Union Social Eatery

I decided to meet up with a former co-worker of mine. She originally tried to convince me to meet her in Newmarket, but I'm a little bit of a Toronto snob (oh don't act like you aren't - if you're from Toronto you're at least a bit of a snob; I bet it annoys you when I blog about restaurants in the GTA) so she agreed to go to North York.

Restaurant: Union Social Eatery
Location: Willowdale
Meal: Lunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 19 weeks

There is a Union Social Eatery in Mississauga near my workplace, and it is one of the better options for lunch with co-workers in that area. They have since opened more locations in Toronto. Someone described it to me as a hipster version of Moxie's, which is pretty accurate. They even have a gluten free menu if that tickles your fancy.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
When it comes to stroller friendliness, this place isn't designed to be accessible as there is a step right at the entrance that I had to maneuver over. Once I arrived, I had no problems putting the stroller me to the table.

Something to note if you are are attempting to keep your baby away from screens for the first two years (which is currently my plan - I'll let you know how well that worked in two years), maybe avoid pubs during the Olympics. See how my son is staring intently at something? That would be tennis. I ended up switching seats so that he was facing away from the TV, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but also something I have not previously had to contend with. As for the washrooms, there is no change table available.

The good news is that there is enough counter space if a diaper change is necessary. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The service here is fantastic. Our server was very helpful in explaining the menu, particularly the killer chicken sandwich of the day, and seemed very knowledgeable. She was also happy to point out where the washroom was, and was just very friendly overall. Most noteworthy, though, was when my son was sucking on his pacifier and it popped out of his mouth onto the floor. The server quickly came over and scooped it up, then offered to wash it in hot water. She brought it back out for me on a plate and it was still warm. To me, that is the perfect example of going above and beyond.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Like I mentioned earlier, this is pretty much a hipster chain restaurant. The menu items are diverse so it is safe to bring a group of people here with different tastes, which makes it a good choice for work lunches. I ordered the almond crusted chicken tenders with fries, Dijon mustard, and the U.S.E. sauce.

The food is fine. The almond crusting makes them a bit more unique than your run-of-the-mill chicken tenders and the U.S.E. sauce is nice. The fries are just the way I like them, and salted well enough that I didn't need to add ketchup (although I did dip some in the Dijon). We decided to order dessert as well, and I got the cookies with ice cream.

The cookies were warm and soft and paired well with the ice cream, so it was a satisfying way to end the meal.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Food-wise, it's your typical chain restaurant so it won't disappoint you but it won't blow you away either. The accessibility is not the greatest for bringing a baby, but the service is phenomenal. If you are meeting a group of people and you are taking your baby with you, this isn't a bad spot.