The Union Steakhouse in Rother

Delicious food, excellent service, and a nice atmosphere. Next time we visit Rye again we will definitely come back to The Union.

First time my wife and I have been to Rye together and I'm glad we picked The Union to eat at! A beautiful place, very cosy and comfortable, had that proper countryside town pub feel but with a more modern contemporary feel to it. The food was delicious and I think I found my new favourite cocktail (that my wife had), East Street. Prices were a little more than than your typical pub but the quality was truly there. Would definitely recommend!

Great food. Great atmosphere. Great place to the heat of historic Rye.

Fantastic food - definitely the best meal we had in Rye. Attention to detail was great and everything we had was so fresh and full of flavour. If we’re back in the area would be top of our hit list. Service was also very good.

Delicious food and excellent service. A group of meat eaters and vegans and everyone left very happy!

We were on a bit of a South Coast food tour, and were lucky to find some amazing places and had some exceptional food... The Union at Rye however I think was the best meal/experience we had. Amazing food/drink along side exerlent service, atmosphere and vibe. Highly recommend

Had a fun evening her in Mid January and look forward to visiting again soon. Great food excellent service cosy atmosphere

brill food. creative + well balanced flavours

Best meal I’ve had in months. Fantastic service, cozy atmosphere and very reasonably priced. The food was incredible, couldn’t fault a single thing.

Incredible meal from start to finish! Wasn’t sure how many veg options there would be but I was blown away. Delicious!

Excellent food. Great atmosphere. Recommend the pork belly croquettes - they were amazing. Dog friendly too!

Slightly small portion size in parts but made up for it with flavour as the food was excellent. We had the croquettes, ricotta & leak, pork chop, bavette, sourdough and potatoes. With 3 glasses of wine and a chocolate cremeaux it came to £125 for 2 people and a toddler. The service was excellent and the venue is really nice. I’d definitely recommend it.

Heerlijk! Echt van genoten en aardig personeel

I'm not going to knock the place really as the food was fairly good. My beetroot/blue cheese salad was tasty but would have liked some crumbled blue cheese on top as well as the dressing, my wife's pork belly croquet starter was tasty and a good size. We shared a sea bass for our main with a side if potatoes and cabbage, the sides were ample between 2 people. The fish was OK, it was a whole fish which we had to work with which wasn't a problem but it was quite a skinny sea bass and had a quite mushy consistency rather than meaty. The butterscotch and frozen yoghurt desert was a solid 9/10 but the bay and vanilla pudding with winter fruit needed more flavour, couldn't taste the vanilla or the bay. The venue itself: 1st impressions were good but definitely looking tired in places. Chips and marks over paintwork in most places, carpet in the stairs was threadbare and looked awful. Obviously there had been a leak upstairs which had come through the ceiling and tapad up with black gaffer tape! The staff were friendly enough, going through the motions.... Anyway, I said I wasn't going to knock the place but seams like I've not been very positive. I would go back but would try something else from the limited menu. Probably better as a drinking venue in the evening.

Had a really lovely evening. Food was great, Chilled out vibe and food and drink was very enjoyable. Recommend

Gorgeous place, very cosy, really welcoming people and the food was amazing. We shared a selection of all the vegetarian food and everything we ate was delicious. Also very reasonably priced, will definitely go back!

The most incredible meal I’ve had in a long time. Everything was beautiful and the service was attentive and informative. We had the leeks and ricotta, croquettes and beetroot and blue cheese - it was all amazing! Then a lovely steak and potatoes. Also was great to see a pisco sour on the menu which was perfect. Will deffo be back

Amazing food, lovely staff, awesome vibe. One of the best meals I’ve ever had!

Delicious food and friendly service. I'll definitely be back!

Expected so much more but unfortunately the food didn’t quite hit the mark. Good points. Waiting staff were excellent and the setting is lovely. Not so good points: food is very expensive for what it is. The belly pork was deep fried which made it too dry. The bavette steak (a cheap cut!) was £26 and parsnips were under cooked. The cheapest bottle of wine is £37. We will return to Rye but not the Union.

Beautifully presented, modern sharing plates in a convivial environment in the midst of Rye historic centre. The service was excellent, and the food devine. A fabulous way to spend a birthday

A great selection of extremely tasty vegan options. Charming setting and very friendly staff. Would highly recommend!

One of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life.

Everytime we have been to Rye we have found this restaurant to be very busy. This time we were lucky to find space for lunch. What can I say about food, it was amazing. We can't wait to visit again. Food was seasonal, delicious and very well presented. Service was exceptional. We will definitely go back.

The starter and main course were as good as any food I have ever eaten. Thoroughly delicious. Pudding not to the same standard and wine a little disappointing. Service fabulous, very friendly and perfectly attentive.

Amazing food, amazing service, amazing drinks. We had the croquettes, goats cheese, sourdough, potatoes, bavette steak and vanilla pudding and all was incredible. Will definitely come back.

Good food. Big portions for a solo diner, but what I managed was very flavoursome. Friendly staff on what was a cold and wet night outside.

Thank you so much for serving amazing food to a tired, grumpy and fussy family! We were let down by another local restaurant and the team at the Union could not have been more patient and accommodating. Food and service were perfect, and made us feel so at home that our young son fell asleep after polishing off what looked like a delicious bavette steak, leaving the rest of us to enjoy dessert (black sesame ice cream was particularly good).

The Union is a very different dining experience. The menu has a large selection of dishes. You then order a series of dishes and make it a "Tapa style" evening. But so much more. We had steak plates whcih fed two people. So the four of us used that as the base dinner. Then had multiple other dishes. It was so differnt than what on how we normally dine. We all though is a was a great meal and experience. Excellent service and a far price.

Great service, but one of the worst steaks I’ve ever had. Don’t try the bavette!!

Delicious food with a great menu, lovely service and great atmosphere. Will definitely return

GreT sharing menu, good to visit again

Came here for dinner with a friend and we had a lovely evening. The food was excellent especially the mussels with sobrasada and the polenta chips. Great service and good wine. Highly recommend

6名でそれぞれ別のメニューを注文しシェアしました。 どのメニューも美味しいではなく、最高に美味しい！ スタッフの方も6名で座れるようにテーブルをアレンジしてくれたり、と終始心地よい時間でした。 サービスチャージは入っておらず「お気持ちで」と書いてあり、どうか美味しいお料理を作ってくれたシェフの方々やスタッフさんにしっかり手渡るようにキャッシュでチップがベストかな。どうかな。 私達はキャッシュを持っておらずカードで上乗せして会計しました。 ライに行かれたらぜひ訪れてください。

Was looking forward to this and booked for our visit to Rye. Firstly, for a bank holiday weekend, the place was pretty empty, so very little atmosphere. There seemed to be only 2 staff members on duty, very young - appeared to be teenagers or early twenties. They were totally disinterested and looked absolutely miserable. It was clearly one of the young ladies first days as she didn’t know what certain food was on the menu and had to get help from the other waitress constantly. She was very timid and I felt sorry for her. The other of the two let us sit anywhere and tried to explain the menu. I had read reviews just before that the menu was confusing, and I totally agree - needlessly confusing actually. She explained we should order 3 plates each but there was no way of knowing the size of them as they weren’t laid out in any real order on the page. The prices varied wildly too. I heard other diners flag the confusing menu but it wasn’t really addressed. We got the pork and 4 other plates between 2 of us, but realised we basically just shared 1 main course with random sides that didn’t compliment each other. For 50 quid that is ridiculous. It seems they label it a sharing menu so you invariably spend more for less. £26 just for a few mouthfuls of pork each is very steep, and we live in London where prices are crazy. The boiled potatoes on the other hand were way too plentiful - we couldn’t possibly eat that many boiled potatoes and it was clear they haven’t really put much thought into the portion sizes. The sourdough was delicious but on the other hand wasn’t enough to share between two equally. They had some English wines that I really wanted to try but they only sold them by the bottle which started at £50+ each, so we had tap water. I wanted to love this place but I just don’t get the angle. Overly fussy, bad menu design, bored staff members and way too expensive for what it is. Walking around rye afterwards, we walked past so many restaurants I wish we would’ve popped into instead.

Ein sehr gutes Lokal mit einem höheren Qualitätslevel und entsprechendem Preisnivau. Jedoch gerechtfertigt, daher eine klare Empfehlung!

Good sharing menu, the mussels we shared to start were sublime, my bavette steak was good, the pork fillet ordered by my wife was tasty and tender but too much for one person to finish. In all a very good experience

Was not expecting to find such amazing food in Rye! Everything was so spectacularly prepared, service was super friendly and decor is so cute too. So lucky we stumbled in. Get EVERYTHING on the menu!

What a delight! We had booked somewhere else for our last night in Rye but they (whom shall not be named) were totally unfriendly and sat us on a table in a dark corner because apparently that was the dog friendly area (not even human friendly). Anyway we took a chance on trying to get a table here and had an amazing experience. The staff couldn’t have been more attentive and warm. The food is mind blowingly innovative and delicious. Can’t fault this place.

I went in not really initially wowed by the menu or the drink options. But I was wrong. The staff were friendly, accommodating us last minute and were wonderful with our dog. The oysters were some of the best I've ever had... so fresh! The panzanella was summer in a bowl and made me nostalgic. It made my night. The chickpea and courgette dish was magic and warming. They even won me over on cider (as their beer selection was less interesting). Eat here. It's yummy.

A very good restaurant with excellent friendly service with a strong emphasis on locally sourced food. Our mussels were excellent, as were our desserts. We thoroughly recommend this restaurant that has a lovely ambience to it. You feel instantly relaxed as you walk through the door as the staff make you feel totally relaxed.

Pleasantly surprised by lovely food, good service and novel environment.

Great restaurant in Rye. Came here a couple of years ago and were really impressed, so we made a point of re-booking for our recent visit. Love their use of local produce and our meal was delicious.

Had a wonderful time along with Amos at the Union. Very dog friendly. Food was amazing. Atmosphere was chilled and lovely for a Sunday. Photos are (and I don't have the menu so this is by memory) Colchester Oysters in Shallot Sauce Roasted Nuts, Olives Ricotta, Pea shoots, Spring onion Tomato Panzanella Mussells with sobrasoda Skate wing Basque Cheesecake Bay Vanilla strawberry crumble And we went with the Riesling for wine. Sweet, crisp and light. Nicely done folks. We were impressed.

Another lovely supper at the union I love it here the staff are Freindly and alway look after me so well. The food was lovely can’t wait to return thanks all x

Dog friendly. Great restaurant.

The ‘tapas’ format is daunting for those looking for an evening meal. There were 6 of us around the table and it allowed us to try a range of dishes and accompaniments. The bavette steak was offered as ‘medium’ yet we had to send it back to be cooked again to make it ‘medium’ - not a good sign - however the fish dish (for 2) was very tasty and enjoyed by those sharing it. The 2 members of staff that dealt with us were great however, based on my experience, I’d suggest there are other restaurants in Rye that deserve trade such as The Standard (fabulous staff and very welcoming) or the Hoof (especially if you are looking for GF fare).

This restaurant is just a delight! Chef Mariana prepares dishes of exceptional refinement. She marvelously practices the mixture of flavors with quality products. Jess with her radiant smile and her natural generosity is Mariana's best ambassador in the service room. Thank you for making me taste such wonders and see you very soon!

Absolutely fantastic restaurant. We loved their sharing dishes - we had five between the two of us. The menu was imaginative and the friendly waitress talked us through it, helping us to pair the dishes. Although we live more than an hour away, we would happily revisit Eye just to eat here.

Delicious seasonal food and great service

A bit of a let down. All the dishes lacked salt, even the butter. The skate was amazing, the beef was good, and the rest of the dishes we had were ok (tomato salad, goat cheese, brocolini). Not really tentative service. The level is not what you would expect from the high price.

Service 3/5 - not very attentive. Had to go up to get salt and pepper, and to pay Food 4/5 - good dishes, lacked salt - was told by the waitress that the kitchen staff had ‘rotated stands’ (?). Bread came as the last dish which was unusual Ambience 2/5 - bright spotlights. Heavy clumpsy chairs. Value for money 3/5 - expensive for the experience i will say Paid 125 for two cocktails, two glasses of sparkly wine, 6 small sharings courses.

Misschien wel de fijnste en gezelligste plek van Rye (en omstreken) om eens lekker uit te eten. Dit volgens het concept van lekkere bordjes om te delen. Soms neigend naar klassieke Franse keuken, maar telkens met een vleugje rock and roll op het bordje, en invloeden vanuit de hele wereld, oog voor het gebruik van lokale producten en mee met de seizoenen. Opvallend was dat geen enkel bordje ondermaats was. Alles op niveau en met vriendelijke, behulpzame en attente bediening. Fijne wijnkaart. Maar ook lekkere wijn per glas. Het personeel helpt je graag met een drankje dat past bij het geheel van de gekozen bordjes.Tip: hou zeker nog wat plaats voor een dessertje! Ook deze zijn op niveau en overheerlijk. Top en ontspannen gemoedelijke sfeer.

Supposedly “good for kids” but there’s no kids menu. I’m not sure how else it could be good for kids.

We had dinner here in our first night in Rye and it was simply fantastic from start to finish. The food was incredible, the wine list was great, and the staff were all attentive and friendly. Could not recommend this place more!

It was perfect! The food, the service the location.. everything was just right. we had a very nice and lovely dinner there

Have been here before and had booked for dinner again - it is a tapas style restaurant and the food is very good and the staff were very welcoming, friendly and helpful. Can thoroughly recommend it.

We went for a nice and relaxed dinner on a rainy Sunday. We ordered a mix of bigger and smaller plates to share and they were all very delicious. The service is very friendly and helps with recommendations for the food and drinks. The cocktails are nice too. I tried the French Siege 🍸 We will visit again

Delicious food, spanning a variety of cuisines and mixing a lot of flavours. Great service too. Particularly enjoyed the chicken hearts, goats cheese and oyster mushrooms. Wasn’t expecting to find such a gem in Rye!

High quality food. Good service. Expensive wines. BUT.... they allow dogs. We had some very smelly dogs next to us. Not what I expect for £100 meal for two. (two drinks)

The sharing concept is interesting but you don’t have to stick to it.quality and taste is excellent, very enjoyable design too

Le concept de partage est intéressant, mais vous n’avez pas à vous y tenir. La qualité et le goût sont excellents, la décoration très agréable aussi.

Had such a nice time. Came in on a sleepy Tuesday as the kitchen were closing after lunch. They accommodated us. Food offering was impeccably chosen and well prepared. Service fantastic without being pressing. Recommended.

Outstanding food, local, fresh and intresting. You can have a few tasty snaks or a 5 course meal. Up to you and anything in between.

Another great lunch, love the small plates

Such an amazing restaurant! The staff were so attentive, the food was faultless. You need to book otherwise there isn't much hope of getting in but it's so worth it. It's a small plates restaurant for sharing, the waiter sorts out what order to bring things to you and she explained everything along the way. Just go here, you won't be disappointed

Excellent service and a delicious menu

Great food. Love the small plates. The service was excellent and we were never rushed. Very pretty interior. Try the oysters and grilled asparagus. Also the marinated anchovies and ricotta with peas are not to be missed.

Amazing food, fresh and local produce with a seasonal menu. Especially enjoyed the mussels and the skate fish and pork shoulder. Nice wine selection. Exceptional service, particularly by Tad!

A more original (and better, in my opinion) way of doing sharing plates is offered by the Union: you still selected 2-3 per person but that you all would want. Then the kitchen decides how to best group them into a starter selection and a mains selection. Brilliant! No getting drowned in food as it comes when its ready and then some of its gets cold etc, and you can take your time to properly enjoy it all. We started with pisco sours (and they were the real deal for once), and then had an excellent Hungarian white to accompany our somewhat mixed selection. But it all worked! The staff were were good: friendly and informative, and needless to say, so was the food. A great night out.

A more original (and better, in my opinion) way of doing sharing plates is offered by the Union: you still selected 2-3 per person but that you all would want. Then the kitchen decides how to best group them into a starter selection and a mains selection. Brilliant! No getting drowned in food as it comes when its ready and then some of its gets cold etc, and you can take your time to properly enjoy it all. We started with pisco sours (and they were the real deal for once), and then had an excellent Hungarian white to accompany our somewhat mixed selection. But it all worked! The staff were were good: friendly and informative, and needless to say, so was the food. A great night out.

What a treat! The menu is made of lots of little dishes, perfect for sharing. Sort of like a British tapas. The thing that really stood out the most to us, was the service! It was spot on! The waitress was so helpful with any questions we had, and spoke us through the menu and suggested what dishes we should have as starters and which ones we should have as mains. She also checked in on us during every course and would let us know when our food was on its way. Also my glass was never empty!! They topped our wine up, sometimes without me even noticing! That’s a talent within its self! Definitely recommend. And will definitely go back.

Spent a lovely day trip in Rye ♡ and found this lovely resto. A gem and nice food right next to the cathedral. We had ricotta, tempura veg, pork shoulder, and polenta. Wine list was also great with lots of British wine choices. Service and host - super nice! Highly recommend!

Amazing food with a wonderful wine list, and even better service. I celebrated my birthday at The Union Rye and we were well looked after by a very professional yet very warm team. Our waitress was very attentive and knowledgeable of the food and the local area. The food is truly out of this world. A true gem of a place.

My husband and I dined at The Union Rye last night. We had a fabulous experience. The staff were very professional yet incredibly warm and welcoming. The menu offered a feast of amazing dishes We started with the asparagus in ajo blanco, tempura Veg and warm bread with creamed butter..totally delicious. We followed with the pork, polenta and seasoned greens.. every dish was beautifully presented and tested even better. Just wish a lived closer! Thank you.

Nice space and really lovely staff. The food we had was truly excellent, innovative and delicious, but the restaurant was sold out of all the dishes we wanted most; might be worth ringing before you arrive to see how much of the menu is available. Also, we were seated on a small table tucked against a wall behind a much larger table, which I didn't compare very favourably to other much larger tables of 2 with window seats. Shame given I'd said it was a celebration. Veg tempura made up for it though 👍

Das Konzept “share everything” sollte man kennen, bevor man sich für das Restaurant entscheidet. Ich fand das Essen sehr gut, aber in meiner Gesellschaft das Grundkonzept überhaupt nicht passend…

Totally amazing food. Each dish, which they suggested should be treated as 'sharing', was a triumph. We really enjoyed the whole experience. Very highly recommended, and the same was said by many locals when we said where we were going.

We went to The Union, Rye, for dinner on the recommendation of a friend in the area. It’s a lovely, welcoming, relaxed place and the food was absolutely wonderful. They suggest a sharing menu, but of course you can have when you like, which is varied & included fish, meat and many veggie and vegan options. We went with oysters, pork rillettes, fritta misto, asparagus, mussels, skate and bavette steak All the dishes came with delicious & interesting dipping sauces. The wine was great too. Every mouthful was to die for and we had a great evening. I really should have taken some pics, but we were too busy wolfing everything down! The Union should hang on to their brilliant new young chef and the very friendly, efficient staff they have working there. The Rye area is fast becoming a foodie destination and I can’t wait to go back again! Soon!

Amazing experience. The food was phenomenal. We literally ordered almost all starters and they were brilliant (shout out to the leeks with feta). The place is cozy and staff is super friendly with dogs (also with humans).

Beautiful restaurant, food on point. Lovely, seasonal sharing plates.

Great restaurant with amazing service. Menu took a bit of understanding as it is basically tapas style with small plates but the lovely staff were so helpful about number of dishes needed and details of what they all were. Ham knuckle croquettes, ricotta with spiced granola and chill jam, and the roast celeriac were particularly delicious but nothing was bad. Not too filling either. We heard afterwards that it used to be a steak place so perhaps the disappointed reviewers were expecting that, but this was so much better. Best meal we have had in a while and we eat out a lot in and around London.

One of the best spots in Rye for dinner - awesome tapas style menu, great ambiance and wine selection

Popped in Sunday eve with an unusual request and Kaya and Felix were super accommodating. Incredible service and vibe, will be back soon for sure!

Really lovely food, good atmosphere. Recommend scallops, and the canneleni bean hummus. Make the most of wild garlic season, it's a general and delicious theme in the menu

We came here for lunch and had an absolutely fantastic experience! The Union Rye is a very quaint restaurant with lots of cozy seating areas. Service was terrific! Our wait staff was very friendly and provided lots of great local knowledge. We both had scallops...

Unfortunately a poor experience. Unfriendly and disinterested staff, slightly aggressive at times. Food in the gallery not representative of the menu - no chips because they are ‘too sophisticated’ to serve them. Steak tough and overpowered by the soaking in chimichurri dressing. Chip alternative (only...

Disappointed by the service, and disinterested waiting staff. Provided a high chair for a 2 year old but no menu for children or advice on what they could perhaps eat. Staff were unhappy and disengaged. Didn’t discuss or provide any advice on the menu and...

Took a chance on this place when visting Rye for the evening. Nice place with some interesting food which comprises of smaĺl plates. Some meat items are on the expensive side, but very tasty. Really good service.

Incredible place Amazing food Adorable staff Highly recommended!

A delightful lunch in lovely surroundings with exemplary and friendly service from Khia, who deserves special mention. The food was excellent and inventive - a series of small (or large!) sharing plates, served at just the right speed. We began with marinated anchovies and caper...

Visited a few weeks ago during the Scallop Festival with 8 friends for lunch. Service was knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and very attentive. Food was just delicious. We would all definitely return and rated far higher than the so called ‘top’ restaurants in Rye. A must...

We visited for a birthday treat. Only 2 other couples there so was quiet. One girl was front of house and waiting on tables. She didn’t engage or make an effort with us, just smiled and took the order but didn’t offer much advice with...

Delightful and delicious. A bit expensive but they were amazingly friendly and generous!

Even on a Sunday evening, we were treated to superb service and a truly memorable meal. Four of us shared succulent mackerel, the most tender and delicious pork and a fabulous steak cut in half and cooked two different ways for a pair of fuss...

The decor and location are lovely but there were very few people in when we visited. Other places in Rye were busy and lively and looked, quite frankly, a lot more fun. The food was interesting rather than delicious and the service was competent rather...

A terrific find…unassuming decor but creative and excellent food where you can order numerous small dishes to share - we were recommended 2 to 3 each and it was plenty. Lovely ambience and staff who were knowledge about food & wine on the menu. Scallops...

Visited the Union during a long weekend in Rye. The small plates concept is one we generally like, and having lived in London for 10 years we don't have an issue paying good money for good food. However we did leave the Union a little disappointed. We had the roasted celeriac, charred hispi, sourdough, crispy potatoes, cavolo nero, and braised pork neck fillet. It came to about £60 for food for two which didn't include dessert, and £120ish once wine and service was factored in. The pork was £23 for a fairly small piece of not very good meat, and none of the other dishes blew us away in terms of execution, flavour or size. As a direct comparison, the next day we ate at Fig, which has a similar sharing small plate concept. The dishes were still small but more fairly priced, and we ate more better dishes, with dessert and drinks for £105 for two.

Incredible food, excellent service. Having been unsure of what to expect or how much to order, we were guided through the amazing menu by the attentive and knowledgable staff. Food was delicious, drinks were quirky and tasty. We will definitely be back.

Eating at The Union was a truly amazing experience! Every dish was delicious, beautifully presented and all the different flavours were incredible. The highlight was probably the pork but everything worked and everything was divine. I eat out fairly regularly in London but this was...