Union Square Bistro is tucked right along the East Bay Bike Path in Riverside. The space is warm and inviting with exposed brick walls, wood accents, and a neat tree branch-like mural on one of the walls. We arrived early enough to snag a table, but the room filled up fast, so a reservation might be a good idea if you aren't willing to sit at the bar. Our server was energetic, attentive, and set a good tone for the whole meal. We each started with a mimosa flight, which comes as four full-sized mimosas per order. Honestly, one flight would have been more than enough for us both. Our flavor picks covered a solid range, including classic orange, pomegranate, pineapple, watermelon, green apple, guava, and passion fruit. I love when a place has different flavors and when I can, usually order pomegranate, but the list of flavors here, is on another level and I have to say, the watermelon was pretty awesome and probably my favorite. Either way, they were all very tasty and the juice was not too overpowering. For food, I went with the MC Squared, which the menu describes as a Monte Cristo served on local sourdough dipped in french toast batter, stuffed with ham and swiss cheese, grilled and served with bacon jam and Union breakfast potatoes. The french toast itself was excellent, nicely golden with just the right sweetness. The ham, though, was slightly overcooked, and despite looking gloriously cheesy in the photos, there wasn't quite enough Swiss to hold things together. The potatoes are served as wedges rather than your typical diced home fries and they were good, just could have used a bit more seasoning. The dish comes with bacon jam on the side, which was super tasty, but I found myself reaching for maple syrup (borrowed from my partner, who wasn't using hers). It's a Monte Cristo and syrup feels like a natural companion and would be a welcome addition to the plate. Speaking of my partner, she ordered the waffles, described on the menu as caramelized sugar Belgian-style. They had a nice texture, were nicely golden, and had a subtlety sweet vanilla flavor. They were perfect. One small but delightful detail worth noting: the table salt was a quality flaky sea salt. Not the cheap iodized stuff and little things like that add up. We left happy and are already planning a return visit to try their dinner menu. read more

See all

I wanted to love this place. Great drinks, the bartender knew how to make a martini, the issue was no martini glasses. We ordered loaded nachos, they were good but once you finished the top layer it was all chips. I ordered the fish tacos with grilled fish. A good dish for sharing and we order onion rings. I did NOT like the cheap plastic hospital plates they used. Plus, I was going to order the short rib, but it was served in a bowl with everything piled on top of each other. No thanks. What's with the plastic plates and bowls? At $32 for an entree I would like to leave the micro plastics behind. Very limited menu, nice atmosphere, definitely a neighborhood place. read more

Wavering between 3.5 and 4 but landed at 4 only b/c it's more than a 3. This is my second time at Union Square Bistro. The first time was very early on when they switch over from Union Burrito and I think they were still working out the kinks. I do remember the staff was super friendly and they had an attractive bar area, so was waiting for the next opportunity for me make a visit. That opportunity came this week when a gf of mine wanted to check it out for girls night out. All street parking but we didn't have an issue finding spots. We made our way to 2 seats at the bar - funny enough, this is definitely an after work bar scene as pretty much all the tables were empty but as the night went on, all the bar seats were occupied. We had the zucchini fries, chili cauliflower, fish tacos and crispy chicken sandwich. Our absolute fave was the cauliflower and the fish tacos were prepared well, nice crunchy meaty bites. Everything else was good but not great, but all made for yummy bar bites that accompanied out drinks nicely. The white sangria was a tasty libation. The staff was absolutely amazing! Super friendly and lively and you could tell a lot of the folk there were regulars. It happened to be some sort of live music night as there was a gentleman there singing to backing tracks - although a bit on the loud side, it was quite entertaining. We do love a good bar scene but the chairs weren't the most comfy - after about 3 hours, the back of chubby thighs were hurting. Either that or I need to start hitting the gym. Great local spot to grab bites and drinks! read more

See all

Amazing service, food and atmosphere. The Franks Hot chicken tenders were a fantastic starter. We got two specials and both had large portion sizes and amazing flavor. There current Wednesday dinner deal is a bottle of wine, salad and two entree specials for 49$ All of the food here is hand made and served hot. read more

See all

This is my favorite spot. I hope they can update the yelp to reflect the changes since it was just the Mexican food because iT's SO MUCH more now. Everything is amazing- from the bomb chicken fingers to the (what feels like gourmet) dinner specials. The service is great. The community events are awesome. I come almost once a week and can't wait to keep coming back! read more

Food is amazing, the maple bourbon Brussels sprouts app and their new short rib entree are a must try! Craft cocktails are perfection and great service as well. Sunday brunch available, the shrimp & grits are outstanding and they have live music on Thursday nights. Hidden gem you should definitely check it out read more

They have since been redone and are now Union Square Bistro- they rebranded and reopened early March so boyfriend and I went to check it out on St Patrick's day. We walked there since he lived nearby- which is something to consider there is no dedicated parking to the place but there is on-street parking - which gets full. It was a low key vibe which was perfectly Fine- we were just getting our afternoon and celebrations started. They had some St Paddy's Day specials: I had the Pistachio martini and he had a Guinness bottle; and then we split their House Nachos. The Nachos were so delicious- I would've preferred the Jalapeños to be slightly grilled or charred- raw jalapeños doesn't sit well with me- but overall the nachos were so good. My Pistachio martini was delicious tasting and the presentation was great. (Will include pics) One bartender was very attentive, actively waiting on us and addressing us. The other was having long chatty convos with people that ?maybe appeared to be her friends. She was very nice- just walked by us at the bar multiple times without taking our order- she also wasn't in the middle of making anyone else's order either during these times. But the other bartender was efficient in all she was doing and quickly attentive. Bathrooms were immaculate. The bistro is deceptively bigger than you would think. My boyfriend asked for a water (3 times) before he got it- (from the bartender that was ignoring us). When it came it was cleared infused water with flavoring- not bad but would've / should've been told to us (what if he had an allergy to what was in the infusion?) Also- no beer list and the beers are hidden in a cooler behind the bar- hopefully they get a list created - I know they're still working on the opening kinks and smoothing things out. That being said when asked what they had for bottled beer (no draft) They had a good selection- not wide but anything from Dos Equis to Captains Daughter so plenty to choose from. Overall I would say if you're looking for a martini bar/ low key spot this is the place to go. read more

See all

We came here as part of RI Food Fights Taco Month!! There were two free tacos allowed for the promotion and we had an option of chicken or beef. I tried both varieties and it was decent. The beef needed a little more flavor and was unfortunately dry. The chicken variety tasted a tad bit more flavorful and definitely more juicy. I'd recommend adding some of their hottest sauce to help with flavor and kick!! The staff were very pleasant and brought the food to our table quickly. We also had chips and quac, it was definitely real quac with Avocados. The tortilla chips would've been better heated and unfortunately tasted a little stale. Give this spot a try and let me know what you think :-) -ODL Connect with me! IG & YouTube: @AOEAT read more

Union Square Bistro - Chips and Guac - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

See all

My husband and I came here because we had tickets for Taco MANIA 2022 through RI Foodfights. Each ticket gives us 2 tacos. He had the steak and spare rib taco and I had the beef and spare rib taco. They were flavorful, but when I was biting into the taco, everything kinda fell apart. The meat was fresh and cooked well. After we ordered, the man preparing our tacos informed us to go around and sit at the bar since we were dining in. It took a little while for the tacos to be prepared. At the bar, I had the autumn daiquiri - rum, OJ, maple syrup and ground cinnamon. It was a little too sweet, but it tasted like fall. The servers were nice and asked if we needed anything else. There is parking out front and is a great place to hangout. Since the meat was really flavorful, I would want to come back to try their burritos or burrito bowl. They also have a really cute outside seating area. read more

See all

2/7/25. Traffic dangerous on Bullocks Point Ave as cars are allowed to speed to at least 50 mph or more. Scary crossing street and only street parking! Stopped by for a "White Cosmopolitan" which was very good with vodka, white cranberry juice and orange liqueur. Good bartender. Ambiance cozy. read more

There were 6 of us & the risotto a small portion was $30.00 which is normally a side dish size in other restaurants! One Of the gentleman with us got the short ribs & his meal was all fat at the price of $32.00 he had to wait a half hour for a new meal & it wasn't much better! One couples bill was over $165.00 ours was $129.00 ! Oh yes we had chicken franchise & they said it was specifically made for us so they charged $32.00 really???? This is not Providence!! We will never return to this establishment read more

The prices, and the quality of food. The food I ordered was full of fat.. the wine prices were ridiculous... $ 11.00 for a glass of wine which just hit the bottom rim of the glass. Waited 1/2 hr to correct my food order. Will never go back and will never recommend this place. Plus the food was not hot read more

Wonderful food ,service and atmosphere. The place was fun and music was awesome. Wayne B. read more

NOTE: This is a new establishment under new ownership. Some previous photos and reviews are related to the previous, "Union Burrito" (which have skewed the ratings). My bestie and I came for my birthday dinner based on the solid, 5 star reviews on Google. It was a Thursday at 5:30pm and we were the first patrons. We were greeted by Teri, who provided excellent customer service during our entire meal, and owner, Monique. After letting them know we were here for my birthday, Monique brought us over shots of our choice, on the house. The restaurant under Monique's ownership is just a few months old and doing well! The place filled up by the time we left. We started with cocktails: Carousel, Summer Day, and Cedar Grove. I mentioned to Teri I thought the Carousel could be sweeter and she came over with simple syrup right away. We loved all of our drinks. As an appetizer we had parmesan fries with special sauce (mayo & hot sauce). Yummy and straight from the fryer! For dinner we ordered the Hot Honey Chicken (with cornbread waffle) and Build-Your-Own Mac-N-Cheese (with fried chicken and sweet chili sauce). EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS. The best mac-n-cheese either of us ever had. The chicken was melt-in-your-mouth good. From the customer service to the food to the ambiance, we were sold. There is outdoor seating on the bike path and even though it was raining, a family with a kid in a stroller and dog pulled up just as we were leaving. I would be remiss not to add that another waitstaff, Izzy, seemed to win over customers with her charm. She stopped by a few times (seemingly flirting) and eventually asked for me to take a picture of her and my bestie. While very friendly, and it didn't take away from the excellent customer service overall, it bordered on unwelcome/uncomfortable. My bestie and I both commented on it afterward. OVERALL: Highly recommend. I even told my family about it when I got home. read more

See all

Stopped in for a quick bite to eat on my way back home to Connecticut. The atmosphere was great, the service was excellent and the Mac and cheese with shrimp was deciduous. I would eat here again without a doubt. read more

Omg. My second visit here Addition menu items. The bartender and staff are so engaging. They seem to enjoy working here Killer fried Cauliflower with mac and cheese My husband loved short ribs 5 stars all around read more

Brunch at Union Square should not be missed. The menu is short but the quality is exceptional. The Avocado Toast was superb. Special thanks to the service provided by Tara. You certainly needed help, but that didn't keep you from providing friendly and efficient service. Nice job with the Bloody Mary. Looking forward to my return to Union Square. read more

Gorgeous location! This restaurant is located right near the bike path. Cozy inside. The service was fantastic and the food was excellent. Street parking is the only difficulty! read more

Union Square Bistro - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

See all

There are computers and the staff just sits there watching you. It's not a great integration of technology. I ordered a Tofu taco with guacamole, and it was frankly disgusting. The tofu was uncooked. No one wants to eat white cubes of uncooked tofu. This is all to say that vegetarian options are pretty limited. read more

Rude and unwilling to take responsibility. Whilst writing a review on Google I stumbled upon another review from a disgruntled customer. He stated that the employee he spoke with was rude, and the order was wrong along with extra charges. He truthfully described his experience as any reviewer would. However, the owners response merely flipped the blame on the customer, and actually argued that he was wrong, and that the order was correct. Not only is this just bad for business (as the customer stated he had his receipt), it's just blatenly immature and inappropriate. After reading this, I noticed that i recognized him to be a former employee of mine. And i also happen to know him as one of the kindest, most genuine and polite young men amongst this generation.​ read more

See all

The tacos at Union Burrito for RI Food Fights were killer. Filled to the brim and full of flavor. The chicken tacos were terrific and the service was even better. Highly recommend. We sat on the patio on a beautiful day. read more

Union Square Bistro - Chicken Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

Such a lovely outdoor seating area!! The mocktails are delicious. Super great service- met the owner and she is so welcoming! Definitely will be a regular :) read more

Waited over 40 minutes for a steak quesadilla from a walk in order in the middle of a Saturday afternoon even though there was just 1 ticket ahead of me. Staff was arguing within themselves and one of the cooks killed a fly with their hands while preparing the previous order, did not change gloves Rather get taco bell. Will not order from here again read more

Nice variety of drinks, great bartender, limited menu though bar food is excellent. New owners over past year, so I do not think older reviews pertain to current place. read more

service was great space was great beautiful outdoor patio area interior was great setting but the food was well below what was expected. missing menu items everything tasted frozen and pre packaged. short ribs were tough and chewy and didn't even taste or appear like short ribs. extremely disappointed with the food would only go back for drinks and maybe the frozen fries. If the menu prices are going to stay what they are I'd expect something even potatoes or gravy that taste home made read more

Great local joint! Great outdoor and indoor atmosphere, food and drinks. Makes living in Riverside a lot of fun. read more

Delicious fresh take out from Union Burrito last night!! So tasty, we really enjoyed our choices, everything was great:) So happy this place is right in Riverside and in such a convenient spot. Would be a great place to go and meet someone for lunch or dinner since they have a nice area to eat inside and I noticed they also have a small outdoor side patio which would be very pleasant to have an outdoor meal. Then maybe go for a walk on the East Bay bike path (located right along side Union burrito) to walk off the taco's:) read more

Union Square Bistro - Chicken quesadillas with sautéed onions and peppers, loaded nachos, burrito bowl and chips! - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

Have been there several times no issues.decent food for the price however 2 weeks ago my wife found a fingernail in her food! Literally sickening, that just seems like a cleanliness issue to me above any possible acceptable accident.I brought it in with the rest of order for a full refund but I can't see myself going back after that. read more

Union Square Bistro - Fingernail pic 1 - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

See all

I went to Union Burrito mid-afternoon - perhaps 2:30 or so. I was the only customer in the place at that hour (not unexpected). Place is clean although not terribly inviting for eat-in. The food was good but did not live up to expectations based on previous Yelp reviews and some word-of-mouth recommendations. I had two ground beef tacos and one chicken. They were good but not great. I think I need to give the place another try during more normal dining hours. 3 stars may be underrating a bit but 4 would be overrating based on this one, limited experience. read more

I got a burrito one Thursday night. They made it in front of me, but it was barely warm when they handed it to me. I got ground beef as my protein. The biggest problem was that, all throughout the burrito, much of the pieces of meat were entirely dried out. It must have been scooped off the top of a prepped tray that hadn't seen any use that evening. And there obviously hadn't been any liquid in the steam tray with the meat. It was a horrible mouthfeel, like getting little pebbles in every bit. The rice, meat and beans were also not well seasoned. They could have been much improved with a little salt, and any amount of spice for the beef. I ordered "extra beef", so it was a large component of the filling. And it was just sooo bland. Less flavor than you get from a supermarket taco spice packet. My burrito was also supposed to have salsa verde, pico de gallo, and cilantro. Careful visual inspection confirmed some pico de gallo and cilantro. But it looked extremely minimal and I couldn't taste anything like those flavors at all. My burrito had "fajita veggies". There was a decent amount, and they were nicely grilled or sauteed. But also a little plain. The burrito was rolled very well. They did a great job of packing it as full as possible without doing the Chipotle thing where Chipotle workers pay no attention to how much they're putting in and then both couldn't really be expected to roll it well and don't bother to try. Overall, the bland beef and bland refried beans made me think - I feel mean to say it - like canned pet food. Another reviewer said 'they'd rather eat cat food.' That's way overstating it. If it weren't for the hatd, dry meat pellets, it would have been fine, just extremely bland. As it was, though, I tried eating from other parts of the burrito and, when I couldn't find sections without the dry meat, threw it in the trash. I think this restaurant has a lot of potential. But it's a very difficult business climate. And there are definitely problems. read more

Ordered burrito online. Was 80% rice and fairly small. Wish I could recommend, but can't.

Wow! What a cool little spot. I love that more interesting places are popping up outside of Providence. I visited on Taco Tuesday, and boy, you can't beat the $2 soft taco deal. They're large, flavorful, and satisfying. The service was incredibly friendly and inviting. There was a long line waiting for service, and I can see why. I had no trouble waiting with how delicious the food and nice the folks were. I do feel bad that there were several people trying to enter after they had closed at 8pm. It is advertised everywhere that they close at 9pm, and I saw that they had removed the hours from the door, so it must have been a recent change. It's so important to update social media and google sites since that's where most people do to see the hours. Luckily, we made it before closing and enjoyed a fantastic meal. The chorizo and steak were super yummy, and the queso can not be beat! read more

Union Square Bistro - Taco Tuesday is legit! - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

Yeah this was a neh for me. I got a steak burrito. The steak was very salty. This place is like if Chipotle had a little brother that no one really cared about. The burritos here are about $10. Chipotle's are twice as good and bigger in size for $8-$10. The rice was either under cooked or had been sitting out a while cause it was crunchy. Also they only have pico and mild salsa. No med or hot salsas. I just don't understand why anyone would come spend more money here when you get drive 10 min to Chipotle where you'll spend less for superior quality ‍ read more

Union Square Bistro - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

See all

Such a great spot! I was so pleasantly surprised by everything! Being vegan, walking into a new place cold turkey is risky but Union Square delivered. The bartender is terrific and went out of their way to help me build an incredible salad. The food was delicious and the atmosphere is good good energy. I look forward to coming back often. read more

As an East Providence resident, I want this place to be a go-to spot for Mexican. Unfortunately, it is not. Went there yesterday with the family and there were so many issues. Walked in and after waiting a few minutes, eventually we had to ask for a menu from the bartender. I noticed there was no meat on the menu. Odd. I had to ask the bartender again who then informed me that we all need to go to the other side and order from a kiosk. Odd. This took us each several minutes to select ingredients for our burrito bowls from the kiosk. Total bill $79 for four bowls and 3 sodas. Expensive. I tried to order a beer and it took about 10 minutes as he had to make a couple of margaritas which it took him a lot of time. Also, thought the bowls were smaller than most. Overall the experience was disorganized, expensive and not what I want in a Mexican place. read more

Service was very good, pricing was economical, food was very good but a little light on the portions. Restaurant was clean and nicely decorated. Also, very nice outdoor space. Check it out! read more

This small join in East Prov is a great find! If you are simply cruising and driving on Bullocks Ave, you may miss it. I came here looking for it and glad I was able to find it because I am always on a hunt for a "newish" place to try. Union Burrito has been open for 2 years and survived the peak of COVID but this is my first time here. You will see and taste why this place survived the most gut wrenching shutdown. My love and I decided to eat-in and savor freshly home-made loaded nachos, quesadillas and chorizo empanadas. Yes, a Rhode Island original Chorizo in freshly made empanada. Everything here is made fresh. What is best about this place is that you can also enjoy the home made cocktail mix in bottles. That is so cool. I like this place because it is not afraid to combine traditional food with a twist of local favorite like chorizo. I will be back again to try their signature burritos. read more

See all

Food is delicious. Drinks on point. Staff is super friendly. The outdoor area looks amazing and I can't wait to try it out on the next warm night! Music was great and the atmosphere was super chill. read more

I've been here now 3 times.. every time it is just average. Chicken today tasted old, and burrito was not rolled well...

Loved this place! Sat at the bar and ordered the bartenders choice cocktail where they make you a drink based on just asking a couple of preference questions. Mine was a tequila/mezcal version of a Paloma with st. Germaine. It was so smoky and delicious. The food was also incredible. Nothing crazy but nothing to complain about. We started with their guacamole and queso and that was very yummy and then i got a chicken burrito that came with all the traditional burrito ingredients and loved it. Overall, great experience and will definitely go back read more

Union Square Bistro - Bartenders choice cocktail - Mexican Near Me - Riverside, Rhode Island

See all