Union Cafe at Union Station

Wait time was double what they quoted me, average food, took 45 minutes to get our food at 2pm. We were later told it’s because the «printer melted» and received an apology from the manager. While the staff was friendly, the food was not worth the wait. It would have been a nice gesture to give us the appetizers for free seeing that we waited 45 minutes for lunch.

After spending an afternoon ice skating at Crown Center, my friend and I were in need of some hearty food. We couldn’t find anything cheap or without a long line at Crown Center so we ventured over to Union Station in search of a tasty, inexpensive meal.
We were immediately seated upon walking into Union Café and our waitress was friendly. The tables are covered in paper so you can draw pictures while you wait. I asked the waitress for some crayons. I have no idea if we waited a long time for our food or not because I was too busy coloring!
My loaded nachos appetizer was fantastic! The chips were covered in cheese, black beans, olives, jalapenos, and chili (or you can choose chicken instead of chili). The nachos were $ 6.99 and was a large enough portion to be my meal.
My friend loved her 4 cheese macaroni and cheese made with penne noodles.
Union Café provided a great meal after a fun afternoon at Crown Center.

I visited KS for Thanksgiving and we decided to take the family down to Union Station to see the science museum. We were a party of nine (5 kids and 4 adults) and after being told something about the fryer not working we were quickly seated. A little while later we ordered 5 kids meals and 4 adult sandwhiches/​wraps/​salads.
The view was nice and the family was having a good time chatting it up. After awhile the kids started to really whine that they were starving and it was then I realized that we had been there for 40 minutes which was followed by 45 and then 50. During this time I noticed another table finally get their food just as the dad was leaving with his kid saying «forget about it». At no time did the staff indicate there was a problem or update us on when it would be ready. I finally confronted the manager and he told me something about it was his first day and that he had been told it was a two waiter operation and that it obviously wasn’t.
The table next to us finished their meal and as they walked out the door looked at me and said «Good Luck!».
At this point I’m thinking about my options and they aren’t good. There’s no fast serve food court in the station so anywhere else I’m going to go is going to restart the clock that’s now at 55 minutes.
Finally the food arrives and I have to say it was quite tasty. In leui of french fires they had tasty wavy potato chips (or am I just starving?) and my brisket sandwhich was awesome. (And I’m from Texas, I know a few things about brisket.) The coleslaw was very creamy and I couldn’t resist going memphis style even though I was in KS, MO. The kids burgers were huge for my little ones and had a really good taste.
In summary, the prices were good and the food was good but this place really needs to get it together on their speed of service. The staff was nice and at one point brought an extra bowl of chips for the kids to share family style since some of the kids had ordered apple sauce and were now wishing they had chips.

I usually have really great restaurant experiences, or have very few things go awry, but Union Café just had too many misses for me to not write about them. My sister, and her two kids arrived first, and were promptly served drinks by the waiter. Yay! My Mom, myself, and my two kids arrived, and it took us twenty minutes or so to get an iced tea, milk, and a water. Boo. We had to ask for our drinks after originally ordering them, and the waiter had to re-​take the order. Then, when he brought the water, he asked, «who is this for again?» I was the only one at the table without a drink, and he was standing right by me!
When our food came, it was about an hour after we ordered it. There were maybe five other tables occupied, and as we found out close to the end of our stay, they were having various issues too (bill not being brought, wrong food, food missing, etc.) We also had gotten different excuses from the waiter. Ours was that it was his third day on the job. I understand it takes a minute to catch on to a new job, but things like making appearances to your tables instead of disappearing for a long time, and writing the orders down can seriously help you out. Also, his fellow employees were no help. There were seriously 2 – 3 standing around, not helping tables, and not helping out the new guy! One even just stood there smirking when we asking for our bill (which took another 20 min. to get!) and to make sure we weren’t charged for our missing items.
Back to the food… we never received our appetizer, and my Mom never got the onion rings she had subbed for fries. I had ordered a Chicago dog, and initially received a chili dog (being told first, «Here’s your chili dog.» «I ordered the Chicago dog.» «This is the Chicago dog.») The food itself was not bad. The hot dog was fat, piping hot, and good. I liked the fries. I know my sister liked her salad.
I may try this place again if I’m going to another event at Union Station, but I sure hope the service improves before then.

A great restaurant at a reasonable price.
Wednesday evening, between conference sessions, we ventured out to find a light dinner. In the cool quiet of the Union Station lobby we noticed a balcony built out where the center door would be, and a working kitchen underneath. The sign said «Bistro,» but the receipt would later say «Union Café.» Reminiscent of an outdoor café, this bar and grill was completely protected from the elements. Though it was a decent size restaurant, it still did nothing to diminish the scale of the original station.
The restaurant was nearly empty, but we decided to try it rather than the steak house at the end of the lobby. As conventions involve little more than sitting and eating, a pound of steak did not attract me that night.
Walking up the stairs, we were seated overlooking the rest of the lobby. My Lady ordered a Cobb salad and a Kenwood Merlot. I chose the calamari appetizer, the skewered chicken appetizer, and the waiter’s recommendation of Boulevard pale ale. Afterwards, we decided to try the chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, which turned out to be first-​class. We gladly paid $ 52 + tip for a wonderful meal.
It was the waiter’s first night on the job, but he was eager to please, as I have noticed most of the staff in this neighborhood tend to be, and he was a very good conversationalist. Our questions about the menu prompted him to learn quickly, and we were entertained immensely by his grace and charm. His hospitality made the experience at least as much as the food itself.
I wish the waiter and the restaurant success and prosperity.