Union Republic Restaurant
“I've tried: A Hen Full, Nose to Tail, the Roasted Pork Mazemen, the Cod Mazemen, the Alpha Omega, and a few of their salads.”
“I took my old school father here and steered him towards the Crisp Cod Croquette Mazemen because he loves fish.”
“The place is BYOB so we came prepared with mimosa fixins' and cool brews.”
Union Republic Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Came here for dinner with a friend on a weeknight. I was surprised that there were only a few people there.
The restaurant is super spacious. Upon walking in, you see the large work station for the butchers to cut all the meat alongside a meat fridge. Kind of cool looking.
The menu is a little fragmented – as many people have mentioned they offer a number of Ramen and Mazemans also. But they also have a number of appetizers and entrees that don't feel Asian inspired at all.
I had the thai beef mazeman and my friend ordered the pork ramen. I really loved the mazeman. It was peanutty, and curry-filled, but not overpowering. The broth was lovely, the noodes were cooled well, as was the beef. The pork ramen was oily as other yelpers have mentioned, but the pork was awesome! I had some of this in leftover form the next day – the broth was totally congealed, but it heated up well and the pork was still delish!
Since we were pressed for time this go-around, we couldn't order any appetizers. I can't wait to come back to try the pork belly appetizer that I've heard so many great things about – or even the roasted bone marrow.
Not too many dessert options – they were verbally explained, but I didn't find anything appealing; but that's more a take on my dessert preferences than the dessert offerings.
Our server (Anthony) was very attentive and accommodating, even recommending other places in the area.
I hope this place lasts now that there is other ramen competition in town.
The place has a nice atmosphere and a lovely staff, but based on food alone it's just average.
I ordered the Tonkatsu ramen, and it had a huge layer of oil on it. The flavor was good, but it made me feel so uncomfortable eating it. Maybe i'll try something else next time.
Ramen was decent. Had the Ocean Ramen (seafood). Pretty good flavor (not spicy enough but we requested sriracha) but the seafood (mainly just clams & mussels) itself wasn't that great – had a tough texture.
Oysters were pretty good (and they do $1 oysters for happy hour) but I found it strange that they didn't bring out horseradish. We asked and they had it.
Also tried the sauteed mushrooms (side) and that was actually really good. A bit on the salty side but really well prepared.
Beer selection was just OK. I liked the vibe of the place.
Friendly service. I found it kind of strange that the server asked us for our opinion of the place (whether we'd return) at the end of the meal… Didn't really like being put on the spot like that.
I'm not sure why there is the word "Vegan" as one of their categories because for someone that's simply a vegetarian… there was literally 2 options for me on their menu. The interior is nice and when we went it was very quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Our waiter was very kind and quite eager to please the customers.
We both ordered the vegetarian Ramen (which you can order without the egg) and I thought it was pretty good. I'm not an avid Ramen eater so I don't have much to compare to and I thought that it would benefit from some more flavor or a little spice. The portions were good but the flavor was a little bland. I also ordered a ginger mocktail which was quite delicious.
We will have to come back after trying some other Ramen options for a more adequate review. But for now, this place seems like a good option when looking for some noodles (especially if you eat meat). I hope they add some more non-meat centered meals to their menu!
I really loved this place so it's hard for me to write this but after some recent disappointing experiences at UR I felt that I had to give an update (and before updating, I went in to give it a couple more tries to see if things had changed). The last couple times I have come in, it seems that while the service is friendly and everyone is really nice, there just weren't enough servers or staff to keep up with all the tables during busy times. That lead to having to wait for menus, water, placing orders, etc. We were comped drinks on one occasion because of the waiting which was a really nice gesture but unfortunately, service has been slow on pretty much all of our recent visits.
Now on to the food. One of our favorite dishes here as the ramen burger, it was taken off the menu but used to be available upon request but it looks like now it's completely gone which is a huge bummer! The ramen also doesn't seem to be at the same level that it used to be. On a recent visit I received pork belly that was completely burnt 🙁 Another menu item I recently tried was the brussel sprouts – hugely disappointing as they were soggy and not very tasty. Sadly, I am excited about other ramen spots opening in the area because I'm not sure that I'll be back to UR until maybe things have a changed a bit as to menu and service times 🙁
I am new to Jersey City and looked up some good food to eat in Jersey City. This is supposedly one of the spots. I was really excited after reading reviews about the Ramen Burger and the Ramen so I had to give it a try. After looking at the menu both of the items that were popular on yelp was not on the menu. They claimed that they are a "seasonal" dish. There is nothing seasonal about Ramen. Anyways, we started off with the potatoes with spicy aoli. It was decent, nothing special for $9. It needed more of the spicy aoli sauce and less salt. I wasn't too fond about this dish. I asked for the Nose to Tail Ramen but it wasn't on the menu, but they said they can make it because I requested it. They even said I am not allowed to take a picture of the Ramen, which made me suspicious about what I am about to eat. But, the pork Belly was very salty. The pig ears was really crunchy that I couldn't even finish it. The noodles and broth was good though. The price for these dishes was definitely not worth it. This place is over priced for the portions and quality of the food. I am willing to give it another try in the spring/summer for the Ramen burger. They claimed it would come back around then. Overall, I think this place is overpriced for the quality of food.
I kept hearing about UR from friends so I thought I would give it a try especially after the great reviews that yelp had about their Ramen Burger and Nose to Tail Ramen.
Being new to JC, I came here my bf and we were excited to share the ramen burger and Nose to Tail Ramen plus other foods as well. Unfortunately, the server told us it was only "seasonal". I was so upset because I was excited to eat what yelpers have been talking about. How do you have Ramen Burgers and Pork seasonally. It's not like berries. That makes no sense especially when its their best sellers and most talked about foods. You would think if it's so popular they would keep it to draw in more business. I did notice every time I passed Union Republic it was dead and I was wondering why. I even gave them benefit of the doubt because it was a weekday so maybe that's why it wasn't so busy…. Now I know why.
I'm giving this place three stars because of the service, atmosphere, decor, and delcious specialty cocktails. Their food is definitely not worth the price they are asking for and even a small plate to share was $9.
I tried their Ramen and their noodles were good but the pork was salty…after that I didn't even want anything else because they didn't have anything that I was looking forward to eat.
I will give Union Republic one more shot in the summer to see how "seasonal" their food menu really is.
I finally made my way to Union Republic and it was a great first experience. I love the white-sleek decor of the entire restaurant that leads all the way to the new bar area–which is beautiful. I wasn't exactly sure what kind of food the place offers but the menu has a little bit of everything (not just Ramen, which is what I initially thought).
The bartender began mixing our cocktails and he did a great job. You can tell that a lot of creativity is put into their drinks. The bartender had some fancy looking carbonation machine that he was using to mix up these great cocktails. I had the Tenderloin drink ($12).
Food: I decided to go with the Ramen Bunh Mi ($13) (brisket, horseradish-hoisin, chicken liver pate, pickled daikon & carrot). It was delicious, I love that the ramen wasn't too crunchy. The horseradish-hoisin gave the entire course great flavor. I'm a fan. The owner of UR was present and actually let us sample a dessert that they are collaborated with Third & Vine: Blue Cheese Ice Cream. When I heard this, I couldn't help but think "EW" but I was wrong, it was delicious. Not sure what secret ingredients they are using but for someone who doesn't like anything blue cheese–I would order this. Union Republic is doing something different around Jersey City and I really like it! Can't wait to come back and try out their brunch (Sat & Sun)! #JerseyCityEats