Union Local 613 takes orders three different ways across a week. The dining room runs a Southern-inspired dinner Monday through Saturday, anchored on fried chicken and shrimp and grits. Wednesday turns into half-price whiskey for the night, Old Fashioneds excepted. Wednesday through Saturday, the kitchen stays open past ten on a separate late-night menu — sandwiches, Frito Pie, hush puppies, dollar fries — running to two in the morning Friday and Saturday. Three different visits from one address on Somerset Street West in Ottawa's Chinatown, and the menu is built so each window has its own answer.
Union Fried Chicken is the clearest dinner order: brined, fried to a crisp shell, plated with collard green slaw, pickles, a side of grits or cornbread, and pepper vinegar, with an optional Nashville-style heat move for the table that wants the spicier version. Shrimp and Grits is the second main, built on shrimp, pork belly, nduja sausage, and hominy grits — a richer Southern-comfort plate for diners who would rather start dense than start fried. Frito Pie comes either with beef or vegan chili, barbecue Fritos, cilantro aioli, and pickled jalapeño, and is the easiest opener for a table that wants something to share before the mains arrive. Blackened Basa carries the fish slot with dirty rice, charred poblano chutney, jalapeño crema, and pickled onion. Around the edges sit fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, duck wings, Southern egg rolls, tempura devilled eggs, cast-iron cornbread, and a crème brûlée brownie for dessert.
Union Fried Chicken, Shrimp and Grits, Frito Pie, Fried Green Tomatoes, Hush Puppies, and Blackened Basa give the restaurant a clear food identity.
Seasonal cocktails, standards, a broad whiskey list, and the Staffroom basement bar make the drinks side central to the experience.
Weekday 4-to-5 drinks, Whiskey Wednesdays, and a Wednesday-Saturday late-night menu create practical reasons to visit outside peak dinner.
Union Fried Chicken gives the restaurant a clear centerpiece: a full Southern-comfort plate with slaw, pickles, grits or cornbread, pepper vinegar, and an optional Nashville-style heat move.
The drinks program is deep enough to shape the visit: seasonal cocktails, standards, draft beer, wine, whiskey, bourbon, and no- or low-alcohol options all sit beside the dinner menu.
Union has a real late-night food angle, not just drinks after dinner: Wednesday through Saturday brings wings, sandwiches, Frito Pie, Chili Dog, Hush Puppies, and Dollar Fries after ten.
The menu leans into comfort food with enough specificity to avoid feeling generic: fried chicken, shrimp and grits, Frito Pie, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, ribs, and cornbread.
The Staffroom gives Union a hidden-room layer: a basement bar reached through a bookshelf, useful when a group wants the night to feel more tucked-away than the main dining room.
Share the nuances of your visit to Union Local 613 in Ottawa — the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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