicitly for diners.

The Atmosphere
During the week, with little in the way of passing trade, you might expect the pub to be fairly quiet, and it is to a certain extent although several groups of respectable-looking local professionals attend to tuck in to their outstanding value lunchtime menu.

The Food
With so much of the pub’s floor space dedicated to dining, this is a modern pub that realises the importance of food to the business in these choppy times. With a main course costing £6.90 at lunch, and a very appealing offer of two courses for an extra quid, plus modest supplements on steaks and so on, you’ll receive excellent value for money. And the quality? That’s more than respectable, too.

From the list of several starters, the Scotch egg is a good one. It’s served warm with a set saffon-yellow egg yolk, nicely seasoned sausage meat stuffing, and a crisp coating. You can follow with a lovely homemade fish and chips, a decent beef burger (again homemade), or a less successful claggy goat’s cheese salad. For £7.90, it’s a steal. Prices go up a couple of quid in the evening but are still very reasonable.

The Drink
Greene King IPA and the superior Doom Bar from Cornwall provide ale drinkers with liquid refreshment, and it’s a nice touch to have bottles of a soft and juicy beaujolais on the tables at lunch, even if you decide to abstain and settle for a Coke or an apple juice instead.

The Last Word
Clearly this pub has to work harder than most to attract people to seek it out and thanks to the good food it turns out at bargainous prices, it’s more than capable of luring people down the road from the likes of nearby Exmouth Market.

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